Planning By Design Reviews 

Excellent communication and a good set of planning designs. Always available on either email or phone. Our planner was very helpful with a wealth of knowledge. Would highly recommend Planning By Design. Great customer service service and always friendly and prompt to help.

Fantastic from start to finish. They handled everything from all communications withbthe Council to permission being granted. They were always checking in to make sure that I was happy with the plans and the standard of the final result was amazing. I will definatley recommend them and will definatley use them again if needed.

We are only in the initial planning and quote phase but the response times by Kim has been great, she is very attentive and happy to support.

I am very impressed with my experience using Planning By Design. Each step of the process was explained clearly and was made simple for me.

I used them for my garage conversion and the turnaround time was very quick.

I would use them again happily.

Lovely people and excellent advice. Couldn't be happier so far with Planning By Design.

I was looking for advice for an agricultural building that I had erected on my smallholding believing it to be permitted development. Unfortunately I had to put in for planning permission, which was later refused. I followed up with an appeal which was dismissed. I contacted the NFU for advice and they suggested contacting Planning By Design. I filled in an online form and received a call from someone the following day. I agreed to having a feasibility report produced to see whether I could submit a new planning application for a building of reduced size. I spoke with Mike on Wednesday who said they would be happy to produce a feasibility report once one of their planners had looked at the previous retrospective planning application. They kept in touch by email on Thursday & Friday and arranged for a telephone consultation with a planner for 11am on Monday. I received a call from Josh on Monday and discussed the issues with the previous application for over 30 minutes. Before 5pm on that evening I received the feasibility report, which was very thorough and helped me determine the way forward.

Our experience with Planning by Design has been extremely disappointing. What should have been a relatively straightforward planning application process turned into a prolonged, costly, and stressful ordeal. As a result, we lost a prime commercial premises and significant projected business revenue.

We were advised to submit a change of use application for a premises that already appeared to fall under the correct usage class. This advice led to unnecessary delays and confusion that ultimately derailed the project. The extended timeline caused our landlord, understandably frustrated by the lack of progress, to withdraw from the agreement, and we lost a site we had spent months securing.

Communication throughout was rigid and unaccommodating. Contact was mostly limited to email, making it difficult to address urgent matters effectively.

What we initially expected to be a relatively short process turned into months of back and forth. There was very little proactive management or initiative from the team.

At a key point in the process, despite clear instructions from us to proceed with a revised submission based on available information, the planner chose instead to seek further clarification from the council and requested an extension. The re-submission deadline passed without resolution. To date, we still have no validated planning application in place.

This experience has resulted in considerable financial and opportunity loss for our business.

We also found the response from senior management to be reactive rather than solution-oriented. Even after significant escalation on our part, major issues have not been addressed. At no stage did we feel there was an attempt to take ownership or provide a clear path to resolution. Instead of engaging constructively with the concerns we raised as a customer, we were met with defensive responses, further reinforcing our concerns about the company’s approach to accountability.

Regrettably, we cannot recommend Planning by Design based on our experience. We advise others to proceed with caution and ensure they seek second opinions when critical planning decisions are involved. For us, the lack of strategic guidance and poor communication had lasting consequences.

They actually believe that customers who complain about other companies must not be credible! That is the most nonsense assertion ever that demonstrates how sensitive they are when they get things wrong.

Any patterns of leaving negative reviews does not equate to you winning your argument - an unprofessional response again from your company which was, ironically, entirely my experience of you. Accept critical feedback and you may not elicit so many very similar negative reviews - we can't all be wrong in independently having the same experience of your company. Also, please do your own homework first, British Gas et al are notorious for bad reviews as per their own company data so I'm not sure what your point is. You also miss my 33% positive reviews by the way

I strongly advise against using this company due to their unprofessional conduct & poor customer service. My experience has been nothing short of appalling.

Their fictional chronology re my case is also false. I had no application, I asked them to produce an appeal report - there was no flood area/ roof issue involved or nonsense that they cited - it was about someone else's change of use so they even make up basic info' like that here - which made me realise how bad and desperate they are to come across as faultless! They put a lot of effort into trying to show they have bent over backwards for every customer - and yet they still get negative reviews. what are the chances we are all lying?

I also do not use profanities but it seems that you report that a lot of your customers do - why is that? - how coincidental...
AND, of course you don't retain calls because therein lies the truth of what happened!!

Initially, I received a report that was clearly rushed and poorly executed. When I expressed my concerns about the quality of the work, I was met with hostility and was blocked from accessing you by phone, rather than them just reviewing their work and addressing the issues. Their communication style was very dismissive, and so I found myself spending an excessive amount of time emailing them as they never answered my calls.

The company operates like a production line, lacking the diligence and attention to detail expected from a professional service. I was disappointed to find that I had to insist they compile the several supplementary random emails they then sent me into their own original report which I had paid for and so expected to be provided complete and with professionalism.

During my interactions, I encountered an operations manager who appears to be related to the managing director, as they share the same surname. This managing director also serves as the data privacy officer and handled my Subject Access Request in a discourteous and threatening manner. When I previously raised concerns over the phone, I was shouted down by the head of operations. I was informed by the managing director that, despite their IVR system indicating that calls are recorded, they do not retain these telephone recordings as the award winning company cannot afford to. Not sure what credit they expect for doing a legal Subject Access Request quickly but exclude evidential telephone calls requested - very convenient to not retain calls. This is particularly concerning, as the calls would have absolutely provided clear evidence of their unprofessional behaviour during our conversation, the incorrect allegations about me and the proof of what their operations director actually said and did - I was repeatedly talked over, faced her raised voice, and she ultimately hung up on me. They wrongly claim that I was abusive but the telephone call would have unequivocally proven otherwise. Convenient for them to hold no recording of it.

It is evident that this company lacks the basic principles of professionalism. Their responses to negative reviews further illustrates their inability to accept valid customer complaints. I had to engage in multiple email exchanges simply to get the corrections made to my report, which should have been their responsibility from the outset.

My overall experience was frustrating and disappointing. It became clear that this company does not value customer feedback or satisfaction. When a company states that they will not allow you to use their services again after raising legitimate concerns about their clearly poor service, it speaks volumes about their professionalism.

I urge potential customers to carefully consider the numerous negative reviews and the company’s responses before deciding to engage their services. Observe the pattern of how they respond to customers who place negative reviews. Are you willing to risk the same.

In summary, my experience was overwhelmingly negative, so I cannot recommend this company.

My project was an unusual one but they took the time to understand it. During the phone call I was given the chance to explore all options and ask questions about each possible outcome. I would definitely use them again and also be happy to recommend them to friends and family.

The team is very knowledgable and answered all my questions. I have used their service in obtaining a front porch extension. The application has been approved by the council in a reasonable time period.

The team were spot on. They did everything they said they would do, met and exceeded expectation and really good advice and value for money.

I had 3 calls with 3 differents people, all nice, patient and competent. I got all the info I needed rapidly. It is a good service.

The team have been fantastic from my initial enquiry. We’re looking at dropping a kerb outside our new home however we knew that we would need some assistance due to the close proximity to the junction.
I put my initial enquiry in and the next day I was contacted by Richard who went through the process and set me up an appointment with a town planner. Richard was polite and friendly and answered all my questions. The town planner, Cerys (apologies if this is spelt incorrectly), was fabulous. Answered all my questions and explained everything in Lehman’s terms so I could understand fully.
I received the feasibility report a few hours after my call with her alongside the quote to proceed through the planning stages.
I then received a call from Richard a few days later to go through the quote and answer any questions I may of had on it. I’ve also had email communication with Abigail and I cannot fault the level of service provided.
We would recommend planning by design to anyone wanting advice on a future build or planning.

Planning by design offered an extremely proficient and professional service. My wife and I were very impressed from start to finish. They listened to our requirements and gave guidance when needed.

Great experience working with PlanningByDesign, would really recommend their services. They walked me through my projectz it's implications and the potential options. Great value and peace of mind!

Excellent service through and through. This is the first time doing a project i found planning by design structured and organised. The planning call was very good and informative and the turn around times are incredible. I will be recommending there service because for the service we got and the the price i think it was very reasonable. A special mention to Abigail whose communication from the beginning was excellent!!! 🙂🙂

Great company and very helpful staff. I was totally new to planning etc but they helped me understand each step and sorted out everything! Super happy and would definitely recommend.

I had a wonderful experience with this organisation
Kim and co have been brilliant throughout. The planner was so well versed our initial meeting lasted an hour. They made their presentation and every single aspect was covered. It was so good I was left with no further queries. As an individual at the beginning with no prior experience with plannings and building controls I had tonnes of questions. But every single element was covered adequately etc. Extremely professional outlook. Great communication, quick response time, staff are polite and knowledgeable.
Keep it and a massive thank you from Farid and family

This was the right company for us to choose as the whole process was very smooth.

We needed a Variation of Condition on our outbuilding and they were able to put forward the necessary arguments for this to go ahead. It took all the stress away and it was successful.

We highly recommed this company and we will use them again in the future again, if needed.

We had an excellent experience working with Planning By Design on our planning application. From start to finish, the process was handled with professionalism, clarity, and great attention to detail. They took the time to understand our needs, guided us through every step, and ensured that everything was submitted correctly and on time.

The organisation and communication were top-notch, making what could have been a stressful process feel smooth and manageable. Their knowledge of the planning system and local requirements was clearly evident, and it gave us real confidence throughout.

Thanks to their expertise and hard work, our application was approved without any issues. We couldn’t be happier with the service and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Planning By Design to anyone needing help with a planning application.