You may ask:-
Can you get me planning permission?
Answer: this depends on what you want, what's good for the site and what planning are willing to accept.
What guarantee is there that I will get planning?
Answer: there's a 50/50 chance.
The answer to these questions really are for the Local Planning Authority. We as Architects can give your projects the best chance of success, by providing you with the tools needed to get your drawings ready for the requirements for the planning authority; the planning authority won't consider your application without scale drawings, which will have to include:-
Existing and Proposed Plans
Existing and Proposed Sections and elevations
A block plan
A site plan
A blank elevation
Existing and proposed roof plans
Construction drawings at the Building regulations stage
Planning permission is based on whether you meet the conditions set by the Unitary Development Framework and the current planning policies in place. Each council has its own set of rules, but generally all Councils have to follow the rules set by parliament under the Housing Construction and Regeneration Act of 1990.
We also get asked by clients that "there are houses which have had extensions and why we can't get them?".
The answer to this is to do with planning conditions changing over time. Previous planning permissions for similar properties to your own style of property would have been obtained at a much earlier date. Therefore, what we propose today, would be to do with the conditions of the current planning policies in effect and so we can prepare your submission to the local planning authority accordingly.
At each step we will liaise with the council on your behalf and rest assured all communication and correspondence we can take care of. There are many options that you can consider before you go to planning such as:
Pre-application,
Outline planning and
Full planning
This way you can save on Architects and local planning authority fees. (Yes.... we do care about you!) and we also have a duty under the RIBA and the ARB to protect our clients fees and any unnecessary costs which may occur. We also protect you from all bodies concerned that may want to charge fees for services that are not required. For us our satisfaction comes from our duty and from really listening to our clients, whilst building the relationship needed for not just today, but also for the future!
Considerations:
Please note that in reference to the RIBA Explaining an Architect’s Service June 2008. No architect can guarantee that planning permission and/or building regulations approval will be granted because these decisions rest with the local authority. The architect will however consider all Local authority guidelines and statutory requirements so it has the best chance of success. Sometimes exemptions to guidelines and similar provisions will have to be negotiated to achieve the best design solution for the project. The client will generally be responsible for providing the architect with accurate information about the site boundaries, access and ownership rights.