Because what you want and what your house will take are two different things — and only one of them can be discussed over the phone. Mike comes out, listens to what you are actually trying to achieve, looks at what is already there, and tells you where you stand: whether it needs planning permission, what it will realistically cost, and whether the idea works at all. That is the Initial Site Appraisal Meeting.
📋 Book the £60 Initial Site Appraisal Meeting ↓ What you get for £60Plenty of firms will give you a figure on a call. It costs them nothing, and it is worth exactly that — because at the point they gave it, they did not know how far your extension sits from the boundary, how high your existing ridge is, or whether a previous owner already used up your Permitted Development allowance.
That matters more than it sounds. Getting the planning position wrong is a swing of approximately £734 in Wales, or £697 in Chester and Wirral — the council fee plus the Planning Portal charge. A homeowner told on the phone that they probably would not need permission, who then finds out they do, has been given the worst possible start: a number they trusted, corrected later.
Mike will not do that to you. He assesses first, then tells you. That is the whole reason the Initial Site Appraisal Meeting exists, and the whole reason it comes before a fee proposal rather than after.
It is an Initial Site Appraisal Meeting. Mike comes to the property to understand the scope of what you want to do, learn what you actually need from the space, and advise you accordingly — what is achievable, whether planning permission is likely to be needed, and what it is realistically going to cost. He may check the odd dimension if something looks borderline, but that is all it is.
It is worth being clear about what it is not: it is not the survey. The full measured survey belongs to the design and approvals stage, and it is included in Mike’s fixed fee rather than charged on top — so it happens once your fee is agreed and he knows exactly what he is drawing.
He comes out himself — no juniors, no outsourcing. Twenty-five years of doing this on houses like yours, sat at the kitchen table working out what you actually want.
Whether your project is Permitted Development or needs an application — assessed on site and against your property's planning history, not guessed.
Including when the answer is that your idea will not achieve what you want, or that a different approach would get you more for the same money.
Sent afterwards, in writing, before any work begins. The number you agree is the number you pay.
And the £60 comes off. Commission the work and the full £60 is deducted from your agreed fee — so for anyone who goes ahead, the visit costs nothing. The charge is what makes it a proper piece of work rather than a sales call — Mike turns up to give you an answer, not a pitch.
Mike's fee plus the council fees for planning and building control — the full professional stage, before a builder is involved. Two taps for a figure — no obligation.
Mike’s fee covers the complete design and approvals stage:
Why the range? Every home is different. The lower end covers a straightforward project — standard drawings, no planning application needed. The higher end covers larger or more complex work — a full planning application, more detailed drawings, or structural design to coordinate.
Before any work begins, Mike gives you a detailed written fee proposal — so you know exactly what you are paying and what it covers. The number you agree is the number you pay.
Only if planning permission is needed. Wales charges £585 for a householder application and Cheshire West & Chester £548 — the fee is set nationally, so it does not vary between Welsh councils. Paid directly to your council, never through Mike.
The service charge for submitting a planning application online. It also only applies if permission is needed, and it is charged per application submitted.
This one always applies, permission or not. It is calculated on floor area and subject to the final design — smaller projects sit toward the lower figure, larger ones toward the higher. Paid to the council's building control team or a private approved inspector, never through Mike, and he gets you an exact quote once the design is finalised.
Design and approvals only. This is what it costs to get your project drawn and approved — it does not include your builder’s costs for the actual building work.
If your project turns out to be Permitted Development, you will not need to pay the council planning fee or the Planning Portal charge, a saving of up to approximately £734. Mike checks this at the Initial Site Appraisal Meeting.
Read more about extension plans →
Already built it without approval? Regularisation →
Guide figures only. The £60 Initial Site Appraisal Meeting is not added to these figures — it comes off Mike's fee when you commission the work. Council fees correct at July 2026; building control charges vary by council and project — full details in the FAQs. Mike confirms everything in a written fee proposal before any work begins.
Or have Mike email this estimate to you — no obligation.
✅ Sent — your estimate is on its way. No obligation.
Couldn't send just now — call Mike on 07703 786 460 or email [email protected].
£60, and it comes off your fee when you go ahead. Mike comes to the property to understand the scope of what you want to do and advise you accordingly — then sends a written fixed fee afterwards.
Every planning application Deeside Architectural Design submits goes onto the council's public register — under the practice name, with the decision attached, permanently. It's free to search and it isn't curated by us. What the register cannot show you is the other half of the work: the projects that qualified as Permitted Development, needed no application at all, and saved the client the council fee. Those leave no public trace. So the number below is the part you can check — not the whole of it. Before you decide whether the fee above is worth paying, go and read it.
Submitted to Flintshire County Council under Deeside Architectural Design since 2010 — every one searchable, with its decision attached.
Many projects qualify as Permitted Development, need no application, and never reach the register. The 165 is the work that required permission — not the count of jobs done.
Deeside Architectural Design Limited, incorporated January 2010, and 25 years of drawings behind it. Companies House no. 07128221.
Open Flintshire's planning register, put Deeside Architectural in the Agent field, and read every decision — including the ones that didn't go our way.
Search Flintshire's planning register →
Figures taken from Flintshire County Council's public planning register, August 2026.
No. A photograph shows a wall, not what is behind it or how it sits on the plot — and a description cannot tell him what you are really trying to achieve. Most of the value of the visit is the conversation: what you want the space to do, what the house will realistically take, and what that means for planning and for cost. None of that happens down a phone line.
They are quoting without having seen the house, which means they are guessing — and the correction comes later, usually when it is expensive. Mike would rather charge £60, assess it properly, and give you a figure that holds. If you go ahead the £60 comes off, so it costs you nothing.
Use the estimator on this page — pick your project type and it gives you Mike's fee as a realistic range, with no obligation and nothing to fill in. You can have it emailed to you if you would rather think about it.
Then you found that out for £60, rather than after paying a council fee and commissioning drawings. He will tell you at the visit if he thinks an application is likely to be refused, or if what you have in mind will not get you what you want.
Allow about half an hour. It can be twenty minutes on a straightforward job and up to an hour on a bigger one. Mike talks through what you are hoping to do, looks at what is already there, works out the scope of the job, and answers your questions. The written fee proposal follows afterwards.
Two taps on the estimator gives you a realistic figure. When you're ready, the £60 Initial Site Appraisal Meeting comes off your fee if you go ahead.
⚡ Instant estimate Book the Initial Site Appraisal Meeting