Design Fees

Our Architectural Services

We work on a fixed fee structure as we believe it is important you know what you are paying from the start.

Our fees vary depending on the complexity of the project and exclude third party fees such as council application fees, building control fees and structural engineers fees. These will be advised on an individual basis and we have summarised the main third party fees at the bottom of this page.

The fees shown below are divided into three equal payments and each stage can be carried out separately with no obligation to continue to the next stage. For example, if we carry out a Feasibility Study for you, then you can decide if you wish to proceed to Stage 2 Planning Permission once the Feasibility Study has been completed.

Currently there is no VAT to pay on our design fees.

Type of Project

Garage Conversion or Internal Alterations

Single storey extension or loft conversion

Two storey extension or multiple works (eg extension and loft conversion)

New dwellings and flat splits

Design Fee

£2,700

£3,900

£4,800

Individually Quoted

Stage 1

Feasibility Study

Initial 'Client Brief' meeting with you at your property to establish your requirements.
Full measured survey of your property.
Preparation of initial design ideas and production of scaled plans.
3D floor plans and rendered images to help you visualise the proposal.
Budget building cost provided by approved builder
Planning and Building Regulations advice provided
Project Time-frame provided
Documents issued to you as pdf files

The fee for this is one third of our total design fee (see table above) and is due upon completion of the property survey.

Stage 2

Planning Permission

Development of Feasibility Study ideas into final scheme proposal.
Preparation of planning drawings and associated documents.
Submission for Planning Permission or Lawful Development Certficate
Submission of Listed Building application if required.
Liaison with planning officer during planning application process.
Include amendments to plans required by planning department as necessary.

The fee for this is one third of our total design fee (see table above) and is due upon completion of the planning drawings prior to submission to the planning department.

Stage 3

Building Regulations

On line specification meeting to agree details of the works (e.g. electrics, finishes, etc).
Preparation of a Specification of Works.
Preparation of Building Regulations drawings.
Liason with structural engineer and any other specialist consultants as required.
Obtaining Building Control quotations and making application to your preferred inspector.
Submission of any supporting documents such as structural calculations, thermal calculations, etc.
Monitoring application and dealing with any amendments requested by Building Inspector.
Assisting you with obtaining builders quotations if required.

The fee for this is one third of our total design fee (see table above) and is due upon completion of the building regulations drawings prior to submission for Building Regulations approval.

Third Party Design Costs

Our design fees exclude any third party fees and we have summarised below possible fees that apply to home improvement works.

Exclusions

There can be quite a lot of confusion on fees so we have included a brief summary on the various fees you may incur when extending or improving your home:

Planning Application Fee – this fee is paid at the planning application stage and is the councils charge for processing the planning application. This is usually £206.00 for most projects and £103.00 for a Certificate of Lawfulness. There is an additional £64.00 government fee for submitting the application via the Planning Portal.

Building Control Fee – this fee is paid to the building inspector and is divided into two parts. The first part, the plan fee, covers the cost of the building inspector checking the building regulations drawings are correct. The second part, the inspection fee, is paid once buildings works commence and covers the cost of the on site inspections of the work. The building inspector can either be the council or a private inspector.The cost of this varies depending on the complexity of the structural design but is typically £300- £600 + VAT for the plan fee and £600-£1,000 + VAT for the inspection fee.

Structural Engineer – this fee is paid to a specialist consultant engineer who works out the sizes of steel beams and any specific structural issues that need formal calculations preparing as part of the building regulations drawings.The cost of this varies depending on the complexity of the structural design but is typically £600- £1,500 + VAT.

Thermal Engineer– this fee is paid to a specialist consultant engineer who works out the overall heat loss from a building to ensure that it conforms with the building regulations. This is usually required in cases where there is a large percentage of glazing in the design. This cost is generally in the order of £300.00.

Build Over Agreement – where your drains are shared with your neighbours, they are classified as a public sewer and you will need permission from your water authority to build over them or close to them. The cost of this varies but is usually in the order of £350.00 – £500.00

Party Wall – the Party Wall Act is in place to protect against damage to your neighbours properties as a result of works carried out by you. Where applicable, you are required to serve notices on neighbours that will be affected and they have a right to ask you to pay for an independent surveyor (a party wall surveyor) to prepare a party wall award which is a record of their property before and after the works. The neighbour can agree that they are happy for you to proceed without a formal document being prepared but, if required, this can cost £500.00 – £1,000.00 per neighbour.

Other Specialist Services – in some instances, you may be required to provide additional information as part of the planning or building regulations application including a Basement Impact Assessment (BIA), Bat Survey, Archaeological Report and Arboreal Report. We will generally advise you of these during the design process where applicable.