A rear extension in Porthcawl at dusk, lit from within

Architecture

Services

We take a project from first appraisal to a finished building in three phases, following the RIBA Plan of Work. Each phase is priced on its own, so you commission as much of the work as the project needs.

RIBA stages 0 to 3

Design and Planning

Phase 1 takes your project from initial concept through to a planning application ready for the local authority. Two levels of service are offered. Both secure planning permission and lay the technical groundwork for the build; the fuller package adds the visualisation and environmental modelling that strengthen the application and protect your budget later.

Plans, elevations and sections, existing to proposed, as PDF
Biodiversity and green infrastructure strategy, built in from the start
Drainage mapping and Welsh Water build-over check
Early consultation with builders, Building Control and Welsh Water
Design and Access Statement
Full planning application preparation, submission and liaison through determination
Client consultation meeting and revisions to the final design

Fee: From £1,800
Duration: Approximately 3 to 4 weeks

Paid by the client

The local authority's planning application fee, likely £585 (see the council's schedule). Planning can take three months or more.

RIBA stage 4

Technical Design

The detailed package your builder prices and builds from.

Dimensioned, technically annotated plans, sections and elevations (PDF)
Performance specification to building regulation standards
Construction information notes
Electrical, drainage, heating and ventilation layouts (PDF)
Optionally, the design and fabrication of custom fittings, furniture and partition systems, managed from manufacture to installation

Fee: Time charge, quoted once the scope is known
Duration: Approximately 2 to 4 weeks

Paid by the client

Building Control inspection fees, likely £800 to £1,200 or more (see the council's schedule).

RIBA stages 5 to 7

Project Management

We manage the build on your behalf, from signed contract to finished project: one informed point of contact between you and the builder, so problems are caught early and the decisions stay yours.

A RIBA domestic works contract set up between you and your contractor
Regular site visits, checking the work against the drawings and specification, alongside Building Control inspections
Ongoing contract administration as questions arise on site

Fee: Time charge per site visit, plus administration

Planning packages

Approximately 3 weeks

Planning Package

£1,800

Everything needed to secure planning permission, with the technical groundwork that keeps the later build on track.

Plans, elevations and sections, existing to proposed, as PDF
Biodiversity and green infrastructure strategy, built in from the start
Drainage mapping and Welsh Water build-over check
Early consultation with builders, Building Control and Welsh Water
Design and Access Statement
Full planning application preparation, submission and liaison through determination
Client consultation meeting and revisions to the final design

Approximately 4 weeks

Design and Planning Package

£2,250

The visualisation and environmental modelling that sell the scheme and de-risk the build, on top of the Planning Package.

Everything in the Planning Package, plus

Full walkthrough animations of the proposed works
Contextual visualisations with material and finish options
Daylight, sunlight and overshadowing study
Orientation and solar-gain energy and overheating strategy
Deeper foresight on likely council issues and objections

What is included, explained

Environment and site strategy

Daylight, sunlight and overshadowing study

Using a purpose-built model of your site, we track how the sun moves across it through the year and how the proposal affects daylight to your own rooms and to your neighbours'. Loss of light is the single most common objection that stalls or shrinks a domestic scheme. We test it and answer it before the application goes in, so the council has less to push back on.

Orientation and energy strategy

We orient rooms, glazing and shading to the sun so the home is naturally warmer in winter and cooler in summer, with lower running costs designed in from the start. Getting this right on paper avoids expensive compliance corrections under Part L and Part O further down the line.

Biodiversity and green infrastructure

Welsh planning now expects every scheme to leave the site better for wildlife than it found it. We weave planting, habitat and permeable landscape into the design from day one, so it reads to the planners as a genuine benefit under Planning Policy Wales rather than a box ticked at the last minute.

Technical foresight, avoiding later costs

Drainage mapping and build-over check

We map the existing foul and surface water drainage and check for public sewers running under or close to the site. An unexpected sewer, or a missing build-over agreement with Welsh Water, can freeze a project or force a costly redesign mid-build. We surface it now, while it is still cheap to solve.

Water and rainwater strategy

Where relevant, we plan how the site handles rainwater and irrigation, from soakaways to garden systems, so water is designed as an asset rather than dealt with as an afterthought.

Early consultation and council foresight

Before submission we sound out builders, Building Control and Welsh Water, and read the likely council concerns: constraints, precedent, access and overshadowing. The next stages begin with a head start and far fewer surprises.

Design and visualisation

Plans, elevations and sections

A complete, clearly drawn set from existing to proposed, delivered as PDF and forming the basis of the planning submission.

Full walkthrough animations

A moving walkthrough of the finished scheme, so you and the planners experience the space before a single brick is laid. Far more persuasive at consultation than a static drawing.

Contextual visualisations and material options

Photoreal images of the design set into photographs of your actual site, with material and finish options laid side by side. Decisions get made confidently and early, which means fewer revisions, and fewer costs, later.

Quantity surveying

In development

Quantity surveying and cost analysis

We are building our own software to read a design model element by element, attach real products and materials to each part, and return quantities and costs that move with the design.

It is being developed alongside live projects and will be offered as a service as the tool matures.

Additional services

Service	Description	Fee
Measured building survey	On-site measurement of the building, landscape and context, with evidence mapping of foul and surface water, producing a 3D model, renders, plans and elevations. About 4 to 6 hours on site and around 2 days of modelling. Larger or sloping sites need a specialist topographic survey, commissioned separately.	£450
Overheating and energy efficiency modelling	In-depth thermal and energy analysis to prove low running costs and readiness for Part L and Part O.	On application
Structural analysis	Assessment of an existing, damaged or altered structure to inform safe, well-founded interventions.	On application
Printed A0 drawings	Existing and proposed designs printed on request. Digital drawings come as standard.	£8 per page

All payments are made by bank transfer within 14 days of invoice.

Each proposal is limited to the works in its project outline and listed deliverables; further revisions, site visits or changes of scope are charged as additional services.

Enquire about a project