Frequently asked questions

A twenty-minute call or video walk-through. You tell us the address and what you want to build; we tell you the likely planning route, the main obstacles, a realistic timescale and a fee. There is no charge and no obligation.

No. You get a written fixed fee with a defined scope and programme, normally within 24 hours of the consultation.

We can usually survey within three to five working days of instruction, and drawings follow within 24 to 72 hours of that.

For a simple loft in a straightforward location, drawings alone may be enough. Where there is a conservation area, an Article 4 direction, a listed building, a neighbour dispute or a design that pushes the limits, the design judgement and the ability to negotiate with a case officer are what secure the approval.

From the completed measured survey, on working days. A loft or single-storey extension is typically 24 to 48 hours. Wrap-arounds, two-storey work, flat conversions and commercial layouts take up to 72 hours. Large residential and high-rise schemes are programmed separately and we give you a firm date at the fee stage.

Existing and proposed floor plans, elevations and sections, plus a location plan and site plan on an Ordnance Survey base at the scales your council requires. Two rounds of revisions are included.

Yes. Plenty of clients take the drawing package and handle the submission themselves. We will still tell you what the borough will expect.

PDF as standard, at the correct scale for printing. CAD files can be provided on request for your structural engineer or contractor.

It depends on the work, the property type and the location. Many extensions and lofts on houses fall under permitted development. Flats never do. Listed buildings, conservation areas and Article 4 streets always need an application. We check your specific address before advising.

Councils target eight weeks for householder and minor applications from validation, and thirteen weeks for majors. Prior approval runs to 42 or 56 days. Busy London boroughs often exceed these, and we chase the case officer throughout.

We will give you an honest view at the consultation. Where we do not think a scheme will succeed as described, we say so and propose what will.

We review the officer's reasons and either revise and resubmit — usually free of a second application fee within twelve months — or appeal to the Planning Inspectorate where the refusal is unreasonable.

Yes. We submit the application, respond to the case officer, handle objections and negotiate amendments. You do not need to speak to the council at all.

Householder work is quoted as a fixed fee, stage by stage, so you know the number before you commit and can stop after planning if you want to. Development, commercial and high-rise work is quoted either as a fixed fee against a defined scope or as a percentage of construction cost.

The council's application fee, building control fees, structural engineering, specialist surveys and reports, party wall surveyor fees and any Community Infrastructure Levy. All are listed with estimates in the fee proposal.

No, and this catches people out. Planning controls what a building looks like and how it affects its surroundings. Building regulations control how it is constructed — structure, fire, insulation, ventilation, drainage and access. Most projects need both, and they are separate applications to separate bodies.

If you are building on or near a shared boundary, or cutting into a party wall, then yes — the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 requires notice to your neighbours, usually two months before work starts. We provide the drawings; the award itself comes from a party wall surveyor.

We can introduce contractors we have worked with, and we produce a package detailed enough for several builders to price on the same basis so you can compare like for like.

Every local authority in England and Scotland. Our largest volumes are in London and the South East, the Midlands, the North West, Yorkshire and Scotland's central belt.

Yes. Any alteration to a listed building needs listed building consent, including internal work, and carrying it out without consent is a criminal offence. These projects need a heritage statement and a design that works with the building's significance.

Yes, including schemes that have been refused. We will review what exists, tell you honestly whether it can be rescued, and price the work from there.

Yes, on request. We inspect at key stages, answer contractor queries, value the work for payment and certify practical completion.