Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using PlanningCore (the "Service"), operated by PlanningCore ("we", "us", or "our"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use the Service.

These Terms apply to all visitors, users, and others who access or use the Service, whether through a free or paid account.

2. About the Service

PlanningCore is a planning intelligence platform that provides tools, data analysis, and information relating to the United Kingdom planning system. The Service includes but is not limited to:

• Planning constraint checking and site analysis
• Local planning authority (LPA) statistics and approval rates
• AI-assisted planning document generation
• Planning application search and comparison
• Risk scoring and feasibility assessment tools
• A marketplace connecting users with planning professionals

3. Account Terms

To access certain features of the Service, you must create an account. When you do so, you agree that:

• You are at least 18 years of age or the age of legal majority in your jurisdiction.
• The information you provide during registration is accurate, complete, and current.
• You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account and password.
• You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account.
• You will notify us immediately of any unauthorised use of your account.
• You may not use another person's account without their permission.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or that have been inactive for an extended period.

4. Acceptable Use

You agree not to use the Service to:

• Violate any applicable law or regulation.
• Infringe the intellectual property rights of others.
• Transmit any malicious code, viruses, or harmful data.
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Service or its related systems.
• Scrape, crawl, or use automated tools to extract data from the Service without our written consent.
• Resell, redistribute, or sublicense the Service or its outputs without our written consent.
• Interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the Service.
• Impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity.
• Use AI-generated documents from the Service in a manner that misrepresents them as having been prepared by a qualified professional, unless reviewed and approved by such a professional.

5. Planning Advice Disclaimer

The Service is an information and intelligence tool. It is not a substitute for professional planning advice, and does not constitute planning consultancy, legal advice, or any form of regulated professional service.

While we endeavour to provide accurate and useful planning intelligence, planning decisions are made by local planning authorities based on a wide range of material considerations. The information, risk scores, and assessments provided by PlanningCore are indicative only and should not be relied upon as a guarantee of any particular outcome.

We strongly recommend that you:

• Seek advice from a qualified planning consultant or chartered town planner for significant or complex projects.
• Contact your local planning authority directly for pre-application advice where appropriate.
• Independently verify any information provided by the Service before making decisions.
• Engage a qualified architect, surveyor, or other professional for design and technical matters.

PlanningCore accepts no liability for planning decisions made in reliance on information provided by the Service.

6. Data Accuracy

The Service aggregates data from publicly available sources including, but not limited to, GOV.UK, planning.data.gov.uk, Land Registry, Environment Agency, Historic England, and Natural England.

While we take reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy and currency of data presented through the Service:

• We do not guarantee that data is complete, accurate, or up to date at all times.
• Source data may contain errors or be subject to processing delays by the originating authority.
• Constraint boundaries and planning designations may change without notice from the relevant authority.
• Approval rates and statistics are based on historical data and are not predictive guarantees.

Users should always verify critical information with the relevant local planning authority or authoritative source before relying on it.

7. Intellectual Property

The Service, including its design, software, algorithms, branding, and original content, is the intellectual property of PlanningCore and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws of England and Wales.

Public sector data used within the Service is sourced under the Open Government Licence v3.0 and remains the property of the respective Crown or public body.

You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or lease any part of the Service, nor reverse engineer or attempt to extract the source code of any software forming part of the Service, except as permitted by law.

8. User Content

You retain ownership of any content you upload, create, or input into the Service ("User Content"), including project data, documents, and notes.

By using the Service, you grant us a limited licence to process, store, and display your User Content solely for the purpose of providing the Service to you. We will not share your User Content with third parties except as described in our Privacy Policy.

Documents generated by the Service's AI tools are provided for your use, but you are responsible for reviewing and verifying their accuracy and suitability before submission to any authority.

9. Subscriptions and Payment

Certain features of the Service require a paid subscription. By subscribing, you agree that:

• Subscription fees are charged in advance on a recurring basis (monthly or annually, as selected).
• All fees are quoted in pounds sterling (GBP) and are inclusive of VAT where applicable.
• You authorise us to charge your chosen payment method for recurring subscription fees.
• Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled before the renewal date.
• Refunds are available within 14 days of initial purchase if you have not materially used the Service during that period, in accordance with the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013.
• We reserve the right to change subscription fees with 30 days' notice. Existing subscribers will be notified by email before any price change takes effect.

Free accounts provide access to a limited set of features as described on our pricing page. We reserve the right to modify the features available on free accounts at any time.

10. Termination

You may close your account at any time by contacting us at support@planningcore.uk.

We may suspend or terminate your account immediately, without prior notice or liability, if:

• You breach any provision of these Terms.
• We are required to do so by law.
• We reasonably believe your account has been compromised.
• Your use of the Service poses a risk to the Service or other users.

Upon termination, your right to use the Service ceases immediately. We will retain your data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and may delete it after a reasonable retention period unless required by law to retain it.

11. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law:

• The Service is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied.
• We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free.
• Our total aggregate liability to you for any claims arising from or relating to the Service shall not exceed the amount you paid us in the 12 months preceding the claim.
• We shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including loss of profits, data, or business opportunities.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited by English law.

12. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless PlanningCore, its directors, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your use of the Service, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any rights of a third party.

13. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. If we make material changes, we will notify you by email or by posting a prominent notice on the Service at least 30 days before the changes take effect.

Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms.

14. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes arising from or in connection with these Terms or the Service shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

15. Contact

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us:

• Email: support@planningcore.uk
• Contact form: planningcore.uk/contact