House extension planner - when are they needed?

A house extension planner normally refers to the designer or architect.  This phrase can often get confused with the Case Officer of the Planning Department.  Even though a Planning Officer will asses and determine your house extension scheme should formal planning permission be required, it is the house extension planner who will normally design and organise the scheme direct for the client.

Some more complex or contentious house extension schemes require additional input from specialist planning consultants who can often assist the client and the house extension designer by compiling a supporting 'design and access' statement.

These documents are meant to describe the rationale the designer is using in offering the proposed design.  The Design and Access Statement is usually a very jargon filled 'wordy' type document that puts into words why the scheme fits in with the Councils planning policy or design guides.

A house extension planner or planning consultant can bring an 'extra edge' to a home extension design that may have previously been refused simply because the case for the design proposed has not been adequately explained to the 'judge and jury' of the case planning officer.