How Much Does It Cost To Apply for Planning Permission?

Just what does need planning permission?

Extension or alteration to a dwelling

Detached garages, outbuildings & containers etc.

Chimneys, flues and soil/vent pipes.

Loft conversions, dormer windows & roof windows

Porches

Fences, gates and walls

Satellite dishes

Hard-standing & dropped kerbs

Solar panels, wind turbines & green energy

So…what does that mean for you?

Well, in different localities, positions relevant to the rest of your house, or just the size of the thing, all the above may require permission.

Our advice is don’t just hope for the best and go ahead anyway, better men than you have had to pull it down 3 years later after dragging themselves and their families through protracted and expensive court cases.

Follow the following process, it’s free and sort of easy and you will find out which restrictions apply to your project and whether you need planning permission or not.

So… you want a new extension and for the moment at least, you’ve decided to organise it yourself. Here’s what you will need to do.

The Questions to Ask

Think hard about its position, size and shape.
Make some sketches showing the above.
Draw a 1:100 plan showing its position relevant to your house, the boundary fences and the public highway.
Discuss it with your neighbour.
Believe us, this is the most important thing you will do. He will see it all eventually anyway and will probably be seriously miffed if the first time he finds out about it is when a letter from the planning authorities drops through his letterbox.

Make any adjustments you feel you can, relevant to his comments and /or decide at this point whether you want to carry on, even though you may be entering the first stage of an all out battle with him.

Google “Household Enquiry Form”, download this, fill it in, send it off, then wait a couple of weeks until you are told whether the planning committee will look favourably on your proposal or not.

DIY Project Management

By this stage you will now have worked out whether you are going to carry on organising it yourself or have bitten off more than you can chew and get a “professional” (good experienced builder, architect, planning consultant) to either advise you or do it for you. Or just forget the whole thing!

If they don’t give you the go ahead, revise your plans and send in another form.

Planners don’t tend to tell you what you can do. However, they are very good at telling you what you can’t. This can lead to a bit of “submission ping pong” until you eventually get it right.

So far, this has cost you a new pencil and some graph paper.

Right, it looks like you will get planning permission, get some plans drawn up by an architect or via a builder who has an in house design service and apply for Full Planning Permission. It may be that your project is allowed under “Permitted Development” but that’s irrelevant, you will still have to follow the process.

Your project will be discussed in detail at the next planning meeting. It may just fly through, or a couple of recommendations made, or it could still be rejected. It’s unlikely at this stage that the whole project will be rejected but you may have to redesign that large window you wanted or move the wall further from your (neighbours) boundary etc.

It’s ok, you’ve tried it on a bit, got found out, now reapply for what you knew you were always going to have to settle for, in the first place!

Basic Costs

The set fee for planning permission for an extension is £150 nationwide.
An architect will charge £350 to draw the plans.
You may also need a structural engineer to specify steel sizes etc. That’s another £250 (The architect can’t do this, he only spent 7 years at university ….doodling)!

It can take 2 months before permission is granted, and that’s exactly how long it will take 3 builders to provide their quotations.

When you get permission, you can give your chosen man the go ahead.

I can see it now, it looks lovely!