Our Residential Design Services

We offer a comprehensive range of residential architectural design services for homeowners across North Leeds and West Yorkshire. Every service is available individually or as part of a combined package — so whether you need a single planning drawing or a complete end-to-end service from survey to construction, we have a solution that fits.

House Extensions

The most common project we handle, covering single-storey rear extensions, double-storey extensions, side return extensions, and wrap-around extensions. We prepare all drawings required for planning permission and building regulations, manage the submission process with Leeds City Council, and support you through to construction completion. Our house extensions service covers all extension types across Leeds and West Yorkshire.

Loft Conversions

Converting your loft into a usable bedroom, home office, bathroom, or living space is one of the most cost-effective ways to add floor space to a Leeds home. We design dormer loft conversions, hip-to-gable conversions, Velux roof light conversions, and mansard conversions, producing full planning and building regulations packages for each. Our loft conversions service includes structural coordination and party wall advice.

Garage Conversions

Converting an integral, attached, or detached garage into a habitable room — whether a home office, playroom, gym, or additional bedroom — rarely requires planning permission but always requires building regulations approval. We prepare the full technical drawings package, including insulation, structural, ventilation, and drainage details. See our garage conversions service for more information.

New Build Dwellings

For clients with a plot of land or an opportunity for a replacement dwelling, we offer full architectural design services for new build residential projects. This covers the complete design process from feasibility and concept through to full planning drawings, building regulations, and construction documentation. We have experience across a range of new build types including detached houses, bungalows, and small residential developments in North Leeds.

Planning Applications

We prepare and manage the full range of planning applications for residential projects: householder planning applications, Prior Approval applications for larger extensions, Certificates of Lawful Development, pre-application enquiries, and planning appeals. We know Leeds City Council’s planning department well, and our applications are prepared to the standard that case officers expect. Our planning permission service covers the complete process.

Building Regulations Drawings

Every structural alteration and new building work requires building regulations approval. We produce comprehensive technical drawing packages for building control submission, covering foundation design, wall construction, insulation to Part L, ventilation to Part F, drainage layouts, fire safety provisions, and structural details. Our building regulations drawings service manages the full submission and approval process.

Permitted Development Advice

Many home improvement projects can proceed without formal planning permission under Permitted Development rights. We advise on whether your project qualifies, the precise limits and conditions that apply to your property, and whether a Lawful Development Certificate is appropriate. If your property is in a conservation area or subject to an Article 4 Direction, we will tell you what additional restrictions apply and how best to navigate them. See our Permitted Development service for full details.

CIAT Membership — What It Means for You

YPDS is a practice of Chartered Architectural Technologists, registered with the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (CIAT). This matters for clients for several practical reasons.

Professional Standards

CIAT membership requires practitioners to meet rigorous educational and professional experience standards before they can use the title Chartered Architectural Technologist. Members are required to undertake continuing professional development and to maintain the standards set out in CIAT’s Code of Conduct. When you instruct a CIAT member, you can be confident that the technical quality of the work meets a recognised professional standard.

Professional Indemnity Insurance

CIAT members are required to hold professional indemnity insurance. This protects you as a client in the event that an error or omission in the design work causes you financial loss. Our professional indemnity cover is current and we are happy to provide confirmation of this on request.

Complaints Procedure

CIAT operates a formal complaints procedure. If you have a concern about the service you have received from a CIAT member that cannot be resolved directly, CIAT provides an independent route for escalation. This gives clients an additional level of protection and accountability that is not available when instructing unqualified practitioners.

Technical Expertise

Architectural Technologists are specialists in the technical delivery of buildings — the translation of design intent into buildable, compliant, detailed drawings. This technical focus is particularly valuable at the building regulations and construction stages, where precise specification and accurate detailing directly affect the quality and cost of the finished project.

What’s Included in Our Fee

We work on a fixed-fee basis for all residential design projects. Our fee is agreed in writing before we start and does not change unless you change the scope of the project. Here is what a typical residential design fee includes.

Measured Survey

A full measured survey of your existing property, carried out in person by one of our Chartered Architectural Technologists. The survey captures all floor plan dimensions, ceiling heights, external elevations, and relevant site features. The survey drawings are produced in CAD and form the base for all subsequent design work. For straightforward residential projects, the survey is typically completed in half a day and the drawings are produced within one to two weeks.

Concept Design and Planning Drawings

We develop concept design proposals and, once a scheme is agreed, produce the full planning drawings package: existing and proposed floor plans, existing and proposed elevations, roof plan, 1:1250 location plan, and 1:500 block plan. All drawings are produced to the standard required by Leeds City Council and are formatted for online portal submission.

Planning Application Submission and Management

We prepare and submit the planning application on your behalf, including completing the application forms, paying the application fee (chargeable to you at cost), and uploading all required documents to the Leeds planning portal. We monitor the application, respond to queries from the case officer, and notify you of the decision. Where a planning officer requests amendments, we make reasonable drawing revisions within the scope agreed at the outset.

Building Regulations Drawings

Following planning approval, we produce the full building regulations drawing package: structural details, foundation design, wall and roof construction, insulation schedules to Part L, ventilation calculations to Part F, drainage layouts, and fire safety provisions. The package is submitted to Leeds Building Control as a Full Plans application, which gives your builder the certainty of a formally approved set of drawings before work starts on site.

Ongoing Support

Throughout the planning and building regulations process, we are available by phone and email to answer questions from you, your builder, and the building inspector. If your builder raises a technical query on site, we deal with it directly. If the building inspector requests an amendment to the drawings, we manage that process. Our fee covers this ongoing support through to building regulations completion.