01 · YOUR HOME ARCHITECTS
Residential architects in Merton.
Fixed fees, clear process.
Design, planning, building regulations and the contract on site, from a RIBA Chartered practice. Every service priced before you commit.
PLANNING AUTHORITY
London Borough of Merton
02 · THE PRACTICE
Design to completion, from a RIBA Chartered practice.
Your Home Architects is a service offered by Vision and Design, RIBA Chartered architects based in London. We set it up so London homeowners can see the whole job in advance, with the price for each service agreed before that service begins.
Architects Registration Board
Architect is a title protected by law in the United Kingdom. Only someone on the ARB register may use it. Registration requires seven years of education and examination, is renewed annually, and can be removed for professional misconduct.
ARB REGISTERED ARCHITECTS
RIBA Chartered practice
Registration is held by the practice, not just an individual. It requires a registered architect in charge, professional indemnity cover, a written complaints procedure and continuing professional development.
VISION + DESIGN LTD
Why the title matters to you
An architectural technologist or designer may be excellent, but is not accountable to a regulator. V+D are Chartered Architects, giving you a complaints route, a disciplinary body and mandatory professional indemnity cover.
COVER DETAILS ON REQUEST
03 · THE SERVICE
How we help homeowners in
Merton
Fixed-fee architectural services for London homeowners, in Merton and every other borough, from a RIBA Chartered practice. Merton is one of the more straightforward London boroughs to build in: extra restrictions apply in only two conservation areas, and almost every householder application is decided by officers rather than committee. The limit here is usually the house and the budget rather than the rules. We establish exactly what your address allows first, then price each stage before it starts.
We work on the terraces and interwar semis here: rear and side extensions and loft conversions, and whole house refurbishments where the ground floor is being reworked. Each stage priced before it begins.
04 · PUBLISHED FEES
Fixed fee, stage by stage.
Start with a free report. Instruct the next service only when you want to. Priced on how constrained the site is, not on how ambitious you are.
Straightforward work, straightforward pricing
01 · PLANS
Simple plans from only £1,450
• Permitted development only
• Plans and certificate application
• One design revision included
View full fees
02 · PLANS + REGS
Plans + building regulations from £2,950
• Everything in Simple plans
• Building regulations application
• Builder-ready technical drawings
View full fees
Not sure whether your project needs planning permission? The free report answers that first, at no cost.
Everything else, priced by band
BAND A
Unrestricted property · from £2,500
• Householder Application
• No listing or conservation designation
• From £2,500 for design and planning
View band fees
BAND B · MOST COMMON
Constrained property · from £4,000
• Conservation area
• More detailed planning coordination
• From £4,000 for design and planning
View band fees
BAND C
Complex property · from £5,500
• Listed, complex, or highly constrained
• Specialist consent and coordination
• From £5,500 for design and planning
View band fees
A short conversation about your house fixes the figure for each stage before anything starts.
*Every service is separately instructed and separately priced. Most projects begin with the free report.
**Structural engineers, party wall surveyors, Building Control and builders are appointed directly by you and are not included.
05 · START WITH YOUR ADDRESS
A free property report for London homeowners.
Enter your address and we will tell you whether your home is listed, sits in a conservation area or falls under an Article 4 direction, what you are allowed to build without planning permission, and what your neighbours have already been allowed to build.
Free · Within 48 hours · No obligation
What your report covers
• Listed status, conservation area and Article 4 direction
• What you can build without planning permission, specific to your house
• Your likely planning route
• Existing footprint, plot outline and planning history
• Flood zone, tree preservation orders and decided applications nearby
Download a sample report.
See the address check before you ask us to prepare one for your home.
06 · YOUR ADDRESS, NOT THE AVERAGE
What we check before anything is drawn.
IS YOUR STREET PROTECTED?
Around 28 conservation areas including John Innes and Merton Park, Wimbledon Village, Wilton Crescent, Mitcham Cricket Green and Wimbledon Common.
WHAT EXTRA RULES APPLY HERE?
Extra rules apply in the John Innes and Merton Park and Wilton Crescent conservation areas only. Other restrictions cover office conversions, shared houses and Wimbledon Championships marquees, none of which affect householder extensions.
WHAT KIND OF HOUSE IS IT?
Victorian and Edwardian terraces, interwar semis at Morden and Raynes Park, the John Innes garden suburb housing at Merton Park, and post-war estates.
WHAT PEOPLE USUALLY BUILD HERE
Rear and side extensions and loft conversions. On the interwar semis at Morden and Raynes Park the plots take a generous rear extension comfortably.
ANYTHING ELSE THAT AFFECTS YOUR SITE
The Wandle and Beverley Brook bring flood risk in parts of the borough. Reference: Basement and Subterranean Development SPD 2017, Borough Character Study SPD 2021 and the Small Sites Toolkit SPD.
07 · CHECK IT YOURSELF
Estimate your London extension cost.
Estimate your full project cost — build, interior fit-out, regulatory and professional fees, contingency and VAT — calibrated for Inner and Outer London.
London extension cost calculator
Open calculator
08 · COMMON QUESTIONS
Do I need planning permission to extend in Merton?
Usually not. Merton has around 28 conservation areas, but extra restrictions apply in only two of them, so on most streets the usual allowances still hold and rear extensions and loft conversions go ahead without an application.
I live in Merton Park. Is that different?
Yes. Merton Park and John Innes carry extra rules, because the estate's character depends on consistent detailing. Wilton Crescent is the other. On those streets, changes visible from the road need permission.
Are basements possible in Merton?
Yes, and Merton is one of the few outer boroughs with its own basement guidance, adopted in 2017. It sets out what will be supported, which makes the case easier to judge before you spend money on design.
07 · CONSULTATION
Book a consultation.
Thirty minutes with a registered architect. Free, and nothing is committed.