Chartered drawing packs prepared for the City of London Corporation — flat alterations, change of use, lease plans and measured building surveys across the Square Mile, delivered in days and revised free until you have a decision.
The City of London is the smallest planning authority in the capital by area, and one of the most unusual. Its planning caseload is dominated by commercial buildings — offices, shops, restaurants and the towers of the eastern cluster — layered over some of the densest heritage in Britain: 28 conservation areas, scheduled monuments, livery halls, Wren churches and the Roman city beneath the pavement. Residential property is genuinely rare here — the 2021 Census recorded only around 8,600 residents — and it is concentrated in a handful of pockets, above all the listed Barbican and Golden Lane estates.
So we will be straight with you: if you are searching for householder extension drawings in the City, you almost certainly will not need them, because there are vanishingly few houses to extend. What Square Mile owners, leaseholders and occupiers actually need is different — accurate lease plans for Land Registry when flats and commercial units change hands, measured building surveys of existing floors before a fit-out or refurbishment, planning applications for change of use, and carefully argued alteration packs for flats in listed or heritage-sensitive buildings.
That is the work we do in the City every week. We know how the City of London Corporation's officers read drawings, what its validation team expects, and how to frame an application in a place where heritage and commercial policy meet on almost every street.
In the City of London you should assume that external alterations, changes of use and most works to flats need consent, because permitted development rights for householders barely apply in a borough with almost no houses. You will usually need an application to the City of London Corporation if any of the following apply:
The City of London Corporation's decision-making profile is unlike any other London authority: a small, specialist caseload where heritage, archaeology and commercial floorspace policy dominate. The live figures below come straight from official planning statistics for the authority. What they consistently show across London is that well-prepared, policy-literate submissions fare better — and in the Square Mile that means drawings and statements that engage properly with listing descriptions, conservation area character and the City's plan policies from the first page.
Source: MHCLG planning application statistics (householder decisions, rolling year). Compare every borough on our London approval-rate league table.
The City of London is the smallest local planning authority in England and one of the most tightly protected, so a homeowner's default assumption should be that consent is required. The figures below explain why.
| Measure | Figure | What it means for your project |
|---|---|---|
| Resident population | ≈ 8,600 (2021 Census) | Up from around 7,400 in 2011 — the smallest residential base of any London authority, so householder works are genuinely rare and almost always to flats |
| Conservation areas | 28 | Around two dozen conservation areas, including Whitefriars and Charterhouse Square, blanket most of the Square Mile's historic street pattern |
| St Paul's Heights | In force since 1937 | A protected-view policy limiting building height to keep sightlines to St Paul's Cathedral open — one of several protected London views the City guards |
| Listed residential estates | Barbican & Golden Lane | Both post-war estates are statutorily listed, so many internal and external alterations to flats need listed building consent |
| Development plan | City Plan 2040 | Submitted for examination in August 2024 (superseding the draft City Plan 2036); its policies protecting office, retail and cultural floorspace shape change-of-use cases |
| Statutory decision period | 8 weeks | The determination period for householder and minor applications, running from validation by the Corporation |
Sources: ONS Census 2021; City of London Corporation conservation-area and City Plan 2040 documents; St Paul's Heights policy (in operation since 1937).
A lease plan for a flat sale off Fleet Street, a measured survey of a floor near Bank before fit-out, a listed building consent pack for a Barbican flat, a change-of-use case for a unit on a conservation-area lane — Square Mile work rewards precision, and precision is what our drawings deliver.
The Square Mile's drawing needs are broader than a normal borough's, so our City packs are built around what owners and occupiers actually commission:
Compliant lease plans for flat and commercial unit transactions — scaled, orientated and edged to Land Registry requirements, a constant need in a borough where nearly everything is leasehold.
Accurate existing floor plans, elevations and sections of offices, retail units and flats — the baseline for any fit-out, refurbishment or application in the City.
Drawings and heritage statements for alterations to City flats, including listed building consent applications for Barbican and Golden Lane homes.
Plans and supporting statements for changes of use, drawn against the City's policies protecting office, retail and cultural floorspace.
Elevations and details for shopfronts, signage, plant and ductwork — the everyday planning currency of the Square Mile's streets.
Proportionate statements engaging with conservation area character, listing descriptions and archaeology — written in the Corporation's own policy language.
Tell us the address and what you want to do. We check listing status, conservation-area designation and the City's policy position before you spend anything.
We survey the flat, unit or floor and produce accurate existing drawings — the foundation the Corporation's validation team, and any solicitor or landlord, checks first.
We prepare the proposed drawings, lease plans or consent pack, with heritage and planning statements framed against the City's own guidance.
We submit to the City of London Corporation, respond to validation and officer queries, and revise free of charge until you have a decision.
Tell us about your project and get a fixed, no-obligation quote back within one working day. If you don't need planning permission at all, we'll tell you that too — for free.
Residential life in the City is concentrated in a few remarkable places. The Barbican estate is the largest by far — a listed landmark of post-war architecture whose towers and terrace blocks contain thousands of flats. Its listing means that alterations owners elsewhere would consider trivial, from replacing internal finishes in certain locations to changing windows or barbican-specific fittings, can engage listed building consent, and the estate's strong original design language means officers look for alterations that respect it. Golden Lane, its elder sibling to the north, is likewise listed and carries the same discipline.
Beyond those estates, City homes are scattered: flats above shops on the lanes around Smithfield and Fleet Street, conversions in Victorian commercial buildings, and newer residential slotted into the fringes of the Square Mile. Almost all are leasehold flats, which means two practical things. First, planning permission is only half the story — freeholder or estate consent is usually needed too, and drawings prepared for one purpose should be fit for the other. Second, when these flats are bought, sold or re-mortgaged, compliant lease plans are routinely required, and out-of-date or non-compliant plans are one of the most common causes of transaction delay.
We prepare drawings that serve all of these masters at once: accurate enough for Land Registry, detailed enough for a listed building application, and clear enough for a freeholder's surveyor to approve without a second round of questions.
In practice this question almost never arises, because the City has vanishingly few houses — its homes are overwhelmingly flats, led by the Barbican and Golden Lane estates. Flats have no householder permitted development rights, so any external alteration needs a planning application, and on the listed estates internal works can need listed building consent as well.
Often, yes. The Barbican estate is listed, and listed building consent can be required for alterations that affect its special interest — which can include internal changes, not just external ones, alongside the estate's own landlord consent process. We check the specific works against the listing and the estate's guidance, and prepare the consent pack where one is needed.
Yes — lease plans are one of the most common things we are asked for in the Square Mile, where nearly all property is leasehold. We produce Land Registry–compliant plans for flats, offices and retail units: correctly scaled, orientated with a north point, and with the demise clearly edged, ready for your solicitor to attach to the lease or transfer.
Sometimes, but the City of London Corporation applies policies that protect office, retail and cultural floorspace, so change-of-use proposals need a properly argued case rather than a bare set of plans. We prepare the drawings and a planning statement addressing the relevant policies, and we will tell you honestly at feasibility stage if the policy position looks difficult.
A typical City application needs existing and proposed floor plans and elevations at a recognised metric scale, a site location plan at 1:1250 with the site edged red, and sections where roof-level work or plant is involved. Given the density of conservation areas and listed buildings, a heritage statement is frequently required, and archaeological matters can attract conditions. Our packs cover the validation checklist in full.
Refusals in the City usually turn on heritage impact, amenity or floorspace policy, and many are resolved by amendment — adjusting a detail, relocating plant, or strengthening the supporting case. We revise the drawings and statements free of charge until you have a decision, and a resubmission within twelve months of refusal usually attracts no further application fee.
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Same fixed quotes, same fast drawings — wherever your project is.