What's actually in a council-ready drawing set?

People often ask what they are paying for when they commission drawings. A council-ready set is a specific package with a specific job to do, and understanding the parts makes it much easier to judge whether a quote is complete.

It usually begins with existing drawings, accurate plans and elevations of the property as it stands today. These establish the baseline the council assesses your proposal against.

Then come the proposed drawings, showing your project in the same format: floor plans, elevations and sections. Alongside these sit a site location plan and a block plan, which place your property in its surroundings and are required for most applications.

For anything structural or that must meet Building Regulations, a separate BR set is prepared, with the detail and notes an inspector and contractor need. Feasibility drawings can also come first, to test an idea before the full set is produced.

Every set we produce is prepared to this standard, so it supports both a smooth approval and accurate pricing on site. Tell us your project and we will outline exactly which drawings it needs.

Existing drawings: the baseline

Accurate plans, elevations and sections of the property as it stands. Everything your proposal is judged against comes from these, which is why a sloppy survey causes problems at exactly the wrong moment.

Proposed drawings: the case you are making

The same views showing the new work, drawn at recognised scales so an officer can read them without effort. This is where a scheme is either easy to approve or easy to question.

Floor plans at 1:50 or 1:100
Elevations showing every affected face of the building
Sections cutting through the new work
A site location plan at 1:1250 and a block plan at 1:500

Building Regulations: the build set

Structure, fire safety, insulation, ventilation and drainage, with notes and details. Your builder prices from this and building control signs off against it, so vagueness here costs money on site.

What a complete package prevents

Invalid applications, requests for further information, mismatched builder quotes and arguments during construction. Most of the delay people blame on councils actually starts with an incomplete submission.

Where we come in

We confirm which route applies to your property in writing, prepare the drawings, and handle the application with the council. See Building Regs and technical drawings, or get your drawings quoted with no obligation. If any application we submit is refused, you get a 100% refund within 5 days.