When using the search facility for either planning or building control and you know the full reference number, simply enter that reference number in the correct field and click on the search button.
If you are unsure or don't know the reference number the search facility has the ability to allow you to use a 'wild card' system where you can enter part of the information and start and finish this information with the % sign.
For example, if the application you are looking for is on Double Street, you would enter the following in the address box:
%Double Street%
Note that the search criteria starts and ends with a % sign.
This search method can be applied to any of the search boxes.
Understanding our numbering system.
To get the best out of the search facility it would be of benefit to you to understand how we generate our reference numbers.
Our reference numbers are made up of three parts:
The area the application is in (by parish).
The order in which we receive applications.
The year in which we received it.
The area an application is in. We use a numerical reference system in which our parishes within the district are numbered 'alpha-numerically'.
We have a total of 23 parishes in our district, beginning alphabetically with Cowbit. Thus Cowbit has a prefix of '01'. All our planning applications begin with the letter H and all our building regulation applications begin with a 'B'.
Thus all applications received in Cowbit will begin with either H01, if it is planning or B01 if it is buildings regs.
This continues through all our parishes, so Crowland is H02, Deeping St. Nicholas is H03, Donington is H04, Fleet is H05 and so.
Full list of Parish codes (PDF , 2KB).
The order in which we received them.
This is much simpler, the first application we receive for the year (say on 1st Jan) will be given a number of 0001, the second application 0002 and so on.
The year which we received them.
The final part of the reference number is made up of the year, all application reference numbers will end in the two digit year, so all applications received in 2008 will end in 08.
Putting all this together we can tell that H01/0034/08 is the 34th application we received in 2008 and the application is for a proposal in Cowbit.
Using our referencing system and the above mentioned 'wild card' search system you can find any application you want without knowing the full reference.
For example, lets say I live in Spalding and my neighbour has submitted an application last week and I want to know what it is for....
If I were to enter %H16%/%/08% into the reference field I would be asking the computer to display all applications in Spalding (the H16 part) submitted in 2008 (the 08 part at the end). From the list I should be able to find the application I am looking for.
The basic rule is that you use the % sign to replace any information you do not know.
If you require more information on how to use the search facility, please contact us on 01775 761161 and ask for the Planning Support Officer.
