Whatever your project may be there are a number of factors in preparing a Feasibility Study which will dictate the length of time it takes. As the size and complexity of a project increases or the outcomes sought from the study become more detailed so too do the timescales involved. Feasibility studies can as a result run into months rather than weeks but more often than not that isn’t necessary. In their simplest form, for instance a study for a new house, a small commercial premises or an empty site you can expect a study to take approximately 2-3 weeks once the basic information for a project has been collected.
Apart from drawings, an architect will always want a clear aim for the study i.e. a description of what you are looking to establish / achieve with it. These can range from “What size building can I fit on this site?” to “Will I get planning permission?” or “What other uses would my building be suitable for?”. It could simply be one question you need answered or multiple. Knowing this will give a better idea of how much work is entailed, how long it will take and if any specialist third party advice will be needed. One good place to start is gathering information on your brief as this will tease out the questions you need answered. See an older post on setting out your brief here.
When thinking about commissioning this piece of work we would always recommend agreeing a timescale at the outset so that you know what to expect and when.
At the moment (end of May 2020) we are undertaking a range of different feasibility studies for small scale commercial and residential projects. These are taking around 2-3 weeks depending on their complexity and our workload. If you have some unanswered questions like what size of property can I fit on my site, will a retail unit accommodate my business, or even what changes can I make to my current premises to make it social distance friendly, then the first step is to book a call with us to discuss how long a feasibility study for your type of project will take.
