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Planning

Planning drawings in London

Planning drawings are the set of plans, elevations, sections and site plans a council needs before it can decide a householder application. We draw them for London homes from £745 including VAT, checked by a second chartered technologist before they go in.

From £745 (VAT included)

  • MCIAT chartered
  • £2m PI insured
  • LABC Partnered
  • Fixed fees, VAT included

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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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    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 drawings

    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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    Brick cottage with a tiled roof, chimneys and a front dormer window

    What a set of planning drawings includes

    A householder set shows the house as it is and as you want it. That means existing and proposed floor plans, elevations and sections, a block plan and a location plan. Every sheet is drawn to a stated scale and shows north, as the national guidance requires.

    The location plan is the one people get wrong. The guidance asks for a site edged in red, including the access to the highway, with any other land you own edged in blue. We draw ours from the survey, so the red line matches your boundary rather than a rough guess. Our measured building survey work feeds straight into this.

    Forms, ownership certificates and the Planning Portal submission can be handled for you too. The council's application fee is separate from our fixed fee and is paid to the council.

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

    Which planning route applies to your house

    Not every project needs a full application. Many rear extensions and loft conversions can be built under permitted development, and a Lawful Development Certificate proves it in writing. Some larger rear extensions use prior approval instead, where the council only checks neighbour impact.

    Permitted development has limits. It does not cover flats or buildings containing flats, and it is withdrawn in many conservation areas and wherever an Article 4 direction applies. That is why our first step is a constraints check on the address: conservation area, listed status, Article 4, trees, flood zone and planning history.

    If the project is outside those limits, a householder application is the usual route.

    Planning rules that shape the drawings

    A householder application for alterations or an extension to one house carries a council fee of £548 in the current fee table. For two or more houses or flats the fee is £1,083. We confirm the exact fee before you pay anything.

    Councils have 8 weeks to decide a non-major application and 13 weeks for a major one, unless you agree an extension. Neighbours are consulted for at least 21 days. These are statutory periods, not promises about any one decision.

    If an application is refused, a householder appeal must be made within 12 weeks of the decision notice. Our planning appeals service picks up from there.

    What our planning drawings cost

    Householder planning drawings start at £745, VAT included, and the fee is fixed and published before you commit. Bigger or more complex projects are quoted from the same price list, never from a guess.

    If the council asks for changes, we redraw at no charge until approval. We do not promise a result: we draw to the council's policy, then deal with the officer for you.

    Building a loft or extension as well? Our building regulations drawings turn the approved design into technical sheets, and the complete package covers both.

    Why planning applications get sent back

    Applications are often made invalid by small things. The location plan is not to a recognised scale, the red line misses the access to the road, north is not shown, or the existing and proposed drawings do not match each other. Councils return these before a case officer has read the design at all, and the clock only starts once the application is valid.

    Our independent check is built for exactly this. A second chartered technologist reads each sheet against the council's own validation checklist, so the set arrives complete. Because the whole house is modelled in 3D, plans, sections and elevations are generated from one model and cannot disagree.

    Design matters as much as paperwork. Officers look at how an addition sits against the neighbours' windows and the character of the street, so we test height and depth against those relationships before the design is frozen, using precedents from your own road where we can find them.

    How the work runs, from enquiry to submission

    You send the address and a short brief. We check the constraints, pick the route and send a fixed quote. A measured survey follows, then we model the house in Revit and show you options in 3D and plan.

    You choose an option in writing, and the design is frozen. A second chartered technologist, never the person who drew it, then checks every sheet against the council's validation checklist. A senior review signs it off before submission.

    Drawings are normally ready about a week after the survey. We then submit through the Planning Portal and answer the officer's questions, with amendments made within five working days.

    Planning drawings by borough and council

    Each council reads the same national rules through its own local plan and guidance, so drawings that pass in one borough can need changes in the next. Our council pages set out the local figures: conservation areas, Article 4 directions, listed buildings and recent householder decisions.

    Start with the borough where the house stands. Planning drawings in Camden show how conservation areas change the route for many homes. See every place we cover under architectural drawings by area.

    The national rules in figures

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Householder: alterations/extensions to a single dwellinghouse, from 1 Apr 2026548 GBP—ribblevalley.gov.uk
    Householder: two or more dwellinghouses (or flats)1,083 GBP—ribblevalley.gov.uk
    DMPO 2015 art 34(2)(b): non-major development8 weeks—legislation.gov.uk
    DMPO 2015 art 34(2)(a): major development13 weeks—legislation.gov.uk
    DMPO 2015 art 15: site notice or neighbour notification for not less than 21 days21 days—legislation.gov.uk
    DMPO 2015 art 37(2)(a): householder appeal, from the date of the decision notice12 weeks—legislation.gov.uk
    PPG Making an application, para 024 (ID 14-024-20140306)Typically 1:1250 or 1:2500, site edged red including access to the highway, other owned land edged blue—gov.uk
    PPG Making an application, para 023Plans and drawings must be drawn to an identified scale and plans must show north—gov.uk
    GPDO 2015 art 2(1), definition of "dwellinghouse"Householder permitted development (Sch 2 Part 1) does not apply to flats or buildings containing flats—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.
    Pencil resting on a dimensioned technical drawing beside a scale rule
    The street around you
    Move across the plinth — the blocks rise around the pointer.

    Where we prepare planning drawings

    London

    Questions

    What are planning drawings?

    Planning drawings are the plans, elevations, sections, block plan and location plan that a council uses to decide a planning application. Each is drawn to scale and shows north. Ours are prepared by MCIAT chartered architectural technologists.

    How much do planning drawings cost?

    Householder planning drawings start at £745 including VAT, fixed and published up front. The council's own application fee, £548 for a householder application, is paid to the council separately.

    How long does the council take to decide?

    The statutory period for a non-major application is 8 weeks, unless you agree an extension. Actual timing varies by council, and we cannot promise a decision date.

    Do flats get permitted development?

    No. Householder permitted development does not apply to flats or to buildings containing flats, so those projects normally need a full application. We confirm the route in the constraints check before you commit.

    What happens if the council asks for changes?

    We redraw at no charge until approval. That is a commitment on our fees, not a promise about the council's decision.

    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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