Use it when
A granted project has moved into building-control notice data, especially where a builder, designer or certifier firm is visible.
Planning glossary
Commencement Notice
A commencement notice is the building-control notification made before many works begin. It is one of the clearest public signals that a permission is moving from paperwork toward site activity.
What it means in practice
A commencement notice is the building-control notification made before many works begin. It is one of the clearest public signals that a permission is moving from paperwork toward site activity.
For PlanningBrief readers, the important point is timing: a planning term usually signals who might need to act next, which documents to check, and whether a project is early intelligence, live tender opportunity, appeal risk or near-site-stage context.
Worked example
Example: a granted housing scheme with a later accepted commencement notice is much closer to mobilisation than a fresh planning application. H&S providers, plant hire, scaffolding, materials suppliers and subcontractors treat this as a hotter signal because builder, designer or certifier firms may now be visible.
Timing
Official BCMS guidance describes the normal commencement-notice window as no more than 28 days and no less than 14 days before works or a material change of use begins. Once a notice is accepted, the public record can be read as a near-site-stage signal rather than a long-range planning lead.
Notice types
Common records include notices with compliance documentation, notices without compliance documentation, opt-out notices for certain domestic work, and 7 Day Notices linked to fire-safety-certificate timing. The notice type helps separate small domestic starts from larger commercial, apartment, school or multi-unit projects.
How PlanningBrief uses it
PlanningBrief treats current commencement notices as going-to-site intelligence, but keeps private personal addresses out of public pages. Company builders, designer firms, certifier firms, project description, town/county, dates and planning references are the useful public-facing fields.
What not to assume
A commencement notice does not guarantee the whole parent permission is starting at once. Larger schemes may file phase notices, and a notice can cover a smaller package within a wider development. Check the planning reference, description, units and builder before acting.
How to interpret it
Do not overread
A notice may cover a phase or smaller package, not the whole parent permission.
Best next check
Open Going to Site and compare the notice description, planning ref, builder and town/county with the planning lead.
What to check in a record
- commencement date
- notice type
- planning permission reference
- builder firm
- designer or certifier firm
- phase wording
- town and county
- privacy suppression of private owner details
Where to go next
- Going to Site
- Commencement guide
- Submit a Statutory Notice to Build
- Residential commencement methodology
PlanningBrief explains the public data; always verify legal, planning and building-control duties with the official source or a qualified professional.