I am very pleased with the professional service I received from Planning By Design. They managed my dropped kerb planning application efficiently and kept me informed throughout the process. Their knowledge, guidance and attention to detail made everything straightforward and stress-free. Most importantly, my application was approved. I would happily recommend Planning By Design to anyone seeking reliable and professional planning support.
Thank you for choosing Planning By Design again, and for your kind words; it really means a lot to us.
It is always our goal to provide a 5* service at unbeatable prices, and feedback like this is rewarding and motivating for our whole team.
We're delighted to have helped you secure planning approval following a smooth application process.
If you have any questions or need help with anything in the future, just let us know, and we'll be happy to help.
Paul Roberts2026.08.07
recommends
Great company, kept me informed throughout the whole process and got the necessary planning consent for my 3 new build property's with no problems.
I would highly recommend this company.đ
Great company, sorted all the drawings for my 3 new builds and submitted them to the local council and got the necessary planning consent on my behalf. I would highly recommend Planning by Design.
Hi Paul, thank you so much for choosing Planning By Design and for your kind words.
It is always our goal to provide a 5* service at unbeatable prices, and feedback like this is rewarding and motivating for our whole team.
We're delighted to have helped you secure planning approval following a smooth process.
If you have any questions or need help with anything in the future, just let us know, and we'll be happy to help.
ANDREW BLACKFORD2026.07.28
Planning by design did a great job of doing the drawings and leasing with the council. I did have a very awkward council and they took care of all the extra paperwork to get my planning application through. I would recommend there services.
Hi Andrew, thank you for choosing Planning By Design again, and for your kind words; it really means a lot to us.
We're delighted to have helped you secure planning approval despite the very challenging nature.
It is always our goal to provide a 5* service at unbeatable prices, and feedback like this is rewarding and motivating for our whole team.
If you have any questions or need help in the future, just let us know, and we'll be happy to assist.
John Davo Davison2026.07.22
recommends
Great service made every thing so easy, explained all the aspects of the planning in language we could understand really good and friendly staff Joanne and Aaron couldn't do enough. the case they built and presented to Leeds Council was exemplary would highly recommend Christine and John
Hi John & Christine, thank you for choosing Planning By Design again, and for your kind words; it really means a lot to us.
We're delighted to have helped you secure retrospective planning approval.
It is always our goal to provide a 5* service at unbeatable prices, and feedback like this is rewarding and motivating for our whole team.
If you have any questions or need help in the future, just let us know, and we'll be happy to assist.
John Davison2026.07.22
Great service made every thing so easy, explained all the aspects of the planning in language we could understand really good and friendly staff the case they built and presented to Leeds Council was exemplary highly recommend Christine and John
Hi Les, thank you for choosing Planning By Design again, and for your kind words; it really means a lot to us.
We're delighted to have helped you secure retrospective planning approval.
It is always our goal to provide a 5* service at unbeatable prices, and feedback like this is rewarding and motivating for our whole team.
If you have any questions or need help in the future, just let us know, and we'll be happy to assist.
Les Brookes2026.07.20
Absolutely brilliant, we couldnât have have wished for a better outcome, the work Mark and his team did was outstanding, would definitely use again and recommend them
Thank you Planning and Design
Hi Les, thank you for choosing Planning By Design again, and for your kind words; it really means a lot to us.
We're delighted to have helped you secure retrospective planning approval.
It is always our goal to provide a 5* service at unbeatable prices, and feedback like this is rewarding and motivating for our whole team.
If you have any questions or need help in the future, just let us know, and we'll be happy to assist.
Clive Morris2026.07.04
Our church which is a Grade 2 Listed building wanted to install solar panels to the roof. Salford Council would not allow us to do a planning application ourselves so after getting quotes we chose Planning-by-Design.
The main reason was because they had their own dedicated town planner and Cerys smoothed the way through all the red tape.
It took over 2 years to get the panels installed and having to go to appeal, but Cerys kept with it.
I would recommend this company to you.
Hi Clive, thank you for choosing Planning By Design again, and for your kind words; it really means a lot to us.
We're delighted to have helped you secure planning approval despite the very challenging nature.
It is always our goal to provide a 5* service at unbeatable prices, and feedback like this is rewarding and motivating for our whole team.
If you have any questions or need help in the future, just let us know, and we'll be happy to assist.
Jamie Smith2026.06.16
Advice was given promptly and clearly. I felt that the adviser had gone the extra mile to understand my planning issues and gave practical, constructive guidance. Good value and trustworthy.
Thank you for choosing Planning By Design again, and for your kind words; it really means a lot to us.
We're delighted to have helped you secure planning approval following a smooth application process, especially as this was retrospective and approval can never be guaranteed.
It is always our goal to provide a 5* service at unbeatable prices, and feedback like this is rewarding and motivating for our whole team.
If you have any questions or need help in the future, just let us know, and we'll be happy to assist.
Katie Riordan2026.06.03
recommends
Excellent service by Planning By Design who helped us with our retrospective planning application. Highly recommend
Hi Katie, thank you for choosing Planning By Design again, and for your kind words; it really means a lot to us.
We're delighted to have helped you secure planning approval following a smooth application process, especially as this was retrospective and approval can never be guaranteed.
It is always our goal to provide a 5* service at unbeatable prices, and feedback like this is rewarding and motivating for our whole team.
If you have any questions or need help in the future, just let us know, and we'll be happy to assist.
Freya Cooper2026.06.03
Everyone who I have spoke to have been very lovely and knowledgeable on planning and have offered lots of advice!
Planning by design take all the worry and stress away from getting planning, they are super helpful no matter what questions you throw at them I'm really glad I found you guys. I can't recommend you enough. Thank you.
Hi Natalie, thank you so much for choosing Planning By Design and sharing your feedback on your experience.
It is always our goal to provide a 5* service at unbeatable prices, and feedback like this is rewarding and motivating for our whole team.
Of course, if you have any further questions or if there is anything else we can help with, just let us know, and we'll be glad to help.
Colin2026.05.21
My experience with Planning By Design was extremely disappointing and ultimately ended in court proceedings, where the claim against me was dismissed.
I instructed the company on the basis of a fixed fee of ÂŁ3,960 for a full end-to-end design and planning submission service. Initially, things appeared positive, however serious issues arose later in the process.
After the planning submission had already been made and following issues with the application, I was suddenly presented with significant additional cost demands that had never previously been explained or agreed. These included hundreds of pounds in further charges relating to items within the design statement and additional submission requirements.
What I found most concerning was that these costs were only raised after the submission had already been made and after I began chasing for progress and resubmission. At no point beforehand was I warned that such substantial extra charges would arise.
When I challenged these costs, communication from the owner became increasingly difficult and confrontational. I was effectively told that no further work would continue unless the additional payments were made, or alternatively I would need to pay separately for the design rights. After months invested into the project, this left me feeling backed into a corner with little practical option but to walk away and appoint a completely new architect at further expense.
The company later pursued legal action against me for the original ÂŁ3,960 fee. The matter proceeded to court and the claim was dismissed. The court also awarded me costs for travel expenses and loss of earnings.
Based on my experience, I would strongly advise anyone considering using this company to ensure every aspect of scope, revisions, deliverables, and especially additional charges are fully documented and agreed in writing before proceeding.
We strongly dispute this review because it omits key documented facts.
The court proceedings only arose after the reviewer obtained a chargeback of the original ÂŁ3,960 fee despite having repeatedly approved the drawings and planning documents in writing, authorised submission of the application, and then paid the planning application fee after submission.
This was not an undefined or open-ended instruction. The fixed-fee contract covered the specific project components listed in the signed invoice. The contract also included one free revision. In practice, the project involved approximately 15 revision events, numerous further design changes, and later-added components outside the original quoted scope, including detailed solar-panel and air-source heat-pump proposals. Despite that, substantial further work was carried out.
The review also omits the repeated written approvals given during the project. By way of example, the reviewer described the drawings as âstunningâ, said they were âabsolutely delightedâ, approved the drawings for submission, later said âItâs perfectâ, then approved the planning statement and instructed us to proceed with submission. The application was then submitted on that authority, and the application fee was paid.
The later local authority invalidation did not arise from one single âobviousâ omission of the kind suggested here. The invalidation letter required multiple further items, and the local authorityâs own validation requirements are not as absolute as this review suggests. The dispute arose because additional work and further revisions were then requested outside the original agreed scope, the reviewer refused to pay for that further work, and a chargeback was made after the original contracted work had already been delivered and submitted.
As for the court case, the claim was dismissed, but that does not mean every factual allegation in this review was accepted as correct. The decision turned significantly on procedural and evidential issues, including the absence of a live factual witness for the claimant. We are taking advice on next steps and intend to pursue the matter in court via an appeal.
We are happy for prospective clients to judge us by the documentary record: signed scope, written approvals, written authority to submit, and confirmation of payment after submission.
Extremely poor service and communication
I trusted this company to handle my application so I wouldnât have to, but it ended up being a frustrating experience. It took a year, and I only discovered my application was refused after contacting the highways department myself. Despite paying for the service, I never received clear updates or details on what was actually done. Every issue was passed onto someone else with excuses like âthat person left.â I even offered to provide pictures repeatedly, but nothing progressed. My neighbors had no problems, so I wasnât asking for anything unusual. Extremely disappointedâdo your research before trusting a company like this!
Date of experience: 20 May, 2026
We chose planning-by-design.co.ukâ ďż˝ to help with planning permission for a garage conversion to change it into a childminding setting.
When I first spoke to them over the phone, they were very helpful and put me at ease, as we were unsure how the planning permission process worked. Unfortunately, we were led to believe the process would be very quick and that planning approval would likely be granted within a few weeks. This wasnât the case, and I felt slightly misled as the process took the best part of six months.
We worked with Aaron Basi, who I found to be professional, knowledgeable, and helpful throughout. He was always supportive when dealing with Somerset Council, which was probably the biggest challenge due to communication delays.
The architectural drawings for the garage also took longer than expected. We were initially informed they would be produced within a week, but unfortunately this overran slightly.
Overall, I found Planning By Design to be very good. Although a few aspects of the process were frustrating, the end result was positive, and we successfully received planning permission. I would potentially use them again for future projects.
Thank you for your review. Weâre pleased to hear that you found Aaron professional, knowledgeable, and supportive throughout, and weâre delighted that your planning application was ultimately approved.
Weâre sorry that the overall process felt longer than expected. It is important to clarify, however, that the main delay was with the local planning authority rather than with our team. Many councils are currently experiencing backlogs and communication delays, and unfortunately, these timescales are outside of our control.
In terms of our own work, we acted very quickly. Your brief was received on 21 November, the drawings were issued just three days later and approved the same day, the planning statement was issued three days after that, and the application was submitted as soon as the statement was approved. From our side, the design and submission process was completed as promptly as realistically possible.
Weâre grateful for your feedback and pleased that the end result was successful.
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