Architectural drawings in the City of London

The Barbican and other listed buildings

Historic England lists 637 entries in the Corporation's area: 86 at Grade I, 82 at Grade II* and 445 at Grade II. There are also 53 scheduled monuments, a remarkable number for one square mile.

The only residential alterations guidance the council publishes is for the Barbican: the Barbican Estate Listed Building Management Guidelines: Volume I Introduction and Volume II Residential (SPD). If you own a flat there, that document sets what you may change, and it carries more weight than almost anything else in this section.

Because so much of the housing stock is protected, we ask about listing before anything else. A listed flat needs separate consent for most works, inside and out, and we say plainly when a project is better handled by a heritage specialist.

Conservation areas and Article 4 in the Square Mile

The council publishes 28 named conservation areas, and the heritage register records 5 entries at risk. Check the map for your building before planning external works.

There is just 1 Article 4 direction in force. Combined with the number of flats, it means that for most residents the question is less about permitted development and more about leases and listing.

The local plan is the City of London Local Plan 2015. Check with us before relying on it, as the council has been preparing a replacement City Plan.

What the planning figures say, and do not say

Householder applications are almost unknown here, with only 1 decided in the latest published year, so we do not quote a householder grant rate. A better guide is minor development: the council decided 173 minor applications and granted 97.1 per cent.

Across all types the council granted 97 per cent of 460 decisions. These are largely commercial schemes, and they say little about a flat conversion. Treat them as background, never as a prediction.

The council recorded 16 lawful development certificates in the same period. A Lawful Development Certificate in the City of London is worth considering when the use or works fall within permitted limits.

Costs, values and the levy

Flats here average £709,939 in the latest index. Ask a valuer before committing to a large scheme.

The Square Mile is in band 1 of the Mayor's levy, at £96.97 per square metre for permissions this year. The Corporation adds its own residential levy, set out in its City of London Community Infrastructure Levy Charging Schedule, at £251.05/m² (Riverside); £159.00/m² (Rest of City) [schedule rates £150 and £95].

Which of our services suit a City property

Most enquiries begin with flat conversion drawings in the City of London, or planning drawings in the City of London for changes that need consent. Technical sets come under building regulations drawings in the City of London.

Next door, the pages for Islington, Tower Hamlets and Hackney cover the surrounding boroughs.