Planning permission in Barnet
Planning permission in Barnet means a householder application to the council with scaled drawings, a £548 statutory fee and an 8-week decision period. Barnet granted 80% of its householder decisions in the four quarters to 2026 Q2. We prepare the drawings from £745.
Fixed fee from £545 drawings + £200 survey (£745 total) · all prices
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What Barnet expects in a householder application
Government guidance says any plans or drawings must be drawn to an identified scale, and plans must show the direction of north (planning practice guidance on making an application). In practice that means a location plan, a block plan, and existing and proposed floor plans and elevations, with sections where the roof or floor levels change.
The statutory fee for a householder application to alter or extend a single dwellinghouse is £548 from 1 April 2026 (SI 2012/2920, Schedule 1 Part 2, category 6(1), as annually indexed). That fee goes to the council, not to us.
Each council also publishes its own local validation list, so read Barnet's before you submit. An application that arrives without something on that list is held back until it is supplied. Our guide to what an architectural drawings package contains shows how the set is usually built.
Barnet's recent householder decisions
Barnet made 1,361 householder decisions in the four quarters to 2026 Q2, counting prior approvals (our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2).
80% of those householder decisions were grants (our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2).
Leaving prior approvals aside, 95% of householder decisions came within 8 weeks (our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2). The period itself is set by the Development Management Procedure Order: 8 weeks for an application that is not major development, beginning the day after receipt (DMPO 2015, article 34(2)(b)).
For a realistic programme from the day you submit, see how long planning permission takes in London.
The national register holds 16 conservation-area entries for Barnet (our analysis of the MHCLG Planning Data Platform conservation-area dataset, snapshot of 14 Aug 2026).
If Barnet says no: the appeal record
The Planning Inspectorate decided 494 householder appeals against Barnet decisions between 2021 and 2026, and allowed 51% of them (our analysis of the Planning Inspectorate Casework Database, release 2609).
That is not a reason to expect a refusal to be overturned. It does show that officer reports and refusal reasons are worth reading closely, because the grounds are usually specific. Our planning appeal glossary entry explains the route, and the appeal process guide walks through the steps.
Conservation areas and loft conversions
The national register holds 16 conservation-area entries for Barnet (our analysis of the MHCLG Planning Data Platform conservation-area dataset, snapshot of 14 Aug 2026). Inside one, rights that normally let you build without an application can be removed or narrowed, so check your address on Barnet's conservation area map before you assume anything. The conservation area glossary entry sets out what changes.
Loft work is the other common Barnet question. Many loft conversions can go ahead under permitted development, though not every house qualifies, and our guide on whether a loft conversion needs planning permission shows how to check. Where an application is needed we draw it as part of our loft conversion drawings service.
Our fee for the drawings
Planning drawings for a Barnet home start from £745, fixed in advance. The pricing page lists the other services, and the form on this page takes your address and a line about the project.
Sources
Every figure on this page, where it comes from and a link to the original.
| Figure | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 8 weeks | DMPO 2015 art 34(2)(b): decision period for an application that is not major development (source wording: 8 weeks beginning with the day immediately following receipt) | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| £548 | Statutory fee from 1 April 2026, SI 2012/2920 Sch 1 Pt 2 category 6(1): householder application for alterations or extensions to a single dwellinghouse | assets.publishing.service.gov.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 |
| £745 | DrawingsDirect starting fixed fee for planning drawings, from the published price list | drawingsdirect.co.uk |
Questions people ask
What is on the Barnet validation checklist?
How long does Barnet take to decide a householder application?
Do I need planning permission for a loft conversion in Barnet?
Can you submit the Barnet application for me?
Photographs: David Howard (CC BY-SA 2.0).
