Principal Designer Fee Index
The Principal Designer Fee Index carries 6 published figures read from 2 sources' own pages, from 750 to 2,100 GBP, read 28 October 2026.
2 of the 29 named sources read in full publish a figure; 27 publish none, read 28 October 2026.
By project type
| Breakdown | Median | Range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| project typesingle dwelling extension or loft | 1,425GBP | 750 to 2,100GBP | 2 |
| project typelarge residential | 1,000GBP | 1,000 to 1,000GBP | 1 |
| project typenew build dwelling | 1,200GBP | 1,200 to 1,200GBP | 1 |
| project typecommercial fit-out | 1,200GBP | 1,200 to 1,200GBP | 1 |
| project typecommercial development | 1,850GBP | 1,850 to 1,850GBP | 1 |
Every figure, with its source
One row per published figure: the figure as the source's own page publishes it, the page, and the day it was read. A figure that is not on a page we read is not on this one.
| Source | Figure | Breakdown | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| HebHomes: principal designer and CDM support | 2,100GBP + VAT | single dwelling extension or loft | 2026-10-28 |
| ClearCDM: fees | 1,850GBP | commercial development | 2026-10-28 |
| ClearCDM: fees | 1,200GBP | new build dwelling | 2026-10-28 |
| ClearCDM: fees | 1,200GBP | commercial fit-out | 2026-10-28 |
| ClearCDM: fees | 1,000GBP | large residential | 2026-10-28 |
| ClearCDM: fees | 750GBP + VAT | single dwelling extension or loft | 2026-10-28 |
The sentence each figure was read from (6)
- HebHomes: principal designer and CDM support, read 2026-10-28:
Principal Designer service with our Planning and Building Control contract: £2,100 + VAT.
- ClearCDM: fees, read 2026-10-28:
Commercial development New build commercial, or multiple houses £1,850
- ClearCDM: fees, read 2026-10-28:
New build dwelling A single new house £1,200
- ClearCDM: fees, read 2026-10-28:
Commercial fit out or refurbishment Shops, offices, hospitality £1,200
- ClearCDM: fees, read 2026-10-28:
Large residential project Major refurbishment, extension or basement £1,000
- ClearCDM: fees, read 2026-10-28:
A CDM principal designer appointment with ClearCDM starts at £750 plus VAT for an extension, loft conversion or refurbishment of a single dwelling, taken through to start on site.
Read in full, publishes no figure
27 named sources were read in full on the dates shown and print no usable figure. They are counted, never filled in.
- ClearCDM: CDM principal designer services, read 2026-10-28: every candidate on the page was refused
- ClearCDM: home (fixed fees from £750), read 2026-10-28: every candidate on the page was refused
- OJ Health and Safety: CDM consultancy, read 2026-10-28: every candidate on the page was refused
- OJ Health and Safety: principal designer, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Veritas Consulting: CDM fees and services, read 2026-10-28: every candidate on the page was refused
- Bailey Partnership: CDM / principal designer, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Maber: CDM and principal designer services, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Anstey Horne: CDM principal designer, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Anstey Horne: building regulations principal designer, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Design CDM: services, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- MSAFE: CDM for principal designers, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- iON Consultants: principal designer services, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- SOCOTEC: principal designer and CDM advisor, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Sweco UK: CDM health and safety consultancy, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Sutcliffe: principal designer and CDM consultancy, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Canham Consulting: CDM services, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- CDRM Services: CDM advisors, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Arcus Consulting: principal designer / CDM advisor, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Wilson Architectural Engineering: principal designer, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Evolution5: the principal designer role, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Wilkins Safety: CDM 2015 for principal designers, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- AC Architects: building regulations principal designer, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Tholos Architects: principal designer fees article, read 2026-10-28: every candidate on the page was refused
- Fourthwall Building Control: principal designer vs CDM advisor, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
- Safety Clarity: principal designer role and duties, read 2026-10-28: every candidate on the page was refused
- Bookabuilder UK: home renovation roles, read 2026-10-28: every candidate on the page was refused
- MySafetyConsultant: CDM and principal designer providers, read 2026-10-28: read in full and no accepted figure on the page
Methodology
Every row is a verbatim sentence read from the named source's own page through our fetch service on the date shown, hash-pinned to the stored read (the sha of the page's visible text; the raw page is mirrored to R2).
2 of the 29 named sources that could be read published a usable figure; 27 published none and are recorded as not published, never filled in; 4 could not be read (blocked, dead or unreachable) and count nowhere.
The headline figures (median, minimum, maximum, quartiles) are over ONE figure per source for each breakdown it prices, in GBP (a source's median where its page yielded several accepted sentences for one breakdown), so a page that gives figures for several breakdowns gives one for each and N counts 6 figures, never sentences; 45 candidate sentence(s) were refused by a reviewer with the reason recorded.
The fuller derivation this dataset is chartered to grow into (not yet what the figures above are; they are each source's own published figure as read): the fee each consultancy publishes, normalised to ex VAT and to one appointment through to start on site, banded by project type (single dwelling, large residential, new build, commercial fit-out, commercial development) and by contract value; the share of the trade that publishes any fee at all; the fixed-fee versus percentage split
45 candidate sentences on these pages were refused by a reviewer; each refusal and its reason is recorded in the review ledger.
Sources (33)
- ClearCDM: fees(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- ClearCDM: CDM principal designer services(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- ClearCDM: home (fixed fees from £750)(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- HebHomes: principal designer and CDM support(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- OJ Health and Safety: CDM consultancy(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- OJ Health and Safety: principal designer(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Veritas Consulting: CDM fees and services(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Bailey Partnership: CDM / principal designer(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Maber: CDM and principal designer services(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Riddell PM: principal designer / CDM advisor(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Anstey Horne: CDM principal designer(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Anstey Horne: building regulations principal designer(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Design CDM: services(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- MSAFE: CDM for principal designers(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- iON Consultants: principal designer services(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- SOCOTEC: principal designer and CDM advisor(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Sweco UK: CDM health and safety consultancy(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Sutcliffe: principal designer and CDM consultancy(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Canham Consulting: CDM services(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- CDRM Services: CDM advisors(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Arcus Consulting: principal designer / CDM advisor(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Wilson Architectural Engineering: principal designer(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Evolution5: the principal designer role(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Wilkins Safety: CDM 2015 for principal designers(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- AC Architects: building regulations principal designer(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Potter Raper: principal designer(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Ramskill Martin: principal designer and CDM consultancy(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Tholos Architects: principal designer fees article(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Fourthwall Building Control: principal designer vs CDM advisor(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Safety Clarity: principal designer role and duties(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- Bookabuilder UK: home renovation roles(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- MySafetyConsultant: CDM and principal designer providers(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- riba.org(the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
Cite or embed this figure
The Principal Designer Fee Index carries 6 published figures read from 2 sources' own pages, from 750 to 2,100 GBP, read 28 October 2026.
2 of the 29 named sources read in full publish a figure; 27 publish none, read 28 October 2026.
Principal Designer Fee Index, project type single dwelling extension or loft: median 1,425 GBP across 2 sources, read 28 October 2026.
Principal Designer Fee Index, project type large residential: median 1,000 GBP across 1 source, read 28 October 2026.
Principal Designer Fee Index, project type new build dwelling: median 1,200 GBP across 1 source, read 28 October 2026.
Principal Designer Fee Index, project type commercial fit-out: median 1,200 GBP across 1 source, read 28 October 2026.
Principal Designer Fee Index, project type commercial development: median 1,850 GBP across 1 source, read 28 October 2026.
Cite as: "principaldesignercost.co.uk Principal Designer Fee Index", updated 2026-10-28, https://principaldesignercost.co.uk/datasets/principal-designer-fee-index/.
Download the CSV (6 rows, computed 2026-10-28)