Planning and Warrant Service
The majority of our customers include our planning and building control service, which means we act as your agent for building approvals. You need an agent because each new house requires planning permission on your selected site and regulatory approvals to allow it to be built. In Scotland this is securing full planning permission and a building warrant, in England and Wales it is securing full planning permission and complying with building regulations.
Our full package includes use of a range of consultants including the architect, land surveyor, sewerage and drainage specialist, civil and structural engineer and heating system engineer. It is a comprehensive package designed to maximise your chances of obtaining consents in the most hassle-free way. The engineer of your kit will also design your foundations, which reduces risk.
The fee for the full service is £9,800 + vat and is payable in two stages.
Stage 1 - Planning Application
Full planning consent will approve the design of the house, as well as its site, how the access is configured, and how sewerage and surface water is dealt with. The council will consult with other statutory bodies, such as the water authority during this process. If your proposal is in a sensitive area, government agencies such as English or Scottish Natural Heritage, Historic Scotland or the National Trust may be involved. There is never a guarantee that you will get full planning permission, as it is dependent on the policies and opinions of local authorities and their officials. Although local authorities are responsible for administering the planning system, comprehensive information on national guidelines can be found online at www.gov.uk/government/collections/planning-practice-guidance.
Your Planning Service includes the following:
• Planning Drawings of house including section through site showing house in context and block and location plan of house on site
• Design and Access Statement
• Land/Building Surveyor: Topographical survey of site (presuming half-acre site)
• Structural Engineer: Ground Investigation Report
• Drainage Consultant: Drainage and sewerage proposal and report
• All planning application administration.
Stage 1 Invoice: £5,400 + VAT*
Due on submission of Planning Application
*this may be reduced depending on house type, location, and services required
Stage 2 - Building Control
Once you have secured full planning permission, the next step is a building control consent – that is, approval from your local authority’s building standards department.
This system varies in different parts of the UK. In Scotland you cannot build until you have full council-approved drawings. These drawings show details of the structure, the internal layout, electrics, plumbing and heating system. An engineer’s certificate, as well as data illustrating the energy efficiency for the house is also required. In England your technical drawings will be submitted for approval to a local authority or private approved inspector. You can expect a decision between 5-8 weeks from your application. In Republic of Ireland you can commence and complete construction on approved planning drawings. There is a legal obligation for compliance with Building Regulations which is satisfied through lodgement to the Local Authority of “certificates of compliance“.
The structural drawings package will include certificate prepared by a Structural Engineers Register-approved engineer (known as an SER certificate) to confirm that the proposed build meets all the required structural standards . This certificate covers all elements of the build, including the foundations and other non-kit elements (this only applies in Scotland).
Your Building Control Service includes the following:
• Site specific architect’s Building Control drawings
• Structural Engineer: Road design to site and foundation design
• Services Engineer: Heating system report and proposal by consultant
• All Building Control application administration – up to submission and dealing with points
Stage 2 Invoice: £4,400 + VAT
Due on submission of Final Building Warrant
Additional Charges
You will also need to factor in additional expenses which are not included in our packages as follows:
Mandatory
• Planning Application fee (£401 in Scotland)
• Building Control Application fee (approx. £1,500, depending on floor area)
• SER Certification & Registration at Building Control stage (£610 in Scotland only)
• Travelling & Subsistence for all consultants
• Additional information requested by the local authority
• Liaising with Statutory Authorities after approval
• Site visits (separate to kit contract)
• Mains water and electricity connections administration
Optional
• Contract Administrator: to administer the contract while the work is on site.
• Quantity Surveyor: to provide you with a more robust costing of the development of the overall site.
• Heating Engineer: to provide detailed design of heating system.
• We would recommend a warranty scheme for all domestic projects.
Site Specific (these may or may not apply to your project depending on your site)
• Surveys of existing buildings
• Environmental, archaeological, bat, animal surveys
• Machine and manpower to dig percolation and ground condition holes to support site specific surveys
• Tree Survey & Landscape design
• SUDS and Non-standard drainage design
• Designing water supply and issuing reports (where no mains)
• Decrofting admin
You will receive the following documents once you decide to proceed:
• Cover letter
This outlines our services and terms and conditions as well as any potential additional surveys required
• Architects Conditions of Appointment for Small Projects
This is the contract between yourselves and HebHomes outlining standard duties and responsibilities as well as a breakdown of fees and estimates on additional expenses.
• Guide to Working with an Architect
This is a supplementary document.
If you decide not to take our P&BC Service but would like us to organise some surveys for you, we can provide a list of fees for each type of survey that would normally be included in our P&BC Service that you can carry out separately.
Example Programme
Download our example programme from the Members Area for an indication of how long the different stages may take.
