Frequently Asked Questions
Why are your fees considerably less than traditional practices?
Traditional Architects can charge anywhere between £600 and £1000 plus to design a Conservatory Planning Permission application. Conservatory Plans Online charges a fixed fee of £249.00. We can do this by keeping our overheads low and passing on these savings to you, typical examples of this is the fact that we don’t employ a Secretary or have an office in a town centre, these two points I would estimate save us around £75.000 a year, and we also employ the use of state-of-the-art computer aided design software to save us time.
What will the total price be for my plans and the Council Fees?
Typical Price |
| Design Fee |
£249.00 |
| Ordnance Survey Maps |
£ 35.00 |
| Planning Application |
£150.00 |
Total: |
£434.00 |
Do you apply to the Local Authority for Planning Permission?
Yes, we fill out all the Planning Application forms and act as agent until the Planning decision arrives.
Do your fees include V.A.T.?
The price quoted is the price that you will pay, we do not believe in hidden charges and we hope to build our client base by recommendation and word of mouth, I personally don't like taking my car to a garage and asking for a price only to find out later when I pick the car up that V.A.T. has been added.
Do your fees include the Local Authority Planning fee?
No, the Planning Application fee is paid directly by the homeowner to the Local Authority. We submit the Planning Application and the homeowner then rings up the Planning department and pays the £150.00 Planning fee. Over 90% of Local Authority's now accept card payments over the telephone.
What happens if the Council want our conservatory amending and do you charge for this?
Occasionally, the Local Authority may want you to slightly move or re-size your conservatory for one reason or another. We don't charge for making amendments to your plan's, these are included in our fees.
What happens if my Planning Application is rejected?
We will amend and re-submit your second application free of charge. The Planning application fee covers 2 applications.
What areas do you cover?
Method 1 - The £389.00 service is marked on the map below. We will travel to your property and perform a survey and take the photographs we need to compile the Planning Application. We are able to cover an area of 70 miles from Stevenage with this service.
If you are further away than 70 miles from Stevenage please contact us as we may still be able to call out to you and take the measurements.
Method 2 - We are able to cover all of the U.K. with our £249.00 Self-Survey Service. The homeowner takes a simple self survey and photographs of their own property.
The survey pack can be downloaded here:
Is there anything else that is not included?
Our fees include anything of an architectural nature but occasionally (rarely) the council may ask for additional information, which we are not qualified to provide. Examples include, and are not limited to, flood risk assessments, tree surveys, design and access statements, topological land surveys, protected species assessments, bio-diversity statements etc. If the Council does require any of this information we would advise that you call the Local Authority and ask them to recommend an approved local contractor for these items.
How detailed are your drawings?
Our drawings are extremely detailed and fully annotated. All of our work is produced in the UK by qualified staff. Typically a set of drawings will include existing and proposed plans and elevations. Our drawings are far more detailed than actually required for Planning Permission approval. All of our drawings are computer generated using the latest AutoCAD software. Samples of our drawings are available for viewing on this web site here.
How long do the approvals from the Local Authority take to be processed?
The time it takes Local Authorities to process planning applications differs from council to council. Planning decisions should take a minimum of 8 weeks to be processed if everything runs smoothly. The busier councils tend to be located in and around the London area.
Can you provide us with plans for a Retrospective Planning application?
Yes, we can provide you with plans for a Retrospective Planning application where conservatories were built without first gaining Local Authority approval. As with any application, approval cannot be guaranteed. This type of application is often required during a house conveyance.
Is postage and printing included in your fees?
Yes, all postage and printing is included for sending the homeowner 4 sets of plans, We also send you a copy of the plans in PDF format by email, should you wish to print your own copies.
Can I start building my conservatory before obtaining the Planning Approval?
Absolutely not - it is against the law to start building works without Planning Permission. If you do start works before approval you may be forced to put the building back to it's original state entirely at your own cost, which may result in demolishing all new building works. It is extremely risky to start works prior to obtaining Planning Permission approval, Conservatory Plans Online will always advise against such action no matter what the circumstances.
Do you provide any other services?
We can also design the following projects:
• Single Storey Extensions |
• Double Storey Extensions • Garages |
• Garage Conversions • Porches |
Please click on the link below to find out about these projects:
www.extension-design-plans.co.uk
If you have any questions that we have missed from here please use the contact us link, and I will post them to this page.
