Nottingham | architects
Every city claims character. In Nottingham's case, it's load-bearing.
Lace warehouses turned into some of the city's best addresses. Regency crescents on the Park Estate that still make people stop mid-sentence. An Elizabethan prodigy house with its own deer park. Nottingham doesn't do modest, and neither should the extension, new build or conversion you're planning next. You bring the site and the ambition. We bring the drawings, the planning permission, and the argument for why it should look the way you pictured it.
local proof
A city that turned its industry into its best material
Old buildings here don't get knocked down. They get better jobs.
The Lace Market's old warehouses prove the city already knows how to make an old building better than a new one. Cast iron columns and enormous windows built for machinery now carry a kitchen island and a reading chair instead. We've built a working relationship with British Living Group across a run of residential schemes built on the same instinct: work out what a building's bones were good for, then let them keep doing it. Across every project JSA has delivered, 97% of planning applications have gone through, which is a decent trick when half the brief is convincing a case officer that the old warehouse deserves a second act.
Ten minutes in any direction and the story changes entirely. The Park Estate's Regency crescents were laid out so carefully that residents still need permission to paint a front door the wrong shade of white. Mapperley Park was planned wholesale by one Edwardian architect who clearly didn't believe in doing anything by half. Wollaton Hall built its own deer park because a stately home apparently wasn't stately enough on its own. None of that is background scenery. It's the standard the next project gets measured against, whether it's a kitchen extension or a block of flats.
the part everybody dreads
Most refusals aren't a planning problem. They're a design problem wearing a planning problem's clothes.
Nottingham City Council reads its conservation areas closely, and there are plenty of them: the Lace Market, the Park Estate, Mapperley Park, and no shortage of Victorian terraces in between. An application that ignores what's already on the street gets read as exactly that. Most of what gets refused was never about permission at all. It was about a design that hadn't done its homework on the building next door.
Step outside the city boundary, into Rushcliffe or Broxtowe, and the paperwork changes even if the street doesn't look any different. We know both sets of rules well enough that the boundary never becomes your problem. It means the drawings arrive already speaking the right dialect.
architectural services in Nottingham
Four ways in. All of them start with the drawing, not the paperwork.
House Extensions
An extension that looks like it was always meant to be there, not bolted on the weekend before completion. Designed around how the house holds its light, not only its floor area.
New Build & Developer Schemes
New homes and apartment schemes for developers who want the numbers to work without the design looking like an afterthought. British Living Group has trusted us with more than one.
Conversions, Co-Living & Adaptive Reuse
Old buildings asked to do a new job, from a lace warehouse to a house split for shared living. We work out what's worth keeping before we work out what's allowed.
Remodels & Interior Reconfiguration
Plenty of Nottingham's houses got the structure right a century ago and the layout wrong for how anyone lives now. We open them up and let the good bones do more work.
Something taking shape for a plot in Nottingham?
A free, no-obligation conversation. You'll talk to a director or an architect directly, not a call centre, and asking costs nothing beyond the conversation itself.
0115 727 0995
JSA Architects, Bridgford Business Centre, 29 Bridgford Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham NG2 6AU
What to expect
What working with us looks like.
Free consultation
A conversation first, either at the property or on a call, whichever suits you better. We listen before we sketch anything.
Design & feasibility
Options tested against the brief and against the policy for your particular patch of Nottingham, Rushcliffe or Broxtowe, before a full drawing set gets started.
Planning submission
We draw it, submit it, and answer whatever the case officer raises. Whichever council that happens to be.
Building Regulations
The technical layer: specifications, construction notes and schedules, put together so nothing gets left to guesswork once the build starts.
Site support
We stay reachable once work starts on site. A call or a visit when something needs a second pair of eyes.
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The New NPPF Is Here: What the 2026 Rewrite Means for Your Project
The new NPPF landed on 17 August 2026 and applies to decisions now. What changed for extensions, garden plots, small sites and Midlands projects.
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Justin Smith Architects is now JSA Architects. Here’s the story, in Justin’s own words, and what the rebrand means for our clients and the practice.
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Planning Submitted: Brooklands' Redesign Heads to South Derbyshire District Council
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JSA Architects Appointed to Redesign Brooklands, a Luxury New Build in Weston-on-Trent
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Planning Appeal Secured for Bold New Home in Quarndon’s Green Belt
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Bat Surveys and Building Projects: Seasons, Licences and Costs
Bats can hold up homes, commercial sites and listed buildings for most of a year. Survey triggers, council rules, permitted development, licences and costs.
A new appointment in Allestree: refurbish or replace?
A new Allestree appointment prompts a practical guide to refurbishing or replacing a house, with a worked cost example, surveys, fees and planning questions.
JSA Appointed for Listed Building Extension in Amber Valley
JSA is appointed to design a sensitive extension to a Grade II listed stone building in Amber Valley, Derbyshire, going to pre-application with CGI support.
Good Architectural Drawings Matter More Than You Think
Poor architectural drawings create assumptions, delays and cost. See why clear, accurate information matters to homeowners and commercial clients.
HMO or Flats? Why Modern Co-Living Falls Between the Rules
When does an HMO become flats? See how planning, licensing, building regulations and fire safety diverge, and how co-living developers can reduce risk early.
The New NPPF Is Here: What the 2026 Rewrite Means for Your Project
The new NPPF landed on 17 August 2026 and applies to decisions now. What changed for extensions, garden plots, small sites and Midlands projects.
We're Revisiting Our Leisure Portfolio
Twenty years of Midlands pub, bar and restaurant projects, plus a decade behind the bar. What a busy summer tells you about the building you trade from.
We Built an App That Keeps You in the Room
Datum is JSA's own project app. Every client gets a login: latest drawings, the brief, where planning's got to and what we did this week. Free on every project.
Biodiversity Net Gain: A Quick Guide for Anyone Who Isn't an Ecologist
What Biodiversity Net Gain requires for new developments in England: the 10% target, who's exempt, and how to plan for it from day one.
A 1960s Bungalow Gets a Contemporary Rethink in Lichfield
A modest 1960s bungalow in Lichfield is being extended and reconfigured for downsizing clients. Planning is submitted to Lichfield District Council.
Little Eaton Dormer Bungalows Approved, No Amendments Needed
Two backland dormer bungalows in Little Eaton have been approved by Erewash Borough Council with no amendments needed. Here's why that's rarer than it sounds.
JSA Appointed to Design 'The Forest': 73 Apartments for T&T Asset Group in Derby City Centre
T&T Asset Group has appointed JSA to design The Forest, a 73-apartment conversion in Derby city centre, covering architecture, interior design and planning.
The Grange, Finished: A Georgian Villa Restored, Warmed and Handed Back
See the finished restoration of The Grange, a Georgian villa in South Derbyshire. JSA acted as both architect and project manager throughout.
Burley Lane Site Progress Update: Quarndon Home Now Taking Shape
Site progress at Burley Lane in Quarndon: stair structure, basement golf simulator, MVHR routes, full-height glazing and November 2026 completion.
Planning Approved for Bramble Street Office-to-Flats Conversion in Derby
A vacant period office on Bramble Street, Derby, has approval for three flats. Now the unglamorous part: stairs, acoustics, flood notes and drawings.
Justin Smith Architects Is Now JSA Architects
Justin Smith Architects is now JSA Architects. Here’s the story, in Justin’s own words, and what the rebrand means for our clients and the practice.
Welcome to JSA, Joao Bravo
Joao Bravo joins JSA as our 3D artist and visualiser. A University of Derby graduate and qualified architectural technologist, originally from Lisbon.
Light at the End of the Terrace: Contemporary Rear Extension to a Victorian Townhouse in Sutton Coldfield
A contemporary rear extension brings light and space to a Victorian townhouse in Sutton Coldfield, and leaves the period terrace out front exactly as it was.
JSA Architects and British Living Group: Working Together on Derby Co-Living Development
JSA is working with British Living Group, one of the Midlands' most commercially minded developers, on a 27-room co-living conversion in Derby.
Lichfield’s Local Plan Might Be Delayed to 2029. If You’re Thinking About a Project, Here’s What That Means for You
Lichfield District Council may delay its 2043 Local Plan. If that sounds like a reason to pause your project, read this first. It probably isn't.
5,500 Homes Are Coming to Walmley. If You’re Already Living There, This Is Your Cue to Stop Putting Off Your Own Project
Birmingham City Council has approved the groundwork for 5,500 new homes near Walmley. If your own project's been on the back burner, this is your sign.
Planning Approved for Brooklands Luxury Dwelling
Golden Brook Developments had a permission for Brooklands and didn't rate the design. We redesigned it, and South Derbyshire has now approved the new scheme.
Planning Submitted: Brooklands' Redesign Heads to South Derbyshire District Council
The design's done and the application's in. Here's what JSA has proposed for Brooklands, a new home in Weston-on-Trent, South Derbyshire.
JSA Architects Appointed to Redesign Brooklands, a Luxury New Build in Weston-on-Trent
A permission existed and a design was on the table. Golden Brook Developments decided it wasn't good enough. They were right, and they called us.
Two Stand-Out Self-Builds Submitted for Full Planning in Little Eaton
Two bespoke self-build homes in Little Eaton designed for standout architecture and smart investment returns.
Major Family Home Remodel Proposed in Repton, South Derbyshire
Modern extension and full internal remodel proposed for character home in sought-after Repton, South Derbyshire.
Planning Appeal Secured for Bold New Home in Quarndon’s Green Belt
A new home in the Quarndon Green Belt, won at appeal. How strategic planning and a strong design got a Green Belt house over the line in Derbyshire.
Windy Rise, Little Eaton: JSA Architects Appointed and Planning Application Submitted
The Windy Rise plot in Little Eaton lost its bungalow to arsonists in 2017, then spent a decade rewilding. Our design for the hillside is now with the council.
Windy Rise Gets the Green Light: Erewash Borough Council Approves the Hillside Home That Made Councillors Say 'Thunderbirds Are Go'
Planning approved at Windy Rise, Little Eaton. Erewash Borough Council approved this Green Belt replacement dwelling 11-1. See how JSA Architects made the case.
Derby Assembly Rooms - Future of City Centre Development
Why Derby's new Assembly Rooms masterplan validates the mixed-use approach JSA has advocated since 2015.
Nottingham plot already on your mind? Let's get it on paper.
Book a free consultation, or call and talk to a director. Asking costs nothing and settles nothing beyond a conversation.
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