Chartered planning drawings prepared for the Royal Borough — basement conversions, mansards and rear extensions drawn to RBKC's heritage-first policies, in arguably the most exacting planning authority in London, with revisions free until you have a decision.
Almost certainly, yes — Kensington and Chelsea is widely regarded as the strictest planning authority in London, the majority of the borough is covered by conservation areas, and Article 4 directions and listed-building designations remove many of the permitted development rights homeowners rely on elsewhere. You will usually need a full application to RBKC if any of the following apply:
No London borough scrutinises drawings the way Kensington and Chelsea does. From the painted stucco crescents of the Ladbroke estate in Notting Hill, through the villas of Holland Park and the garden squares of South Kensington, to the artisan terraces and mansion blocks of Chelsea, almost every street carries a heritage designation of some kind. RBKC's case officers are supported by dedicated conservation officers, and a drawing pack that would sail through an outer borough will be returned here with a schedule of requested clarifications — or a refusal.
That is not a reason to be put off; it is a reason to get the drawings right first time. We prepare packs for RBKC to the standard its officers expect: existing and proposed plans and elevations at recognised scales, sections through any roof or basement works, materials and joinery annotated precisely, and neighbouring buildings drawn on the elevations so the officer can judge the scheme in context — because that is exactly how they will assess it.
We track live decision data for the borough, so before you spend anything we can tell you whether your project as sketched looks like an approval, needs reshaping, or needs a pre-application conversation with the council first. And if the planners push back, revisions are free until you have a decision.
RBKC's reputation for strictness is real, but the picture in the official statistics is more nuanced: well-prepared schemes that respect the borough's policies still get approved week in, week out. The figures below come straight from official planning statistics for the borough. Most refusals here trace back to heritage and design objections that good drawings anticipate — over-scaled mansards, basements that overreach the policy limits, and alterations that erode the uniformity of a stucco terrace. We design against those objections before submission.
Source: MHCLG planning application statistics (householder decisions, rolling year). Compare every borough on our London approval-rate league table.
Basement extensions off the King's Road, mansards behind Notting Hill parapets, rear additions to Holland Park villas — we draw to the way RBKC's conservation and case officers actually read a scheme: heritage first, precedent cited, objections answered on the page.
The Royal Borough's validation requirements go further than most councils', particularly for basements and heritage assets. Every pack we prepare for RBKC includes:
Every affected floor at 1:50 or 1:100, dimensioned and labelled — and for listed buildings, plans that record the existing fabric accurately enough to assess harm.
All affected elevations with neighbouring buildings shown, materials and joinery annotated. On stucco terraces, cornice and window detail is read closely.
Essential for basements and roof schemes — showing depth, head heights, lightwells and the relationship to party walls and garden levels.
OS-based location plan at 1:1250 with the site edged red, plus a block plan showing boundaries, trees and neighbouring structures.
RBKC expects basement applications to be accompanied by structural and construction method information addressing its basement policy — we coordinate the pack so the drawings and reports tell one story.
A statement addressing the conservation area's character — and, for listed buildings, a heritage assessment of the affected fabric. Standard practice in this borough, not an optional extra.
Kensington and Chelsea wrote the rulebook on basement control. After a decade of 'iceberg basement' disputes, the council adopted a basement policy that generally restricts new basements to a single storey and limits how much of the garden they may extend beneath, alongside requirements for construction traffic management and structural methodology. A basement scheme here lives or dies on whether the drawings demonstrate compliance clearly — depth, extent, lightwells and garden retention all need to be measurable on the page, not asserted in a cover letter.
Above ground, the borough's roofscape is just as tightly managed. On the uniform stucco terraces of Notting Hill and South Kensington, the council resists roof additions that break an unbroken parapet line, while on streets where mansards are already established a well-detailed mansard matching the precedent can succeed. Knowing which situation your terrace is in — and citing the precedent applications in the submission — is often the difference between approval and refusal.
Rear extensions follow the same logic. Closet wings, rear additions and infills are assessed against the hierarchy of the rear elevation and the amenity of tightly packed neighbours. We draw the daylight tests and the neighbouring rear elevations as standard, because in this borough the officer will check them anyway.
Tell us your postcode and project. We score the odds against live RBKC decision data and flag conservation-area, Article 4 and listed-building constraints — and tell you honestly if a pre-application is the smarter first move.
We measure the property and produce accurate existing plans, elevations and sections — the baseline RBKC's validation and conservation officers check first.
Chartered designers draw the scheme to the Royal Borough's policies, citing terrace precedent and answering heritage, daylight and basement-policy points on the page.
We submit via the Planning Portal with the full supporting statement set, handle validation queries and liaise with your case officer through determination.
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.
the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea decides householder applications for Kensington and Chelsea, and its recent record and the permitted-development limits that apply here set out below give Chelsea homeowners a realistic starting point before any drawing begins.
| Measure | Figure for Kensington and Chelsea |
|---|---|
| the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea householder approval rate | 85% |
| England-wide householder benchmark | 87% |
| Loft dormer permitted-development limit (Class B) | 40m³ terrace / 50m³ semi or detached |
| Single-storey rear extension depth (Class A) | 3m terrace / 4m detached |
| Dominant housing era | Georgian (1714–1837) and Victorian (1837–1901) |
| Statutory decision period | 8 weeks |
| Conservation / Article 4 status | Article 4 direction in force; PD removed in Chelsea, Kensington and Holland Park |
Kensington and Chelsea runs 2 points below the national average. Approval rate: MHCLG householder planning statistics for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea; permitted-development limits: GPDO 2015, Schedule 2, Part 1 (Classes A–B).
RBKC is widely regarded as the strictest planning authority in London, but well-prepared schemes that respect its heritage and basement policies are approved routinely. The difference is preparation: precedent research, precise drawings and proper heritage statements. We check your proposal against live RBKC decision data before you commit, and revise free until you have a decision.
Often yes, within limits. RBKC's adopted basement policy generally restricts new basements to a single storey beneath the house and limits how far they extend under the garden, with additional rules for listed buildings and construction management. Your drawings must demonstrate compliance measurably — depth, extent and garden retention shown on plans and sections. We prepare basement packs to exactly that standard.
Most of the borough, including the Ladbroke estate, sits in conservation areas, and many streets also carry Article 4 directions removing permitted development rights. In practice it means most external alterations need a full application with a design and heritage statement, and street-visible changes face the closest scrutiny. We verify your street's exact designations before drawing anything.
If your property is listed, yes — and listed building consent covers internal works too, not just the exterior. The borough has a high concentration of listed terraces, particularly in Chelsea and around the garden squares. We prepare the drawings and heritage assessment for both consents together so the applications tell one consistent story.
Existing and proposed floor plans and elevations at recognised scales, a location plan at 1:1250 with the site edged red, a block plan, and sections through any roof or basement works. Basement schemes also need supporting structural and construction method information, and conservation-area or listed schemes need heritage statements. Our packs cover the full validation list.
Refusals in the Royal Borough are usually design- or heritage-based and often resolvable by amendment — reducing a mansard's bulk, pulling a basement back from the garden limit, refining materials. We revise the drawings free of charge and resubmit; a repeat householder application within twelve months of refusal usually attracts no further council fee. Where the issue is one of principle, we advise honestly on appeal prospects.
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