New Build DrawingsFrom £1,450
How much do new build drawings cost in London?
New build drawings for a single house on a London plot start at £1,450 from us, with the measured site survey included, and the council's planning fee is £610 for each new home when fewer than 10 are built. A new house is the project with the most separate paperwork, so this post lists each item beyond that starting figure.
The short answer: a starting fee, then a fee per home
Our new build drawings start at £1,450. For that we survey the plot and its surroundings, draw the existing site, the proposed house and its plans, elevations and sections, and submit the full planning application as your agent. A larger house, a tight backland plot or a scheme with several homes is quoted from that figure after we have seen the site.
The council's fee for erecting dwellings, where fewer than 10 are created, is £610 for each dwelling (fees schedule, category 1). For a single new house that is £610; at 10 to 50 homes the rate rises to £659 each.
- Our new build drawings
- £1,250
- Our measured survey visit
- £200
- Total
- £1,450
Why a new house needs more than drawings
A new home is judged against the council's whole local plan, not only the look of the elevations: the effect on neighbours, the space standards inside, parking and access, trees, drainage and the fit with the street. Our drawings show the proposed house against the neighbours' windows and boundaries, so the officer can read the effect rather than infer it.
The nationally described space standard sets the smallest floor areas for new homes, and its smallest figure is 39 square metres for a one-bedroom home for one person. A council can apply it, so an infill plot that looks generous on paper can fail on the internal layout of the house you want to fit.
Biodiversity net gain and small sites
Government guidance says the objective is for development to deliver at least a 10% increase in biodiversity value relative to the habitat on the site before. A new house on a garden or a backland plot can trigger it, because it removes green space.
There is an exemption that matters to London infill. For applications made on or after 6 August 2026, development on a site of no more than 0.2 hectares is exempt, provided it does not affect an onsite priority habitat. We check the area and the habitat on the survey visit, so you know before the application whether a biodiversity assessment is on your bill.
The costs after planning
Building regulations approval for a new house covers the structure, energy, fire safety, drainage and ventilation. Our building regulations drawings start at £745, though a full new house is quoted on its size, and building control charges its own fee, as explained in our post on building regulations costs.
Structural calculations start at £395 through structural drawings, and the post on what they cost gives the detail. A new home on a boundary may also need party wall notices; our guide to new build planning in London lists the others.
What the 8-week decision means for a new house
A single new house is not major development, so the statutory period for the decision is 8 weeks beginning with the day after the application is received, unless you agree a longer time in writing. Larger schemes get 13 weeks.
Decisions on new homes can run longer by agreement, particularly where a consultee such as the highways team or the tree officer needs to reply. We tell you at the start which consultees are likely on your street, so the programme you give your builder is not built on the 8 weeks alone.
Sources
Every figure in this article, where it comes from and a link to the original.
- £610: Statutory fee from 1 April 2026, fees schedule category 1(3)(a): erection of dwellinghouses, fewer than 10, per dwellinghouse. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
- £659: Statutory fee from 1 April 2026, fees schedule category 1(3)(b): erection of dwellinghouses, 10 to 50, per dwellinghouse. assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
- 10%: GOV.UK Biodiversity net gain: (source wording: "at least a 10% increase in biodiversity value relative to the pre-development biodiversity value of the onsite habitat"). www.gov.uk
- 0.2 hectares: GOV.UK Biodiversity net gain: exemption for applications made on or after 6 August 2026 (source wording: "Development is exempt where it is carried out on a site with an area no larger than 0.2 hectares"). www.gov.uk
- 39 square metres: Nationally described space standard: 1 bedroom, 1 person dwelling minimum gross internal floor area (source wording: "the floor area may be reduced from 39m2 to 37m2"). www.gov.uk
- 8 weeks: DMPO 2015 art 34(2)(b): period for deciding a non-major application (source wording: "8 weeks beginning with the day immediately following that on which the application is received"). www.legislation.gov.uk
Questions people ask
Is the council fee included in your price?
Do I pay VAT on your fee?
Can you tell me if my plot will get permission?
Do you draw the structure and building regulations too?
What if my site is larger than 0.2 hectares?
Photographs: yorkshirelad (CC BY-SA 2.0); Rohan Gangopadhyay (Unsplash License).
New Build Drawings: a fixed fee from £1,450
Read more on the new build drawings service page, or send your address below and we reply within one working day.
New Build Drawings
from £1,450
£1,250 drawings + £200 survey (£1,450 total)
Every price is the full fixed fee you pay. No VAT is charged. Council application fees are paid to the council separately.
What you get
- Measured survey of the plot and its boundaries, included
- Existing site plan and proposed plans, elevations and sections
- A check of local policy, constraints and biodiversity position for your plot
- Application forms, ownership certificate and submission
- A clear view of which consultees are likely to comment