Architectural drawings in Brentwood

Which design guidance applies

The development plan is the Brentwood Local Plan 2016-2033, adopted in 2,022. The council's planning guidance page lists no householder extensions or roof SPD, and instead points to the Essex Design Guide.

The only supplementary document on the council's list is the Brentwood Town Centre Design Guide SPD, which applies in the town centre, so most homes are judged on the local plan and the Essex guide.

That puts more weight on precedent, so we study recent decisions for similar houses in your area and attach the relevant ones to the design note.

The Essex Design Guide is a general document, so it needs interpreting for each house. We set out on the design note how the proposal responds to it, in plain terms the officer can tick off.

Heritage in Brentwood

Brentwood has 13 conservation areas. Historic England lists 526 buildings: 12 at Grade I, 28 at Grade II* and 482 at Grade II. A further 5 entries appear on the at-risk register.

A listed house needs listed building consent for most changes. If yours is on the list, tell us at the first call and we will explain the route.

Housing, ownership and values

The borough has 32,342 households. 77.2 per cent live in a house or bungalow and 71.9 per cent own their home.

The average price across all property types was £514,480, and a terraced house averaged £430,877. With most households owning their home, rear extensions, garage conversions and annexes are common requests.

Annexes and garden buildings need a clear statement of how they relate to the main house, and we draw that relationship out in plan.

On a larger plot the first question is rarely space. It is how much the council will accept against the original house, and that is what the design options test.

How Brentwood decides householder cases

The council decided 429 householder applications in the latest twelve months and granted 85.5 per cent. About 89.3 per cent were decided within eight weeks or an agreed extension.

For larger home extensions under prior approval the council granted 3 and refused 4, small numbers that show the route is rarely used.

These are the council's past figures, not a forecast for your plot.

Levy in Brentwood

The council's Brentwood CIL Charging Schedule sets £262.47/m² (all other areas); £157.48/m² (R03 Land North of Shenfield); £26.25/m² (R02 Land at West Horndon Industrial Estate); £0 (R01 Dunton Hills Garden Village); older people's housing £230.97/m². The rate depends on where the site is, so we confirm the charging area in the first conversation.

Brentwood is outside London, so the Mayor of London's levy does not apply.

Levy is usually a question for new homes and larger schemes rather than a small rear extension. We still note any liability in the next-steps pack, so a surprise does not arrive after the design is fixed.

Architectural drawings and other services in Brentwood

Typical starting points are planning drawings in Brentwood, house extension drawings in Brentwood and garage conversion plans in Brentwood. New homes on larger plots are covered by new build drawings in Brentwood.

For the surrounding area, see our pages for Epping Forest, Havering and Thurrock.

How a Brentwood job runs

A free address check, a fixed quote, a measured survey and a Revit model, then options. A second chartered technologist reviews each sheet before submission. We redraw for council comments at no further cost until approval.