Planning Consultant?

[Dusty]

I am currently looking to build a house in a garden plot in a Conservation area and speaking with a few local architectural firms. One of them has recommended using a planning consultant but it is likely to add a few thousand pounds to the cost of my application. The others are confident I don't need one so I wondered what the benefit is likely to be by using a PC?

 

Many thanks   

[jfb]

I'd suggest getting a few different pcs over and benefitting from about of their time for free. The more prepared yo u are with some ideas the better.

[Russell griffiths]

What’s the plot worth to you, spending an extra couple of grand and ending up with a £200000 plot is a small price to pay. 

[ToughButterCup]

3 hours ago, Ashley said:

[...]

. One of them has recommended using a planning consultant but it is likely to add a few thousand pounds to the cost of my application.

[...]

 

A few thousand? What are you planning? An estate? A garage?

• Do some due diligence locally. Read through all the local planning applications, at least  those  that are in situations close to yours.  Network.  Done well, it's hard work.
• Read. All the recent applications for similar developments to yours. 
• Pick four or five local planners: listen / read all you can about them: don't forget their contributions to  Planning Committee Meetings
• Make a shortlist. Talk to  them. Get prices
• Listen.
• Get references.
• Attention to detail matters. Most women are better at that than most men. (Yes, I know - couldn't care less).

Planning consultants aren't short of work. 

[Moonshine]

I had some initial paid for advice from a planning consultant for our development (complicated historic site not submitted yet) and they did provide some good advice about the over riding strategy and local policies.

 

However i have left it up to my architect to do the planning application, the reasoning being that i have selected my architect on their previous work (mainly successful) of garden plots in the local authority. I feel that an architect with suitable experience who has done the design is in a better position to tweak it and the details to the requirements of the local authority. Where as a planning consultant is more able to provide the higher level input for larger schemes, and the architect and planning consultant may start tripping over each other.

 

That said i don't know how my application will turn out, and if it went to appeal i may think again about getting the planning consultant involved.

[recoveringbuilder]

+1 for architect, local architect knows all that’s happening within the local area with regards to planning applications and ours was quite willing to fight our corner.

[Temp]

A planning consultant saved our application but not in the way we expected.

 

After nearly a year at the pre-application advice stage we were about to give up. However we decided to hire a planning consultant to look at our plans and see if what we were trying to get approved was as unacceptable as the planners had been telling us. So we opened Yellow Pages and called up the first one in our area. After explaining what what we wanted him to do and agreeing a price we sent him out site details and drawing package. 

 

Few days later he called us and said he had done work for a previous owner of the plot and had a letter that would be very helpful to us. It turned out that the planners had told a previous owner in writing that the sort of house we wanted to build would be a "better option" for the plot! When we showed the planners the letter they gave in immediately. 

 

 

[Dusty]

Thanks for all the kind advice.

The plot is likely to be worth around £100k with planning and architects fees are coming in at around £7k to include a pre-app. The planning consultant has quoted approx. £4k so I may use one if I run into trouble. If the architect I use has the relevant knowledge it should be cheaper so the jury is still out on this one!