Which postcode districts around EC3N do we cover for drawing package work?
Every EC3N postcode district we draw in, the stock that dominates
it and the authority that validates a drawing package there. EC3N fees below are the
statutory England rates for 2026, not drawing package estimates.
| Postcode | Area | Dominant stock | What it means for a drawing package |
|---|
| EC3N | Tower Hill / Aldgate | mixed Victorian and inter-war stock | EC3N covers Tower Hill / Aldgate only; City of London Corporation handles the drawing package. |
| EC1A | Smithfield | Mostly commercial, residential lofts | Adjoining district to EC3N, also inside City of London for drawing package purposes. |
| EC2Y | Barbican | Listed Brutalist apartments (Barbican Estate) | Adjoining district to EC3N, also inside City of London for drawing package purposes. |
| EC4M | St Paul's | Mostly commercial, listed residential | Adjoining district to EC3N, also inside City of London for drawing package purposes. |
Which EC3N neighbourhoods suit a drawing package best?
Roof pitch, wall build-up and plot depth change every few EC3N
streets, and each one changes what a drawing package can achieve at that address.
- Bordering EC3N: Barbican (EC2Y) — drawing package work in Barbican means listed brutalist apartments (barbican estate). Barbican is Brutalist listed estate. City of London Corporation decides the Barbican application, and Barbican Centre anchors the Barbican location plan.
- Bordering EC3N: Smithfield (EC1A) — Georgian and Victorian commercial defines Smithfield, where mostly commercial, residential lofts set what a drawing package can do. Any Smithfield drawing package is validated by City of London Corporation, with Smithfield Market the usual Smithfield reference point on the site plan.
- Bordering EC3N: Fleet Street (EC4) — drawing package work in Fleet Street means mostly commercial, residential conversions. Fleet Street is Georgian and Victorian commercial. City of London Corporation decides the Fleet Street application, and Royal Courts of Justice anchors the Fleet Street location plan.
- Bordering EC3N: St Paul's (EC4M) — a drawing package in St Paul's starts from mostly commercial, listed residential, and St Paul's reads as Listed heritage commercial core. in EC4M. City of London Corporation assesses St Paul's architectural drawings against its own St Paul's character guidance, and the location plan we draw for St Paul's references St Paul's Cathedral.
Does EC3N planning policy restrict a drawing package?
Conservation areas covering EC3N (Tower Hill / Aldgate): City of London Corporation runs 27, and Whitefriars, St Paul's, Barbican are the ones EC3N (Tower Hill / Aldgate) owners meet most. A drawing package inside a EC3N (Tower Hill / Aldgate) conservation area loses permitted development, so the EC3N (Tower Hill / Aldgate) submission is a householder application at £548 decided in 8 weeks — not a £249 prior approval decided in 6 weeks. In Whitefriars a drawing package is judged on the street elevation first.
Article 4 and your EC3N (Tower Hill / Aldgate) drawing package: Multiple Article 4 Directions around office-to-residential, demolition, and shopfront changes. At a EC3N address that matters twice over, because City of London Corporation applies the direction unevenly across EC3N (Tower Hill / Aldgate) — we read the EC3N (Tower Hill / Aldgate) policies map for the exact EC3N address before quoting architectural drawings.
The building fabric around EC3N (Tower Hill / Aldgate): Very limited residential — Barbican Estate (listed post-war), Golden Lane Estate, modern luxury flats; overwhelmingly commercial. Overwhelmingly commercial; residential planning extremely constrained; one of the two highest listed-building densities in London. A drawing package in EC3N (Tower Hill / Aldgate) is scoped against that stock first, because it decides whether the scheme runs as permitted development, a £274 Lawful Development Certificate, or a full £548 application to City of London Corporation.
What happens if a EC3N property sits on a boundary?
- Westminster — cross the EC3N (Tower Hill / Aldgate) boundary and Westminster City Council takes the drawing package instead, applying 56 conservation areas of its own around SW1. We re-price architectural drawings at the EC3N (Tower Hill / Aldgate) edge because Westminster policy and City of London policy rarely align on drawing package depth.
- Camden — the Camden boundary runs against City of London, so a drawing package a street from EC3N (Tower Hill / Aldgate) is decided by Camden Council instead. Camden runs 40 conservation areas across NW1 and its neighbours, which is why architectural drawings priced for EC3N (Tower Hill / Aldgate) are re-checked against Camden policy whenever the EC3N (Tower Hill / Aldgate) address sits on that edge.
- Islington — adjoining EC3N (Tower Hill / Aldgate), with 40 conservation areas centred on N1. A drawing package on the far side of the EC3N (Tower Hill / Aldgate) line is determined by Islington Council, so the EC3N (Tower Hill / Aldgate) quote for architectural drawings is checked against Islington guidance before it is issued.
- Hackney — the Hackney boundary runs against City of London, so a drawing package a street from EC3N (Tower Hill / Aldgate) is decided by Hackney Council instead. Hackney runs 29 conservation areas across E2 and its neighbours, which is why architectural drawings priced for EC3N (Tower Hill / Aldgate) are re-checked against Hackney policy whenever the EC3N (Tower Hill / Aldgate) address sits on that edge.
Sources for this EC3N drawing package page: borough policies maps and
conservation-area registers (2025–26), Royal Mail postcode district boundaries,
the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications) (England) Regulations, the Town
and Country Planning (General Permitted Development) (England) Order 2015 as amended,
and the Party Wall etc. Act 1996.
