Residential
Creating sustainable homes which give people, space to flourish
From extensions and conversions to one-of-a-kind home builds, thoughtful architectural design transforms the way we live. Perhaps your starting point is the need for a little more space or light, but we love to exceed expectations – especially when you first see the finished proposal. By designing a home around wellbeing, connection and sustainable healthy living, even a small build can become a legacy for generations to come.
With a consistent lead architect on every project, we’ll get to know you and understand exactly what you need from your home. Together we can discuss and develop designs until the finished proposal fits you perfectly. You’ll have everything you need to move forward, either managing the construction phase yourself or engaging our services through to the completed building.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are several factors that affect the timescales. If we are carrying out the measured survey, we can usually begin work on your project within 1 – 2 weeks of acceptance of our proposal and then within a further 1 – 2 weeks meet with you to discuss initial design ideas. This does depend on our workload at the time and we will discuss this with you and agree a timeline.
We find that each project finds its own pace, some clients appreciate time to reflect on the designs before firming up designs for the planning application, some are confident in what they want to achieve and are eager to submit a planning application swiftly. There’s no right or wrong and no fixed timescale but we will be sure to keep momentum and work within your expectations and what is comfortable for you.
The planning application process should take 8 weeks. Councils tend to take a week or two to register the application and it isn’t uncommon for planning officers to request an extension of time usually near the end of the 8 week period if they have a heavy caseload. Some applications are decided within 8 weeks, some much longer. We suggest allowing 10 – 12 weeks.
The next factor in your project timescale is availabilty of your chosen builder. Early dialogue with prospective builders is recommended to discuss timings and understand when they would be able to begin your work subject to planning consent. It may be worth waiting for the right builder, they will be in your home for several months and you need to get on well with them. Also the quality and expertise they bring to your project will be remembered for many years beyond the completion of the project.
We ask to be paid for work we’ve done and won’t ask you to pay us for work we haven’t. This means that at any point you could pause or decide to stop the project and we request payment of fees for work completed to that point.
We will use our experience and expertise to navigate the planning permission process and the vast majority of our projects secure planning consent on first application. We will advise you of our opinion and discuss how to present your proposals in the best possible way.
Planning refusal will affect the timing of your project but a refusal notice is actually a useful document because, unlike a planning officer’s informal opinion in any advice before that point, it establishes the Council’s position and the precise reasons that the proposals are believed not to comply with planning policy. A second application can be made within 12 months with no planning application fee and, provided the reasons for refusal are addressed, the Council are unable to introduce additional or new reasons for refusal. A second application significantly increases the liklihood of securing planning consent.
Alternatively, if the Council’s reasons for refusal are unreasonable or flawed, then a refusal notice opens the opportunity for a planning appeal. Every one of the few appeals we have made on our client’s behalf have been successful.
For most of our homeowner projects, we don’t recommend a pre-application consultation. This is because this is not a mandatory service that Planning Authorities must provide and, although there are guidelines for the timing of such consultation, in our experience planning applications will generally take priority because Council’s are monitored on how well they meet planning determination deadlines.
A pre-application response from a planning officer provides informal planning officer opnion, whilst this can be helpful for some complex or potentially contentious projects, the advice can’t be relied upon.
If your project is relatively straightforward we will usually recommend submission of a planning application with no pre-application consultation for expediency. Even if this results in refusal and submission of a second planning application, this can still be a quicker route to consent than engaging in pre-application dialogue.
We will discuss the planning strategy with you and if the planning context seems challenging we may recommend the involvement of a Planning Consultant to advise on planning policy and planning strategy to help place your application in the strongest position through the planning application process.
Certain alterations to your house may not need planning consent – the General Permitted Development Order is part of planning law and explains what changes can be made without planning consent. The regulations aren’t straightforward and will depend on your specific context. The Government’s technical guidance notes help explain it and can be downloaded here
We will discuss this with you during the early design stages and let you know we believe planning consent is needed.
If your proposals fall within permitted development we will apply to the Council for a Certificate of Lawful Development. This is an important document that certifies the Council agrees that planning consent is not needed. Given the complexities and nuances of the permitted development rules, the Certificate of Lawful Development provides peace of mind that your proposed project is lawful and if you were to sell your home, provides evidence to conveyancing solicitors of the planning status of the work you have carried out.
Depending on the scope of your project, it is likely that you will need a structural engineer to provide structural designs and calculations to make sure the proposals are structurally sound and for building regulations compliance.
For straightforward projects, we wouldn’t usually expect you to need other consultants but we can discuss this with you and let you know if others will be needed.
Design drawings, planning drawings and building regulations or construction drawings are all based on accurate measured survey drawings of your existing house and site. For most homeowner projects, gathering survey information and preparing ‘as existing’ 3D computer model and drawings is included in our service and fee.
We use state of the art 3D laser scanning technology to quickly, efficiently and accurately take comprehensive measurements of your house and garden. This creates a ‘pointcloud’ model that we then convert into a 3D computer model and drawings as the basis for all of our work.
If your project is relatively near our office, there are some excellent local builders we can connect you with. For projects a little further away, we know of builders in some areas and can advise on how to go about finding the right firm for your build. In any case, we recommend taking references from previous clients and, if possible, visiting completed projects as part of your builder research. We can help with a list of questions and things to look out for.
If we are involved in the later stages of your project, we can negotiate the tender or contractor engagement process with you and on your behalf.
We use latest 3D computer software to create existing and proposed models and drawings of your home. We also use virtual reality headsets to provide an immersive experience of your house alterations so that you can be completely certain you’re happy with the designs before you begin the costly process of construction.
As well as the 2D presentation drawings and images, we will give you a weblink to access the latest 3D model so that you can navigate it at home, take measurements, imagine how you’ll use the spaces and show friends and family to get their advice and opinion.
Ready to make exciting changes to your home, or wondering what the possibilities could be? Let’s start a conversation to see if we can work with you on your next project.
