Richmond building regulations drawings
The national register holds 85 conservation-area entries for Richmond upon Thames, and they shape the planning side of a project. A conservation area does not change building regulations, which test construction, not appearance. We draw the construction set from £745, and the authority has five weeks from receipt to notify its outcome on a full plans application.
Fixed fee from £545 drawings + £200 survey (£745 total) · all prices
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Why Richmond projects need two sets of drawings
In a borough with this many protected streets, the planning drawings can take most of the attention, because details such as window style, roof pitch and materials draw comment. The building regulations set answers different questions: whether the beam carries the load, whether the wall meets the insulation standard, and whether the loft stair gives a safe escape.
Do not treat one as a substitute for the other. Our Richmond planning permission page covers the first stage.
Richmond in the datasets
The national register lists 85 conservation-area entries for Richmond (our analysis of the MHCLG Planning Data Platform conservation-area dataset). The dataset is published on the government's planning data platform, where you can look up your address, but Richmond's own conservation area map is the one to trust for your boundary.
The council made 1,302 householder planning decisions in the four quarters from 2025 Q3 to 2026 Q2, including prior approvals (our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2). That is a busy planning desk, and a reason to leave time for the planning stage before you set a builder's start date.
The national register lists 85 conservation-area entries for Richmond (our analysis of the MHCLG Planning Data Platform conservation-area dataset).
The five-week rule on full plans
Regulation 14A(6) of the Building Regulations 2010 requires the authority to notify the outcome of a full plans application within five weeks of receipt, or a longer period agreed in writing. A conservation area does not extend this period. The regulation is available on legislation.gov.uk.
Garden buildings and porches
A detached building with a floor area not exceeding 15m2 and no sleeping accommodation is exempt from building regulations under Schedule 2, Class 6. A ground-level porch, conservatory, covered yard, covered way or carport open on at least two sides is exempt under Class 7 up to 30m2.
An exemption from building regulations does not remove the need for planning permission, which matters in a conservation area. Our guide to conservation area extension rules covers that.
Fee
Building regulations drawings start from £745. See the pricing page. If you want the layouts and a survey first, the measured building survey is where we begin.
Sources
Every figure on this page, where it comes from and a link to the original.
| Figure | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| 85 | 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 |
| 1,302 | Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2 (district open data table) (released 24 Sep 2026, quarters to 2026 Q2) | www.gov.uk |
| five weeks | Building Regulations 2010 reg 14A(6): authority must notify the outcome of a full plans application within five weeks of receipt, or a longer period agreed in writing (source wording: five weeks) | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| 15m2 | Building Regulations 2010 Sch 2 Class 6 para 3: exempt detached building with floor area not exceeding 15m2 and no sleeping accommodation (source wording: 15m2) | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| 30m2 | Building Regulations 2010 Sch 2 Class 7: exempt ground-level conservatory, porch, covered yard or covered way, or carport open on two sides, with floor area not exceeding 30m2 (source wording: 30m2) | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| £745 | DrawingsDirect starting fixed fee for building regulations drawings, from the published price list | drawingsdirect.co.uk |
Questions people ask
Does living in a conservation area change building regulations?
Will building control comment on how my extension looks?
Can I start work once I have planning permission?
Photographs: David Howard (CC BY-SA 2.0); Derek Harper (CC BY-SA 2.0); Peikko (Public Domain).
