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Rear view of brick terraced houses in London with slate roofs and chimney stacks along the shared roofline

Planning

Planning constraints reports for London addresses

Before you commission drawings or make an offer, find out what restricts the site. Our report checks the address against the designations that change what you may build, and says what each one means for your plan, from £19. It is the quickest way to avoid paying for a scheme the site cannot take.

From £19, no VAT to add

  • MCIAT chartered
  • £2m PI insured
  • LABC Partnered
  • Fixed fees, no VAT to add

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We use it to check conservation areas and constraints.
Pick the council that decides your application.
A few lines: what you want to build, and anything the council has already said.
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    The fixed fee for planning constraints reports

    Fixed fee
    from £19
    Total you pay
    from £19
    Council fee
    paid to the council separately

    No VAT to add. The fee is fixed in writing after a free constraints check of your address.

    What you get

    • A search of the address against the main constraint datasets
    • Confirmation of important results against the council's own records
    • A plain-English note on what each constraint means for your plan
    • A statement of anything we could not confirm
    • A recommended next step
    • Sources listed for every finding
    Request your fixed quoteCall 020 7131 9703
    Architectural model of a four-storey London stucco townhouse in its terrace, with a portico, area railings, sash windows, a cornice and chimney stacks
    The house as it stands: four storeys over a lower ground floor.Existing Proposed worksAn illustrative model, built for this page.

    How we work on planning constraints reports

    Seven steps from first call to approval.

    The same model cut through the middle: every floor, the stair, the chimney breasts, the new mansard, rear extension and basement in section
    Section through the model: every floor on one datum.

    1. Enquiry and constraints check

      We check the property against conservation areas, listed status, Article 4 directions, tree preservation orders, flood zone and planning history. We choose the right route and send a fixed quote.

    2. Measured survey

      We survey the house on one datum: rooms, levels, boundaries, drains, trees and the neighbours' windows that the 45° and 25° tests depend on.

    3. Design options

      We model the house in Revit and show you options in 3D and plan, with the planning strategy and the precedents in your street.

    4. Design frozen

      You choose an option in writing. Nothing changes after this without your say.

    5. Independent check

      A second chartered technologist checks every sheet against the council's validation checklist and the policy. A senior review signs it off before anything is submitted.

    6. Submission

      We prepare the forms, certificates, fee and documents and submit through the Planning Portal.

    7. Officer liaison

      We answer the planning officer and make any amendments within five working days, at no charge until approval.

    Free redraws until approval. Every drawing set is checked independently, and the checker is never the person who drew it.

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    What we check

    The public datasets that councils and government publish cover the main designations: "Conservation area, article 4 direction area, tree preservation zone, listed building and flood risk zone." We search each for your address and for its immediate neighbours, since a boundary often sits one house away.

    A search is not the end. Boundaries are drawn from council records and can be out of date, and the service itself warns that "The data may be incomplete and not yet cover all of England." So we confirm anything that matters against the council's own pages and say plainly where a result could not be confirmed.

    Pencil resting on a dimensioned technical drawing beside a scale rule

    Conservation areas

    Every council must keep its list: "Every local planning authority shall designate areas of special architectural or historic interest as conservation areas." Inside one, permitted development is narrower, because conservation areas sit within what the Order calls "National Parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty and conservation areas etc."

    Trees add a second layer. Anyone proposing work to a tree in a conservation area must give the council notice, and the council has 6 weeks to respond before the work can go ahead. If your garden has a mature tree, our tree survey service goes further.

    Article 4 directions and permitted development

    A council can take rights away street by street. The government's guidance sets out the effect: "A direction means that a particular development cannot be carried out under permitted development and therefore needs a planning application."

    That is often the finding that changes a plan. A loft conversion you thought needed no application may need one, and the report says so before you pay for drawings. If you are still deciding what to buy, our pre-purchase report goes on to test the extension itself.

    How the findings are used

    You get a short report: each constraint found, its source, and what it usually means for a house in your position, written in plain English and not as a list of codes.

    The report is the first step in a project, not a replacement for one. It feeds our planning drawings, and when the site has a listed neighbour or a conservation area, it tells us whether you will need a heritage statement as well.

    For landlords and investors

    A report on a shortlist costs far less than drawings on the wrong site. Run it on every address you are seriously weighing, compare the constraints, and spend on drawings only where the plot allows what you intend.

    Tell us what you plan to do, whether a loft, an extension, flats or a shared house, and the report is written with that use in mind.

    The national rules in figures

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Planning Data (planning.data.gov.uk): constraint datasets it publishesConservation area, article 4 direction area, tree preservation zone, listed building and flood risk zone—planning.data.gov.uk
    Planning Data (planning.data.gov.uk): how the service describes its own coverageThe data may be incomplete and not yet cover all of England—planning.data.gov.uk
    Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990, section 69(1): who designates conservation areasEvery local planning authority shall designate areas of special architectural or historic interest as conservation areas—legislation.gov.uk
    Planning practice guidance, when is permission required: article 4 directionsA direction means that a particular development cannot be carried out under permitted development and therefore needs a planning application—gov.uk
    Planning practice guidance, trees in conservation areas: notice before work6 weeks—gov.uk
    GPDO 2015, article 2(3): land where permitted development is narrowerNational Parks, areas of outstanding natural beauty and conservation areas etc—legislation.gov.uk

    A blank value means the figure has not been published, not that there are none. Check your own address with the council.

    Which application your project needsLawful Development Certificate decision: 8 weeks. Prior approval decision: 42 days. Householder decision: 8 weeksYour projectWithin permitted development?Lawful Development CertificatePrior approvalHouseholder applicationYesLarger rear extensionNoABC

    Which application your project needs

    The usual route for a house; flats and listed buildings follow other rules.

    A · Lawful Development Certificate decision
    8 weeks
    B · Prior approval decision
    42 days
    C · Householder decision
    8 weeks

    What you receive

    Planning drawing sheet for a rear extension with plans, elevations and sections
    Sample drawing. Planning drawings for a rear extension: plans, elevations and sections on one sheet set.
    Rows of brick terraced houses and gardens on a residential street
    The street around you
    Move across the plinth — the blocks rise around the pointer.

    Questions

    Does a clear report mean I can build anything?

    No. It means no listed designation limits you, but the council still weighs design, neighbours and policy. A clear result narrows the risk; it does not remove it.

    How current is the data?

    As current as the published datasets, which we confirm against the council where it matters. The report states the date of each check.

    Is it included if I order planning drawings?

    The constraints check is part of how we start any project, and this report is the standalone version for people who are not ready to order drawings.

    Can you check several addresses?

    Yes. Each address is a separate report.

    Sources and dates

    City of London skyline glowing at dusk across the Thames under a dramatic orange sky

    Tell us about your property.

    We check the constraints, then send a fixed fee. Messages before 3pm get a reply the same working day.

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