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Inter County Surveys

Architectural Services        Aerial  Surveys       Design and Planning 

The Process

So, you need a larger house, extra bedroom/s, bigger kitchen or larger office. Where do you start?

In a lot cases the first thing you do is to pick up the phone and and start calling builders. This may seem the logical thing to do, because at the end of the day it is they who will be constructing your aspirations. But, no. Your first call should be to us.

Our Design Service

We provide an individual service from initial point of contact to final construction drawings. With careful thought and attention to detail through every stage of the process, from the way the rooms and spaces interact to the technical details such as wiring and plumbing layouts, specially selected materials and techniques create the scheme that is perfect for you.

 

Before the building can even start pricing you works, they will need detailed design drawings to work from.

Following our initial site meeting, we can provide you with a fixed price quotation to carry out all the associated and required approvals and permissions required for your project.

             

 

 

 

 

Site Survey

Once appointed, we carry out a measured survey of your property and land, this may also include site levels and surrounding information required to produce the existing floor plans and elevations. This is a vital step towards developing your dream project.  Where necessary it may be required to have a topographical survey done.

                             

                   

                     

 

Initial design concepts

Once we have produced the existing plans, we then take our design brief from the initial design consultation to prepare the proposals. Communication is essential to a successful project; ideas are shared by email, conversation, and face to face meetings as the design takes shape.

                         

 

 

Project Proposals

The initial design concepts are just the first step towards developing the full potential of your dreams.  Careful attention is paid at the design stage to creating the right scheme for a particular client.  Discussions always include materials and construction methods, helping you to navigate the huge variety of options to bring your ideas to life.  Most project also involve amendment to a scheme, to arrive at the perfect solution. 

                               

 

 

 

 

Planning Applications

So, what is planning permission

Planning permission controls the way our towns, cities and countryside develop. This includes the use of land and buildings, the appearance of buildings, landscaping considerations, highway access and the impact that the development will have on the general environment.

If planning permission or listed building consent is required, we will produce the technical drawings, surveys and reports necessary to complete the application, sourcing technical reports such as ecological reports,  structural surveys, and flood risk assessments if needed. We monitor the progress of the application and liaise with the appointed planning case officer where necessary. Normally a householder planning application for minor developments such as house extensions or a dormer loft conversion will take around 8 weeks for the local planning authority to determine a decision. 

Planning permission is however not always required. Homeowners do benefit from what is called 'permitted development' and providing certain criteria is met, building works can commence without planning. Contact us though our contact page to discuss you needs.

 

Building Regulations

We have discussed planning approval above, the other type of approval that you will almost certainly require is building regulation or building control approval.

So what is the difference between planning permission and building regulations approval we here you say?

Planning permission assesses whether the development fits in with local and national policies and whether it would cause unacceptable harm, for example, to neighbours' quality of life. Whereas building control covers the structural, safety and accessibility aspects of development and progress throughout the construction.

So, when you make a planning application you are seeking authorisation to enable you to carry out development. On the other hand, when you make a building regulations application you are seeking to have the details of your development checked and approved for compliance with the standards of construction. That is the main difference between planning permission and building control.

Planning permission and building regulations approval (building control) are different and they are covered by separate pieces of legislation. Sometimes you may need both; sometimes you may only require one; or none at all. Because the planning legislation is distinctly different from building control legislation, please don’t think that one grants consent for another.

 

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