Where to search Brighton planning applications on the council's Planning Register, how to comment so it counts, and who decides what in Brighton & Hove.

Every one of the Brighton planning applications submitted in the city, from a loft conversion in Portslade to a seafront leisure centre, lands on one public register that anyone can search for free without an account. Most people only discover a scheme when the scaffolding goes up next door, by which time the window to say anything has closed. This is a plain guide to where the register is, how to read an application reference, how long you get, what the council will and will not take into account, and which of the city’s big schemes are moving right now.

Where to find Brighton planning applications

The council’s Planning Register is the single online record of applications received and decided in Brighton & Hove. It runs on Idox Public Access, and you can search it here:

You do not need to log in to look. Type a street, a postcode or a reference and you get the drawings, the officer reports, the consultation dates and any comments already submitted. The council also runs the same system on the address planningapps.brighton-hove.gov.uk, which its own newsroom links to; both point at the same register.

One gap worth knowing about: applications made under the Permission in Principle legislation are not on the register at all. The council publishes those individually on a separate page, with their own comment deadlines, and warns that because the timescales are short it cannot consider comments received after the date on the site notice.

Reading a Brighton planning reference

A Brighton reference looks like BH2026/00490. BH is the authority, the four digits are the year the application was registered, and the last five are the running number for that year. If you only know the address, the simple search will find it.

Setting up alerts

If you care about one street rather than one application, register a free account on the Planning Register, run the search you want, then save it and switch on notifications. The council notes that this account is separate from MyAccount, although you can use the same email and password. Saved searches are the difference between hearing about a neighbour’s plans on day one and hearing about them after the consultation has closed. If you would rather browse, the council also publishes a weekly list of planning applications.

How long you get to comment

The standard consultation period in England is 21 days from the point the consultation opens, and the exact deadline for each application is shown on its page on the register, in the neighbour letter, or on the site notice fixed near the site (Planning Aid guidance on commenting). Check the application’s own page rather than counting days yourself.

Two Brighton-specific things affect timing. First, the council currently warns of a 2 to 3 working day delay before it starts validating new applications, expected to lengthen over the summer holidays, so a scheme you have heard about may not appear on the register immediately. Second, to protect that work the planning team says it will only respond to progress queries on applications received at least 7 working days earlier (planning service notices).

How to comment, and what actually counts

You can comment online through the register, or, if you cannot access it, by email or post (find and comment on planning applications):

  • online through the Planning Register
  • by email to planning.applications@brighton-hove.gov.uk
  • by post to the Planning and Building Control Service, 1st Floor, Hove Town Hall, Hove, BN3 3BQ

The council is blunt about one requirement: you must include your full name and postal address, so it can contact you if the applicant appeals. It states that “comments submitted without this information will not be recorded on the register for the case officer to review”. It also says it does not reply to comments, and that when an application draws a large number of them there may be a delay before they appear online, though all of them will reach the case officer before the report is written.

The harder point is what a comment can be about. A planning decision turns on material planning considerations: overlooking and loss of light, highway safety and parking, design and the character of the area, noise, trees and open space, drainage and flooding, heritage impact in a city with more than thirty conservation areas, and conflict with the council’s own policies. It does not turn on the loss of a private view, the effect on your house price, competition with an existing business, or who the applicant is. Objections written in planning language carry weight; the same point written as a complaint often does not.

Who decides, and when councillors get involved

About 96% of applications are decided by officers under delegated powers, without any councillor vote. That covers alterations, small extensions, conversions, straightforward changes of use and housing schemes of up to nine units (how a planning decision is made).

An application goes to the Planning Committee when it meets one of the council’s published triggers:

  • it is for 10 or more units of housing
  • there are 5 or more individual letters of objection and officers are recommending approval
  • there are 5 or more individual letters of support and officers are recommending refusal
  • the ward councillor, the Conservation Advisory Group or the Disabled Access Advisory Group disagrees with the officer recommendation and asks the committee to decide

What it means for you: five objection letters is a low bar, and it is the single most useful thing to know if you want a scheme debated in public rather than signed off at a desk. Five separate, individually written objections do more than fifty copies of the same template.

The committee has 10 voting members drawn from all parties on the council, plus one co-opted non-voting member representing the Conservation Advisory Group. It meets monthly at 2pm in the council chamber at Hove Town Hall, publishes its agenda seven days beforehand, and is webcast on the council’s YouTube channel. Arrangements to speak, or to have a statement read out, must be made in advance through democratic.services@brighton-hove.gov.uk (planning committee).

One local quirk: part of the city sits inside the South Downs National Park, and there the South Downs National Park Authority, not the city council, is the planning authority. Occasionally, large or nationally significant proposals are also called in by the Secretary of State instead of being decided locally.

Schemes moving through the system now

The council keeps a public list of its major developments, which is the fastest way to see what is coming. Among them are Brighton Gasworks, Toads Hole Valley, Patcham Court Farm, the Brighton Hippodrome, Madeira Terrace, Preston Barracks, Black Rock, Benfield Valley and Hove Station Area, each with its own page and history.

The most recent to reach a decision is the King Alfred. On 29 July 2026 the Planning Committee voted 8 to 1, in line with the officer recommendation, to be minded to grant permission for a new leisure centre on part of the existing Hove Street South site, subject to referral to the Secretary of State, who then has 21 days from confirmed receipt to decide whether to call it in. The scheme includes an eight-lane main pool, a 17 metre teaching pool with a movable floor, a six-court sports hall and a 122-space underground car park, and the existing centre stays open while it is built. The application is BH2026/00490 on the register, and the committee papers and full webcast are published (plans for King Alfred move forward).

It is a useful worked example of the process on this page: an officer recommendation, a long public debate, a recorded councillor vote, and a further national step before anything is built.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find planning applications in Brighton?

Search the council’s Planning Register at publicaccess.brighton-hove.gov.uk/online-applications by address, postcode or reference. No account is needed to view. The council also publishes a weekly list of applications.

What is the Brighton planning portal?

It is the council’s online Planning Register, an Idox Public Access system. Some pages link to it as publicaccess.brighton-hove.gov.uk and others as planningapps.brighton-hove.gov.uk; they are the same register. Applications made under the Permission in Principle legislation are not included and are published separately.

How long do I have to comment on a Brighton planning application?

Normally 21 days from the start of the consultation. The exact deadline is shown on the application’s page on the register and on the neighbour letter or site notice, so check there rather than assuming.

How do I object to a planning application in Brighton?

Comment through the register, email planning.applications@brighton-hove.gov.uk or write to the Planning and Building Control Service, 1st Floor, Hove Town Hall, Hove, BN3 3BQ. You must give your full name and postal address, or the comment will not be recorded. Base your points on planning matters such as overlooking, highway safety, design or heritage.

When does a Brighton planning application go to committee?

When it is for 10 or more homes, when there are 5 or more objections and officers recommend approval, when there are 5 or more letters of support and officers recommend refusal, or when a ward councillor, the Conservation Advisory Group or the Disabled Access Advisory Group asks the committee to decide. Roughly 96% of applications never get there.

Who decides planning applications in Brighton?

Planning officers decide about 96% under delegated powers. The rest go to the Planning Committee, which has 10 voting councillors and one co-opted non-voting member, and meets monthly at Hove Town Hall. Within the South Downs National Park, the National Park Authority decides instead.

Sources

Elsewhere on this site: Brighton bin collection days, parking in Brighton and Brighton council tax bands.

Checked against the council’s planning pages on 4 August 2026. Comment deadlines and application statuses change daily, so confirm on the Planning Register before relying on a date.