For SME developers
Schemes of two to nine homes sit in an awkward gap. Too small for the practices geared to strategic land, too complex for a studio that mainly does extensions. That gap is where we work, and it is where the design-and-build model earns its keep.
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The gap
On a scheme of two to nine units, a single refused application or a six month delay is not absorbed the way it would be on a hundred unit site. There is no other phase to carry the overhead. Programme slip goes straight to the return.
The other structural problem is coordination. On a small scheme the developer usually appoints a designer, then tenders to contractors, then spends the build adjudicating between them. Every variation is a negotiation and the developer is the one in the middle of it.
We take small schemes from appraisal through planning and technical design to construction under a single contract, which removes that gap entirely.
What we do
Every scheme starts with an appraisal, because the number that matters, achievable unit count, has to be right before anything else is worth doing.
From there the work runs continuously rather than being handed between parties.
Before you bid
Enter a site postcode and we check it against the national planning dataset for conservation areas, Article 4 directions, listed status, green belt and flood risk. Free, and it takes under a minute.
Scheme types
Small residential schemes come from a limited number of site types. Backland and infill plots, where a garden or yard behind a frontage takes two to four homes. Subdivision of a large plot, where an existing house has land beside or behind it.
House to flats conversions, which typically yield three to six units. Class MA commercial conversions, where a Class E building becomes residential through prior approval. And redundant sites such as garage blocks, workshops and former yards.
Each has a different planning route and a different risk profile, which is why the appraisal comes first.
Biodiversity Net Gain
From 6 August 2026 a new exemption applies to non-major sites of 0.2 hectares or smaller, provided the development does not affect priority habitat. Sites meeting that test fall outside the Biodiversity Net Gain regime entirely.
For non-major development the on-site-first hierarchy no longer applies either, so the requirement can be met through off-site units without first demonstrating that on-site enhancement is unachievable. Separately, the self and custom build exemption was removed from 31 July 2026.
Site area is therefore worth establishing precisely and early. The difference between 0.19 and 0.21 hectares now changes the regime you are in. Where priority habitat is present the exemptions do not apply regardless of size.
Viability
Three things account for most of it. Optimistic unit count at bid stage, where a scheme is modelled on a number planning will never approve. Undiscovered constraints, meaning an Article 4 direction, a flood zone or a listed neighbour that was not checked before purchase. And programme slip, where a refusal and resubmission adds six months of finance cost to a scheme that had no slack.
All three are addressable before you buy. That is the entire argument for appraising first, and on a small scheme it is a stronger argument than on a large one because there is less margin to absorb a mistake.
Working with us
Rosace Design Studio is an architectural design and build studio. Our design lead holds a BA (Hons) in Architecture from a UK university, and we deliver design, planning and construction as one team.
On a small scheme that means one point of accountability rather than a designer and a contractor pointing at each other. A site appraisal from £1,000 is where it starts.
Site Feasibility Appraisal
Unit capacity, planning strategy, constraint mitigation and an indicative programme to determination. Delivered in 10 working days. The fee is credited against our fees if you appoint us for the application.
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