Architectural drawings in SW3

Where in SW3 does a drawing package actually get determined?

Every SW3 postcode district we draw in, the stock that dominates it and the authority that validates a drawing package there. SW3 fees below are the statutory England rates for 2026, not drawing package estimates.

How does a drawing package differ street by street across SW3?

Roof pitch, wall build-up and plot depth change every few SW3 streets, and each one changes what a drawing package can achieve at that address.

• Inside SW3: Chelsea (SW3, SW10) — Georgian and Victorian terraces, riverside defines Chelsea, where georgian and victorian terraces, listed buildings set what a drawing package can do. Any Chelsea drawing package is validated by RBKC Planning, with King's Road the usual Chelsea reference point on the site plan.
• Inside SW3: Brompton (SW3) — drawing package work in Brompton means stucco terraces, edwardian mansion blocks. Brompton is Victorian stucco terraces, mansion blocks. RBKC Planning decides the Brompton application, and Brompton Cross anchors the Brompton location plan.
• Bordering SW3: Kensington (W8) — drawing package work in Kensington means stucco terraces, listed buildings. Kensington is Georgian and Victorian stucco terraces. RBKC Planning decides the Kensington application, and Kensington Palace anchors the Kensington location plan.
• Bordering SW3: Notting Hill (W11) — a drawing package in Notting Hill starts from victorian stucco terraces, and Notting Hill reads as stucco terraces, painted facades. in W11. RBKC Planning assesses Notting Hill architectural drawings against its own Notting Hill character guidance, and the location plan we draw for Notting Hill references Portobello Road.
• Bordering SW3: Holland Park (W11, W14) — drawing package work in Holland Park means victorian and edwardian villas. Holland Park is Victorian villas around the park. RBKC Planning decides the Holland Park application, and Holland Park anchors the Holland Park location plan.
• Bordering SW3: Earl's Court (SW5) — Victorian stucco terraces, mansion blocks defines Earl's Court, where stucco terraces, edwardian mansion blocks set what a drawing package can do. Any Earl's Court drawing package is validated by RBKC Planning, with Earl's Court station the usual Earl's Court reference point on the site plan.
• Bordering SW3: South Kensington (SW7) — Victorian and Edwardian stucco terraces defines South Kensington, where stucco terraces, mansion blocks, listed buildings set what a drawing package can do. Any South Kensington drawing package is validated by RBKC Planning, with V&A the usual South Kensington reference point on the site plan.
• Bordering SW3: Knightsbridge (SW1X, SW7) — Regency and Victorian terraces, luxury defines Knightsbridge, where regency and victorian terraces, mansion blocks set what a drawing package can do. Any Knightsbridge drawing package is validated by RBKC Planning, with Harrods the usual Knightsbridge reference point on the site plan.
• Bordering SW3: North Kensington (W10) — drawing package work in North Kensington means victorian terraces, post-war estates. North Kensington is Victorian terraces, post-war estates. RBKC Planning decides the North Kensington application, and Golborne Road anchors the North Kensington location plan.

What local planning policy applies to a drawing package in SW3?

SW3 (Chelsea / Brompton) conservation designations: there are 38 across RBKC Planning, Kensington, Chelsea, Notting Hill among them. Designation costs a SW3 (Chelsea / Brompton) owner the permitted-development route: a drawing package then needs a £548 householder application over 8 weeks, in place of the £249 prior approval route that takes 6 weeks. Earls Court is the SW3 (Chelsea / Brompton) designation that most often changes a drawing package design.

SW3 (Chelsea / Brompton) and Article 4: Article 4 Directions covering HMOs, office-to-residential, and basement developments — RBKC has some of the strictest basement policies in London. A drawing package planned at a SW3 address is checked against that direction first; RBKC Planning publishes the SW3 (Chelsea / Brompton) extent, and the SW3 line rarely follows the SW3 (Chelsea / Brompton) boundary you would expect.

SW3 (Chelsea / Brompton) below-ground policy: RBKC's basement policy (post-2015) limits to single-storey under 50% of garden area; double-storey basements effectively prohibited in residential streets. Any drawing package in SW3 (Chelsea / Brompton) that goes below existing foundations triggers two months notice under section 6 of the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, and RBKC Planning will want the SW3 ground and groundwater position set out.

SW3 (Chelsea / Brompton) housing stock: Grand white stucco Regency and Victorian terraces; red-brick Queen Anne mansions in Kensington; Edwardian mansion blocks; almost no post-war housing stock. Internationally wealthy residents; extensive listed building coverage; heritage and streetscape prioritised in every decision. Read that before choosing a drawing package route in SW3 (Chelsea / Brompton) — construction, not postcode, sets what is achievable. RBKC Planning charges £548 for a householder application and has 8 weeks to determine it.

Who decides a drawing package on the edge of SW3?

• Westminster — the Westminster boundary runs against Kensington and Chelsea, so a drawing package a street from SW3 (Chelsea / Brompton) is decided by Westminster City Council instead. Westminster runs 56 conservation areas across SW1 and its neighbours, which is why architectural drawings priced for SW3 (Chelsea / Brompton) are re-checked against Westminster policy whenever the SW3 (Chelsea / Brompton) address sits on that edge.
• Hammersmith and Fulham — cross the SW3 (Chelsea / Brompton) boundary and Hammersmith & Fulham Council takes the drawing package instead, applying 45 conservation areas of its own around W6. We re-price architectural drawings at the SW3 (Chelsea / Brompton) edge because Hammersmith and Fulham policy and Kensington and Chelsea policy rarely align on drawing package depth.
• Brent — the Brent boundary runs against Kensington and Chelsea, so a drawing package a street from SW3 (Chelsea / Brompton) is decided by Brent Council instead. Brent runs 22 conservation areas across NW2 and its neighbours, which is why architectural drawings priced for SW3 (Chelsea / Brompton) are re-checked against Brent policy whenever the SW3 (Chelsea / Brompton) address sits on that edge.

Sources for this SW3 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.