Real places. Reliable sources. Straight answers.

How we turn records into useful information

1. Start with the source. We favour councils, official registers, public authorities and other attributable primary records over rumours or unattributed summaries.
2. Keep the date and reference. A planning application, licence, inspection or event listing may change. Publication dates, reporting periods and identifiers matter.
3. Check what the record actually means. A proposal is not an approval; approval is not completion; a historical entry is not necessarily current; an estimate is not a verified address.
4. Explain it for people. We aim to answer practical questions and provide a path back to the original evidence, not just show tables or automated scores.
5. Correct mistakes openly. Where evidence is incomplete or conflicting, we say so and invite dated, source-backed corrections.

One approach across eight local topics

HMO Decoded: Housing in multiple occupation, licensing, planning and historical records. We distinguish council-wide estimates, individual licences and unverified claims.

Planning Decoded: Applications, consultations, decisions and conditions. An application is not evidence that building work has happened.

New Builds Decoded: Proposed and delivered developments, with care around changing timescales and advertised completion dates.

Schools Decoded: School information, admissions, inspections and capacity. We do not infer guaranteed catchments, placements or live vacancies.

Roads Decoded: Roadworks, traffic changes and transport notices, with clear distinctions between scheduled and active disruption.

Council Decoded: Local authority services, consultations, decisions and published spending, presented with their context.

Trades People Decoded: Local service information, where claims, qualifications and endorsements must be independently checked.

Events Decoded: Community events and announcements, with organiser attribution and dates; listings can change or be cancelled.

These are the areas we are developing, not a claim that all eight are fully operational today. Coverage and available tools differ by section.

What our labels mean

Official record: Information attributable to a named public authority or primary source, with a relevant date.

Proposed or pending: Something submitted, planned or consulted on, not necessarily approved or delivered.

Historical: A record that was accurate to a stated snapshot, not a guarantee of present status.

Unverified: A tip, advert or claim that needs corroboration before being presented as established fact.

Unavailable: We have not obtained sufficient evidence. Missing data is not proof that nothing exists.

Addresses, maps and matching records

One place can appear under different address spellings, postcodes, plot numbers or references. We try to reconcile records without silently merging different properties or assuming that a planning address proves a particular use. Approximate map markers are not property-level confirmation. We link back to the original authority wherever possible.

Privacy and responsible publication

Public information can still affect real people. We avoid exposing private resident profiles, sensitive personal details or unverified allegations. Some housing information has additional access restrictions. Please do not submit children's records, medical information or private details about neighbours through general research forms.

Corrections, independence and limitations

We are not a council, school admissions authority, planning authority or regulator. Our information helps you investigate; it does not replace the latest official decision, policy or professional advice. Sources can be delayed, incomplete or amended. To suggest a correction, provide the public source, reference, date and a short explanation, without unnecessary personal information.