Straight answers to common questions

Ben comes to your property, looks at it with you and talks through what you'd like to do. He'll check the planning history and any designations (such as a listed building or conservation area), and give you an honest view of what's likely to be approved and which approvals you'll need. There's no charge and no obligation. Afterwards we send you a fixed quote for the work.

We work across Tendring, Colchester, Braintree and Maldon in Essex, and Babergh and Ipswich in Suffolk, from our office in Manningtree. If you're just outside these areas, get in touch and we'll let you know if we can help.

Ben, our Managing Director and Planning & Heritage Consultant, is your point of contact from the first visit to the council's decision. Charlie, a Chartered Architectural Technologist, produces the drawings. You deal with the same people throughout.

Yes. We survey the property with 3D LiDAR scanning, design the scheme in 3D, prepare the drawings and the application, and deal with the council for you. Having the planner and the designer in one practice means the design is shaped by what's likely to be approved from the start.

Yes. For projects we've designed, we also prepare the building regulations drawings, so your builder has what they need.

Every project is different, so we don't publish prices. Ben visits for free, looks at what you'd like to do, and then we give you a fixed quote for the work, agreed before we start, with no hidden extras. The council's application fee and any specialist reports (such as an ecology survey) are separate, and we'll tell you up front which ones your project needs.

Once an application is valid, councils aim to decide most within 8 weeks, and larger schemes within 13 weeks. Allow time before that for the survey, design and any reports. Our guide how long does planning take explains the stages.

We'd strongly advise against it. If permission is refused, or granted with changes, you may have to undo the work, and building without permission can lead to enforcement action. Work to a listed building without consent can be a criminal offence.

Usually three years from the date of the decision, unless the permission says otherwise. Work has to have properly started within that time. Check the conditions too: some must be dealt with before work begins.

It depends on the project, the type of property and where it is. Many single-storey extensions, loft conversions and outbuildings are permitted development, but flats, listed buildings, conservation areas and homes where rights have been removed are treated differently.

A national set of rules that allows certain extensions and alterations to houses without a planning application, within set limits on size, height and position. Larger extensions, and anything outside the limits, need planning permission.

A formal confirmation from the council that a project, or something already built or in use, is lawful. It's the best way to prove permitted development work was allowed, and solicitors often ask for one when you sell. See lawful development certificates.

It's worth it when the principle is uncertain, the site is sensitive, or the scheme is larger. For a straightforward extension it can add time without telling you much more. Our guide should I get pre-application advice? explains how to decide.

No, and you should be wary of anyone who does. The decision is the council's. What we can do is give you an honest view at the start, design the scheme to give it the best chance, and make a strong, well-prepared case. If something isn't likely to be approved, we'll tell you.

Any work that affects the building's character as a building of special interest, inside or out. That includes extensions, new or replacement windows and doors, removing walls or fireplaces, and sometimes repairs using different materials. If in doubt, assume consent is needed and ask first. See listed building consent.

Sometimes. Repairing original windows is usually preferred. Where replacement is justified, the new windows need to match the originals closely, and listed building consent is required. Our guide can I replace windows in a listed building? covers it in detail.

A report explaining what's special about a listed building or conservation area, and how your proposal affects it. Councils require one with listed building consent applications and most applications in conservation areas. We write them in-house. See heritage statements.

Get advice quickly. A retrospective application for listed building consent may be possible if the work is acceptable, or the work may need to be altered or reversed. There's no time limit on enforcement for listed buildings, so the issue won't go away on its own.

If a reasonable design change would answer the reasons for refusal, a revised application is often quicker. If the scheme is right and the council's reasoning is weak, an appeal may be better. Our guide my application was refused: what now? explains both.

For householder applications, 12 weeks from the date of the decision notice. For most other applications, 6 months. If an enforcement notice covers the same development, the time can be much shorter. Late appeals aren't accepted.

Don't ignore it, and don't agree to anything before you understand your position. Many cases are resolved with a retrospective application, or by showing the work didn't need permission. See I've had a planning enforcement letter.

It depends on the site. Roof work and barn conversions often need a bat survey, trees close to the work may need a tree survey, and sites in a flood zone need a flood risk assessment. We'll tell you which reports your project actually needs, and arrange them for you.

For most extensions and alterations, yes, for the building regulations stage. For barn conversions, a structural survey is needed early on to show the building can be converted. We work with engineers we trust and can arrange it.

If you're building on or near a boundary with a neighbour, or digging foundations close to theirs, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 may apply. That's separate from planning. We'll flag it when we design the scheme so you can serve notice in good time.

Not necessarily. "Architect" is a protected title for people registered with the Architects Registration Board. Charlie is a Chartered Architectural Technologist (MCIAT), and Complete Planning is a CIAT Chartered Practice, qualified to design projects and take them from concept to completion.