Applications, appeals, permitted development, enforcement and planning strategy across England
Planning explanations, updates and practical guidance in video form
About Planning Geek and Ian Walmsley
Planning Geek started as a planning resource in 2017. It has grown into a large free reference site and a planning consultancy helping people make sense of planning in England.
The aim has stayed pretty simple: explain planning in plain English, link back to the real rules wherever possible and help people work out what they can actually do with a property or site.
Need help with a planning application?
Planning Geek isn’t just a reference site - preparing and submitting planning applications is what we do. If you’d like a hand with an application, an appeal or any other planning matter, we’d be glad to help.
What is Planning Geek?
The website is used by homeowners, developers, businesses, consultants and planning officers looking for a practical explanation of planning rules. Most of the reference material is free to read and that is an important part of what Planning Geek is.
Alongside the website, Planning Geek Ltd provides planning consultancy services. That includes planning strategy, applications, permitted development, Certificates of Lawfulness, appeals and enforcement work.
We are not interested in making planning sound more complicated than it is. Where a rule is technical, we explain it. Where there is uncertainty, we say so. Where a different professional is needed, we would rather tell you than pretend one person can cover everything.
About Ian Walmsley
Ian founded Planning Geek after developing a growing obsession with planning through his own property projects. He has been developing property full time since 2013, although property has been part of his family story for much longer.
Ian grew up in a family of funeral directors with a long connection to building and property. His grandfather built one of the early estates in what is now Basildon. That background helped turn an interest in development into a much deeper interest in what planning rules allow, prevent and sometimes unexpectedly make possible.
Planning Geek grew from that curiosity. Ian is not a chartered town planner and does not pretend to be one. His role is as a planning consultant and strategist with practical development experience, backed by a resource that is constantly checked against legislation, policy and case law.
If you want the longer personal story, there is a separate Ian Walmsley biography.
A planning resource backed by a consultancy
The useful bit for clients is that the website and the consultancy feed into each other. Questions raised on real projects often expose areas that deserve a clearer explanation on the site, while maintaining the site means we spend a lot of time reading the material that sits behind planning decisions.
That does not mean every planning problem has a simple answer. Local plans, site constraints, planning history and professional judgement all matter. It does mean we try to give clients a clear route through the problem rather than hiding behind jargon.
How to work with Planning Geek
If you have a specific project and want Planning Geek to undertake the work, the quickest starting point is to request a planning fee proposal.
If you mainly need to talk through a problem, test an idea or decide what to do next, you can book a paid planning consultation with Ian.
For everything else, including general contact and speaking enquiries, use the Planning Geek contact page.
Planning Geek Ltd
Planning Geek is a trading style of Planning Geek Ltd. The company provides planning consultancy alongside the Planning Geek reference site.
The site will keep changing as planning changes. That is rather the point. Planning law, policy and guidance move constantly, so pages are reviewed and corrected rather than treated as finished forever. Our editorial standards, sources and corrections policy explains how Planning Geek news is researched, checked and updated.
About Planning Geek Page Updated: 30th August 2026