Whats our best approach when buying a house that we'd like to extend

hi just take a look around the area to see if other properties close by have had extensions done if so your chances of gaining planning permission is good but contact the local council planning dept the should be able to let you know over the phone their pretty good these days but may be subject to conditions of which a architect will include on submitted plans to satisfy the planners.

I would get the architect around first, they would normally sort out all permissions, structural engineers etc

We would advise seeking a Building Consultant who is locally based, so has previous experience in dealing with the local council. This would give you more of an idea as to what they would more likely accept when it comes to the final submitted plans. A Building consultant should be able to draw up some initial plans,for you to look at and if need be, should allow upto 3-4 ammendments to these plans. The initial consultation would normally be free. Once the final plans are agreed, he would normally charge a set amount for these drawings. Which he should state prior to undertaking any work. The plans would have to be sbmitted to an Architect for Building Regulations to comply, before submission to the council, normally the consultant would use an architect of his choice. The detail of the survey would depend on how complex the proposed plans are. Usually you would probably need to incorporate a structural engineer for calculation etc, which the council would require anyway as part of the submission. Average cost for a structural calculation would normally be around £150. The cost for drawing plans and building regulations would be anything, depending on the extent of the proposed works, between say £450 - £1250. You then have the planning application cost for submission to council which on average for Full Plan submission consisting of Plan Charge and Inspection Charge together for say a 2 storey extension of between 40m2 - 100m2 is around £800 - £ 850. Varies on the area you live in... Hope this is of some help to you... The more costly way would be to let an Architect cover everything for you, but you would need very deep pockets!!