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Kensington and Chelsea, London

Prior approval drawings in Kensington and Chelsea

Prior approval drawings in Kensington and Chelsea suit few addresses: the council's latest return shows 0 larger home extension prior approvals granted and 0 refused, and its 39 conservation areas and 84 Article 4 directions have to be ruled out first. We check your address first, and draw the notification only where the route is open.

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    Architectural model of a four-storey London stucco townhouse in its terrace, with a portico, area railings, sash windows, a cornice and chimney stacks
    The house as it stands: four storeys over a lower ground floor.Existing Proposed worksAn illustrative model, built for this page.

    How we work on prior approval drawings

    Seven steps from first call to approval.

    The same model cut through the middle: every floor, the stair, the chimney breasts, the new mansard, rear extension and basement in section
    Section through the model: every floor on one datum.

    1. Enquiry and constraints check

      We check the property against conservation areas, listed status, Article 4 directions, tree preservation orders, flood zone and planning history. We choose the right route and send a fixed quote.

    2. Measured survey

      We survey the house on one datum: rooms, levels, boundaries, drains, trees and the neighbours' windows that the 45° and 25° tests depend on.

    3. Design options

      We model the house in Revit and show you options in 3D and plan, with the planning strategy and the precedents in your street.

    4. Design frozen

      You choose an option in writing. Nothing changes after this without your say.

    5. Independent check

      A second chartered technologist checks every sheet against the council's validation checklist and the policy. A senior review signs it off before anything is submitted.

    6. Submission

      We prepare the forms, certificates, fee and documents and submit through the Planning Portal.

    7. Officer liaison

      We answer the planning officer and make any amendments within five working days, at no charge until approval.

    Free redraws until approval. Every drawing set is checked independently, and the checker is never the person who drew it.

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    Brick cottage with a tiled roof, chimneys and a front dormer window

    What the council's land designations do to a larger extension

    The larger home extension route is national, so the borough cannot write its own depth limit. What Kensington and Chelsea controls is the land the route applies to. The council has designated 39 conservation areas and published 84 Article 4 directions, and the national rule excludes article 2(3) land altogether. A house inside any of those areas cannot use the route, whatever depth you want.

    The council's latest government return records 0 larger home extension prior approvals granted and 0 refused. Nothing in either column is the plain picture of this borough: owners here turn to a householder application, which is tested against the Local Plan 2024 (New Local Plan Review), adopted in 2,024.

    The Basements SPD matters once an extension goes down instead of back. A prior approval notification cannot carry a basement, so anything with a lower level leaves this route at the first sketch.

    Rear view of brick terraced houses in London with slate roofs and chimney stacks along the shared roofline

    Local figures for Kensington and Chelsea

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Conservation areas39 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Article 4 directions84 Article 4 directions published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries1,350 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    Households living in a house17 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Larger home extension prior approvals granted0 decisions2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Larger home extension prior approvals refused0 decisions2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Average price, terraced2,429,086 GBP2026-07publicdata.landregistry.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted93.7 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Lawful development certificate applications (PS1)25 certificates2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Tree preservation orders4,560 tree preservation orders published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Class A, para A.1(g)6 m (attached) / 8 m (detached), single storey, height max 4 m; not on article 2(3) land or an SSSI—legislation.gov.uk
    Class A, para A.4(10)(c): development may begin if the LPA has not notified a decision within 42 days of receiving the information42 days—legislation.gov.uk
    Class A, para A.4(5)(d)LPA notifies adjoining owners/occupiers, giving at least 21 days for representations days—legislation.gov.uk
    Prior approval: Larger Home Extensions Part 1 Class A; Additional storeys Part 1 Class AA249 GBP—ribblevalley.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 Kensington and Chelsea
    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

    Houses are the minority here

    Only 17 per cent of households in the borough live in a house or bungalow. Everyone else lives in a flat or maisonette, and a flat has no larger home extension rights to prior-approve in the first place. If you own a flat, the quickest honest answer we can give is that this page does not apply to you, and we say so in the first reply.

    For the houses that remain, the stakes are high. A terraced house here averages £2,429,086, so a failed route costs weeks on a very expensive asset. That is why we test conservation status, direction coverage and listing before we discuss depth.

    The borough also holds 1,350 list entries. A listed house needs listed building consent for most alterations, and prior approval never substitutes for it.

    What a notification contains when the route is open

    Where a house sits outside every designation, the national depth rules apply: 6 m (attached) / 8 m (detached), single storey, height max 4 m; not on article 2(3) land or an SSSI. We measure from the rear wall of the house as first built, not from a later addition, because the allowance is counted from the original.

    The Order asks for a short set of information: Written description (depth beyond rear wall, max height, eaves height), site plan, addresses of adjoining premises, developer contact address. We add scaled plans and elevations, plus the neighbours' windows and boundaries, so the officer sees the relationship without needing to query it.

    The council notifies adjoining owners and gives them time to comment, and if it has not told you its decision within 42 days the development may begin. We still ask for the written outcome before work starts.

    The council has made 4,560 tree preservation orders, so we plot protected trees on the site plan before an extension footprint is fixed.

    Choosing the route that is open to you

    Most owners in the borough end up on one of two other routes. A householder application is judged on design and neighbour impact, and the council granted 93.7 per cent of its householder decisions in the latest year. Our planning drawings in Kensington and Chelsea are drawn for that test.

    Where the work fits the permitted development limits and no direction removes the right, a certificate gives you written proof. The council recorded 25 certificate applications in its return, and our Lawful Development Certificate drawings in Kensington and Chelsea cover that route.

    Our recommendation comes from the address, not from which service we would rather sell, and the fixed quote follows the route.

    How we run a Kensington and Chelsea notification

    We begin with the free constraints check against the council's published designations. If the route is closed, you hear that before you spend anything on drawings.

    If it is open, we survey the house and the two neighbouring rear elevations, then draw a notification that a location and block plan supports. A second chartered technologist, not the drafter, reads it against the Order before we submit.

    The general rules for every borough are on our prior approval drawings page, and the wider picture for this council is under architectural drawings in Kensington and Chelsea. A neighbouring option is prior approval drawings in Westminster.

    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.
    Pencil resting on a dimensioned technical drawing beside a scale rule
    The street around you
    Move across the plinth — the blocks rise around the pointer.

    Other services in Kensington and Chelsea

    Prior approval drawings nearby

    Questions

    Can I use larger home extension prior approval in Kensington and Chelsea?

    Only if your house stands outside conservation areas and Article 4 land. The borough has 39 conservation areas, so we check the address before anything else.

    Has the council decided many prior approvals for larger extensions?

    Its latest return records 0 granted and 0 refused, so the route is rarely used here.

    I own a flat. Can I extend under prior approval?

    No. Flats do not have the householder rights that the route relies on. Only 17 per cent of households here live in houses.

    Who pays the council fee?

    You pay the council fee of £249 directly. Our own fee is fixed after the free constraints check.

    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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