In short
Who does the work: MCIAT-chartered technologists, a planning lead and an independent consulting structural engineer.
Who decides your application, and who should draw it?
Every set leaves this practice through a chartered member of CIAT, and the drawing and the technical check are done by different people. It matters because 97.0% of London planning decisions are made by a case officer under delegated powers rather than a committee, so the drawings are the argument.
| London planning, three years to March 2026 | Figure |
|---|
| Decisions made by officers under delegated powers | 97.0% |
| Householder decisions made | 77,680 |
| Householder applications approved | 83.0% |
| Applications withdrawn before decision | 7.4% |
| Appeals decided after refusal | 15,646 |
| Appeals allowed | 39.0% |
| Enforcement notices issued | 3,554 |
Source: MHCLG District Planning Application Statistics (PS1 and PS2), the statutory return every English planning authority files, decisions made in the twelve quarters to March 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0, retrieved 1 September 2026. The withdrawal rate is the figure worth reading twice: an application withdrawn before determination is usually one the case officer signalled would fail.
How the practice is structured
MCIAT is the chartered grade awarded by the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists, which received its Royal Charter in 2005. The grade certifies competence in one specific discipline: resolving a building technically. In practice that covers the measured survey of what is already there, the drawn and written case put to a council under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the test of a scheme against Schedule 2 of the General Permitted Development Order 2015, and the construction information that has to satisfy the Building Regulations 2010 before anything is built.
Five people touch a typical instruction. The founder scopes it and establishes the planning route. A technologist carries out the measured survey and produces the drawings. The planning lead prepares and submits the application. The senior technologist produces the building regulations package. Where structure is altered, an independent consulting engineer produces the calculations.
Why does the split matter to the outcome?
Planning and building regulations are different statutory regimes with different tests, different determining bodies and different timescales — eight weeks for a £548 householder application under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, five weeks for a Full Plans building regulations submission under the Building Regulations 2010. Treating them as one job is how schemes get planning permission that cannot then be built as drawn.
When each stage has a defined deliverable, it can be priced, rather than billed hourly against an open scope.
Coverage
All 33 London boroughs. Borough specialisms are real rather than nominal: the Article 4 regimes, conservation-area extents and basement policies differ materially between authorities, and the person leading your instruction is matched to the borough it sits in.
How this looks in a named London borough
How the team plays out in Merton: London Borough of Merton (Merton Council) maintains 28 conservation areas, the Wimbledon Village Conservation Area and the John Innes Conservation Area among them, and there is no borough-wide Article 4 direction, so permitted development generally survives outside conservation areas. Anyone dealing with the team at a Merton address is therefore working to a £548 householder application decided in 8 weeks, or a £249 prior approval over 6 weeks where the team still qualifies.
The team at a glance
Key figures for The team
| Chartered grade | MCIAT, Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists |
|---|
| Coverage | All 33 London boroughs |
|---|
| First-time approval rate | 98% |
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| Planning route | £548 householder, decided in 8 weeks |
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| Building control route | Full Plans, decided in 5 weeks |
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| Fixed fee range | |
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Questions about this role
Is an architectural technologist as qualified as an architect?
They are different qualifications for different remits. “Architect” is protected under the Architects Act 1997 and requires ARB registration. MCIAT is the chartered grade for architectural technology — the technical design of buildings. For householder planning and building regulations work, the technologist's remit is the one that matches the task.
Who will I actually deal with?
One named lead for the whole instruction, matched to your borough. The survey, drawings, submission and building regulations package are produced within the practice; only the structural calculations come from an independent consultant.
Do you work outside London?
The practice covers all 33 London boroughs and the immediately adjoining Home Counties authorities.
