What is in the package
Three deliverables share one measured survey. The planning set goes to the council. The building regulations set goes to building control. The structural calculations size the steel and foundations that both sets show.
The package fee is £1,235 drawings + £150 survey (£1,385 total). Separately, you would pay £515 drawings + £150 survey (£665 total) for planning, £515 drawings + £150 survey (£665 total) for building regulations and £389 for the calculations. The saving comes from measuring once and from one set of dimensions that all three share.
Two approvals, not one
Planning permission and building regulations approval are different decisions. GOV.UK says that building regulations approval is different from planning permission, and you might need both.
Planning asks whether the project is acceptable in its place. Building regulations ask whether it is built safely. The package covers the drawings for both, so the beam on the building regulations set is the beam on the planning elevation.
The bills that are not in the package
The council’s fee is separate. For altering or extending one house it is £548. The building control body charges its own fee for full plans, set by whichever body you choose, and we give you the figure before you commit.
Neighbour notices, where your work touches a party wall, are separate too. The Party Wall Act asks for a party structure notice at least two months before work begins, and we prepare those at a fixed fee per neighbour.
How the timeline runs
The council has 8 weeks to decide a householder application that is not major development, unless a longer time is agreed. Building control on full plans decides within 5 weeks, or 2 months with your consent.
Because the drawings come from one survey, the two applications can go in together rather than one after the other. That saves the wait and avoids a planning drawing that has to change because the building regulations set found a problem.
The structural calculations carry the load requirement in Part A of the Building Regulations: that dead, imposed and wind loads are carried safely and without harming another building.
By the numbers
£548
Council planning fee for altering or extending one house in England from 1 April 2026.
Source: Planning fees: annual indexation from 1 April 2026 (GOV.UK)
8 weeks
The council’s time to decide an application that is not major development.
5 weeks
Time for a decision on a full plans building control application, or 2 months with your consent.
Source: Building regulations approval: how to apply (GOV.UK)
2 approvals
GOV.UK says building regulations approval is different from planning permission and you might need both.
Source: Building regulations approval: when you need approval (GOV.UK)
2 months
Minimum notice before work begins on a party structure.
Source: Party Wall etc. Act 1996, section 3: party structure notices (legislation.gov.uk)
A1
The structural requirement that a building carries its loads safely without harming another building.
Source: The Building Regulations 2010, Schedule 1, Part A: structure (legislation.gov.uk)
8 weeks
Usual time to a completion certificate after completion, where the work complies.
Source: Building regulations approval: how to apply (GOV.UK)
Complete package costs: common questions
Can I buy the services separately instead?
Yes. Each is a separate fixed-fee service on our price list. The package is for projects that need all three, with one survey.
Does the package include the council and building control fees?
No. Those are paid to the council and the building control body. We tell you both figures at the start.
Source: Planning fees: annual indexation from 1 April 2026 (GOV.UK) · Building regulations approval: how to apply (GOV.UK)
Do I need all three for every project?
Not always. A small internal alteration may need only building regulations drawings, while a permitted development project may need no planning application. We tell you which of the three your project needs.
Source: Building regulations approval: when you need approval (GOV.UK)
Sources
- Planning fees: annual indexation from 1 April 2026 (GOV.UK)
- Town and Country Planning (Development Management Procedure) Order 2015, article 34 (legislation.gov.uk)
- Building regulations approval: when you need approval (GOV.UK)
- Building regulations approval: how to apply (GOV.UK)
- The Building Regulations 2010, Schedule 1, Part A: structure (legislation.gov.uk)
- Party Wall etc. Act 1996, section 3: party structure notices (legislation.gov.uk)
About the author. Ben Shaukat is Managing Director of Property Architecture Ltd, which trades as Planning Drawings.
Published by Planning Drawings. Checked against the sources above on . Planning rules change; check your council before you build.