1:1250 ORDNANCE SURVEY PLAN

Site Location Plan for Planning Permission

A 1:1250 Ordnance Survey location plan with your red line boundary, north arrow and scale bar — drawn under our own OS licence. Draw the boundary yourself, see the price as you go, and download the council-ready PDF straight away.

Rather we drew it for you? Send us the address and we will prepare it — useful if the boundary is complicated.

What a 1:1250 location plan shows

The location plan is the wider view. It proves to the planning officer exactly which piece of land your application relates to, and where it sits among the surrounding roads and properties. At 1:1250 on A4, one sheet covers roughly 238 by 331 metres of ground — enough to show at least two named roads, as most councils require.

Current Ordnance Survey mapping at a true 1:1250 scale (1:2500 for larger rural sites)
Red line drawn around the full application site, including access to the public highway
Blue line around any adjoining land in the same ownership
North arrow and a metric scale bar
Printed scale and our Ordnance Survey licence number
Print-ready PDF plus a PNG image of the same plan — A4 as standard, A3, A2 and A1 also available
Print up to 5 copies in total, in any format supplied, or have printed copies posted to you
Free changes and re-downloads for 30 days, extendable to 12 months

Why location plans get rejected

A council validates your documents before it will even register the application. If the location plan fails that check, the whole submission is returned and you start the clock again.

A screenshot from Google Maps, Bing or a free OS viewer, with no certified scale
The wrong scale — 1:2500 supplied where the council asked for 1:1250
No red line, or a red line that omits the access to the public highway
Missing north arrow, scale bar or scale statement
No Ordnance Survey licence number shown on the plan
Mapping that is years out of date and no longer shows the site as built

Supplied under our Ordnance Survey licence

We are an Ordnance Survey partner. Every plan is produced from current, licensed OS mapping and carries our licence number, which is what a planning officer looks for. You do not need to buy a licence of your own.

Our guarantee: if a council rejects a plan because of the mapping, the scale, or a missing required element — north arrow, scale bar, licence number, production date or grid reference — send us their notice and we will correct it free or refund you. It does not cover the position of a boundary you drew or asked us to draw, or a refusal on planning grounds.

How it works

1

Find the site

Enter the postcode or place name. The site is centred on current OS mapping at a true 1:1250, and you see the plan before you pay anything.

2

Draw the red line

Click the parcels that make up your application site, or draw the boundary freehand. Add a blue line for other land in the same ownership. The area and the price update as you go.

3

Pay and download

A print-ready A4 PDF with the north arrow, scale bar and our OS licence number, available immediately and emailed to you. Upload it to your application or print it at 100%.

Available to download as soon as you have paid.

Location plan questions

What is a site location plan?

A site location plan is a scaled Ordnance Survey map that shows where your site sits in relation to the surrounding roads and properties. It is drawn at 1:1250 for most sites, with the land your application covers outlined in red. It is one of the documents a council checks before it will validate a planning application.

What scale should a location plan be?

For most applications the required scale is 1:1250. Larger or rural sites may be accepted at 1:2500. The scale must be stated on the plan and a scale bar shown, because councils check that the drawing is genuinely to scale rather than resized to fit a page.

What area should the location plan cover?

A 1:1250 location plan should show enough surrounding context to identify the site — normally at least two named roads and the neighbouring properties. A full A4 sheet at 1:1250 covers roughly 238 by 331 metres of ground, which is normally more than enough.

Where does the red line go?

The red line encloses everything your application covers: the building, its garden or curtilage where affected, and any access from the site to a public highway. Land you own nearby that is not part of the application is outlined in blue instead. Omitting the highway access is one of the most common reasons a plan is rejected.

Can I draw a location plan myself?

You can mark the red line yourself, but the underlying map must be licensed Ordnance Survey mapping at a certified scale. Reproducing OS mapping without a licence is a copyright infringement, which is why councils ask to see a licence number on the plan. We supply the plan under our own OS licence.

Do you cover Northern Ireland?

No. We cover Great Britain — England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland is mapped by Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland under a separate licensing regime.

What if my council asks for a change?

We redo the plan free for 30 days from purchase — moving the red line, changing the scale, or reissuing it. Extend that cover to twelve months for a small one-off fee. Most suppliers charge for every reissue.

How many copies can I print, and can you post them?

You can print up to five copies of your plan. We can also print and post copies to you, including large-format prints for site meetings and presentation boards — we are a printing and framing company, not only a map supplier.

Can the plan carry my practice or agency branding?

Yes. Architects, surveyors and estate agents can have plans issued under their own name and logo, so the document that reaches your client is yours rather than ours. Tell us when you order, or set it up on a trade account.

How is the plan licensed to me?

The plan is licensed for your own property matter — your planning application and directly related use such as building control or a party wall notice. It may not be resold, redistributed, published, or supplied to a third party for their own use.

Create your 1:1250 location plan

Enter the postcode, mark the red line, and see the price before you pay. Council-ready PDF, downloadable straight away.

Create Your Location Plan

Sizes and prices

Location plans are priced by the ground the sheet covers, because that is what Ordnance Survey charge us for. A 2 ha sheet suits most householder applications; take the larger extent if your site needs more surrounding context or two named roads will not otherwise fit.

PlanPaperArea coveredGroundPrice
1:1250A42 ha141 × 141 m£15.95Create
1:1250A44 ha200 × 200 m£23.95Create
1:1250A39.8 ha313 × 313 m£44.95Create
1:1250A223 ha475 × 475 m£99.95Create
1:1250A148 ha690 × 690 m£109.95Create
1:2500A48 ha283 × 283 m£54.95Create
1:2500A416 ha400 × 400 m£67.95Create
1:2500A339 ha625 × 625 m£114.95Create
1:2500A290 ha950 × 950 m£132.95Create
1:2500A1190 ha1380 × 1380 m£174.95Create

Prices exclude VAT. Every plan includes the red line boundary, north arrow, scale bar, stated scale and paper size, our Ordnance Survey licence number, and both a print-ready PDF and a PNG image. Free changes and re-downloads for 30 days.

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