Planning and design services in Lincolnshire

It depends on the site. A measured or topographical survey is usually the starting point, with drainage, utility, ground investigation, ecology, tree or asbestos surveys added where the site or the scheme calls for them. We work out what is genuinely needed, arrange it, and make sure the results reach the design team in time to be useful rather than after decisions have already been made.

Planning permission is about whether you can build it: use, scale, appearance and impact on the surroundings. Building regulations are about how it is built: structure, fire safety, insulation, ventilation, drainage and access. They are separate approvals from separate bodies, and you need both. Schemes get caught out when one is treated as covering the other.

We co-ordinate and manage the design team rather than acting as the architect. Where you already have a designer we work alongside them. Where you do not, we appoint the right one for the scheme and hold them to a programme, reviewing the output for buildability and cost as it develops.

For a straightforward householder application, typically around eight weeks from validation, and around thirteen for a major application, though timescales vary by authority and by how complete the submission is. The biggest single cause of delay is a submission that goes in missing supporting information, which is exactly what good preparation prevents.

Yes, and it is the most efficient route. The work done at survey and design stage carries straight through into pre-construction and delivery rather than being handed over cold to a contractor who then has to learn the scheme from scratch. Whether you engage us to build it or simply to manage it, nothing gets lost in the handover.