Planning or Permitted Development

Planning permission is a legal consent that allows you to build.

Many designs may not require planning permission as they are classed as permitted development.

Permitted development allows you to build straight away without permission however we recommend that you apply for a certificate of lawful development to ensure that what you are building is permitted.

Pre-Planning Application

If the design is particularly dissimilar to surrounding properties or contentious, it may require an outline planning application. This can be submitted when the design is at an early stage to understand whether it is worth continuing the design process in a certain direction. This is useful for larger buildings such as new build houses and blocks of flats, that will require a large amount of professional services before undergoing a full planning application. For smaller buildings and extensions, this is unnecessary as it takes longer than a planning application and costs more.

Pre-Planning Meeting

For large new build schemes or for proposals that may be tricky to get planning permission, it may be necessary to meet with the local planning department to discuss the scheme and develop a way forward. This is a service that we offer.

Planning Application

We produce a full planning application package, which consists of 2-dimensional drawings with the addition of rendered images and reports if required, depending on the nature of the project. If it is clear that an additional report is required from an external professional service, we will identify a company and deal directly with them.

We offer the production of the following reports:

• Design and Access Statement
• Flood Risk Assessment

We can submit the Planning Application to your local authority on your behalf and deal directly with any correspondence.

The council’s planning consideration process takes approximately 8 weeks for a straightforward project. Larger and more complex projects can take up to 13 weeks.

Planning Appeal

If the application is unsuccessful, we can arrange an appeal on your behalf. If the project requires resubmission, we can assess the reasons for the decision and prepare an alternative design in response for re-submittal.

Application for Lawful Development Certificate

If your project is classed as permitted development, we can prepare an application for Lawful Development Certificate to send to the local council. Please see the Appendix for information on permitted development criteria.

​

The role of an architects

Good building design can drastically improve the quality of a person’s life and their mental health. An architect can help transform how a person lives, no matter how large or small the budget; through designing quality spaces, with great consideration of materials, cleverly located natural light sources and spatial relationships that respond to the daily needs of the people inhabiting the space. 

The architect takes on a large amount of roles from investigating the legality of building work, negotiating building costs during the tender process, consulting and collaborating with a huge number of professionals and services on the client’s behalf, providing cost information, managing the building contract and managing the build process from start to completion.

The table below lists some of the many roles that the architect undertakes:

What do architects do?
The Role of the Architect

How Cherry Architects Work

At Cherry Architects, we work closely with our clients at the start of the project to understand as much as we can about who they are, how they live and what motivates them. By getting to know each other, we are able to design spaces that best respond to their spatial needs.

Undertaking a construction project can be complex, particularly if you have not undertaken one before. At Cherry Architects, we aim to simplify the process as much as possible and guide our clients through all aspects of the design journey; always on hand to answer any questions that they may have throughout the process.

With many years of experience in the locations that we serve, we have good links to a vast network of local engineers, surveyors and builders and can make recommendations to ensure that our clients are always looked after.

Through using 3D visualisation and virtual reality technology, Cherry Architects are able to effectively communicate design ideas with our clients, who may be used to seeing design only on 2D plans or who may have never worked on a house extension before.

​

A party wall is a shared wall that divides the properties or gardens of two separate owners, where the dividing wall is built along the boundary of the two properties.  A Party Structure is a means of separating separately owned properties in the form of a wall or floor within an apartment block.

Party Wall Agreements/ Awards are required for any work on an existing party wall or structure or any excavation within 3 metres or 6 metres of neighbouring buildings. Most side and rear extensions and loft conversions will require a Party Wall Agreement.

Under the Party Wall Act, building owners have the right to:

• Repair party walls,
• underpin party walls,
• raise the height of a party wall,
• re-build unstable party walls,
• add a Damp Proof Course to a party wall.

A building owner must have a Party Wall Award in place with their neighbour before any construction work that will affect the party wall can commence.

Party Wall Notice

A Party Wall Notice is the notice that the homeowner uses to communicate to their neighbour their intent to carry out works to or close to a Party Wall.  A Party Wall Notice should include the following:

• The names and addresses of the owners
• Address of the building under construction
• A description of the works including drawings
• Details of any demolition to be carried out
• The proposed start date for construction

At Cherry Architects, we can assist you with submitting a party wall notice and put you in touch with a party wall surveyor.

Before issuing a notice, it is recommended to talk to your neighbour about the work first so that they have warning and can discuss any concerns in advance.

Work cannot commence until the expiration of the notice period. The notice period should be at least 2 months in advance of the proposed start date for work to an existing party wall/ structure and at least 1 month when a new party wall is being proposed.

 The neighbour can respond to the notice by either giving consent in writing or giving refusal in writing within 14 days of receiving the notice. For works to existing party walls, if the neighbour does not respond before 14 days or they refuse, they are deemed to be in dispute and a party wall surveyor should be appointed. For the proposal of a new party wall, if the neighbour does not respond before 14 days or they refuse, the works can still go ahead but should be contained within the building owner’s land only.

Notices are valid for one year; work must have started before the year is up to remain valid.

If there is a dispute, a party wall surveyor should be appointed to draw up a party wall award. The adjoining owner has the right to appoint their own surveyor, for which the building owner must cover the cost.  The neighbour can also request certain safety or security measures to be undertaken by the building owner to protect their property and should be compensated should any damage to caused.

The Party Wall Award

The Party Wall Award is drawn up by the surveyor, which outlines the scope of work and dates for the works to be carried out. This must also record the condition of the neighbouring property. the surveyor will be required to inspect the work periodically to ensure its compliance with the terms of the award.

​

Designing and building an extension often takes longer than most people anticipate.

The process involves several stages, including design, approvals, planning, and construction, each requiring careful attention to detail. It’s not a straightforward task, as challenges and delays can arise along the way. That’s why hiring an experienced architect is crucial. They will guide you through each step, from initial design to final construction, ensuring that the project stays on track, adheres to your vision, and remains within a realistic budget. With their expertise, you can avoid costly mistakes and achieve a design that meets both your needs and financial constraints.

The time it takes to design and build an extension can vary depending on the size and complexity of the project. On average:

• Small rear or side extension: Typically takes around 8 to 12 months to design and build.

• Larger extensions (e.g., double-storey): Can take anywhere from 12 to 24 months, depending on the complexity, approvals, and construction requirements.

Factors such as planning permission, design adjustments, contractor availability, and unexpected delays can impact the timeline.

​

Recent advancements in technology, particularly in virtual reality and visualisation software, have been fundamental in transforming the architecture industry and innovating the architectural design process!

​

At Cherry Architects, we offer a virtual reality experience to our clients within our service, allowing them to explore how spaces work throughout the whole design process and before anything is built. As we design primarily in 3-dimension, we are constantly considering how design is experienced beyond just the 2D layout.

What are the benefits of Virtual Reality in Architecture?

Experiencing what space looks and feels like

Virtual Reality allows us to accurately experience what it would be like to live and work in the architecture we design. Whilst 2D floorplans allow you to see the sizes and spatial configurations of design proposals, they do not communicate how tall spaces are, how bright they are and what it is like to experience a space in real time.

-Less costly design charges during construction

Virtual reality architects are able to take our clients on a journey through their future architecture. This means that there are less costly design changes during the construction process as the client has fully comprehended the constraints of the space, so there are no surprises when seeing it in real life on site.

-Experiencing space during different times of day and seasons

Just as demonstrated in Your Home Made Perfect, virtual reality architects can change the time of day and the seasons to show how the experience of being in a space will change throughout the day and year and design architecture to best serve that.

-Experimenting with different design options in real-time

Virtual reality serves as a tool for the client and architect to collaborate and discuss design choices. At Cherry Architects, we can change the design in real time, updating the model in front of our clients so that they can instantly experience what their suggestions would look like. Virtual reality allows us to experiment with different materials and colour pallets and to assess their effects on space before committing to a final design.