Freelance Architectural Draughtsperson

I am a London-based Town Planner currently transitioning into private practice and seeking to establish a small, reliable pool of freelance draughtspersons capable of producing accurate, scaled technical drawings for UK planning submissions. The work will primarily relate to permitted development (PD) schemes, including prior approval applications and certificates of lawfulness.

The role is production-focused rather than design-led. You will be responsible for preparing planning-ready drawing packs based on structured information provided. All drawings must be accurately scaled (typically 1:50 or 1:100), clearly annotated, consistent in presentation, and suitable for validation by UK local planning authorities.

You will be working from a combination of structured measurement data provided by homeowners under instruction, marked-up sketches and/or reference layouts, photographs of the property, AI-generated draft layouts where applicable, and clear written instructions and planner mark-ups. The ability to interpret and rationalise imperfect or incomplete input data is therefore essential.

The scope of work will generally fall into two categories. For prior approval applications, the requirement will typically be limited to existing and proposed block plans. For certificates of lawfulness, a full drawing set will be required comprising existing and proposed ground and first floor plans, existing and proposed roof plan, existing and proposed front, rear and side elevations, and an existing and proposed long section.

Applicants must have demonstrable experience producing UK-specific planning drawings and a clear understanding of existing versus proposed conventions, scaling standards, and annotation clarity within a residential context. Proficiency in AutoCAD or equivalent software is required. Experience with permitted development schemes and familiarity with local planning authority validation requirements would be highly advantageous.

All work will be undertaken remotely. You will not be required to attend site, and all measurements will be provided. Your role is to accurately translate the information received into compliant drawing sets, which will be reviewed prior to submission.

If this role is of interest, please provide relevant examples of UK planning drawings (including plans, elevations and sections), together with an indication of cost for both (a) a prior approval drawing pack (block plans only) and (b) a certificate of lawfulness drawing pack (full set as outlined above). Please also confirm your approximate turnaround time for each of these drawing types, the software you use, and your availability for ongoing work.

As proposals will be taken forward on a national basis, there will be some degree of homeowner engagement in relation to providing measurements. Please confirm whether there is any additional information, verification, or safeguards you would typically require when working from homeowner-supplied data to ensure accuracy.

Ongoing work is anticipated for the right candidate, subject to quality and reliability. I look forward to hearing from you.