New build house drawings for a London plot, £1,249 in total
A new home is the one project where nothing is permitted development and every council policy applies at once. We survey the plot, shape the house to its neighbours and draw the full planning application: £1,099 plus the £150 survey.
- £1,099 drawings + £150 survey (£1,249 total)
- Site survey and full planning set
- Free redraws until approval
What do new build house drawings cost?
The planning drawings for one new house are £1,099, plus the £150 survey, £1,249 in total with no VAT to add. That is the application set only. The council’s fee, the levy the borough charges and the technical drawings for building control are separate, and we say what each will be before you commit.
What the £1,249 covers
- A measured survey of the plot, its boundaries, levels, trees and the walls of the houses next to it
- A site plan with the house, access, parking, bins, cycles and garden
- Floor plans for every storey, with each room labelled and the floor areas tabulated
- Elevations on all sides and sections through the house and the site
- A context drawing placing the new house between its neighbours, with heights marked
- Forms and submission, checking by a second chartered technologist, and replies to the officer, with free redraws until approval
Why a new house is a full planning application
A new dwelling cannot be built under the householder rules, and it carries a fee for each dwellinghouse, not a flat householder charge (fee schedule). The council also tests it against the whole of its local plan: the principle of a home on that plot, its height and bulk beside its neighbours, daylight to the neighbours, parking, trees and flood risk.
The strongest new-build applications we draw are quiet ones: a house that respects the building line, the eaves and the window rhythm of its street, with generous gardens and a modest height. We test those points on the survey before we draw a line.
Biodiversity net gain and the levy
Two costs land on a new house that never touch a household extension. One is biodiversity net gain: the plot must show a measured gain of at least 10% over its present habitat value, unless the scheme is exempt (gov.uk). The other is the Community Infrastructure Levy, which applies to a new house of any size where the borough charges it (gov.uk).
We do not hide those. We tell you at the quote what the drawings must show for biodiversity, and our CIL forms are priced separately where the council wants them filled in.
- Habitat on the plot today, mapped from the survey
- Whether the plot qualifies for an exemption
- The levy forms the borough requires, and the date they are due
After permission
Permission has a clock. Development must begin within three years unless the permission says otherwise (section 91), and pre-commencement conditions have to be discharged first. A house also needs full building regulations approval, decided in five weeks or two months by agreement (gov.uk). See building regulations drawings, and discharging conditions is its own service.
What a new house triggers
- £610
- The national fee for a full application for fewer than ten new dwellinghouses is £610 per dwellinghouse, from 1 April 2026. National fee schedule from 1 April 2026, published by Bradford Council
- 10%
- Most new development in England must now deliver at least a 10% increase in biodiversity value, unless an exemption applies. gov.uk, Biodiversity net gain
- Householder exempt
- Householder applications are exempt from biodiversity net gain, but a new house is not a householder application, so the rule has to be dealt with. gov.uk, Biodiversity net gain
- Any new house
- A new house or flat is liable for the Community Infrastructure Levy whatever its size, where the council charges the levy. gov.uk, Community Infrastructure Levy
- 20%
- Late notice of commencement where it is required for CIL relief attracts a surcharge of 20% of the notional charge, capped at £2,500. gov.uk, Community Infrastructure Levy
- 3 years
- A planning permission in England lapses unless development begins within three years of the grant, unless the council sets another period. Town and Country Planning Act 1990, s.91
- 39 m²
- The national space standard sets a minimum of 39 m² for a one-bedroom, one-person home, and 2.3 m floor to ceiling over at least 75% of the area. Nationally described space standard, Table 1
New build questions
Can I build a new house in my back garden?
Only with planning permission, and many boroughs resist it. We check the local plan and the plot’s constraints before you pay for drawings.
Does the £1,249 include the council fee?
No. The national schedule lists £610 per dwellinghouse for fewer than ten, paid to the council when you apply.
What is biodiversity net gain?
A rule that most new developments in England leave habitat in a better state: at least a 10% increase in biodiversity value.
Source: gov.uk, Biodiversity net gain
Will I pay the Community Infrastructure Levy?
A new house is liable wherever the council charges the levy. Self-builders can claim relief if they apply before starting work.
How soon must I start building?
Normally within three years of permission being granted.
Other services people book with this one
Does your plot have a chance?
Send the address and a photograph of the plot. We check the local plan, trees and flood risk, then reply with a fixed fee.