doineedplanning.org — PLAIN (Planning + AI)
Terms of Service
Effective date: 3 March 2026 | Last updated: 3 March 2026
1. About These Terms
These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of the website at https://doineedplanning.org and all services provided through it (the “Service”), operated by Do I Need Planning, trading as PLAIN (“we”, “us”, “our”).
By accessing our website or purchasing any of our services, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use our website or services.
These Terms should be read alongside our Privacy Policy, which explains how we collect and use your personal data.
We may update these Terms from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated “Last updated” date. Continued use of the Service after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms.
2. About Our Service
Do I Need Planning provides an AI-powered planning assessment service (“PLAIN”) designed to help users in England, Wales, and Scotland understand whether their proposed property development may require planning permission, and to assist users in preparing planning objection submissions.
Our services currently include:
- Single Planning Assessment Reports — AI-generated reports providing guidance on whether planning permission may be required for a proposed development.
- Planning Objection Reports — AI-generated reports providing guidance and supporting material for objecting to a planning application.
- Pass Key / Subscription Access — pre-purchased access entitling the holder to one or more reports.
3. Important Disclaimers
Our reports are not professional planning advice.
The reports generated through our Service are produced by artificial intelligence and are intended to provide general informational guidance only. They do not constitute legal advice, professional planning consultancy, formal planning opinions, or any form of regulated professional advice.
Our reports should not be relied upon as a substitute for advice from a qualified planning consultant, architect, solicitor, or your Local Planning Authority (LPA).
While we endeavour to ensure the accuracy and usefulness of our reports, you acknowledge and agree that:
- Planning law and policy are complex, subject to frequent change, and vary by local authority area. Our AI system draws on publicly available planning legislation and policy but may not reflect the most recent amendments, local development plan changes, or site-specific considerations.
- The accuracy of any report depends on the accuracy and completeness of the information you provide, including the property location and project description.
- Our reports cannot account for site-specific factors that may only be identifiable through a physical site visit or local knowledge.
- A report from PLAIN does not replace the need to consult your Local Planning Authority or seek formal pre-application advice where appropriate.
- We do not guarantee that any report will result in a favourable planning outcome, a successful objection, or any particular decision by a Local Planning Authority or Planning Inspector.
4. Eligibility
Our Service is intended for use by individuals aged 18 years or older. By using our Service and making a purchase, you confirm that you are at least 18 years of age and have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement.
5. Using Our Service
5.1 Placing an Order
To obtain a report, you must complete the following steps through our website:
- Select the type of report you require (planning assessment or planning objection).
- Provide the property location by placing a pin on the map provided.
- Enter a description of your proposed development or, for objection reports, the relevant planning application details.
- Optionally upload any supporting documents.
- Complete payment via our secure checkout.
A binding contract between you and us is formed when your payment has been successfully processed and we send you confirmation of your order.
5.2 Your Responsibilities
You are responsible for:
- Ensuring the information you provide (including property location and project description) is accurate and complete.
- Not using our Service for any unlawful or fraudulent purpose.
- Not attempting to reverse-engineer, decompile, or otherwise extract the underlying technology or prompts used by our AI system.
- Not submitting any content that is defamatory, obscene, offensive, or infringes any third-party rights.
- Not reselling, redistributing, or commercially exploiting our reports without our prior written consent.
5.3 Pass Keys & Subscription Access
If you purchase a Pass Key or subscription, the following additional terms apply:
- Each Pass Key entitles you to the number of reports specified at the time of purchase.
- Pass Keys are personal to you and are non-transferable.
- Each Pass Key may only be redeemed once per report (i.e. a single-use Pass Key cannot be re-used for a second report).
- Pass Keys have no expiry date unless otherwise stated at the time of purchase.
6. Pricing & Payment
6.1 Prices
All prices are displayed on our website in pounds sterling (GBP) and are inclusive of VAT where applicable. Current pricing is as follows (subject to change):
|
Product |
Price (inc. VAT) |
|
Single Planning Assessment Report |
£19.99 |
|
Planning Objection Report |
£9.99 |
We reserve the right to change our prices at any time. Price changes will not affect orders that have already been confirmed.
6.2 Payment Processing
Payments are processed securely by Stripe Payments Europe, Ltd. We accept the payment methods displayed at checkout. Your payment information is transmitted directly to Stripe and is not stored on our servers.
By making a payment, you also agree to Stripe’s terms of service.
7. Delivery of Reports
Once your payment has been successfully processed, our system will begin generating your report. Reports are digital products delivered electronically.
You will initially receive a teaser summary. Your full report will be generated and made available to you for download or viewing through the website, and/or sent to you via the email address you provided.
We aim to deliver reports promptly, typically within a few minutes of payment. However, delivery times may vary depending on system demand and the complexity of your request. We are not liable for delays caused by factors outside our reasonable control.
8. Cancellation & Refunds
8.1 Your Right to Cancel (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013)
Under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, if you are a consumer, you ordinarily have the right to cancel a distance contract within 14 days of the date the contract is formed (the “cooling-off period”).
Important: Because our reports are digital content supplied immediately upon payment, you acknowledge and agree that by proceeding with your purchase and receiving your report, you are requesting that performance of the service begins immediately. You thereby consent to the loss of your right to cancel under Regulation 37 of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, once the report has been delivered to you.
This will be made clear to you before you complete your purchase. Your explicit acknowledgement and consent will be obtained at the point of checkout.
8.2 Our Refund Policy
Given the nature of our digital service, refunds are generally not available once a report has been delivered. However, we will consider a refund or re-generation of a report in the following circumstances:
- The report was not delivered to you due to a technical fault on our part.
- The report is substantially incomplete or unintelligible due to a system error.
- Payment was taken but no report was generated.
To request a refund, please contact us at planning@doineedplanning.org within 14 days of your purchase, providing your order details and the reason for your request.
Nothing in these Terms affects your statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
9. Intellectual Property
9.1 Our Intellectual Property
All content on the website — including but not limited to text, graphics, logos, icons, the PLAIN brand, software, and the design and layout of the site — is owned by or licensed to us and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.
You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, or otherwise exploit any content from our website without our prior written permission.
9.2 Your Reports
Upon payment and delivery, you are granted a non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the report generated for you for your own personal, non-commercial purposes (including submitting it to your Local Planning Authority in support of a planning application or objection).
You may not resell, redistribute, or publish the report commercially, nor may you use it for the purpose of training AI models or systems.
9.3 Your Content
You retain ownership of any content you upload or submit to us (such as project descriptions and supporting documents). By submitting content, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive licence to use that content solely for the purpose of generating your report and operating our Service.
10. Limitation of Liability
10.1 Scope of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law:
- Our total aggregate liability to you in respect of any claim arising out of or in connection with the Service shall not exceed the amount you paid to us for the specific report giving rise to the claim.
- We shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to loss of profits, loss of business, loss of opportunity, or any costs arising from reliance on our reports.
- We shall not be liable for any loss or damage arising from the inaccuracy or incompleteness of the information you provide to us.
- We shall not be liable for any planning decision made by any Local Planning Authority, Planning Inspector, or other body, whether or not you relied on our report in connection with that decision.
10.2 Nothing Excluded
Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for:
- Death or personal injury caused by our negligence.
- Fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.
- Any matter for which it would be unlawful for us to exclude or limit liability.
- Your statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
11. Service Availability & Force Majeure
We aim to ensure our website and Service are available at all times but do not guarantee uninterrupted access. The Service may be temporarily unavailable due to maintenance, updates, or circumstances beyond our reasonable control.
We shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performing our obligations where such failure or delay results from circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including but not limited to: natural disasters, pandemic, strikes, power failures, internet service failures, acts of government, or third-party service outages (including AWS, Stripe, or Anthropic).
12. Termination & Suspension
We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time, without prior notice, if we reasonably believe that:
- You have breached any of these Terms.
- Your use of the Service is fraudulent or unlawful.
- It is necessary to protect the security or integrity of the Service.
Any suspension or termination will not affect any rights or obligations that have already accrued (including your right to receive a report already paid for, subject to the above conditions).
13. Third-Party Services
Our Service relies on third-party providers, including Stripe (payment processing), Anthropic (AI report generation), Amazon Web Services (infrastructure), and Google Maps (location services). Your use of our Service may be subject to the terms and privacy policies of these third-party providers. We are not responsible for the acts or omissions of any third-party service provider.
14. Website Use
14.1 Acceptable Use
You agree not to use our website in any way that:
- Is unlawful, fraudulent, or harmful.
- Causes or may cause damage to the website or impairs its availability or accessibility.
- Involves the use of any automated system, bot, scraper, or data-mining tool to access or extract data from the website.
- Attempts to gain unauthorised access to any part of our systems or infrastructure.
- Infringes the intellectual property or other rights of any third party.
14.2 Links to Other Websites
Our website may contain links to third-party websites. These links are provided for your convenience only. We have no control over the content of these websites and accept no responsibility for them or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them.
15. Indemnity
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Do I Need Planning, its officers, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in connection with your breach of these Terms or your misuse of the Service.
16. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution
These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.
Any disputes arising out of or in connection with these Terms or the Service shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
If you are a consumer, this does not affect any mandatory rights you have under the laws of the country in which you are resident.
We will always try to resolve any disputes informally in the first instance. If you have a complaint, please contact us at planning@doineedplanning.org and we will endeavour to address it promptly.
17. Electronic Communications
By using our Service, you consent to receiving electronic communications from us (including order confirmations, reports, and service-related notices). These electronic communications satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.
For the purposes of the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002, our details are set out in Section 19 below.
18. Severability
If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. The invalid or unenforceable provision shall be deemed modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable.
19. Contact Information
If you have any questions about these Terms of Service, please contact us:
Do I Need Planning (PLAIN)
Email: planning@doineedplanning.org
Company Registration Number 17038340
Under the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002, you are required to provide your business name, geographic address, email address, and any relevant registration numbers (Companies House, VAT). Please ensure these details are completed before publishing.