A feasibility study answers three questions before design begins: what can be built, will it secure planning, and roughly what will it cost. It sits at the front of every serious project. The effort is measured in weeks; what it saves you is the expensive alternative — committing to a scheme that runs into a policy wall six months in, or buying a property whose real potential is smaller than the estate agent implied.
When it makes sense
Before you buy a property whose price depends on future potential. The cheapest way to test what that potential actually is.
Before you commit to a design direction on a property you already own.
Before you speak to a builder. Contractors price what they are given; the study gives them something worth pricing.
When two or more options are on the table — extend versus loft, refurbish versus rebuild — and you need a like-for-like comparison.
What we examine
The site. Orientation, aspect, access, levels, ground, existing structure, services and constraints.
The policy. Local plan, neighbourhood plan, conservation designations, Article 4 directions, listed status, TPOs. Read before any option is tested.
The planning history. What has been applied for at your address before, and what the council has approved nearby. Precedent from two doors down is more predictive than policy alone.
The construction reality. Cost banded per option, using rates per square metre for the relevant construction type. Precise costing is a QS’s job later.
What you get
A written report (typically 20-40 pages), two or three options drawn to sketch design level, a cost band for each option with assumptions stated, and a recommended route to permission. A meeting to walk through it all at the end.
What we deliver
- Written feasibility report with constraints and options
- Two or three options drawn to sketch design level
- Site analysis diagrams: sun path, aspect, constraints
- Planning-policy summary for your address
- Planning-history review and nearby precedents
- Cost banding per option, with assumptions stated
- Recommended route to permission if you proceed
- Handover meeting
How the process runs
Instruction
Short call to confirm the brief and site. Fixed fee agreed before we start.
Site & policy
Site visit, survey as needed, full read of policy and planning history.
Options
Two or three options developed to sketch design level and tested against the brief.
Costing & report
Cost banding applied. Report and drawings issued in one document.
Handover
Meeting to walk through findings. If you proceed, the fee is credited against the next stage.
Standards and regulations that apply
What we assess against as standard.
Read for the policy tests likely to apply to the site.
The specific policies and SPDs that carry weight in decisions.
Every previous application, decision and appeal.
Whether they apply, and whether they have been removed.
Listed status, curtilage, conservation area, Historic England guidance.
Flagged where they will affect programme or design.
Common questions
How long does it take? +
Typically four to six weeks. Simpler sites can be quicker; complex heritage or policy takes longer.
What does it cost? +
Fixed fee, agreed before we begin, based on the site and the options to be tested. A fraction of what construction will cost.
Do I need one before I buy? +
Strongly recommended if the purchase depends on the potential to extend or develop. We regularly complete studies inside a purchase timeline.
Can I use the study in a planning application? +
The sketch drawings are the starting point, not the finished application. The analysis and policy review all carry through.
Are surveys included? +
Site visits are included. Formal measured, topographical or ecological surveys are third-party costs and separate.
What if the site can’t support what I want? +
The value of the study is the honest answer. If the brief and the site can’t both be met, we say so and set out what could realistically be achieved instead.
Do you cover commercial and mixed-use? +
Yes. Same discipline, different policy tests and cost bases.
Is the fee credited if we go on to design? +
Yes. If you appoint us within twelve months, the feasibility fee is credited against the concept design fee.
Get in touch and we’ll tell you whether a study is worth commissioning.