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What is the CBA Planning Casework Database?
The CBA Planning Casework Database is an online record of planning proposals that the Joint Committee of the National Amenity Societies (JCNAS) has received for comment, operated by the Council for British Archaeology. In practice, it is a working reference for anyone who wants to see how proposed changes to historic buildings, sites or landscapes have passed through the amenity-society consultation process.
What it covers and who uses it
The database is built around casework: individual planning applications and proposals that raise historic-environment issues. Rather than being a general guide to planning law, it tracks the cases themselves and the comments they attracted.
Its main audiences tend to be:
- Local historians and conservation volunteers checking whether a building or site in their area has been the subject of a comment.
- Planning professionals and consultants looking for precedent on how amenity societies have responded to similar proposals.
- Researchers and students studying how the historic environment is handled in the planning system.
- Amenity society members who need a shared view of active or past cases.
How it works in practice
The site is a searchable service with a quick search and a login area. A login suggests that some material or functionality is reserved for registered users, typically the organisations involved in submitting or reviewing comments. If you are simply trying to find out whether a particular proposal was commented on, start with the quick search using a place name, building name or application reference; if that returns nothing useful, the contact route on the site is the sensible next step.
Where to go for related material
The database sits within a wider ecosystem of heritage and planning information. For the legal and policy framework behind these cases, Historic England publishes guidance on the historic environment and planning. For the amenity-society perspective more broadly, SAVE Britain's Heritage and The Victorian Society both work on cases of this kind, and the Council for British Archaeology is the body operating this service.
One practical caveat: this is a casework record maintained for consultation purposes, not an official planning register. Always confirm the current status of an application with the relevant local planning authority before relying on it.
How do I search for a specific planning application in the database?
Use the Quick search box on the database's home page to look up a planning application. Enter a term that is likely to appear in the case record, such as a street name, town, local planning authority, application reference, or a short description of the proposal, then review the matching results.
What to search with
- Application reference if you already have it — this is usually the fastest route to one specific case.
- Address or place name when you only know the site location.
- Local planning authority to narrow results to a council area.
- A distinctive word from the proposal, such as “demolition”, “extension”, or a building name.
Practical points
The database covers planning proposals received by the Joint Committee of the National Amenity Societies for comment, so it is a casework record rather than a complete national planning register. If the application you want was never referred to the JCNAS, it may not appear here even though it exists on the relevant council's own planning portal.
Some records and parts of the service sit behind a Login, so a search may show fewer details — or no case at all — until you are signed in with an authorised account. If you are unsure whether an application should be listed, start by searching the reference number; if nothing matches, try the address, then the authority name.
For applications that are not in this database, search the relevant local authority's planning register directly. The Council for British Archaeology, which operates the service, is at Council for British Archaeology.
What types of planning proposals are included in the JCNAS casework database?
The database covers planning proposals that the Joint Committee of the National Amenity Societies (JCNAS) has received for comment. In practice, that means proposals with a historic environment dimension — the kind of applications where national amenity societies are consulted because buildings, landscapes or archaeology may be affected. Typical examples include listed building consent applications, works to conservation areas, demolition or alteration affecting heritage assets, and other proposals with potential archaeological or historic landscape implications.
CBA Planning Casework Database is a searchable record of those consultation cases, operated by the Council for British Archaeology for JCNAS. You can use it to see whether a particular proposal was referred to the societies and to understand the heritage issues raised.
What to expect and what not to
- Included: proposals formally sent to JCNAS for comment, with case information and the societies' responses.
- Not included: every planning application in the country. Routine applications with no historic environment interest generally fall outside this system.
- Useful for: checking a specific site or proposal, researching how similar heritage cases were handled, and understanding the amenity societies' reasoning.
A practical next step
If you are checking a live application, search by location or site name first, then cross-check the decision-making authority's own planning register for the full application documents and determination status. The database tells you what the amenity societies saw and said; the local planning authority record tells you what happened next.
How can I submit comments or feedback on a planning proposal listed in the database?
The database is a casework record of planning proposals that the Joint Committee of the National Amenity Societies has received for comment; it is not the consultation portal itself. Comments on a specific application normally have to go to the local planning authority handling that case, usually through the authority's own online planning register during the consultation window. The database helps you find the case and see what the national amenity societies are considering, but it does not replace the statutory route for making a representation.
Practical route for a specific proposal
- Note the application reference, site address and local authority from the case entry.
- Open that authority's planning register and search the reference.
- Submit your comment there, before the published consultation deadline, following the authority's format.
- If you want the national amenity societies to know about a point they may have missed, contact the relevant society directly, quoting the reference. The database's contact link is for queries about the service, not a formal objection channel.
Where the database fits
- Use it to check whether a proposal is already on the JCNAS radar, and which society or committee is involved.
- Use the local register to influence the decision, because only representations made to the authority form part of the formal record.
- If feedback is about the database itself, such as a wrong reference, missing case or access problem, that is a service query rather than a planning comment.
For general planning consultation practice in England, GOV.UK explains how to comment on an application, and the Planning Portal's guidance at Planning Portal covers the same ground. For the wider historic environment context, Historic England publishes advice on responding to proposals affecting heritage assets, and the Council for British Archaeology at Council for British Archaeology explains its own casework role.
Who operates the Historic Environment Casework Database and what is its relationship to JCNAS?
The Historic Environment Casework Database is operated by the Council for British Archaeology (CBA) on behalf of the Joint Committee of the National Amenity Societies (JCNAS). In practice this means the CBA runs the online service, while JCNAS is the body whose casework the database exists to support.
The database holds information about planning proposals that JCNAS has received for comment. So its relationship to JCNAS is both operational and substantive: the CBA provides and maintains the platform, and JCNAS supplies the casework content that the platform records and makes available.
For a user such as a local society volunteer, heritage consultant or member of the public checking whether a particular proposal has been referred to the national amenity societies, the important distinction is this: the site is a route into JCNAS's consultation work, not a general planning portal run by a local authority or by the CBA alone.
If you are trying to locate a specific case, start with the database's "Quick search" rather than browsing. Have the address, application reference or local planning authority name to hand, since those are the details most likely to identify a proposal. If nothing appears, the proposal may not have been sent to JCNAS for comment at all, which is a different situation from the record being missing.
What are the terms and conditions and privacy policy for using this service?
The terms and conditions and privacy policy are the two policy documents that govern use of the Historic Environment Casework Database, the planning casework service run by the Council for British Archaeology on behalf of the Joint Committee of the National Amenity Societies (JCNAS). The site's welcome page points users to both documents and asks that they be referred to when using the service CBA Planning Casework Database.
What each document covers
| Document | What it typically governs | Why it matters to you |
|---|---|---|
| Terms & Conditions | Acceptable use of the database, accounts and login, intellectual property, accuracy of planning casework records, and limits on liability | Sets out what you may do with the casework information and what the operator is responsible for |
| Privacy Policy | What personal data is collected, why, how long it is kept, who it is shared with, and your rights | Relevant if you register, log in, submit comments or contact the service |
How to use them in practice
If you are a planning officer, heritage consultant, amenity society volunteer or member of the public checking how a proposal was commented on, read the terms before relying on the records for formal work. Treat the database as a record of planning proposals received by JCNAS for comment rather than as the definitive planning register; for statutory decisions, confirm against the relevant local planning authority.
If you plan to register or log in, read the privacy policy first so you know how your details will be handled, and check the terms for any rules on reuse of casework content. The welcome page provides a contact route for queries about the service, which is the right channel for questions the policies do not answer.
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