Measured building survey in Barking and Dagenham
Planning a change to a house in Eastbury, Becontree Heath, Dagenham or Barking starts with its real dimensions. A measured building survey records them so scaled plans can be drawn, each showing an identified scale and north. DrawingsDirect's fixed fee starts from £200.
Fixed fee from £200 · all prices
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What the survey produces for a house in the borough
We measure the rooms, walls, openings, floor levels and roof, then draw them as scaled floor plans, elevations and sections. Those drawings become the starting point for an extension, loft conversion or garage conversion.
A house that has been altered over the years often no longer matches the plan you hold. Measuring first stops the new design being built on a guess. The plain-English explanation is in our guide to what a measured building survey involves.
Scale, north and location plans: what the council expects
Planning practice guidance requires any plans or drawings to be drawn to an identified scale, and plans must show the direction of north. A survey that records dimensions accurately lets every sheet meet that standard.
The same guidance says a location plan should typically be at a scale of 1:1250 or 1:2500. Our location and block plans service produces them.
Between 2025 Q3 and 2026 Q2 the council reached 388 householder decisions, prior approvals included (our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2).
How the council has been deciding householder cases
Between 2025 Q3 and 2026 Q2 the council reached 388 householder decisions, prior approvals included (our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2).
None of its householder decisions outside prior approvals ran past 8 weeks: the figure is 100% (our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2). A quick council does not forgive thin drawings, though; an application can be returned before it is decided.
Just 4 conservation-area entries appear on the national register for Barking and Dagenham (our analysis of the MHCLG Planning Data Platform conservation-area and article-4-direction datasets). Check your address on Barking and Dagenham Council's map, and see the conservation area glossary entry for what a designation means.
What the survey costs
A survey with floor plans is priced from £200. Larger or more complex buildings cost more, and the pricing page has the detail.
Send the address and what you plan to do through the quote form. Once the survey is done, a planning drawings package follows from it. For the national rules, the government's guidance on making an application is the authority.
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 building survey, from the published price list | drawingsdirect.co.uk |
| identified scale | Planning practice guidance, Making an application, paragraph 023 (ID 14-023-20140306): any plans or drawings must be drawn to an identified scale and plans must show the direction of north | www.gov.uk |
| 1:1250 | Planning practice guidance, Making an application, paragraph 024 (ID 14-024-20140306): location plan scale should typically be 1:1250 or 1:2500 | www.gov.uk |
| 388 | Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2 (district open data table) (released 24 Sep 2026, quarters to 2026 Q2) | www.gov.uk |
| 100% | Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2 (district open data table) (released 24 Sep 2026, quarters to 2026 Q2) | www.gov.uk |
| 4 | 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 you survey in Eastbury and Becontree Heath?
Do I need a measured survey for a small extension?
Is a party wall surveyor part of the measured survey?
Photographs: Des Blenkinsopp (CC BY-SA 2.0).
