House extension design Newcastle | Acre Design

Clarity before you commit to full design

Planning an extension or whole-home rethink? Start with our Needs & Options Review. Most of the industry rushes straight to drawings. We won’t. This is the examination before treatment: structured research so you understand your options before anyone designs.

Not sure yet?

Start with a free Ask the Expert call. We’ll talk through your project, likely timeframes, and a sensible ballpark, then confirm whether a Needs & Options Review is the right next step.

Book an Ask the Expert Call

What you walk away with

  • A 2-hour site visit with a structured agenda (wants, needs, priorities)
  • Point-cloud survey of your home (iMapper, ±2mm). The data is yours to keep
  • A DNA brief: the foundation for whatever comes next
  • Planning envelope on a site plan (what could be developed where)
  • Pinterest moodboard for look, feel, materials and form
  • Likely floor area from your budget and brief
  • Multiple floorplan options for each affected floor, shaped around brief, budget, buildability, flow and light, so you can land the right layout for your family.
  • Design and build timeframes, plus building regs / party wall notes where relevant
  • Insights you can use with Acre or any architect

Why we insist

You wouldn’t trust a doctor who only prescribed what you asked for. A Needs & Options Review is the thorough examination before treatment.

Running to design before the foundations are set is how projects burn money. We insist on this step because it:

  • Cuts the risk of faulty design decisions
  • Builds the right foundation and usually saves money long-run
  • Explores your goals in a structured way
  • Checks fit (for you and for us) before you over-commit
  • Gives an expert view on feasibility early

Ready to start?

Book a free Ask the Expert call. We’ll confirm fit, then get your Needs & Options Review booked.

Book an Ask the Expert Call

See how the review works

Our promise

Not delighted with your Needs & Options Review? We’ll refund 50% of the fee. Just let us know.

We keep that promise because the review should earn your confidence before you commit to full design.

Customer reviews

Excellent
Acre Design LTD4.8
Based on 68 reviews
Sarah Sharp
9 months ago
I contacted Acre Design for an initial consultation about extending my property. They offered a free chat about options and were very informative and walked me through what would need to be achieved. I opted to go for their needs and options review to get some ideas about around design and they came back with a number of potential options which at our review together really helped me understand the art of the possible. As such I am going to continue working with them to move this on into full plans and delivery. They are friendly, approachable and from what I’ve seen so far - really know what they are doing. Update Jan 2026 - Rowena at Acre Design has been supporting me in the next stages of my planned extension. She has been extremely supportive and has advised me throughout on planning permission, party wall agreements and budget. She has taken my ideas and with her colleagues created a 3D visual of what my new home could look like and it's wonderful. Plans have been drawn up quickly but with precision. The whole team are very responsive, helpful and friendly. Would recommend you give them a call if you are looking for works on your home.
Phil G
10 months ago
We have used Acre Design to help us with planning an extension. Communication has been excellent and all our queries have been dealt with efficiently. They have kept us fully engaged with the process and are looking forward to completing our project with them.
Steve
10 months ago
We have gone through the first stages of Acre’s planning model, which consisted of the initial call from Alister to assess if Acre would be the correct architect to help with our project. We have since followed the ‘needs and options review’ which gave us plenty of opportunities to share with acre what we would be looking for in our project plans, sharing ideas, possible layouts and then most importantly in the close-out meeting, plenty time to discuss options and ideas of what maybe possible. Acre has been very prompt and professional at each step up to now, so we have chosen to progress onto planning with them.
Stephen Potter
11 months ago
We've just passed planning, and it has been a true pleasure working with Acre Design so far. We're a large household and struggled to develop a viable solution on our own. Acre Design excelled in accommodating our unique needs and presented ideas we would have never thought of. They exceeded our expectations throughout, and their high standard design allowed us to sail through planning. They run a smooth operation and are always professional, but also very approachable. They kept us grounded during the design phase to ensure the budget remained on track and we're really excited to work with them further to bring the vision to life
Noah Whenray
1 year ago
Alistair and his team have been fantastic. We have started with the needs and options review. This is something we didn’t know we needed. Now we have come to end of it we can fully understand why it’s so important. We have been dealing with Alistair mostly and you can tell he is very passionate and wants provide the best possible outcome for his clients. We are looking forward to the next steps!
Richard Saxton
1 year ago
We've had a fantastic experience working with acre design. From the start, they really took the time to understand what we were after and came up with some amazing ideas. The whole process has been smooth and stress-free — they were easy to talk to, quick to respond to any questions, and genuinely seemed to care about getting everything just right. The final design is not only exactly what we wanted, but better! We’d definitely recommend them to anyone thinking about an extension or renovation.
David Holden
2 years ago
We have been working with Alistair and the team at Acre Design for about 6 months now on a major redesign of nearly the whole ground floor of our house. At the initial site visit, they listened carefully to how we use the house, what we saw as the positive and negative points, and what we were hoping to achieve. The resultant Needs and Options Review, together with the accompanying explainer video, was extremely helpful for us as it enabled us to look at the various scenarios devised by Acre and decide which suited us best. We would never have thought of some of them, so it broadened our thinking. Our preferred scenario was then worked up by the team into a concept design, that allowed us to see what the external look of our extensions would be. We appreciated that there was no problem in making a few revisions until we landed on a settled design. We opted for the full support package, as we realised we need help at all stages in the process to successfully see through such a wide-ranging project. Everything has been working very well so far. We are now awaiting planning permission and reviewing the technical drawings. Alistair and the team are friendly, professional and easy to get along with. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Acre to family, friends and neighbours.
Andy Sherlaw
2 years ago
We felt we had to leave a review about the exceptional service as part of the ‘Needs and Options Review’ process. We would highly recommend Alistair and Acre Design without hesitation. We not only received a personalised video explaining several ideas, but a detailed PDF outlining the whole process. There has been incredible attention to detail, and we feel a lot of effort has gone in to planning and creating our ideal extension layout. The design ideas shared were innovative and inspiring, and it was fantastic being able to see our ideas come to life when discussing alternative options or adaptations. We’re very excited about this project with Acre and would recommend them fully.
Barrie Spence
2 years ago
We have used Acre Design on 2 occasions over the last 5 years. Each time Alistair and the team have provided valuable advice and developed innovative designs. They work quickly, effectively and are extremely responsive in developing a very comprehensive set of plans. They have provide a guiding hand to help through that tricky decision making process to produce outstanding solutions to our home extension. Thank you. Barrie and Christine in Beamish.
Sarah Matthewson
2 years ago
We initially completed a needs and options review with Alistair to explore our options in terms of extending our home. We have been really impressed with the whole process and the team have been a pleasure to work with, Hasstie has clearly explained the rationale behind each decision and we are eagerly awaiting for planning permission to start with the next stage of our project. We would highly recommend to friends and family!