Debarr,
Not sure about the cost of an architect, but I got an engineer to prepare the plans and the application for a total fee of 2k. I had an idea of the type of house i wanted and i found a similar one in a house plan book i bought and the engineer modified that for me to suit my requirements. I suppose if you need an architect to design something 'different' then paying an architect is probably the way to go, but if you want something a little more 'standard' i'd recommend going with an engineer. Dont forget you'll also need to pay someone for supervising the build and thats gonna cost me around 1.5k.
Best of luck,
Oh yeah, im in the midlands if that helps!