FAQs

One of the first things we do in the early stages a project also perform a full check of your project against local and national planning permission advice and rules to determine the type of planning application required. This can include:

• Outline Planning Permission (for new build architectural drawings)
• Detailed Planning Permission (for new build architectural drawings)
• Planning Permission
• Certificate of Lawful Development within the rules of Permitted Development: read our Guide to Permitted Development

Based on the planning permission advice we receive, we will prepare architectural drawings and designs and submit them to the council on your behalf as part of a planning application.

Find out more about our Concept Design & Planning packages.

Yes. If you already have planning drawings, we can still help with the Building Control and/or Structural Design stage.

If you already have Building Control drawings, we can still help with the Structural Design stage.

Read more about working with us.

We offer unlimited amendments for all our packages.

If you, the council, or your builder request any changes to the planning drawings, building control drawings or the structural design, we’ll update everything free of charge.

If a substantial change or redesign is required, there may be a small additional charge.

Read more about our services.

Most new builds or changes to existing buildings require a planning application. Your local council is responsible for granting or rejecting planning applications.

We will perform a full check of your project against local and national planning permission advice and rules to determine the type of application required, which can include:

• Outline planning permission (for new build architectural drawings).
• Detailed planning permission (for new build architectural drawings).
• Planning permission.
• Certificate of Lawful Development within the rules of permitted development: read our guide on Permitted Development.

Based on the planning permission advice, we will prepare the relevant application within 2-3 weeks. It will usually include drawings and a description of the project.

We will then formally submit the application to your local council on your behalf.

The council will review the project and may consult with your neighbours to determine the impact on them.

They will make a decision as to whether the project can go ahead or not. This usually takes between 6-8 weeks.

Find out more about our planning permission design and drawing services.

Please note that the council's Planning and Building Control application fees are not included in our price.

You can complete certain types of projects without applying for planning permission: these are called permitted development rights.

We will perform a full check of your project against local and national planning permission advice and rules. This will determine if a Certificate of Lawful Development within the rules of permitted development is required.

Read our guide on permitted development.

A party wall notice is a written notification that is served to a building owner or occupier who is planning to carry out construction work that may affect a shared wall, boundary, or structure between two or more properties.

The purpose of the notice is to inform the adjoining owners or occupiers about the proposed work and to seek their consent or agreement to proceed.

Party wall notices are required under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, which is a law that regulates construction work on or near shared boundaries. The Act sets out specific procedures and requirements for serving party wall notices, including the form and content of the notice, the minimum notice period, and the method of service.

We can provide planning permission advice and help by preparing the initial party wall notice to be sent to your neighbour/s to request consent.

However, it may be necessary to appoint a party wall surveyor if your neighbour refuses to give consent without a formal agreement.

Permitted development refers to changes that can be made to a property without the need for planning permission. These changes are considered to have minimal impact on the surrounding area and include things like small extensions, loft conversions, and certain types of alterations to the exterior of a building.

However, there are still some limits and conditions that apply to permitted development, so it's important to check whether your proposed changes fall within these limits.

Planning permission, on the other hand, is a formal application that property owners must make to their local council in order to obtain permission for changes that fall outside of the scope of permitted development.

Planning permission is required for larger extensions, major alterations to the exterior of a building, and new buildings or structures on a property. Planning permission may also be required if permitted development rights have been removed due to the property being in a Conservation Area, for example.

Based on the planning permission advice we receive, we will prepare architectural drawings and designs and submit them to the council on your behalf as part of a planning application.

Find out more about our Concept Design & Planning packages.

Our Concept Design and Planning packages provide professional, affordable architectural drawings for the initial stages of your building project.

Find out more about our Concept Design & Planning packages.

We usually recommend waiting until you have been granted planning permission before moving onto the next stage, building control.

If the project falls within permitted development rights, and planning isn’t required, or if your project is fairly simple and therefore planning permission is more likely to be granted, you may choose to continue onto the building control stage before the council issue their decision.

We can never guarantee that planning permission will be granted.

If you’ve had planning is refused, we can review the reasons why and help by preparing a new design that suits the council’s comments.

If we think it may be difficult to achieve planning permission for a project, we’ll discuss this with you before submitting an application.

An OS map, also known as an Ordnance Survey map, is a detailed topographic map produced by the Ordnance Survey, which is the national mapping agency for Great Britain, and provides detailed information about the landscape and environment of a specific area.

Local authorities often require the submission of an OS map as part of a planning application. The map must be to scale and clearly show the proposed development site and surrounding area, as well as any relevant features or boundaries.