Guides
Plain-English guides to objecting, supporting and checking building quotes, written to what planning officers actually weigh.
Can I object to a planning application after the deadline?
What happens if you missed the 21 day consultation period, whether late objections are read, and what to do if the decision has already been made.
How to check a builder's quote before you sign
What a complete building quote contains, the items most often missing from extension, loft and kitchen quotes, the wording that hides extras, and the questions to ask before paying a deposit.
How to object to a planning application in 2026
The step-by-step method for a planning objection that a council officer will weigh: find the application, know the deadline, argue only material considerations, cite the adopted policies, and submit it the right way.
How to write a letter of support for a planning application
A letter of support for a planning application only helps if it addresses the planning merits. Here is what to say, which policies to cite, and what to leave out.
Objecting to a planning application for loss of light: daylight, sunlight and the 45 degree rule
How councils assess loss of daylight and sunlight from an extension, what the 45 degree and 25 degree tests mean, and how to write a loss of light objection that gets weighed.
Material planning considerations: what a council can and cannot weigh
The list of material considerations a planning officer must weigh in an objection or letter of support, and the common complaints that carry no weight at all.
The NPPF August 2026 edition: what changed and why paragraph numbers no longer work
The National Planning Policy Framework was replaced on 17 August 2026. It is now organised into coded policies rather than running paragraphs, which breaks every objection template that cites a paragraph number.
Overlooking and loss of privacy: how to object to a planning application
What counts as overlooking in planning terms, the window-to-window distances councils use, and how to write a privacy objection that a planning officer will weigh.
Planning application leads for builders, architects, glazing and solar firms
Approved planning applications are the earliest public signal that a household is about to spend on building work. How to use them as leads, what the register does and does not tell you, and how Curtilage delivers a daily feed by council.
Rear extension quote checklist: every line a complete quote should have
A line-by-line checklist for a single storey rear extension quote in the UK, with the items builders most often leave out and the cost surprises they cause.