A feasibility study is the first step you should take before investing in a full architectural design. Whether you have a plot of land and want to know how many homes it could support, an existing building you're considering converting, or a site you're appraising for development — a feasibility study gives you the clarity you need before you commit.
Why getting this right early matters to you
The questions a feasibility study answers are practical ones: How many units can your site achieve? What size are they? What are the likely build costs? What is the anticipated sales value? What planning constraints do you face? Getting those answers early — before you've spent money on detailed design — can save you significant time and cost.
We understand that at the feasibility stage you're often taking an early financial risk. That's why we structure our involvement to keep your costs as low as possible at this stage, flagging potential problems before they become expensive ones, and only increasing our involvement once the project justifies it.
Our approach, step by step
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01
Understand Your Brief
We start by listening. What do you want to achieve on the site or building? What are your priorities? What are your constraints? What do you definitely want — and what do you want to avoid? The clearer your brief, the more focused your feasibility study will be.
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02
Survey and Base Plan
Where necessary, we'll carry out a measured survey of the land or existing building. More often, an Ordnance Survey plan provides an accurate and cost-effective base to work from at this stage.
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03
Sketch Proposals
Working from the survey base and your brief, we prepare initial sketch proposals. We'll often bring ideas you hadn't considered — alternative layouts, different approaches to the planning context, or ways to increase the value or yield of your site.
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04
Review and Agree a Direction
We sit down with you to review the proposals, discuss the options, make amendments as necessary and agree an outline scheme direction. Your input at this stage shapes everything that follows.
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05
Pre-Application Meeting
We recommend a meeting with the local planning authority at this stage to discuss the principle of what you're proposing and receive early feedback — without incurring the cost of a full planning application. This is one of the most valuable steps you can take before committing further.
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06
Cost Review
We'll review the likely build costs with you. For larger or more complex schemes, a Quantity Surveyor may also be involved — giving you a realistic picture of what your project will cost and what it could return.
What you'll have at the end
At the conclusion of your feasibility study, you'll have a clear picture of what your site or building can achieve, the constraints you're working within, and a realistic view of likely costs and returns. That puts you in the best possible position to decide whether to proceed — and how.
If the numbers stack up and you're ready to move forward, we'll be perfectly placed to take your project into the next stage: outline design and a full planning application.