A design and access statement from us starts at from £235, written for applicants who already have their drawings. The statement is part of your application, so no council fee is charged for it, and the council's £548 householder fee is for the application itself.
On this page
Many people pay for one they do not need. The more useful question is whether your application requires it at all, and the answer sits in a single article of the 2015 Order.
Who needs a design and access statement?
Article 9 of the Development Management Procedure Order sets the test. A statement is required for major development, and for any application where part of the development is in a designated area, meaning a conservation area or a World Heritage Site, and consists of one or more dwellinghouses or a building with 100 sq m or more of floor space (article 9).
So a householder extension outside a conservation area normally needs none. An extension to a house inside a conservation area can need one if it creates 100 sq m or more of floor space, and most householder jobs are smaller than that. The same article exempts section 73 applications, changes of use, engineering and mining operations and waste development. Your council's local list may also ask for one; check it before you commission the statement.
What must the statement say?
Two things, design and access. On design, it must explain the principles and concepts applied, and show the steps taken to assess the context and how the design responds to it. On access, it must explain the access policy adopted, how local plan policies on access were considered, what consultation on access took place and how specific access issues have been dealt with (article 9).
The government's guidance calls it a concise report with detail proportionate to the complexity of the application (MHCLG). For a modest scheme that means a few well-organised pages: the street, the house, what you propose, why it suits both, and how people get in and move around.
How is it different from a heritage statement?
A design and access statement explains your design. A heritage statement assesses the significance of the heritage assets affected and what your scheme does to it. Where both are required, the guidance says the heritage assessment can be included within the design and access statement (paragraph 012).
That is the case where one document can do two jobs, and it can cost less than two. Our heritage statement cost post explains the other half, and its service starts at from £565.
What does the whole application cost?
The statement is an add-on, not the application. If you need the drawings and the submission too, the complete planning drawing service is £645 drawings + £150 survey (£795 total), and the council's fee is £548 on top. Our what planning drawings include post lists the sheets in that set.
Frequently asked questions
Is a design and access statement the same as a planning statement? No. A planning statement argues the scheme against the council's policies. The design and access statement explains the design and the access. Ask your council which documents it wants.
Can I write it myself? Yes. The law sets what it must contain, not who writes it. We write it so that it matches your drawings and the council's policies.
How long should it be? Proportionate to the scheme: the guidance calls it concise, so a modest scheme needs a short document.
Does it affect whether permission is granted? It helps the officer understand the design, and it can be the place where you answer the council's concerns before they arise. It does not guarantee a result.
If the application goes through the Planning Portal, the Portal adds its own service charge: nothing, £99 or £149 including VAT, depending on the application type and complexity, paid to the Portal at submission and not normally refunded with a council fee (Ashford Borough Council, Planning Portal service charges, 11 September 2026). It is not ours and not the council's. Other submission routes exist; where your council accepts one without a charge, we can use it.
