Walsall Council Guide on how to produce scaled drawings
Why submit scaled drawings? As part of the National and Local
validation criteria, various drawings/plans are required to
accompany applications for planning permission; those drawings must
be drawn to a recognised metric scale. Accurate scaled
drawings/plans enable officers to gain the best possible idea of
what exactly your application is for and leaves no doubt about what
the proposal will look like and the size of it. What is scale? A
drawing cannot be of the same size as an area/building it
represents for practical reasons, therefore the measurements are
scaled down to make the drawing of a size that can be conveniently
used. A scale drawing of a building has the same shape as the real
building that it represents but a different size. Builders use
scaled drawings to make buildings. A metric scaled drawing will
show how much smaller the area shown on a map/plan is compared to
the same area in real life. Scale is usually expressed in ratio
terms but can also be represented graphically by marking a distance
as a line (scale bar) the scale remains true even if the map is
enlarged or reduced. Example 1:200 This means that each one unit of
measurement on the map/plan (1 centimetre) is the same as 200 of
those units (in this case 200 centimetres or 2 metres) in real
life. As Walsall Council are required to send consultations to
local residents and statutory/non-statutory consultees, drawing
maps/plans accurately to a metric scale enables officers and
members of the public to understand/measure precisely the size,
location and potential impact(s) of any proposed development.
Allowing a more careful and accurate judgement of your application.
How to draw to scale
Step Instruction One (1) Find out the actual measurements of
what you are proposing
to draw Two (2) Decide what scale you will draw to (i.e. 1:100,
1:200, 1:500). Three (3) Use the scale table to work out what
measurements to draw
(in centimetres). Below is a scenario of a plan that is required
for a planning application, the applicant has the relevant
measurements.
P a g e | 1
The application is for a rear conservatory to a domestic
property, one of the documents required would be a Block Plan (V3).
The block plan should show the boundary of the application site,
the position and shape of the application property and the position
of the proposed conservatory. The dimensions of the house are
16 x 14 metres and the proposed conservatory measures 4 x 4
metres. Perform step 3 of how to draw to scale to work out what to
draw in cm. See below for further guidance. Drawing to a scale of
1:100 Draw ing the house16 100 = 0.16 metres or 16 centimetres 14
100 = 0.14 metres or 14 centimetres Therefore the house drawn to a
scale of 1:100 on paper would measure 16 x 14 cm. Drawing the
conservatory 4 100 = 0.04 metres or 4 centimetres 4 100 = 0.04
metres or 4 centimetres Therefore the proposed conservatory drawn
to a scale of 1:100 on paper would measure 4 x 4 cm. Drawing to a
scale of 1:200 Drawing the house 16 200 = 0.08 metres or 8
centimetres 14 200 = 0.07 metres or 7 centimetres Therefore the
house drawn to a scale of 1:200 on paper would measure 8 x 7 cm.
Drawing the proposed conservatory 4 200 = 0.02 metres or 2
centimetres 4 200 = 0.02 metres or 2 centimetres Therefore the
proposed conservatory drawn to a scale of 1:200 on paper would
measure 2 x 2 cm.
P a g e | 2
P a g e | 3
Scale Calculation Table
NUMBER STEP 1 STEP 2 STEP 3 STEP 4 STEP 5 STEP 6
Actual measurement (metres)
Chosen scale (i.e. 1:200, 1:100)
Actual measurement divided by chosen scale
Equals (line to draw in metres)
X 100 (multiply by 100)
Equals length of line to draw (in cm)
EXAMPLE 12 metres 1:200 12 200 0.06 0.06 x 100 6 cm
