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Westminster, London

Planning drawings in Westminster

Planning drawings for a Westminster home start at £745 including VAT. The city has 56 conservation areas and 4,015 listed entries, so many projects here begin with heritage and finish with very careful elevations.

From £745 (VAT included)

  • MCIAT chartered
  • £2m PI insured
  • LABC Partnered
  • Fixed fees, VAT included

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    Rows of brick terraced houses and gardens on a residential street

    Westminster's guidance for roofs, mews and planning drawings

    The council's plan is the City Plan 2019-2040 (2026), adopted in 2,026. Two supplementary documents speak directly to householders. The Roofs: a guide to alterations and extensions on domestic buildings SPG tells owners how a roof can be altered or extended on a domestic building, and the Mews: a guide to alterations SPG does the same for mews houses.

    Both are practical, and both shape the drawings. A roof proposal needs a section through the existing and proposed roof, an elevation from the street and an accurate survey of the neighbouring parapets and chimneys, because the guidance tests the new roof against the group of buildings around it. A mews proposal needs the width of the mews, the doors and the building line drawn exactly.

    We read the guidance for your building type before design starts and draw to it. If your project crosses types, a mews house with a roof terrace for example, both documents apply.

    Georgian brick terrace with sash windows, arched fanlight doorways, stone steps and iron railings in London

    Local figures for Westminster

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Conservation areas56 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Article 4 directions10 Article 4 directions published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries4,015 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    worldHeritageSites1 World Heritage Sites intersecting the LPA boundary—planning.data.gov.uk
    Tree preservation orders685 tree preservation orders published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Householder decisions366 decisions1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted82 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications decided in time79 % decided within 8 weeks or an agreed extended period1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Households living in a house10.2 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Average price, terraced1,616,250 GBP2026-07publicdata.landregistry.gov.uk

    A blank value means the figure has not been published, not that there are none. Check your own address with the council.

    Councils bordering Westminster
    Which application your project needsLawful Development Certificate decision: 8 weeks. Prior approval decision: 42 days. Householder decision: 8 weeksYour projectWithin permitted development?Lawful Development CertificatePrior approvalHouseholder applicationYesLarger rear extensionNoABC

    Which application your project needs

    The usual route for a house; flats and listed buildings follow other rules.

    A · Lawful Development Certificate decision
    8 weeks
    B · Prior approval decision
    42 days
    C · Householder decision
    8 weeks

    Heritage in Westminster: conservation areas, listed buildings and the World Heritage Site

    Westminster publishes 56 conservation areas and 10 Article 4 directions, and Historic England lists 4,015 entries in the city. The area also contains 1 World Heritage Site, which brings extra weight to views and settings near it.

    In a conservation area the permitted development rights for a loft enlargement and for changes to the front of a house are withdrawn. In a listed building, nearly every alteration needs listed building consent as well as planning permission, which is a separate application with its own drawings.

    The council also records 685 tree preservation orders. A protected tree in a garden or street frontage can limit where an addition can stand, and it is on our constraints list for every address.

    How Westminster has decided householder cases

    Westminster decided 366 householder applications in its latest twelve months and granted 82 per cent. Timing was less certain: 79 per cent were decided within the statutory period or an agreed extension.

    The lesson is to plan for time. A decision can take longer than the statutory 8 weeks, and listed building cases add their own steps. We build that into your programme when you tell us when you want to start on site.

    These are borough-wide figures from a past year and do not forecast a single application.

    Westminster flats, houses and the route to take

    Only 10.2 per cent of Westminster households live in a house, so flats dominate. Householder permitted development does not apply to flats, so a flat owner normally applies, and the lease often asks for the freeholder's approval too.

    For a terraced house, where the average sale price is £1,616,250, rights may survive outside the protected areas, and a Lawful Development Certificate in Westminster records it. Otherwise the householder route applies, with a council fee of £548.

    At that value of property, the cost of drawings is small beside the cost of a refusal, which is why we put the detail in before submission. We can also handle the Planning Portal submission and the officer's questions for you.

    What our Westminster set contains

    A set holds existing and proposed plans, elevations and sections, a location plan and a block plan, to stated scales with north shown. The price starts at £745 with VAT included.

    A second chartered technologist checks each sheet before it goes in. If the council asks for changes we redraw at no charge until approval, and we make no promise about the decision.

    Linked services and neighbouring boroughs

    The wider borough view is on architectural drawings in Westminster. For work below ground, our basement impact assessments in Westminster page explains the extra reports.

    Neighbouring rules differ: compare planning drawings in Kensington and Chelsea, Camden and Lambeth, or start from planning drawings.

    What you receive

    Planning drawing sheet for a rear extension with plans, elevations and sections
    Sample drawing. Planning drawings for a rear extension: plans, elevations and sections on one sheet set.
    Brick cottage with a tiled roof, chimneys and a front dormer window
    The street around you
    Move across the plinth — the blocks rise around the pointer.

    Other services in Westminster

    Planning drawings nearby

    Questions

    Which Westminster guidance covers roof extensions?

    The Roofs: a guide to alterations and extensions on domestic buildings SPG, read with the City Plan 2019-2040 (2026).

    Does a Westminster mews house have its own guidance?

    Yes: the Mews: a guide to alterations SPG sets out the council's approach to alterations to mews buildings.

    How much do planning drawings cost in Westminster?

    From £745 including VAT, fixed up front. The council's application fee is paid separately.

    How long does Westminster take to decide a householder application?

    The statutory period is 8 weeks, and 79 per cent of decisions met it or an agreed extension in the latest year. We cannot promise a date.

    Sources and dates

    City of London skyline glowing at dusk across the Thames under a dramatic orange sky

    Tell us about your property.

    We check the constraints, then send a fixed fee. Messages before 3pm get a reply the same working day.

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