Should Your Architect Handle Your Planning Application? An Expert Explains the Ins & Outs

When do you need both an architect and planning consultant?

Before I am struck off by my fellow planning consultants, I should say that there is still a strong case for involving a planner on an awkward project, even if your architect is comfortable with the planning side. Many architects are very good at planning, but it is not their day job. Planning law, practice and policy are constantly changing and evolving, and a good planning consultant will have a better feel for how to pre-empt, dodge or deal with problems that could derail your application.

Planning is full of myths and half-truths, and a partial understanding of the system can sometimes be worse than no knowledge at all. I am sometimes approached by clients who have been told, very confidently, that their proposal is almost certain to succeed, only for a little digging to reveal that it is doomed from the start.  Or – even worse – that “the council will never allow this”, when in fact the proposal has every chance of success if the right strategy is followed.

Before approaching an architect, self builders Trina and Felipe sought planning advice from an independent consultant who warned against their original scheme, informing the later design stage

Top tip from Martin How can you ensure you choose a planning-savvy architect?

If your architect is handling your planning application, you must be sure that they have some knowledge and understanding of – and interest in – the planning process. Here are some questions you might wish to ask:

• Have you checked the planning history and site constraints?
• Which local policies or design guidance are likely to matter?
• Is a planning application definitely the right route?
• Will we need a planning statement or specialist reports?
• Will you deal with the case officer after submission?
• What happens if neighbours object?
• What happens if the council asks for changes?
• What happens if the application is refused?

When should you engage a planning consultant in the process?

I find that I am often consulted too late in the process. The architect has drawn a beautiful scheme, the client has fallen in love with it, a great deal of money has already been spent, and only then does someone ask whether the council is likely to approve it.

Planning advice is most useful at the beginning, before so much work is done on the architectural design that it’s very difficult to change it. Even a short review of the site, planning history, constraints, policies and recent decisions can be enough to identify the main risks and the best way forward. A review might conclude that the proposal is straightforward and your architect can safely handle the application. It might also show that the idea is a non-starter and that you would be crazy to spend any more money on it. In most cases, it will confirm that the project has promise and provide some advice on how to maximise your chances of success.

That early advice does not have to be expensive or overly detailed. A few hours of a consultant’s time can prevent you from finding out halfway through a project that the scheme is doomed or that you need to go back to the drawing board.

First-time self builders Chris and Mary Noon created a stunning oak frame home in Dorset, with unbeatable sea views. Roderick James Architects developed the scheme, which originally faced significant oppoistion from planners as the site was previously home to a bungalow. The architects revised the scheme and removed the second storey of the detached garage, alongside building the house’s ground floor into the sloping site, ensuring the overall scheme appeared single-level from the road. Photo: Richard Downer

How has the planning system changed over the years?

The planning system has changed enormously in the 12 years since I left my last council job and became a private consultant. Councils now expect more information to be submitted upfront with planning applications, even for straightforward schemes. Depending on the site, you may need a heritage statement, arboricultural report, drainage information, biodiversity advice, highways input, daylight/sunlight analysis or a legal agreement. On more complicated schemes, the planning consultant is the conductor of the choir, making sure the right specialist is brought in at the right time and in the right way.

Councils don’t give out informal advice in the way they once did. When I was a council planner, pre-application advice was completely free. I spent one morning each week manning the duty planner desk, and I had a direct phone line, so I spent much of the day speaking to applicants and agents. Now, duty planner services have been reduced or withdrawn, case officers are not easy to reach, site visits are not as common and pre-application advice can be slow and expensive.

Planning consultants have stepped into the breach. We often provide the advice, support and guidance that applicants might once have expected from the council. Applications that may not have needed planning support in the past are more likely to need it today.

On the hunt for a bigger house for their growing family, Kate and Sandy Crerar fell in love with the beautiful views on a rural plot in Aberdeenshire, which lead them to take on a self build project and create their dream home. The scheme, designed by Fiddes Architects, makes use of timber cladding and black corrugated roofing materials to provide a link to the barn-style buildings that are familiar to the area. Planners were on board with the design. Photo: David Barbour

How do the skills of a planning consultant and architect differ?

Both architects and planning consultants can prepare, submit and manage planning applications, but they are different professions with different instincts and different expertise. The architect’s job is to design the best building for the client and the site. Meanwhile, the planner’s job is to look at the proposal from the council’s point of view: will permission be granted, what will the case officer worry about and how should the application be presented?

For a simple project, your architect may well be able to do the planning application. For a difficult project, on the other hand, the safest approach is usually to get advice from a planner at an early stage, before the design is finished and well before the application is submitted. It is not the case that every project needs a planning consultant, but every project requires someone to think properly about planning.