DISTRICT

SW5 · Earl's Court

Borough coverage

SW5 is Earl's Court — mansion blocks, converted terraces and a high share of flats in Kensington and Chelsea. Conservation coverage and Article 4 control make a full householder application the default for most external works. Matching stock brick, lime mortar and careful rear elevations are expected where permission is sought.

Borough
Kensington and Chelsea
Wards spanned
4
Centre
51.4916, -0.1919
Kensington and Chelsea conservation areas
39

Location data: postcodes.io · Constraints: planning.data.gov.uk (borough-level) · Open Government Licence

Constraint context · Kensington and Chelsea

Real · planning.data.gov.uk

Kensington and Chelsea has 39 designated conservation areas and 82 Article 4 areas. A district is too coarse to say which apply to your house — postcode districts span many streets and designations are drawn street by street. Enter a full postcode below for the point-level check, or read the full borough picture on the Kensington and Chelsea planning guide.

CONSERVATION

Is SW5 in a conservation area?

Partly — and which part matters. A postcode district is never uniformly designated: SW5 contains 24 conservation areas within 1km of its centre, and whether your own property sits inside one decides whether permitted development survives. The centre point of SW5 itself falls inside Courtfield.

Barons CourtNearby
Brompton CemeteryNearby
CornwallNearby
CourtfieldAt the centre
De VereNearby
Earl's Court SquareNearby
Earl's Court VillageNearby
Edwards Square/Scarsdale & AbingdonNearby
Gunter EstateNearby
Holland ParkNearby
KensingtonNearby
Kensington CourtNearby
Kensington SquareNearby
LexhamNearby
Nevern SquareNearby
Olympia and AvonmoreNearby
PhilbeachNearby
Queen’s GateNearby
Sedlescombe RoadNearby
Sloane/StanleyNearby
The Billings & Brompton CuttingNearby
The BoltonsNearby
Thurloe/Smith's CharityNearby
Walham GroveNearby

Conservation areas whose official geometry lies within 1km of the centre of SW5. Source: planning.data.gov.uk · Open Government Licence. Proximity to the district centre is not a statement about your own address — run the address check for that.

ARTICLE 4

Does an Article 4 direction apply in SW5?

Yes — SW5 has 29 Article 4 directions mapped within 1km of its centre. An Article 4 direction withdraws specific permitted-development rights on the streets it covers, which is the most common reason a project that looks like permitted development turns out to need a full application. The centre point of SW5 falls inside Article 4 - No 100.

Article 4 - No 100At the centre
Article 4 - No 101Nearby
Article 4 - No 105Nearby
Article 4 - No 106Nearby
Article 4 - No 12Nearby
Article 4 - No 13Nearby
Article 4 - No 14Nearby
Article 4 - No 22Nearby
Article 4 - No 23Nearby
Article 4 - No 3Nearby
Article 4 - No 36Nearby
Article 4 - No 42Nearby
Article 4 - No 42ANearby
Article 4 - No 5Nearby
Article 4 - No 50Nearby
Article 4 - No 53Nearby
Article 4 - No 54Nearby
Article 4 - No 56Nearby
Article 4 - No 6Nearby
Article 4 - No 61Nearby
Article 4 - No 63Nearby
Article 4 - No 67Nearby
Article 4 - No 74Nearby
Article 4 - No 76Nearby
Article 4 - No 8Nearby
Article 4 - No 81ANearby
Article 4 - No 81BNearby
Article 4 - No 81CNearby
Article 4 - No 86Nearby

Article 4 directions whose official geometry lies within 1km of the centre of SW5. Source: planning.data.gov.uk · Open Government Licence. The national dataset omits some property-specific directions — the council register is always definitive.

Every designation in the borough: Kensington and Chelsea planning guide →

ROUTE

Do you need planning permission in SW5?

Three routes exist, and which one you are on is decided by your address, not your postcode district:

Permitted development — no application. The work stays inside the GPDO limits and no designation removes them. A Lawful Development Certificate is cheap proof for a future buyer.No permission
Prior approval — the larger single-storey rear extension route, with neighbour consultation. Not available on designated land.42 days
Full householder application — required once a designation removes your permitted-development right, or the scheme exceeds the limits.8 weeks

SW5 contains mapped conservation-area or Article 4 geometry, so a meaningful share of its streets will have lost some permitted-development rights — which pushes those properties onto the full-application route. Whether yours is one of them is an address-level question, not a district-level one.

FEES

What does planning permission cost in SW5?

Householder planning application£548 (from 1 April 2026)
Lawful Development Certificate — proposed works£274 (half the application fee)
Lawful Development Certificate — existing works£548 (the full application fee)
Listed building consentNo fee
Resubmission after a refusalFree once, within 12 months of the decision

National statutory figures for England — councils do not set them, so they are the same in every borough. Planning fees re-index every 1 April; confirm the current amount on the Planning Portal fee calculator before you apply. These are the council's fees only — drawings, surveys and any specialist reports are separate.

TIME

How long does it take?

Householder application — statutory target8 weeks
Householder application — in practice8–12 weeks
Prior approval (larger home extension)42 days
Lawful Development Certificate8 weeks
Householder appeal — deadline to lodge12 weeks from the decision date
Householder appeal — typical decisionAround 18 weeks
REFUSED

What if it's refused?

A refusal is a decision notice with reasons attached, and those reasons are a roadmap. Most homeowners in Kensington and Chelsea — as anywhere in England — are better served by amending the scheme and using the free resubmission than by appealing: you get one further application on the same site within 12 months without paying again.

Who can appealThe applicant only — not neighbours
Fee to appealNone — you bear your own costs
ProcedureWritten representations for most householder appeals
Success rateRoughly a third — about 36% of householder appeals allowed in 2025/26

Appeals go to the Planning Inspectorate, an independent national body. How to read a refusal and choose your route →

PROJECTS

Planning permission by project in Kensington and Chelsea

CHECK

Pinpoint your street

NEARBY

More of Kensington and Chelsea

Planning Permission Checker provides planning and cost intelligence for early feasibility only. It is not legal, planning, valuation, architectural, structural, or surveying advice. All estimates are indicative and must be verified by qualified professionals before purchase, design, planning submission, or construction.

Cost estimates are indicative only — not a quotation. Final price depends on survey, specification, structure, access, party wall matters, VAT, professional fees, and contractor availability.

Planning outcomes are not guaranteed. Local planning authorities make final decisions.

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