- Who it suits
- Homeowners, builders, developers and investors anywhere in England
- Typical decision time
- 8 weeks for minor applications, 13 weeks for major schemes
- Our fee
- Fixed and confirmed in writing before work starts, from £500
- Council fee
- Paid separately to the Council through the Planning Portal
Which application do you actually need?
The single most expensive mistake in planning is submitting the wrong kind of application. A householder application where a certificate would have done costs you money and a decision on your record. A full application where prior approval would have worked hands the Council grounds to refuse that it would not otherwise have had.
Before we quote, we tell you which route fits. That advice is not shaped by a design fee, because we do not sell drawings.
The six routes we handle
Householder planning applications
Extensions, loft conversions, outbuildings, garden rooms, annexes, dropped kerbs and porches at an existing house. The most common application in England, and the one where a weak covering statement most often costs people permission.
Full planning applications
New dwellings, plot subdivisions, conversions, replacement buildings and small commercial schemes. More documents, more consultees, and a policy case that has to be made explicitly rather than assumed.
Change of use
Moving a building between use classes, or into a use the Use Classes Order does not cover. Shops to homes, offices to gyms, houses to HMOs, barns to holiday lets. Often the permission is about impact rather than appearance.
Lawful development certificates
A formal Council decision that what you propose does not need planning permission, or that what already exists has become lawful through the passage of time. Useful on its own and often essential at the point of sale.
Prior approval
The halfway house between permitted development and a full application: larger home extensions, agricultural to residential, commercial to residential under Class MA, and several others. Narrow grounds of assessment, and strict deadlines that work in your favour.
Conditions and amendments
Discharging pre-commencement conditions, varying a condition under section 73, and non-material amendments. Permission granted is not permission implemented, and conditions are where good schemes stall.
What we do on every application
- Check the planning history of the site, including anything refused before and why
- Identify the policies, constraints and designations that will actually decide it
- Tell you honestly if we think it will fail, before you spend money on it
- Write the covering planning statement that puts the case to the officer
- Complete the forms, ownership certificates and validation requirements
- Submit through the Planning Portal and deal with validation queries
- Handle the case officer, consultee comments and any negotiation
- Explain every letter in plain English, with what it means and what happens next
Nothing obliges a case officer to come back to you before recommending refusal. Many will, on a minor amendment. Many will not, on a point of principle. The application you submit is usually the application that gets decided, which is why the first submission matters more than people expect.
Fees
Our fee is fixed and confirmed in writing before work starts. Householder applications start from £500 and full applications for small schemes from £1,000. The Council's own application fee and the Planning Portal service charge are paid separately, direct to them.
Council fees changed on 1 April 2026 and are indexed every April. The current schedule is published on the Planning Portal fee calculator, and we confirm the exact figure for your application in the quote.