Blog
Each post answers one question a London homeowner or landlord asks before they commission drawings: what it costs, what the council charges, and what happens next. The figures come with their sources.
Fixed fees from £45, no VAT to add
Surveys and design
A 3D visual shows a design the way you will see it, not the way a plan does. Here is what one costs per view, what it can and cannot do for a planning application, and what sets the price.
From £2393 minute read
Planning
The Community Infrastructure Levy is a charge on new building, and a missed form can turn an exemption into a bill. Here is what our forms cost, who pays the levy, and the step that catches people out.
From £493 minute read
Planning
Every planning application needs a location plan and most need a block plan. Here is what they cost on their own, why they are free inside a package, and the red-line mistakes that make an application invalid.
From £423 minute read
Planning
A householder planning application has two costs: the council's application fee and the drawings. Here is what each one is, which extras can apply in London, and what you can leave out.
From £7294 minute read
Planning
Bats and their roosts are protected by law, and a loft conversion or roof job can disturb them. Here is what a preliminary assessment costs, when more surveys follow, and the season that matters.
From £4953 minute read
Planning
A daylight and sunlight report measures the light your neighbours' windows lose to your building. Many householder jobs never need one. Here is what it costs and how to tell if yours does.
From £8953 minute read
Planning
A design and access statement is required for some schemes and not others. Here is what it costs, when the law asks for one, and what it must say.
From £2393 minute read
Planning
If your London plot is in a flood zone, the council may refuse an application without a flood risk assessment. Here is what a small one costs, when it is needed, and what the Environment Agency's standing advice already covers.
From £3793 minute read
Planning
If your London house is in a conservation area, the council expects a short, proportionate written assessment of what is special about the place. Here is what it costs and what it has to say.
From £5793 minute read
Planning
A lawful development certificate is written proof from the council that your project is lawful. Here is what it costs, what the council charges, and when it is worth having.
From £6293 minute read
Planning
Once a scheme is approved, a change can be small enough for a quick non-material amendment or big enough to need a variation. Here is what each costs and how to tell which you need.
From £2893 minute read
Planning
There is no fee to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate, so the cost of a householder appeal is the preparation. Here is what we charge, how long it takes, and how often appeals succeed.
From £4393 minute read
Planning
The least expensive thing we sell is also the one that stops the most expensive mistakes. Here is what a constraints report costs, what it checks, and how it changes what you build.
From £193 minute read
Planning
Building first and applying afterwards is allowed in law. Here is what it costs, how long the council has to act, and what happens if it says no.
From £6793 minute read
Planning
A tree next to your extension, or one protected by an order, can stop a scheme. Here is what a survey costs, when a council asks for one, and the legal position on protected trees.
From £4453 minute read
Planning
A change of use has two costs: the drawings and the council's fee. Which application you need depends on what the building is now and what it will become. Here is how to tell, and what each route costs.
From £8793 minute read
Planning
Your permission may carry conditions that must be cleared before work starts. Here is what clearing them costs, what the council charges, and the risk of building without doing it.
From £3393 minute read
Planning
Prior approval lets a single-storey rear extension go deeper than normal permitted development, if the neighbours do not object. Here is what the notification costs and how the council's clock works.
From £5793 minute read
Building regulations
Building regulations drawings are one fixed fee, and the building control charge is a second bill paid to the council or a private inspector. Here is how both work, with a real London figure.
From £7294 minute read
Building regulations
Construction drawings are the set a builder prices and builds from, one step past the planning set. Here is what they cost, what they add, and how they protect a London project from quote creep.
From £9693 minute read
Building regulations
Many extensions pass the energy rules with no calculation at all. When one is needed, it costs less than most people expect. Here is how to tell if your project needs it, and what we charge.
From £2253 minute read
Building regulations
Any time a wall is opened up or a floor is added, someone has to prove the steel is big enough. Here is what calculations cost, what they cover and when building control asks for them.
From £3853 minute read
Building regulations
A fire strategy plan shows how people get out of a building and how fire is held back while they do. Here is what it costs, when building control asks for it, and which law it answers to.
From £4293 minute read
Building regulations
Two bills make up the cost: the council's regularisation charge and the survey and drawings that support it. Here is how each is worked out, with real council figures.
From £8294 minute read
Surveys and design
A floor plan is one of the lower-priced drawings we do and the one most other documents lean on. Here is what it costs, who asks for one, and the size rules a good plan has to prove.
From £2753 minute read
Surveys and design
A single new home on a London plot has a design cost, a planning fee, a levy and a building control charge. Here is each one, with the figures the councils publish.
From £1,4093 minute read
Surveys and design
A feasibility study answers what a property can become before you pay for full drawings. Here is what it costs, the planning tests behind the options, and when it pays for itself.
From £4793 minute read
Surveys and design
A measured survey is the base every set of drawings is built on. Here is what it costs on its own, what it measures, and why it is already inside the price of our other drawing services.
From £2004 minute read
Surveys and design
Old paper plans and scanned PDFs cannot be edited or reliably submitted as they are. Here is what redrawing them as CAD costs, what a good conversion must keep, and what the council expects of a drawing.
From £1893 minute read
Surveys and design
A layout decides how a home feels long before any finish goes in. Here is what space planning costs, the room-size yardsticks it works to, and what you receive.
From £4393 minute read
Extensions and lofts
A two-storey extension nearly always needs a planning application, so the council's fee and the neighbours both matter. Here is what the drawings cost, and what else to budget for.
From £9693 minute read
Extensions and lofts
A garden room is often allowed without a planning application, but only inside tight rules on height, boundaries and use. Here is what the drawings cost and how to tell which side of the line you are on.
From £4793 minute read
Extensions and lofts
Loft drawings are one fixed fee, but the council's charge, the structure and the party wall add to the bill. Here is what drives each, and how to tell if a loft needs planning at all.
From £6794 minute read
Extensions and lofts
The drawings for a rear extension cost the same whichever route you take, but the council's charge and the work around it do not. Here is how the route changes the bill.
From £6794 minute read
Extensions and lofts
A side return fills the narrow strip beside a terrace's back room. The drawings are one fixed fee, but the neighbour's wall, the boundary and the street decide the rest of the bill.
From £7293 minute read
Extensions and lofts
A wraparound joins a side return to a rear extension in one L-shaped room. The drawings cost more because the design does more, and the permitted development limits apply to the whole of it.
From £1,0693 minute read
Conversions
Splitting a house into flats always needs planning permission. Here is what the drawings cost, what the council charges per flat, and the space and sound rules that shape the layout.
From £1,1693 minute read
Conversions
Turning a garage into a room often needs no planning application, but it always needs building regulations. Here is what the plans cost and which council charges may apply.
From £6293 minute read
Conversions
Turning a house into an HMO can need planning permission, a licence, or both, depending on the number of tenants and the borough. Here is what the drawings cost and which council fees may follow.
From £8794 minute read
Conversions
Letting a house to five or more tenants who are not one household needs a licence before the first rent is taken. Here is what the application pack costs, what the council charges separately, and what an unlicensed let risks.
From £4793 minute read
Neighbours and checks
The notice itself is a small fee. What costs money is a dispute, when surveyors are appointed. Here is what our notices cost, what the law asks for, and how to keep a neighbour on side.
From £453 minute read
Neighbours and checks
Before you offer on a London house because it could be extended, find out whether it can. Here is what a pre-purchase report costs, what it checks, and the limits and traps it looks for.
From £1893 minute read
Neighbours and checks
A second reader catches what the person who drew a sheet cannot see. Here is what an independent review costs, what it checks, in what order, and why designers now have legal duties to get this right.
From £2893 minute read
