Planning consultant in Barnet

Article 4 directions, listing and trees

The borough publishes 15 Article 4 directions across 48 separate areas, and a house inside one can lose permitted development rights that a house down the road keeps. Alongside them sit 16 conservation areas, 651 listed entries and 718 tree preservation orders.

That is a heavy constraints load for a suburban borough, and it is why the free check comes first. We map your address against each layer and report which rights remain, which applications would be needed and which consents sit outside planning, such as work to a protected tree.

Where Green Belt is involved, about 28 per cent of the borough is covered by green-belt polygons, and the policy test is stricter.

Householder and minor decisions in numbers

The council made 1,361 householder decisions in the latest twelve months and granted 80.2 per cent, deciding 95.1 per cent within eight weeks or an agreed extension. Minor applications show 703 decisions and 67.4 per cent granted.

Householder and minor applications are different kinds of scheme, and the minor category covers things such as conversions and new dwellings. If your project is a minor application, a consultant's case for the scheme matters more.

None of these figures forecasts your decision. They show the volume the officers handle and the standard a good application meets.

What you receive from us

A short example shows the method. An owner of a semi-detached house wants a long rear extension. We measure the plot, read the guidance, look at the neighbours' windows and the direction map, and then give two or three options in order of risk, with the route, the likely documents and the time each would take. The owner chooses, and only then do drawings begin.

You get a written recommendation on the route, a validation checklist against the local list, a planning statement and officer liaison after submission. The statement and our planning drawings are prepared together.

Officer liaison continues after submission. We answer consultee comments, negotiate amendments and keep you informed in plain language, so a request for more information does not turn into a lost month.

We also tell you when a project does not need a consultant. A simple extension inside every limit needs drawings and a certificate, not a statement.

Fee, deadline and quote

The determination period for a non-major application is 8 weeks, and a householder fee of £548 is payable to the council on top of our fee.

Barnet work is quoted case by case: the free constraints check comes first and a fixed figure follows, so you know the cost of the advice before committing. Every statement and drawing is read by a second chartered technologist before submission, and amendments an officer requests are redrawn at no charge until approval. Start with the national guide at planning consultant or the borough page, architectural drawings in Barnet.