I often meet clients after something has already gone wrong. Planning has been refused twice.
A contractor has walked off site. The budget has drifted 20–30% beyond what was expected. By the time they call me, they are not looking for creativity — they are looking for control.
One client came to me after appointing a low-fee practice that produced beautiful visuals but vague technical drawings. The build started smoothly. Six months later, unresolved details became “variations”. Each one felt small. Together, they added well into six figures. Nothing fraudulent — just ambiguity priced at the worst possible moment.
Lower fees almost always mean fewer hours. Fewer hours mean assumptions. Assumptions, on site, become invoices.
It is not unusual for build costs to rise 15–25% when documentation is incomplete or poorly coordinated. Contractors are not charities; if information is missing, they price risk or recover margin through change.
We produce coordinated, buildable information — clear detailing, aligned structural strategy, defined materials and disciplined tender documentation. Contractors should not be left to interpret intent. When drawings are precise and specifications are robust, budgets stay controlled and outcomes improve.
In sensitive settings like the Cotswolds, planning is rarely straightforward. I have seen schemes refused because massing was misjudged by half a metre, because materials were poorly justified, or because heritage impact was underestimated. Each refusal costs time, professional fees and, more importantly, momentum.
I once spoke to a homeowner who had redesigned the same extension three times over two years because the initial strategy had been naïve. By the time consent was secured, she had spent more on redesign than she would have spent appointing the right team at the outset.
We design for approval from day one — shaping the scheme around policy, precedent and likely objections, not wishful thinking.
When planning is refused, momentum disappears. Months pass. Fees are spent again. Confidence drains. I have met homeowners who assumed approval was a formality, only to discover that a half-metre of additional massing or a poorly justified material choice was enough to derail the scheme.
It may take more time at the beginning, but we would rather slow the project before submission than rescue it afterwards. We study recent local approvals and refusals, examine officer language, and align the scheme with policy from the outset. Where appropriate, we hold pre-application discussions and adjust the proposal before it becomes a public test. The aim is not to submit quickly; it is to submit once, properly.
I get it. A recommendation from a friend or the lowest tender can feel reassuring. But once construction begins, weak programme management or loose cost control quickly surfaces. By then, the client is committed and options are limited.
Our focus has always been alignment. We structure tenders so contractors price the same scope. We interview them properly, examine who will run the site daily, review recent projects and test how they manage reporting and sequencing. The outcome we aim for is not convenience — it is appointing a builder capable of delivering the standard the project requires.
When a project is complete, it should feel as though it could never have been any other way. Achieving that requires more than taste. It requires rigour, coordination and control from the very beginning.
I am direct with clients because clarity is part of that discipline. If someone is looking for the cheapest route to planning consent or the quickest set of drawings, we are unlikely to be the right fit. If they are looking for a measured, strategic approach that protects the value of a significant property and delivers a coherent architectural outcome, then we will work well together.
That is what we provide at Kennet Design.
Identifying planning risk before it becomes a refusal is part of our job. So is ensuring that ecology, heritage, massing and materials are considered strategically from the outset — not retrofitted after a planner pushes back.
Construction inevitably brings change. The difference between a manageable adjustment and a damaging dispute lies in how it is handled. I have reviewed projects where instructions were given casually, variations agreed verbally, and records kept inconsistently. When tensions rose, there was no shared reference point.
It may appear formal, but structure protects relationships. We issue written instructions, agree variations transparently and record site meetings carefully. Progress is assessed against completed work, not assumption. The aim is not bureaucracy; it is clarity that prevents friction from escalating.
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