What is included in an architectural drawings package in London
In London, an architectural drawings package for a householder planning application covers the survey, the drawings, a design statement and the submission to the council, and starts at £745 with us. An all-inclusive package that adds Building Regulations drawings and structural calculations starts at £1,845. What follows explains each part and why the council asks for it.
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The pieces of a planning set
A planning set is a bundle of documents, each answering a question the council will ask. The survey records what is there now. The existing and proposed plans, elevations and sections show what will change. The location plan and block plan place the house in its street and on its plot. A design statement explains the reasoning.
Our householder planning drawings cover the survey, the drawings, the design statement and the submission, starting at £745. The scope of each project type is on our planning drawings page.
Scale, north and the red line
The council will not validate drawings that cannot be read. National planning practice guidance says plans and drawings must be drawn to an identified scale, and plans must show the direction of north (Making an application, GOV.UK).
The location plan has two further rules. It should typically be at a scale of 1:1250 or 1:2500, and the application site is edged clearly with a red line. Both are simple to get right when the drawings are first prepared.
Our all-inclusive package covers planning, Building Regulations drawings and structural calculations and starts at £1,845.
Location and block plans
A location and block plan pair starts at £39 on its own, and it comes free inside every planning package we sell.
If you only need those plans, for example to accompany an application you are drawing yourself, see our location and block plans service.
Where Building Regulations drawings fit
Planning approval and Building Regulations approval are separate. The planning set shows the council what the building will look like. Building Regulations drawings show a building control body how it will be built, with the technical detail that planning does not need.
Our all-inclusive package covers planning, Building Regulations drawings and structural calculations and starts at £1,845. Whether you need it depends on the project, and our guide to planning drawings vs Building Regulations drawings draws the line. The Building Regulations drawings service page lists the sheets in that set.
Check the package against your project
Before you accept a quote from anyone, ask for a list of the sheets. A survey, existing and proposed plans, elevations, a section and the location and block plans should all be named. If a design statement or the submission is not mentioned, ask whether it is included.
If you are unsure what your project needs, the step-by-step guide to getting planning permission in London shows the order in which the documents are used, and our pricing page lists every fixed fee.
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 householder planning drawings (survey, drawings, design statement, submission), from the published price list | drawingsdirect.co.uk |
| £1,845 | DrawingsDirect starting fixed fee for the all-inclusive package (planning, building regulations drawings and structural calculations), from the published price list | drawingsdirect.co.uk |
| £39 | DrawingsDirect starting fixed fee for a location and block plan pair (free inside every planning package), from the published price list | drawingsdirect.co.uk |
| identified scale | Planning practice guidance, Making an application, paragraph 023: plans and drawings must be drawn to an identified scale and plans must show the direction of north (source wording: "must be drawn to an identified scale") | www.gov.uk |
| 1:1250 | Planning practice guidance, Making an application, paragraph 024: a location plan should typically be at a scale of 1:1250 or 1:2500 (source wording: "The scale should typically be 1:1250 or 1:2500") | www.gov.uk |
| red line | Planning practice guidance, Making an application, paragraph 024: the application site is edged clearly with a red line on the location plan (source wording: "edged clearly with a red line") | www.gov.uk |