Excavation & Groundworks Leads for UK Contractors

Set your postcode and a radius, and BuildAlert shows you every relevant planning application submitted within that area, from house extensions and new builds to drainage, site clearance and basement work.

Because applications are tracked at the planning stage, you're not waiting for a builder to pass work down or hoping the phone rings - you can build a pipeline of local jobs weeks in advance and use it to fill gaps in your schedule and keep machines and crews busy.

Not at all. Planning applications for house extensions, new builds and self-build projects are typically submitted weeks or months before any contractor is appointed, and many homeowners haven't spoken to a builder yet, let alone a groundworks subcontractor.

Introducing your business at this stage - before the main contractor has lined up their own team, and before the homeowner has requested multiple quotations - is where BuildAlert gives you a genuine head start over companies waiting for a referral.

Yes. Many residential planning applications - especially house extensions, new builds and outbuildings - require new drainage runs, soakaways or utility connections, and this is often visible in the planning description or supporting documents.

You can filter for drainage-related keywords so you're only shown applications likely to need this work, letting you approach homeowners or main contractors before a groundworks package has been agreed.

You can find foundations for house extensions and new builds, site clearance and demolition prep, drainage and soakaway installations, utility trenching, dropped kerb and driveway excavation, and basement or structural excavation.

Built-in filters cover the most common project types, while custom keyword searches let you target more specific work such as underpinning, retaining walls, land drains and temporary works.

BuildAlert imports planning application data from every UK local authority, with no filtering by sector or project size - so alongside residential extensions, new builds and self-builds, you'll also see commercial, agricultural, mixed-use and larger development applications with groundworks requirements as they're submitted.

The one gap is major infrastructure work that doesn't go through the standard planning system - things like nationally significant road or utility schemes consented under separate regimes. If a project has a live planning application, though, it's in the data regardless of size or sector.

Where available, each planning application includes an estimated project value alongside the drawings and project description, giving you a sense of the job's scale before you decide whether it's worth pursuing.

This helps you prioritise larger extensions, new builds and basement conversions over smaller jobs that may not suit your business, and avoid spending time quoting for work that falls outside the scope you take on.

Not every planning application spells out 'groundworks' or 'drainage' directly, so BuildAlert flags applications by project type and keyword - house extensions and new builds almost always need foundations and drainage, while basement and structural applications point to excavation and underpinning.

Combined with the planning drawings, site plans and project description available on each application, you can quickly confirm the actual scope of groundworks involved before deciding whether to make contact.

Yes. Where available, you can view planning drawings, site plans and supporting documents before deciding whether to make contact.

This helps you gauge the scale of the excavation or drainage work involved and qualify opportunities before spending money on marketing.

Planning applications are public information, so other companies could identify the same projects.

Unlike shared lead generation websites, BuildAlert doesn't sell the same enquiry to multiple contractors. You decide which homeowners or builders to contact and when.

Browsing and searching planning applications is completely free, with no subscriptions, monthly fees or long-term contracts.

You only pay £2.00 per letter when you choose to contact an applicant, which includes printing, your branding and first-class postage.

Yes. BuildAlert is used by excavation specialists, groundworkers, drainage contractors, foundation specialists, plant hire companies and site clearance businesses who regularly quote for, or supply machinery to, foundations, drainage and site clearance work.

If you win work from planning applications rather than waiting for builders to pass jobs down, BuildAlert helps you find new opportunities in your area before most competitors know they exist.

New planning applications are imported every day from local authorities across the UK, so you're not relying on data that's weeks or months old.

Most groundworks-relevant applications - extensions, new builds, drainage and site clearance - appear on BuildAlert within 24-48 hours of being published by the local authority, giving you a genuine first-mover advantage.