Resources
Useful resources for your project
Free tools of ours, and the official sources we actually use. External links are provided as a convenience and are subject to their providers’ terms.
Our free tools
Planning fee calculator
Three questions and an indicative fee range for planning drawings — no email needed to see it.
Permitted development checker
See whether your extension, loft or garden room may fall within permitted development, and exactly which national rules apply.
How a project actually runs
Six stages from measured survey to sign-off — and why planning permission and building regulations are not the same thing.
Planning & permissions
Planning Portal
The official planning resource for England: check if you need permission, find your local authority, submit applications.
Building Regulations — Approved Documents
The official technical guidance, Parts A to S. Essential reading before any structural work.
Party walls
Working on or near a shared wall or boundary may need a Party Wall Agreement. The official guide to your obligations.
Cost & tax
Stamp Duty calculator
HMRC’s official SDLT calculator — essential if you are buying a property to renovate or develop.
VAT on building work
New builds can be zero-rated; some conversions and listed-building work attract reduced rates. The official notice.
Energy Performance Certificates
Find a property’s EPC and see how design choices change running costs.
External resources are for information only. Blue Apple does not control third-party websites, and none of the above is professional advice — always take project-specific guidance.
Prefer a person?
Ask us instead
Tell us what you are planning and we will point you at the right route — sometimes that is simply “you don’t need us yet”.