About
Bradbury Design Ltd specialises in the architectural design of a wide range of residential, educational and commercial projects.
We carry out a full planning and building control service so that the end client has all the required Local Authority permissions to enable the builder to start and successfully complete the build.
This would normally involve the submission of planning and building regulation applications to the local authority.
We aim to make the process straightforward by completing all of the paperwork on your behalf and acting as your agent throughout the process. This means that any queries are directed through us and we can deal with matters on your behalf. We are used to dealing with the local authority and this allows the client to be confident in the knowledge that we are looking after their best interests whilst not taking on board matters that they may not understand. Bradbury Design Ltd’s typical workload involves a large volume of residential projects ranging from single and two storey extensions through to the loft conversions, change of use and internal alterations.
We also carry out applications for new build housing, conservation area and listed building consents. We are increasingly finding ourselves involved in commercial, educational, religious and fit out sectors and have enjoyed taking on a more varied workload over recent years.
Why use Bradbury Design
Expert advice – we understand that not all clients will be clear about what is involved prior to starting the works and may even be intimidated by the prospect of getting the Local Authority approvals in place and employing the builder. We have extensive experience in obtaining planning and building regulation approvals and can recommend local builders so that your process is stress free. The information that we produce will provide all the relevant information a builder will need to complete the build. We are often recommended by builders and believe that this is an indication of the high standard of work produced.
Support – we spend time with the client making sure we understand what they would like to achieve from completing the project. This is an interactive process and we take time to inspire and guide you to make maximise the projects potential. It’s important that we fulfil your needs and we understand this. This is done with an understanding that the project will also need to obtain planning permission and building regulation approval and we guide you with this in mind. The fine details of the project are discussed as we know these are important on how you use and view the building on a day to day basis. This may be simply a matter of achieving symmetry or how a drainage pipe will need to boxed in. These details count and we will explain these to you.
The Process
The initial visit – After you have made the first step and made contact with you we will arrange an appointment to visit you at your home or premises. We do not give quotations over the phone as we do not believe that this best serves you. We need to see your property or land to understand if there are matters in relation to planning or building regulations that may affect your build both in terms of whether it can be delivered and also in relation to cost.
We will discuss the project with you using our experience to guide you and we can also explore the possibilities of the site. This may require initial consultation with the Local Planning Authority but on smaller projects we would normally be able to give you a good indication of the possibilities on what can be achieved from the outset.
Quotation – From the initial visit we will produce a written quotation detailing the costs of our services and the fee’s charged by the Local Authority for considering and inspecting the works.
These costs are broken down so that you fully understand what fees are due at what stage of the project. They are split between planning and building regulation applications and any other services offered would be noted at this point.
We will send the quote to you and you are obviously free to pick up the quote or not as you wish at this point. We believe that both parties should be comfortable with our proposals and will leave it to you to make contact after the quotation has been issued to you. This is not because we do not want your business but understand that you should not be pressured to work with us. The design is a two way process and we wish you to feel totally comfortable with all aspects of us and the proposals before engaging with the design. We understand that carrying out any works can be a costly exercise and we are mindful of this.
Draft Design – After you have instructed us to proceed we will need to visit your home or premises to make a detailed and accurate plan of the existing structure. For a typical property this will involve a visit of approximately 3 – 4 hours and we will accurately measure up your home inside and out so that a detailed plan can be drawn. We will also lift and locate manholes where applicable so that drainage connections can be considered and consider the effects of sloping ground where appropriate. At this stage we will sit down with you to have a final talk through prior to us drawing up draft plans.
We always stress that the ideas become a lot clearer when they are seen on plan. You will get a visual indication of how the building will look and can consider room sizes etc in a lot more detail. We do recommend that we spend sufficient time to ensure that you are happy with the overall design and details of the project so that we can move forward with an agreed plan. We consider this as part of the process and will happily make any revisions you require at this time.
When a design has been agreed we produce detailed drawings and information for Planning and Building Regulation applications. We understand that clients will require different levels of input at this stage.