What’s possible on the site, before you buy.

1. 01

   Planning history. What’s been applied for on the site, and what the council decided.

2. 02

   What applies to the site. Conservation areas, listing, Article 4, flood zones and tree protection.

3. 03

   What’s been approved nearby. Similar schemes around the site, approved and refused. Real applications, not odds.

4. 04

   Likely routes. Which kind of application the scheme needs.

5. 05

   The risks. What could hold it up, and what to check before you commit.

6. 06

   An honest view. Worth pursuing, or not worth it, and why.

Splitting a house into flats counts as development, so it needs planning permission.

An informed view of what’s likely, not a promise. The decision always rests with the council.

A site Scope follows the same format as the sample Scope: the same sections, sources and honest view.

Measured survey, design options and planning drawings. I prepare and submit the application and deal with the council, then prepare the Building Regulations drawings. Structural engineers and other specialists are brought in and managed by me.

• Council fees for the planning application or a Lawful Development Certificate

• Building control fees

• The structural engineer

• Party wall surveyors

• Topographical or drainage surveys

• Thames Water build-over agreements

• The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), where it applies

I’ll tell you which apply to your project before you commit.

A house split into flats is work I take on, from the site Scope to the planning application.

I’m an Architectural Technologist, not an architect. I take on a small number of projects. Larger schemes may need an architect or a planning consultant, and I’ll say so.