In-depth pages cover the authorities we work in most often: BCP Council for Bournemouth and Poole (Christchurch is the same council), Dorset Council, New Forest District Council, the New Forest National Park Authority, Wiltshire Council and Somerset Council. The wider directory explains who the local planning authority is, the towns it covers, and the postcode areas it sits in. County hubs hold the district, unitary and national park sections. We still act for sites elsewhere in England.
Postcode areas are indicative. District boundaries and postcode boundaries do not match. We name the decision-maker from the site address before we quote. The fee is fixed in writing before any work starts.
Central South
Home patch, from Bournemouth along the Hampshire coast to the Isle of Wight. On 7 September 2026 the government withdrew its reorganisation decisions for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, so those councils stay as they are for now.
Dorset
BCP Council and Dorset Council are both unitary. They are not the same authority.
Hampshire
Minerals, waste and county matters stay with Hampshire County Council. Planning applications go to the district, unitary or national park authority. The county council is not listed as an area we cover.
Isle of Wight
South West
Cornwall and the Scillies, then Devon, Somerset and Bristol, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. Exmoor is listed under Devon and again under Somerset, because the park crosses that boundary.
Cornwall & Scilly
Both councils are unitary.
Devon
Minerals, waste and county matters stay with Devon County Council. Planning applications go to the district, unitary or national park authority. The county council is not listed as an area we cover. Plymouth and Torbay are unitary. Dartmoor and Exmoor are the local planning authority inside their parks.
Somerset & Bristol
Somerset Council is unitary. North Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire are separate unitaries, on one hub.
Gloucestershire
Minerals, waste and county matters stay with Gloucestershire County Council. Planning applications go to the district, unitary or national park authority. The county council is not listed as an area we cover.
Wiltshire
Wiltshire Council and Swindon Borough Council are separate unitaries.
South East
Berkshire through Kent. County councils in the two-tier areas are not listed as places we cover. Greater London boroughs are not in this directory.
Berkshire
Berkshire has no county council. Each unitary below decides its own applications.
Oxfordshire
Minerals, waste and county matters stay with Oxfordshire County Council. Planning applications go to the district, unitary or national park authority. The county council is not listed as an area we cover.
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire Council and Milton Keynes City Council are both unitary. There is no county council above them.
Surrey
Minerals, waste and county matters stay with Surrey County Council. Planning applications go to the district, unitary or national park authority. The county council is not listed as an area we cover. Its twelve councils dissolve on 1 April 2027 into East Surrey and West Surrey. Until then, applications still go to the district or borough below.
West Sussex
Minerals, waste and county matters stay with West Sussex County Council. Planning applications go to the district, unitary or national park authority. The county council is not listed as an area we cover.
East Sussex & Brighton
Minerals, waste and county matters stay with East Sussex County Council. Planning applications go to the district, unitary or national park authority. The county council is not listed as an area we cover. Brighton and Hove is unitary.
Kent & Medway
Minerals, waste and county matters stay with Kent County Council. Planning applications go to the district, unitary or national park authority. The county council is not listed as an area we cover. That county role stops at Medway, which is unitary.
How to read the list
- Unitary authorities handle planning applications themselves.
- In two-tier counties, the district or borough handles the application. Minerals, waste and county matters stay with the county.
- A national park authority is the local planning authority inside its boundary. It overrides the district underneath.