Guide
Heritage statement cost: the eight things a consultant prices
Updated
A heritage statement is priced as professional time against a scope, and the scope is set by the asset rather than by the size of the building work. That is why two applications of similar construction value can attract very different fees.
The fee follows the asset, not the project value
It is a common assumption that a small job means a small heritage fee. It often does, but not reliably. National planning practice guidance requires the level of detail to be proportionate to the asset's importance and no more than is sufficient to understand the potential impact of the proposal on its significance (gov.uk). A modest internal alteration to a grade I building can require more assessment than a rear extension to an unlisted house in a conservation area.
The eight fee factors
The fee-factor table on the home page sets out each factor, why it moves the number, and the question that pins it down in a proposal. In summary, the fee rises with designation and grade, with the scale of intervention, with the amount of archive research and recording required, with difficulty of access, with whether the authority has already objected, with the harm category engaged, and with how fast you need it.
How to get comparable fee proposals
- Send every consultant the same information. The address, the designation and grade, the drawings or a written description of the proposals, and the stage you are at.
- Ask for a scope, not just a number. A proposal that lists site visits, archive research, the designations covered and whether consultee responses are included can be compared. A single figure cannot.
- Ask what is excluded. Archive research, building recording, additional visits, appeal work and dealing with the conservation officer's comments are the usual exclusions.
- Ask about the likely harm category before you appoint. If a consultant's initial view is that the scheme engages substantial harm, that changes both the fee and, more importantly, the design conversation you should be having.
- Check for a fixed fee. Many heritage statements are quoted as a fixed fee against a defined scope, which caps your exposure. Ask for the hourly rate that applies to anything outside it.
Where the money is genuinely saved
- Commission early. A short scoping opinion before the design is fixed is far cheaper than a full justification of a design that has already been drawn, and it often removes the need for the harder argument entirely.
- Do the easy evidence gathering yourself. The listing entry, the property's deeds, family photographs and any previous applications on the council's planning portal are all things you can supply rather than pay for.
- Use pre-application advice. Most authorities offer it, usually at a published fee. Knowing the conservation officer's position before submission is worth more than any argument written afterwards.
- Do not split the work. Paying one consultant for a statement and another for an appeal statement six months later usually costs more than one properly scoped commission.
We publish the fee factors rather than a price because a heritage statement is scoped case by case and any single figure would misdescribe most commissions. To get a real number, send your scope to consultants and compare their proposals.