Procedure Clerk
The search form
The search form provides filters to narrow results:
| Filter | What it does |
|---|---|
| Date From / Date To | Limit to items from a specific date range |
| Limit to Committee(s) | Tick one or more committees to limit results |
| Limit to Cycle | Limit to a specific council cycle |
| Search In | All Fields, Title, Agenda text, or Minutes text |
| Scope of Search | Omit Boilerplate (default) or All Fields |
| Results Format | Concise, Expanded, or Full |
| Sort By Date | Matches, Date Ascending, or Date Descending |
| Include non-active agendas | Includes older non-live agenda versions |
| Include unpublished agendas | Includes agendas not yet published |
What you can type
Search understands two things: plain words, and exact phrases in quotation marks.
| What you type | What it does |
|---|---|
planning permission |
Finds items containing both words, in any order |
"planning permission" |
Finds items containing that exact phrase |
There are no other operators — NOT, OR, * and ~ are treated
as ordinary words rather than special syntax.
Matching is flexible
Partial words match automatically. Searching for the start of a
word also finds longer words that begin with it — plan finds
planning, plans, and planned. You do not need a wildcard character.
Minor misspellings still match. Search is typo-tolerant, so a small spelling slip usually still finds the right items.
Search is not case-sensitive. Planning and planning return
the same results.
Tips for effective searching
Start broad, then filter. Enter a simple search term first, then use the committee or date filters to narrow down.
Use quotation marks for references. Planning application
references, minute numbers, and project names are best searched
as exact phrases — for example "2023-137" rather than 2023 137.
Use the Cycle filter to focus on the current council term and avoid returning historical records.
Tags are searchable. If planning applications are tagged with their reference numbers, searching for the reference will find tagged items even if the reference does not appear in the item text itself.
If you get no results, try widening the date range, removing a committee filter, or searching for fewer or shorter words.
Last updated: 31 August 2026
See also
- How search works Concept
Need more help? Contact us
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