Which postcode districts around Wandsworth do we cover for scheme inside an Article 4 area work?
The Wandsworth postcode districts we work across, what has been built in each, and which authority validates a scheme sitting inside an Article 4 area. Fees shown are the 2026 statutory England rates paid to the council, and are not ours.
| Postcode | Area | Dominant stock | What it means for a scheme inside an Article 4 area |
|---|
| SW4 | Clapham | Victorian terraces, Edwardian villas | Clapham is split at SW4 between Lambeth and Wandsworth, so which authority’s Direction binds a house there depends on the side of the boundary it stands on. |
| SW8 | South Lambeth / Nine Elms | Victorian terraces, new-build apartments | SW8 at South Lambeth and Nine Elms sits across the Lambeth line. Confirm the validating council before anything else: a Direction in one borough tells you nothing about the next. |
| SW16 | Streatham / Norbury | Edwardian terraces, post-war flats | SW16 at Streatham and Norbury is split four ways, between Lambeth, Wandsworth, Merton and Croydon, each holding its own Article 4 position. The address, not the district, decides which one applies. |
| SW19 | Wimbledon / Colliers Wood | Victorian villas, Edwardian terraces | SW19 at Wimbledon and Colliers Wood crosses into Merton. Either Merton or Wandsworth may determine a scheme in it, settled street by street from the policies map. |
| SW11 | Battersea / Clapham Junction | Victorian terraces, mansion blocks | SW11 covers Battersea and Clapham Junction alone. Wandsworth determines every scheme in it, and officers read the SW11 conservation-area map alongside the borough-wide Direction. |
| SW12 | Balham | Victorian and Edwardian terraces | Balham is split at SW12. Either Wandsworth Council or Lambeth Council can determine a scheme inside an Article 4 area here, so the SW12 address is checked against both policies maps first. |
| SW15 | Putney / Roehampton | Edwardian terraces, Victorian villas, mansion blocks | SW15 is Putney and Roehampton only, wholly Wandsworth, with case officers applying the SW15 designation map on top of the Direction that covers the entire borough. |
| SW17 | Tooting / Earlsfield | Edwardian terraces | Tooting and Earlsfield share SW17 with Merton. The boundary runs through the district itself, so we place the address on both authorities’ maps rather than assuming Wandsworth. |
What changes about a scheme inside an Article 4 area in each part of Wandsworth?
Wandsworth has no single roof pitch, wall build-up or plot depth, and each of those limits what a scheme can do at a given address before any Direction is even considered. 32.2% of the borough’s 157,890 dwellings pre-date 1900 (VOA stock table, 31 March 2025), and that older housing is what conversions tend to target.
- Wandsworth Common (SW17, SW18) — a scheme inside an Article 4 area in Wandsworth Common starts from victorian villas and terraces, and Wandsworth Common reads as Victorian villas around the common. Most applications on these Victorian streets are householder applications validated on existing and proposed plans in SW17. Wandsworth Council assesses Wandsworth Common scheme inside an Article 4 areas against its own Wandsworth Common character guidance, and the location plan we draw for Wandsworth Common references Wandsworth Common.
- Earlsfield (SW18) — Victorian terraced streets defines Earlsfield, where victorian terraces set what a scheme inside an Article 4 area can do. Most applications on these Victorian streets are householder applications validated on existing and proposed plans across SW18. Any Earlsfield scheme inside an Article 4 area is validated by Wandsworth Council, with Earlsfield station the usual Earlsfield reference point on the site plan.
- Putney (SW15) — Edwardian terraces, riverside defines Putney, where edwardian terraces, victorian villas, mansion blocks set what a scheme inside an Article 4 area can do. Most applications on these Victorian streets are householder applications validated on existing and proposed plans across SW15. Any Putney scheme inside an Article 4 area is validated by Wandsworth Council, with Putney Bridge the usual Putney reference point on the site plan.
- Southfields (SW18) — 1930s semi-detached, grid plan defines Southfields, where 1930s semi-detached, edwardian terraces set what a scheme inside an Article 4 area can do. Edwardian houses here typically need the same householder set plus a roof plan where a dormer is proposed across SW18. Any Southfields scheme inside an Article 4 area is validated by Wandsworth Council, with Southfields station the usual Southfields reference point on the site plan.
- Tonsleys (SW18) — Victorian conservation area defines Tonsleys, where victorian terraces set what a scheme inside an Article 4 area can do. Most applications on these Victorian streets are householder applications validated on existing and proposed plans across SW18. Any Tonsleys scheme inside an Article 4 area is validated by Wandsworth Council, with Tonsley Hill the usual Tonsleys reference point on the site plan.
- Nightingale Triangle (SW12) — scheme inside an Article 4 area work in Nightingale Triangle means edwardian terraces and villas. Nightingale Triangle is Edwardian conservation area. Edwardian houses here typically need the same householder set plus a roof plan where a dormer is proposed throughout SW12. Wandsworth Council decides the Nightingale Triangle application, and Nightingale Lane anchors the Nightingale Triangle location plan.
- Roehampton (SW15) — Modernist post-war estates, Georgian fragments defines Roehampton, where post-war estates, georgian villas set what a scheme inside an Article 4 area can do. Applications on Georgian stock here almost always need a heritage statement alongside the drawings across SW15. Any Roehampton scheme inside an Article 4 area is validated by Wandsworth Council, with Alton Estate the usual Roehampton reference point on the site plan.
What local planning policy applies to a scheme inside an Article 4 area in Wandsworth?
Wandsworth conservation designations: 45 of them, Wandsworth Common, Clapham Common West and Tonsley among the names. Designation is a separate instrument from Article 4 and stacks on top of it. Once an address falls inside one the scheme has to go in as a full householder application, £548 to the council and eight weeks on the clock; outside it, the cheaper six-week prior approval route at £249 would still have been open. Tonsley changes a design here more often than the rest. Whichever instrument applies, a certificate is what puts the answer on the record, and the borough recorded 975 of them in the same period — a count, and only a count, because the return publishes no outcome against it.
Article 4 and your Wandsworth scheme inside an Article 4 area: Article 4 for HMO conversions covering the whole borough. At a SW11 address that matters twice over, because Wandsworth Council applies the direction unevenly across Wandsworth — we read the Wandsworth policies map for the exact SW11 address before quoting scheme inside an Article 4 areas.
The building fabric around Wandsworth: Extensive Victorian terraced streets — the classic London side-return extension opportunity; Edwardian villas around the commons; 1930s semi-detached in Southfields. Family-oriented, high side-return extension and loft conversion rates; planning department experienced with Victorian terrace modifications. A scheme inside an Article 4 area in Wandsworth is scoped against that stock first.
Who decides a scheme inside an Article 4 area on the edge of Wandsworth?
- Merton — adjoining Wandsworth, with 28 conservation areas centred on SW16. A scheme inside an Article 4 area on the far side of the Wandsworth line is determined by Merton Council, so the Wandsworth quote for scheme inside an Article 4 areas is checked against Merton guidance before it is issued.
- Kingston upon Thames — adjoining Wandsworth, with 22 conservation areas centred on KT1. A scheme inside an Article 4 area on the far side of the Wandsworth line is determined by Kingston Council, so the Wandsworth quote for scheme inside an Article 4 areas is checked against Kingston upon Thames guidance before it is issued.
- Richmond upon Thames — cross the Wandsworth boundary and Richmond Council takes the scheme inside an Article 4 area instead, applying 72 conservation areas of its own around SW13. We re-price scheme inside an Article 4 areas at the Wandsworth edge because Richmond upon Thames policy and Wandsworth policy rarely align on scheme inside an Article 4 area depth.
- Hammersmith and Fulham — the Hammersmith and Fulham boundary runs against Wandsworth, so a scheme inside an Article 4 area a street from Wandsworth is decided by Hammersmith & Fulham Council instead. Hammersmith and Fulham runs 45 conservation areas across W6 and its neighbours, which is why scheme inside an Article 4 areas priced for Wandsworth are re-checked against Hammersmith and Fulham policy whenever the Wandsworth address sits on that edge.
Sources for this Wandsworth scheme inside an Article 4 area 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.
