We prepare and lead pre-application submissions, providing a structured route to early engagement with planning authorities. Our approach reduces risk and improves the likelihood of a successful planning outcome.
.webp)
Pre-application engagement is the cheapest planning intelligence available: the authority's view of your proposal before you commit to a formal submission. We prepare pre-application packages that ask the right questions, present the scheme to officers and translate the response into a sharper proposal and a sounder strategy.
This is the "should we build?" moment. The team clarifies goals, budget, risks and constraints, explores options (including non-build solutions), and forms the business case. The outcome is a confirmed set of client requirements and a go/no-go decision.
All the groundwork happens here: site information, surveys, statutory context and stakeholder needs are gathered, and the Project Brief and outline programme are agreed. Procurement and planning strategies are sketched so everyone knows the road ahead.
Look at the whole processUsed well, pre-application engagement shortens determination, reduces refusal risk and surfaces deal-breakers while they can still be designed around. Used badly, it invites scope creep. We manage the process to extract the value without conceding the scheme.
We prepare clear, evidence-based pre-application packages tailored to the relevant authority and the nature of the proposal.
We manage communication with planning officers, presenting proposals and responding to queries on the client's behalf.
Design responses to feedback are integrated through iterative refinement, keeping the proposal moving forward.
Enough to get a meaningful answer without overcommitting: site and context plans, indicative proposals, a short statement framing the questions the authority is being asked and the specific points where an officer's steer will change the scheme. The response is then translated into plain implications for design and strategy.
Big Creative Academy
London
Planning secured for a modern teaching block with three fashion studios, a central hub and facilities. AEC led from sketch through planning and technical drawings, then managed construction on site.
View projectA formal request for the planning authority's informal view on a proposal before submission. Most authorities charge for the service and respond in writing, sometimes with a meeting.
No, but it carries real weight. Officers rarely reverse a positive steer without changed circumstances, and a documented pre-application response disciplines later decision-making.
Enough design to make the questions concrete: site analysis, indicative proposals and a short statement framing the issues you want answered. Vague submissions get vague answers.
Authorities typically respond within four to eight weeks of a valid enquiry, though performance varies. We factor realistic timescales into the planning programme.
For simple proposals squarely within policy, or with authorities whose pre-application service adds little. We advise case by case; the fee and time only make sense when the answer genuinely reduces risk.
We interpret the response, refine the proposal where feedback justifies it and fold the outcome into the application strategy, including how to address any concerns head-on in the submission.
From schools to homeowners, we work closely with every client to deliver thoughtful, lasting architecture here’s what they’ve said about working with us.
We’re always up for a new challenge. Whether it’s a home, a school, or something completely unique.
