English Consulting Engineers

tel:+4407494549661

English Consulting Engineers

Loft Conversion Structural steel frame

Planning & Building Control Submissions

English Consulting Engineers can submit planning and building control submissions on your behalf and see the process through to completion. We can also assist in the pre planning process and advise if planning permission is required as it is not always the case. As is often the case, we can work with your builder and or architect to prepare the drawing submissions to local authority.

Looking for a free quote?

Drop us a line and we will aim to get back you within 24 hours

What is planning permission?

Planning permission is a formal written approval from the local council permitting you to carry out your planned works. Depending on the size and nature of the works it can come with conditions which have to be met. Where permitted development rights do not apply you must apply for planning permission.

Where planning permission is required a planning submission has to be made providing details of the proposed works. This allows the planning officer to make an informed decision on whether or not to grant planning permission.

The submission itself consists of the fee, the application form and a set of drawings showing location, existing drawings and proposed design.

At English Consulting Engineers will will advise if planning permission is required.

Is it difficult to get planning permission?

In well built up areas, extensions and loft conversions to existing properties are common due to the scarcity of land and cost of new builds. As such planning applications for such schemes are numerous so much so that the UK government has introduced permitted development rights which negates the need for full planning permission for many smaller projects. This avoids the need for full planning permission, which can take weeks to get, and makes the process easier in theory.

Can planning permission be refused?

Planning permission can be refused. The decision to grant or refuse planning is made by the local planning authority based on a number of factors. The main reason for refusal is where a proposed development is not in character with local surroundings, negatively impacts the local environment or is not in line with national policy. It is worth noting that an applicant has the right to appeal a rejected planning application. In this instance a third party planning inspector will review the case and submit the findings to the planning authority. 

Some of the principle factors to consider for extensions and loft conversions subject to planning are will the neighbours’ right to light be affected and will it impede on their privacy. Loft conversions tend to be towards the rear of a property where they look onto neighbouring back gardens.

A well designed extension or loft conversion that considers all factors should have no issue getting through planning. 

 

Chartered Engineers

We are a forward thinking chartered engineers consultancy operating in South West London.

Fully Insured

We are fully insured, guaranteeing a safe and reliable project completion.

Experienced Professionals

20+ years experience operating internationally and in the UK.

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I’ve had a fantastic experience with James at ECE. He conducted a building survey for me which was very thorough and professional. Special thanks for his helpfulness to my many follow up questions. I will be sure to use ECE in the future.
Jack Walker
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English Consulting Engineers provided a professional and detailed service at short notice. James was incredibly knowledgeable, listened to what we needed, offered honest guidance and conducted a thorough investigation of our two properties followed up by same day reports sent to us…FANTASTIC.

If you need professional, effective conveyancing support, are looking for an efficient/speedy service and great value for money look no further than ECE.

We will definitely be using James/ECE again for our personal and business needs.
The fact ECE are local was a huge selling point for us as we knew we would get a personal service. Overall we highly recommend ECE and would work with them again in a heartbeat!
Ricky Horner
Horner Homes Group Ltd
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A lovely, pleasant experience. We reached out to James as a recommendation by our estate agent for being the local expert on the Southfield properties, especially on the grid. Contacting James was effortless with clear and quick communication. We asked for a survey to be completed with an immediate and a future-planning perspective. After securing the time for the survey James made a curtesy call to talk through his findings ahead of the report being available. This was really helpful as it gave immediate reassurance and an opportunity to ask questions in real-time. I would recommend James to anyone looking for a structural engineer in the SW area. Thank you, James!
Alya Gutnikova
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James was very helpful and responsive when dealing with our building concerns.
Jenni Spargo
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James was responsive, quick and very knowledgeable. He promptly delivered our structural report which was detailed and clesrly addressed all the issues on which we wanted clarification. Would definitely go through James for future projects!
Sarah Collier
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James came to do an inspection on an internal wall to see if it was structural as well as provide drawings for the new layout. He was super friendly, very efficient and the drawings were just what I needed. Would fully recommend!
Natasha Sandars
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James took the time to understand our requirements fully and came up with a couple of options to meet these. Good communication throughout and did what did said he would do.
Heather Niven
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James helped us with a structural issue investigation on a property we are looking to buy. Definitely recommend.
- Alexios Papakonstantinou
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James was brilliant at turning round our plans quickly as requested and was on hand to discuss all queries and questions for me as a complete reno novice! The level of service was excellent and very fairly priced compared to other quotes I received. Thank you!
- Henni Bateman Williams
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We employed James to inspect some internal/external cracks to our property. He was very knowledgeable, easy to talk to and spent nearly two hours at our property. He put us at ease about the problem and listened carefully to what we had to say. He produced a report just two days after his visit. I would definitely recommend him.
- Silvana Riccio
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James did an excellent and very thorough survey - nearly 5 hours - of our somewhat lived in, but much loved old (1904) pile. I found his rating system of "3-serious/urgent, 2-not serious/urgent, 1-otherwise Ok", made very helpful, though depressing (we have a lot of 3s) reading. Would definitely use his services again.
- Aidan Magill
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James was great. He was very helpful, gave us sound advice and was quick in all comms. Would definitely recommend!
- Oz Osbaldeston
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Fantastic service. We had a specific question we need answering and English Consulting Engineers did an extremely thorough assessment and gave us a clear answer. I cannot recommend them enough.
- Sam Shribman
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We asked James to do some initial work to assess whether we could extend our property using the existing ground floor structure. James was very responsive and came back to us quickly with what we needed at a reasonable cost.
- Tom & Helen Cadwaladr
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Excellent & fast service! As first-time buyers we were keen to move quickly so were looking for a company who could undertake our survey quickly and would be responsive to our needs and questions. ECE went above and beyond to make us feel comfortable, the communication was clear and the turnaround time of the homebuyers survey was outstanding. 5 star, we will use ECE for all future needs.
- Ekaterina Steube
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ECE helped us to start our major renovation project by providing us with fast and accurate calculations necessary to remove a wall in our house and create a large open plan space. James took us through the process step by step, no question was left unanswered which meant there were no surprises, just as we had hoped.

The fact ECE are local was a huge selling point for us as we knew we would get a personal service. Overall we highly recommend ECE and would work with them again in a heartbeat!
- Kelvin Pearson
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Looking for a free quote?

Drop us a line and we will aim to get back you within 24 hours