Fixed-Fee Planning.
DH Planning prepares and submits robust planning applications and planning appeals for homeowners, builders, developers and investors. With thirty years of experience at local authority and private practice we get you results.
Three steps from first message to decision
No office visits and no forms you have to decipher yourself. One qualified and experienced planning consultant runs your case from start to finish.
-
Tell us about your project
Fill in the short form below, call or email us. Photos, a sketch or your designer's drawings are enough to start. You get a fixed-fee quote within one working day.
-
We prepare the case
Application forms, a robust planning statement and any supporting documents, co-ordinated with your designer or architect where you have one. You approve everything before it goes in.
-
We submit and manage it
We lodge the application with your Council, or the appeal with the Planning Inspectorate, answer the case officer, handle neighbour comments and explain every update by email. You hear from us the moment the decision lands.
Two things we do, and do properly
Planning consultancy only. We are not architects and we do not sell drawings, so our advice on whether a scheme will get through is not shaped by a design fee, but by thirty years of experience at local authority and private practice.
Planning applications
Prepared, submitted and negotiated with the Council on your behalf.
- Householder applications for extensions, loft conversions, outbuildings and annexes
- Full applications for new homes, conversions and developments
- Change of use, including residential to commercial and back again
- Lawful development certificates to confirm permitted development rights or historic changes
- Prior approval for larger home extensions and commercial-to-residential conversions
- Conditions and amendments: discharge, variation and non-material amendments
Planning appeals
When the Council says no, or says nothing at all.
- Appeals against refusal by written representations or hearing
- Non-determination appeals when the Council runs out of time
- Enforcement notice appeals on all applicable grounds
- Grounds of appeal, statement of case and final comments written for the Inspector, not the file
- Officer's report review to find the points that actually decided the refusal
- Costs applications where the Council has behaved unreasonably
What hassle-free means in practice
No office visits
Everything runs by email, phone and video call. If a site visit would genuinely help your case, we say so and arrange it, and it is priced into the quote.
A fixed fee before you commit
The quote is the price. Any extra work is agreed in writing before it starts, so the invoice never surprises you.
One consultant, one number
The person who quotes your job is the person who runs it, and you have their direct contact details for the whole case.
Council letters, translated
Every letter from the case officer is explained in plain English, with what it means and what happens next. Nothing is just forwarded.
Fees you can see before you call
Every fee is fixed and confirmed in writing before work starts.
Householder application
Extensions, loft conversions, garden rooms, annexes
Full application, small schemes
New homes, conversions, change of use, up to five dwellings
Planning appeal, written representations
Refusal, non-determination or enforcement notice
Council application fees and Planning Portal service charges are paid to the Council and are not included. Larger schemes, hearings and enforcement cases with several grounds are quoted individually.
What clients say
We have used DH Planning on three separate occasions. All of the applications were testing, one of them especially so, and their calm approach and persistence paid off. Three approvals now, thank you very much.
Mr & Mrs Dennis
DH Planning has acted on various complex projects for us over many years. Their knowledge and professionalism simply shine through, they are approachable and, best of all, the Councils seem to like and respect their no-nonsense, straightforward approach. We have used a different consultant but nothing measures up. When we have a planning issue, DH Planning has a solution.
Mr & Mrs Taylor
DH Planning has acted on several schemes for us over the years. Their knowledge is second to none and their forte is gaining planning approvals. Without fuss or mutterings they simply get on with the job. This has proved to be the case whether it is a simple housing scheme or a complete residential redevelopment within a conservation area. They just deliver.
Steve Wells, Managing Director, DW Housing Partnership
I have come to rely on DH Planning. Over the past decade they have guided me through the planning process, which has often been tricky, but their no-nonsense and calm approach has enabled some staggering planning approvals. I would recommend their services to anybody.
Rob Atkins, Director, Cornerstone Homes
Questions people ask before they get in touch
Do you need to visit the property?
Usually not. Photos, measurements and your existing drawings tell us what we need, and Council records fill in the rest. Where a visit would genuinely strengthen the case, for example a contested appeal, we say so at the quote stage and price it in.
Which Councils do you work with?
Any local planning authority in England. Every Council uses the same national application forms and the same appeal system, so location changes the local policies we cite, not the way we work. Planning law differs in Wales and Scotland, so we do not take on work there.
How long will it take?
We aim to have a householder application ready for your approval within two weeks of instruction, and most Councils target a decision within eight weeks of validation. Larger schemes run to thirteen weeks. Appeal timescales are set by the Planning Inspectorate and are measured in months rather than weeks. We tell you the realistic timetable for your case in the quote.
Can you guarantee permission?
No, and no honest consultant can. What we can do is tell you at the quote stage how strong the case looks, and if it is weak, say so before you spend money. On appeals we give you a frank view of the prospects before you instruct.
Do I still need an architect or designer?
For anything that needs scaled drawings, yes. We work alongside your architect, architectural designer or surveyor, or we can recommend one. Where drawings already exist, we use them. For lawful development certificates and some changes of use, no new drawings are needed at all.
Get your fixed-fee quote
Tell us what you want to do and where. You will have a reply within one working day, usually the same day.
The Old Echo Print Room
18 Albert Road
Bournemouth, Dorset BH1 1BZ
Thanks, your details are with us.
You will have a reply within one working day. If your case is urgent, for example an appeal deadline, call the number on this page.