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Architectural Services UK is a national company with a network of architectural designers around the country.

Our local designers have the necessary knowledge to cope with these local council vagaries, whilst the back-up, technology and technical expertise available from head office enable us to offer a first class service.

We strive to make the whole process easier and more affordable for the homeowner, using the latest technology to aid our first class customer service, design and planning knowledge.

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No. We do not charge for simple alterations to the initial design as experience tells us that people will tweak things upon seeing the first draft.

The drawings are available to you and your builder by logging into your job through our online system.

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All our drawings are produced using the very latest in architectural design technology. As the drawings are produced electronically, alterations can be made simply and quickly.

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Planning control is the process of managing the development of land and buildings. The purposes of this process are to save what is best of our heritage and improve the infrastructure upon which we depend for a civilised existence.

Your local planning authority (LPA) – usually the district or borough council – is responsible for deciding whether a proposed development should be allowed to go ahead. This is called planning permission.

Most new buildings, major alterations to existing buildings and significant changes to the use of a building or piece of land need this permission.

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Permitted Development Rights are changes and additions you can make to your home without applying to your local authority for planning permission. They derive from a general planning permission granted not by the local authority but by Parliament. The rights are for houses – so if you live in a flat or maisonette, they do not apply.

If you live in a World Heritage Site, Conservation Area, National Park, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or the Norfolk or Suffolk Broads, permitted development rights are more restricted, so some changes you might want to make to your home will need planning permission when they wouldn’t if you lived elsewhere. Listed buildings are also an exception to these rights.

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Planning permission is no longer required by the majority of homeowners for MOST loft conversions and rear extensions type developments, which has lead to around a quarter of all planning applications being removed from the system.