Find change of use planning applications before the tender

A change of use application asks the council to let a building do a different job. Each one tells you exactly what is about to be built, and who is paying for it.

Commercial to residential projects fill your diary

This is the biggest stream of work. Retail to residential schemes turn ground-floor shops into flats, which means a new front elevation, a separate entrance, sound insulation between floors and fresh drainage. Office to flat conversions split open-plan floors into homes, so they need partition walls, fire compartmentation, new kitchens and bathrooms, ventilation and windows that open. Whether the applicant seeks full consent or prior approval, the build list is long and the applicant needs it priced.

Pub conversion schemes need every trade on site

A pub conversion turns a licensed building into homes, offices, shops or a restaurant. Pub buildings are big, old and full of character, with cellars, roofs and services that need serious work. Expect strip-out, structural repair, damp treatment, new heating and a full fit-out.

Every use class change is a fit-out waiting to happen

Planning permission change of use applies whenever a building moves between use classes outside permitted development. You see shops becoming cafés and takeaways, warehouses becoming gyms, houses becoming houses in multiple occupation, barns becoming homes and offices becoming nurseries, clinics and places of worship. Each use class change brings new extraction, fire safety, accessibility, signage and interiors. You read the description, you know the scope, and you pitch the part that is yours.

Change of use work reaches every link in the construction chain. The businesses that win it all do one thing: they contact the applicant at the planning stage.

Builders and main contractors win the whole job

A builder sees a shop-to-flats scheme in their patch, writes to the applicant the same week and offers a site visit and a budget price. The owner has a number before the decision lands and a contractor ready to start when it does.

Specialist contractors get specified early

Fire protection firms, acoustic installers, mechanical and electrical engineers, shopfitters, roofers, damp specialists and window installers all have a stake in every conversion. They contact the agent firm named on the application and get their system written into the drawings before the main contract goes out.

Manufacturers and suppliers land the order

Window and door makers, kitchen and bathroom suppliers, sprinkler and insulation manufacturers and builders' merchants watch for conversions by size and location. They put product details in front of the architect while the specification is still open, so their name is on the schedule the contractor buys from.

Architects and consultants pick up the next stage

Architects, planning consultants, surveyors, fire engineers, acoustic consultants and building control teams track applications that need technical drawings, condition discharge or building regulations approval. An application with no agent, or one that faces tough conditions, is an open door. You offer the expertise the applicant needs next and you win the instruction.

Leads emails you every new change of use application that matches your keywords, the day councils publish it, in one email a day. You choose nationwide coverage or set up to 5 areas, each a radius of up to 75 miles from a postcode or town, or a whole council. A Midlands shopfitter watches its home region. A national window manufacturer watches the whole country. Both start the day with fresh projects.

Every lead gives you what you need to make contact

Each lead carries:

• the planning reference and site address
• the council and a link to the council's own record
• the description of the work and the application type
• key dates and the decision status
• the applicant, agent firm and business contact wherever the council publishes them

You know the scope, the timing and the person to call before you pick up the phone.

Your pipeline keeps every opportunity moving

Leads includes a lead pipeline, so you track who you contacted, who you quoted and which jobs you won. Nothing slips, follow-ups happen on time and you see exactly where your next contract comes from.

One price puts you first in line

Leads costs £49 + VAT a month. One won conversion pays for your leads many times over.

Watching only your own street or neighbourhood? Anyone gets free email alerts for planning applications near an address, postcode, town or council.