Measured survey in London, from £200
A measured survey in London from DrawingsDirect starts at £200, a fixed fee for a laser-measured building survey that gives you the existing plans every later drawing is built on. MCIAT chartered architectural technologists measure the building as it stands, so your planning or Building Regulations drawings start from true dimensions.
Fixed fee from £200 · all prices
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What a measured survey gives your drawings
A measured survey records the building that exists today: room sizes, wall thicknesses, door and window positions and storey heights. We turn those readings into existing plans, elevations and sections, and every proposed drawing is then drawn on top of them.
That is why the survey comes first on a job. Our guide to what a measured building survey is explains the method, and our floor plans service covers the case where the scaled plan of each level is all you need.
The scale rules a drawing has to meet
Government planning practice guidance on making an application, paragraph 023, says plans and drawings must be drawn to an "identified scale" and that plans must show the direction of north.
For the location plan, paragraph 024 says the scale should typically be 1:1250 or 1:2500, with the application site "edged clearly with a red line". Our location and block plans service produces these, and you can read the wording on GOV.UK planning guidance.
Our analysis of table PS1, from the same release, counts 24,335 certificates of lawful development decided across the 33 London councils in the eight quarters 2024 Q3 to 2026 Q2.
Why accurate existing drawings matter across London
Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2 (released 24 Sep 2026, quarters to 2026 Q2) counts 23,967 householder decisions by the 33 London councils over the four quarters 2025 Q3 to 2026 Q2, including prior approvals, and 86% of them were granted.
Lawful development certificates need existing drawings too. Our analysis of table PS1, from the same release, counts 24,335 certificates of lawful development decided across the 33 London councils in the eight quarters 2024 Q3 to 2026 Q2. Both figures are averages for the whole city, so read them as context, not as a prediction for your home.
What the survey costs
Our fixed fee starts from £200 for a measured survey and £275 for floor plans. The fee for your property depends on what there is to measure, so send us the address and we will confirm it before you commit. Other fees are on our pricing page.
If the survey leads on to a planning application, our planning drawings build directly on it; for work that needs a Building Regulations submission, see Building Regulations drawings.
Sources
Every figure on this page, where it comes from and a link to the original.
| Figure | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| £200 | DrawingsDirect starting fixed fee for a measured survey or floor plans | 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 |
| 23,967 | Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2 (district open data table) (released 24 Sep 2026, quarters to 2026 Q2) | www.gov.uk |
| 86% | Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2 (district open data table) (released 24 Sep 2026, quarters to 2026 Q2) | www.gov.uk |
| 24,335 | Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS1 (district open data table) (released 24 Sep 2026, quarters to 2026 Q2) | www.gov.uk |