Most householder applications that fail do not fail on design. They fail validation — returned before the eight-week clock even starts, over a missing north point, a wrong scale or a site plan that does not match the elevations. This page covers what a valid application contains and what it costs.
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Existing and proposed floor plans at 1:50, existing and proposed elevations at 1:100 — all of them, including the ones nobody sees from the street — a site location plan at 1:1250 with the site edged red, and a block plan at 1:500. Each sheet needs a scale bar, a north point, a drawing number and a revision.
Then the application form, the ownership certificate, and the fee: £258 for a householder application, £578 for a full application for a new dwellinghouse, £129 for a Lawful Development Certificate, £120 for larger home extension prior approval. Validation is a clerical check, and it is unforgiving — which is good news, because it is the failure mode most completely within your control.
If the work exceeds permitted development limits, it is a householder application at £258 with an eight-week determination period. If it stays inside them, a Lawful Development Certificate at £129 buys the same certainty for half the fee and produces a document conveyancers accept.
Between the two sits prior approval for a larger home extension: single-storey rear extensions up to 6m on a terrace or semi and 8m on a detached house, £120, six weeks, with a 21-day neighbour consultation in which an objection from an adjoining owner sends the case to a full assessment.
| Route | Fee | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Householder planning | £258 | 8 weeks |
| Lawful Development Certificate | £129 | 8 weeks |
| Larger home extension prior approval | £120 | 6 weeks |
| Full — new dwellinghouse | £578 | 13 weeks |
Because national policy is applied through 33 separate Local Plans. Article 4 directions remove permitted development rights across whole conservation areas, so the certificate route simply does not exist on those streets. Basement policies differ sharply on excavation depth and garden coverage. Dormer guidance varies down to the set-back from the eaves — 200mm is a common requirement and is not universal.
This is why a drawing set that would sail through in one borough is refused two miles away, and why we hold the local detail rather than applying a single London-wide template. It is also why we will tell you before submission when a scheme conflicts with a specific policy, rather than submitting and letting the officer say it.
Validation, then a 21-day public consultation with neighbour notification, then the case officer's assessment and, for most householder cases, a delegated decision rather than a committee. Eight weeks is the statutory period; an officer may ask for an extension of time, and agreeing to a short one is usually better than a refusal on an unresolved point.
If it is refused, the officer's reasons are published. Where they are addressable we redraw and resubmit — a resubmission by the same applicant on the same site within twelve months does not attract a second statutory fee. Permission, once granted, must be implemented within three years.
£840 fixed for the drawing package: existing and proposed plans, all elevations, section, site location plan and block plan, plus submission. The council's £258 householder fee is separate and statutory. A combined package with building regulations drawings and structural calculations is £1,750.
Eight weeks from validation for a householder application, six for larger home extension prior approval, thirteen for a full application on a new dwellinghouse. Our drawings take 14 to 20 working days to produce before that clock starts, so plan on roughly three to four months from instruction to decision.
Validation failures — a missing north point or scale bar, drawings at the wrong scale, elevations that do not match the block plan, an unsigned ownership certificate, or the wrong fee. None of it is about the merits of your design, and all of it is avoidable, which is why validation is where we concentrate.
Not necessarily. Single-storey rear extensions of up to 3m on a terrace or semi and 4m on a detached house are usually permitted development, doubling to 6m and 8m under prior approval, with a 4m height cap and 3m within two metres of a boundary. Article 4 directions and conservation areas remove those rights entirely on many London streets.
Yes — drawings, forms, ownership certificates and fee, through the Planning Portal, and we handle the case officer's questions during determination. You can also submit yourself; the drawing files are yours either way.
Send the address and what you want to build. Fixed fee and survey date back the same working day.
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