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Reliable cost information, early, so that key decisions rest on firm ground.
Cost planning sits at the heart of our Cost & Commercial service. We measure and price the infrastructure, abnormal and build costs that shape a scheme, benchmark them and set out the risks behind the numbers. Our support ranges from a single cost plan for one site to cost and budget management across major, multi-phase programmes.
Why Choose Brookbanks for Cost Planning
We think like developers. Our cost planning specialists understand that the figures in a cost plan drive land offers, planning strategies and funding decisions, so we make every assumption visible and every risk clear. Working alongside our civil, structural and building services engineers, we can test design choices and value engineering options against cost as the scheme develops.
Key Client Benefits
- We give clients early visibility of the costs and risks that most affect land value and viability.
- We provide detailed, benchmarked cost plans that clients can rely on and defend.
- We help clients keep control of budgets as designs and programmes evolve.
- We draw on engineering input from across Brookbanks to challenge assumptions and find savings.
- Our cost plans look beyond the bottom line, showing how design choices affect programme, carbon, social value and long-term running costs as well as capital cost.
Specialist Services
Initial Cost Advice
Early cost advice helps clients understand what a site could cost to develop before major commitments are made. During site identification, due diligence and feasibility, our specialists give an initial view of build, infrastructure and abnormal costs based on the information available at that stage.
This early picture supports land acquisition decisions, informs development appraisals and highlights where further investigation will add most value, so that budgets start from realistic foundations.
Abnormal and Infrastructure Cost Plans
Our abnormal cost plans capture the site-specific costs that sit above normal build costs, such as remediation, ground conditions, foundations and earthworks. Infrastructure cost plans set out the highways, drainage, utilities and other enabling works needed to serve a development.
Together they give clients clear visibility of expenditure and risk from the earliest stages. We also review abnormal and infrastructure costs submitted by others, scrutinising each item for accuracy and necessity against our own independent figures.
Discover how an independent abnormal cost plan delivered £12m of savings for a landowner.
Cost Plans and Site Wide Cost Plans
As designs progress, our detailed cost plans measure and price substructure, superstructure, infrastructure and abnormal costs across each phase of a development. Site wide cost plans bring these elements together for larger, multi-phase schemes, giving one consistent view of cost across the whole site.
We work with our engineering specialists to review construction methods and identify value engineering opportunities, helping clients compare options and choose the most cost-effective route.
See how a full build cost estimate gave clarity on funding at Hayle North Quay.
Budget Management and Whole Life Cycle Costing
Once a budget is set, our specialists help clients maintain it. We monitor budget performance, track the status of tender packages and report on cost movements, so that clients can act early when a change in design, scope or programme affects the numbers.
Whole life cycle costing looks beyond construction to the costs of operation, maintenance and replacement over the life of a development. Considering capital and long-term costs together helps clients balance upfront affordability against future liabilities and make better investment decisions.
Read how our specialists monitor budget performance at Bourn Airfield.
Sectors We Support
Our cost planning specialists support landowners, developers, housebuilders, housing associations and delivery partners. Most of our work is on residential and mixed-use development, from individual sites to new settlements and the site-wide infrastructure that serves them, along with schemes that include commercial and leisure uses such as hotels.
Talk to Our Cost Planning Specialists
Contact a member of our Cost Planning team directly, or email hello@brookbanks.com and one of our experts will get back to you.
FAQs
What is the difference between an abnormal cost plan and an infrastructure cost plan?
An infrastructure cost plan covers the roads, drainage, utilities and other enabling works needed to serve a development. An abnormal cost plan covers site-specific costs above normal build costs, such as remediation, difficult ground conditions or special foundations. Many clients commission both, often within a site wide cost plan.
Can you review a cost plan prepared by someone else?
Yes. We regularly review cost submissions from developers, contractors and other consultants, benchmarking them against our own independent cost plan. Our review highlights any figures that are overstated or lack justification, giving clients a clear basis for discussion.
Do you offer whole life cycle costing?
Yes. Our specialists can assess the operation, maintenance and replacement costs of a development alongside its capital cost. This helps clients understand how early design and specification choices affect long-term expenditure.