Planning Intelligence How to turn a lead into a phone call
Planning registers publish names and addresses, but almost never a phone number or an email address. Here is how to bridge that gap. How long it takes depends on the country and on how common the name is - we are measuring that properly rather than guessing at it.
The registers that apply here
Flanders names a party on 23% of permits — and every single one of those carries a KBO company number. That number resolves to exactly one company in the national register, so where a name exists it is a lookup rather than a search. Every permit also links to its own file on the Omgevingsloket.
- Orde van Architecten (Vlaamse Raad) — the practice a registered Flemish architect belongs to, searchable by name
- KBO / BCE — the registered address, activity and directors of a company, from its number
- Omgevingsloket — Inzageloket — the public file for a permit, on the map, without an eID login
The register here records that a designer was required, never their name — so the steps in this section help only when you already know who designed the works. The applicant route further down is the one that works in Flanders.
Or go to the developer
For things bought in bulk - kitchens, tiling, pools, finishes - the developer usually decides.
- Look them up in the company register. Every country here has a free public company register. It confirms you have the right company and gives the registered address and directors. The one for this country is linked above.
- Search for their website - company name plus country.
- Try the phone directory. A national business directory is still the most reliable source of a switchboard number when a practice has no website.
- Ask for the named person. Where we show an "ask for" name, that person is named on the application itself, so you skip reception entirely.
Go and look at the site
Planning rules require a notice displayed at the development, and it carries the architect's details. For a local supplier, driving past a shortlisted site is often the fastest route to a name and number - and it tells you whether work has actually started.
Call at the right time
This matters as much as the lead itself. Ringing about air conditioning the week a permit is granted wastes everyone's time - the building does not exist yet.
| Trade | Call this long after approval |
|---|---|
| Excavation & demolition | 0-6 months |
| Concrete & structural | 2-12 months |
| Stone & restoration | 4-14 months |
| Aluminium & glazing | 9-18 months |
| HVAC & ventilation | 12-24 months |
| Lifts & escalators | 10-22 months |
| Solar & renewables | 12-26 months |
| Pools & wellness | 14-26 months |
| Kitchens & joinery | 18-30 months |
| Landscaping & soft works | 20-32 months |
| Electrical | 10-22 months |
| Plumbing & drainage | 8-20 months |
Every lead on this site shows its own call window.
What to say
You know the case reference, exactly what is being built, where, and whether it was approved. Use it.
An invented example — replace the reference and the project with those from your own lead:
"I saw 2025000000 was approved - the 161-key hotel. We supply HVAC and wanted to introduce ourselves before the services package goes out."
That is not a cold call.
A few rules
- Contacting a company or a professional about their work is normal business practice.
- We never publish private individuals. Where a homeowner applied, their details are not stored at all - so the temptation does not arise. See Privacy.
- If someone asks not to be contacted again, stop immediately and permanently.
- Never suggest you are connected to a planning authority. You are not, and neither are we.
In Flanders you can subscribe to: public works, commercial permits. Everything else on this site is free to browse.
Those permits open in full: what is being built, where, and the business contact where we hold one.
Try 7 days free Flanders · public works · 7 days free, no card, then €45 excl. VAT/month (e.g. €54.45 incl. VAT in Belgium; Stripe shows your exact VAT before payment) Try 7 days free Flanders · commercial permits · 7 days free, no card, then €35 excl. VAT/month (e.g. €42.35 incl. VAT in Belgium; Stripe shows your exact VAT before payment)