Building regulations drawings in Barnet
Building regulations approval in Barnet is separate from planning permission. A full plans application goes to a building control body, and a local authority must give its outcome within five weeks of receiving it, or a longer period you agree. DrawingsDirect, MCIAT chartered architectural technologists, prepares the drawings from £745.
Fixed fee from £545 drawings + £200 survey (£745 total) · all prices
Prefer to talk it through?
Planning permission and building regulations are two approvals
A planning grant says the proposal is acceptable in land-use terms. It does not show that the construction meets the Building Regulations, which is a second approval with its own application and its own drawings. A Barnet extension, loft or conversion usually needs both.
For planning context, our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2, finds that Barnet decided 1,361 householder applications, including prior approvals, between 2025 Q3 and 2026 Q2, and granted 80% of them. Of the householder decisions excluding prior approvals, 95% were made within 8 weeks. Those figures cover planning only; our page on planning permission in Barnet covers that route.
What the five-week clock means for a full plans application
Under regulation 14A(6) of the Building Regulations 2010, a local authority must notify the outcome of a full plans application within five weeks of receiving it, or a longer period that has been agreed. The clock starts at receipt of the application, so a set that is missing a structural detail or a drainage layout invites questions before anyone has reached a decision. The wording is on legislation.gov.uk.
The drawings therefore need to show the construction, not only the shape of the building: the structure, the insulation build-up, the drainage, the ventilation and the means of escape where they apply. Our guide to building control in London explains who receives the application and what they look for, and the building regulations drawings service lists what goes in a set.
Our analysis of the Planning Inspectorate Casework Database (released 1 Oct 2026, Casework Database 2609) counts 494 householder-development appeals decided for Barnet over 2021 to 2026, and finds 51% of them were allowed.
Starting on site: the two-day notice
Regulation 16 of the Building Regulations 2010 says work must not start until at least two days have elapsed since the end of the day on which the notice of intention to start was given. Ask your builder to give that notice, and keep a copy, rather than assuming an application on its own lets work begin.
Whether a project needs a building regulations application at all depends on what is being built. Read do I need building regulations approval before you decide, and see structural drawings if walls are coming out or a roof is changing.
Barnet conservation areas: a planning matter, not a Building Regulations one
Our analysis of the MHCLG Planning Data Platform conservation-area dataset (bulk snapshot retrieved 14 Aug 2026) finds 16 conservation-area entries on the national register for Barnet. The register may be incomplete, so check Barnet Council's own conservation area map for your address.
A conservation area does not change the Building Regulations. It can change the planning route, because permitted development rights are narrower there, so settle the planning position before the construction drawings are finalised.
Getting the planning decision right first
If a planning application is refused, the design often has to change, and the construction drawings change with it. Our analysis of the Planning Inspectorate Casework Database (released 1 Oct 2026, Casework Database 2609) counts 494 householder-development appeals decided for Barnet over 2021 to 2026, and finds 51% of them were allowed.
An appeal is a fallback, not a plan. It is cheaper to resolve the likely objections in the first set of planning drawings, then build the building regulations package on the approved design.
Fee and what happens next
Our starting fixed fee for a building regulations full plans drawing package is £745, from the published price list on our pricing page. The final fee depends on the size and complexity of the project and is confirmed before work starts.
Send your Barnet address and a short description of the project through the quote form on this page. We confirm the scope, draw the set, and you or your builder submit it to the building control body of your choice.
Sources
Every figure on this page, where it comes from and a link to the original.
| Figure | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| £745 | DrawingsDirect starting fixed fee for a building regulations full plans drawing package, from the published price list | drawingsdirect.co.uk |
| five weeks | Building Regulations 2010 reg 14A(6): the authority must notify the outcome of a full plans application within five weeks of receipt, or a longer agreed period (source wording: "within five weeks beginning with the date the application is received") | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| two days | Building Regulations 2010 reg 16(1)(b): work must not start until at least two days have elapsed since the end of the day the notice of intention to start was given (source wording: "at least two days have elapsed") | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| 1,361 | Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2 (district open data table) (released 24 Sep 2026, quarters to 2026 Q2) | www.gov.uk |
| 80% | Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2 (district open data table) (released 24 Sep 2026, quarters to 2026 Q2) | www.gov.uk |
| 95% | Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2 (district open data table) (released 24 Sep 2026, quarters to 2026 Q2) | www.gov.uk |
| 494 | Our analysis of Planning Inspectorate Casework Database (released 1 Oct 2026 (Casework Database 2609)) | www.gov.uk |
| 51% | Our analysis of Planning Inspectorate Casework Database (released 1 Oct 2026 (Casework Database 2609)) | www.gov.uk |
| 16 | Our analysis of MHCLG Planning Data Platform conservation-area and article-4-direction datasets (bulk snapshot retrieved 14 Aug 2026) | www.planning.data.gov.uk |
Questions people ask
Do I need building regulations approval as well as planning permission in Barnet?
How long does a building regulations full plans application take?
How much do building regulations drawings cost in Barnet?
When can building work start in Barnet?
Photographs: David Howard (CC BY-SA 2.0); David Hawgood (CC BY-SA 2.0); Peikko (Public Domain).
