SW7 · South Kensington & Knightsbridge
SW7 covers the white-stucco terraces of the Brompton, Courtfield, Cornwall and Queen's Gate conservation areas and the museum quarter. A high proportion of the stock is listed or converted to flats, so permitted development does little work; listed building consent and the Policy CL7 basement limits frame most projects.
Location data: postcodes.io · Constraints: planning.data.gov.uk (borough-level) · Open Government Licence
Constraint context · Kensington and Chelsea
Real · planning.data.gov.ukKensington 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 SW7 crosses 2 boroughs. Enter a full postcode below for the point-level check, or read the full borough picture on the Kensington and Chelsea planning guide.
Is SW7 in a conservation area?
Partly — and which part matters. A postcode district is never uniformly designated: SW7 contains 18 conservation areas within 1km of its centre, and whether your own property sits inside one decides whether permitted development survives. The centre point of SW7 itself falls inside Queen’s Gate.
| Brompton | Nearby |
| Chelsea | Nearby |
| Chelsea Estates | Nearby |
| Chelsea Park/Carlyle | Nearby |
| Cornwall | Nearby |
| Courtfield | Nearby |
| De Vere | Nearby |
| Earl's Court Village | Nearby |
| Hans Town | Nearby |
| Kensington Court | Nearby |
| Kensington Palace | Nearby |
| Kensington Square | Nearby |
| Knightsbridge | Nearby |
| Lexham | Nearby |
| Queen’s Gate | At the centre |
| Royal Parks | Nearby |
| The Boltons | Nearby |
| Thurloe/Smith's Charity | Nearby |
Conservation areas whose official geometry lies within 1km of the centre of SW7. 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.
Does an Article 4 direction apply in SW7?
Yes — SW7 has 27 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 SW7 falls inside Article 4 - No 100.
| 1, 4, 8, 11, 12, 13 Relton Mews, SW7 | Nearby |
| 6-10 Moncorvo Close, SW7 | Nearby |
| Article 4 - No 100 | At the centre |
| Article 4 - No 101 | Nearby |
| Article 4 - No 105 | Nearby |
| Article 4 - No 106 | Nearby |
| Article 4 - No 12 | Nearby |
| Article 4 - No 13 | Nearby |
| Article 4 - No 14 | Nearby |
| Article 4 - No 26 | Nearby |
| Article 4 - No 3 | Nearby |
| Article 4 - No 42 | Nearby |
| Article 4 - No 42A | Nearby |
| Article 4 - No 53 | Nearby |
| Article 4 - No 54 | Nearby |
| Article 4 - No 58 | Nearby |
| Article 4 - No 63 | Nearby |
| Article 4 - No 67 | Nearby |
| Article 4 - No 72 | Nearby |
| Article 4 - No 74 | Nearby |
| Article 4 - No 79 | Nearby |
| Article 4 - No 81A | Nearby |
| Article 4 - No 81B | Nearby |
| Article 4 - No 81C | Nearby |
| Article 4 - No 89 | Nearby |
| Article 4 Basement Development Permitted Rights Removed | Nearby |
| Article 4 Direction Class E To C3 In Central Activities Zone | Nearby |
Article 4 directions whose official geometry lies within 1km of the centre of SW7. 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 →
Do you need planning permission in SW7?
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 |
SW7 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.
What does planning permission cost in SW7?
| 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 consent | No fee |
| Resubmission after a refusal | Free 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.
How long does it take?
| Householder application — statutory target | 8 weeks |
| Householder application — in practice | 8–12 weeks |
| Prior approval (larger home extension) | 42 days |
| Lawful Development Certificate | 8 weeks |
| Householder appeal — deadline to lodge | 12 weeks from the decision date |
| Householder appeal — typical decision | Around 18 weeks |
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 appeal | The applicant only — not neighbours |
| Fee to appeal | None — you bear your own costs |
| Procedure | Written representations for most householder appeals |
| Success rate | Roughly 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 →
Planning permission by project in Kensington and Chelsea
Conservation coverage and Article 4 directions make a full householder application the default; matching stock brick and lime mortar are expected.
Rear extension in Kensington and Chelsea →Common on the borough's Victorian terraces, but conservation control on rear elevations is exacting.
Side return extension in Kensington and Chelsea →Roof-level change in the conservation areas faces intense control; mansard form and natural slate decide outcomes.
Loft conversion in Kensington and Chelsea →Policy CL7 caps excavation at a single storey and no more than 50% of each garden or open part of the site, with a basement impact assessment — among London's strictest.
Basement extension in Kensington and Chelsea →Class E rear placement can qualify for PD, but listed curtilage removes it entirely — and much of the borough is listed.
Garden room in Kensington and Chelsea →Pinpoint your street
More of Kensington and Chelsea
Basement-policy heartland, wall-to-wall conservation, heavy listed stock.
Borough page →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.