Serving Windermere, the Lake District and surrounding areas
Good drawings do two jobs: they show you what you are going to get before anything is built, and they show the planning officer that it belongs where you want to put it. We prepare both, and guide the application through.
Windermere, Bowness, Ambleside, Grasmere, Hawkshead, Coniston and Keswick are all inside the Lake District National Park, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Planning decisions there are made by the Lake District National Park Authority, and its policies put a lot of weight on landscape, materials and local character. Kendal, outside the boundary, is decided by Westmorland and Furness Council.
That makes the drawings matter. A clear set of plans and elevations, a design and access statement that explains the choices, and – for anything visible or sensitive – 3D views that show the building in its setting, give an application the best chance of a quick yes. For listed buildings and conservation areas, a heritage statement is usually needed too.
The National Park Authority offers pre-application advice, and for anything unusual we recommend using it. Hearing the planning officer’s concerns before an application is submitted is far cheaper than hearing them in a refusal.
Use us for the whole process or for the drawings alone.
Measured building survey
Existing and proposed plans and elevations
Sections and site plans
3D visualisations and cutaway views
Location and block plans
Heritage statements for listed buildings and conservation areas
Pre-application advice requests
Submitting and managing the planning application
What you want, what you have, and a measured survey of the building and site.
Early layouts and 3D sketches to try ideas before they are fixed.
Planning-standard plans, elevations and sections.
The submission, the supporting statements and the conversation with the planning officer.
Construction drawings, structural coordination and approval.
No. ‘Architect’ is a protected title in the UK, reserved for people on the Architects Registration Board’s register. We prepare architectural and planning drawings and manage applications as planning consultants and builders, and work with architects and structural engineers when a project needs them.
The statutory target for most householder applications is eight weeks from validation. Complex or sensitive applications can take longer, and getting the application valid first time avoids the most common delay.
If the building is listed or in a conservation area, almost certainly. It explains what is significant about the building and how the proposal respects it.
Yes. Drawings are a separate service; you are free to take them to tender.
An informal opinion from the planning authority on a proposal before you apply. The Lake District National Park Authority offers it, usually for a fee. For anything sensitive – a listed building, a prominent site, a new dwelling – it is worth the cost, because it tells you what the officer will look for.
Talk to Lakes Construction and arrange a free quotation.