Commencement Notice
A statutory building-control notice served before works begin - the clearest public signal a permission is going to site.
Under the Building Control Regulations, a commencement notice must be served on the local building control authority not more than 28 days and not less than 14 days before works (or a material change of use) begin. It is lodged through the national Building Control Management System (BCMS) and is a public record.
It is the strongest 'about to break ground' buying signal there is. By the time a commencement notice is filed the developer is committing money and lining up contractors and suppliers - so it's the earliest reliable moment to pitch, and it usually names the builder.
PlanningLeads ingests BCMS commencement notices and flags those leads as on-site / commencing, frequently with the builder named - the backbone of the timing intelligence feeds.
See it in live data
As analysed in the Briefs
- Solar under the microscope: what the public record shows as the CCPC investigates bid-riggingOn 25 September 2026 the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission searched businesses in the solar panel industry over suspected bid-rigging. No business has been named, and a search is not a finding of wrongdoing. What the public record does show is the market being investigated: 56 solar tender notices from 37 public buyers since 2020, and 2,100 planning applications naming solar work in the last twelve months alone.Read the brief
- Intel's €5bn Leixlip investment: what the planning record actually showsThe €5bn programme was announced on 13 July. The paper trail at Kildare County Council started three and a half months earlier - and the single application on file tells you exactly what kind of investment this is.Read the brief
- Ground first, green last: Ireland's landscaping and groundworks pipeline, as told by the planning registerEvery build starts with a digger and ends with a planting plan. In the twelve months to September 2026 the planning register named landscaping on 5,057 applications and groundworks on 2,174, council by council and month by month, long before anyone was on site.Read the brief
Common questions
Between 14 and 28 days before works begin - so it's a near-real-time signal that a site is about to start.
In almost all cases the works it covers need a valid permission (or to be exempted development). It marks the move from paperwork to site activity.
Yes - it's recorded on the Building Control Management System (BCMS) register.
Built for trades, suppliers & installers: Win the work in your county before your competitors hear about it.
This is a plain-English summary, not legal advice. Planning rules carry conditions and exceptions - always verify a specific case against the official source or a planning professional before acting.