Which postcode districts around City of London do we cover for conservation area application work?
The City postcode districts on our books, the buildings that fill them, and who validates a conservation area application arriving from each address. Pound amounts are 2026 statutory England planning fees and nothing more than that.
| Postcode | Area | Dominant stock | What it means for a conservation area application |
|---|
| EC1A | Smithfield | Mostly commercial, residential lofts | A conservation area application at an EC1A address in Smithfield is determined by City of London Corporation under its own Local Plan policies for Smithfield. |
| EC2Y | Barbican | Listed Brutalist apartments (Barbican Estate) | EC2Y is the Barbican and nothing else. The Corporation determines it, and the estate's own listed status shapes very nearly every proposal made there. |
| EC3N | Tower Hill / Aldgate | Very limited residential — Barbican Estate (listed post-war) | A conservation area application at an EC3N address in Tower Hill / Aldgate is determined by City of London Corporation under its own Local Plan policies for Tower Hill / Aldgate. |
| EC4M | St Paul's | Mostly commercial, listed residential | St Paul's sits wholly inside EC4M, so City of London Corporation validates every conservation area application submitted from an EC4M address. |
| EC4V | Blackfriars | Very limited residential — Barbican Estate (listed post-war) | Blackfriars sits wholly inside EC4V, so City of London Corporation validates every conservation area application submitted from an EC4V address. |
| EC4Y | Temple | Very limited residential — Barbican Estate (listed post-war) | Temple occupies EC4Y. The Corporation validates applications from the district, where the historic legal buildings govern what can be altered at all. |
| EC2A | Shoreditch | Warehouse conversions, modern infill | EC2A is split at Shoreditch between Hackney and the Corporation, so the plot has to be checked on both policies maps before anything is submitted. |
How does a conservation area application differ street by street across City of London?
Roof form, wall construction and plot depth can change within a single City street, and inside a designated area they set the limits of what a scheme is even able to propose.
- Barbican (EC2Y) — a conservation area application in Barbican starts from listed brutalist apartments (barbican estate), and Barbican reads as Brutalist listed estate. Post-war stock here frequently sits inside an estate layout in EC2Y. City of London Corporation assesses Barbican conservation area applications against its own Barbican character guidance, and the location plan we draw for Barbican references Barbican Centre.
- Smithfield (EC1A) — conservation area application work in Smithfield means mostly commercial, residential lofts. Smithfield is Georgian and Victorian commercial. Most applications on these Victorian streets are householder applications validated on existing and proposed plans throughout EC1A. City of London Corporation decides the Smithfield application, and Smithfield Market anchors the Smithfield location plan.
- Fleet Street (EC4) — Georgian and Victorian commercial defines Fleet Street, where mostly commercial, residential conversions set what a conservation area application can do. Most applications on these Victorian streets are householder applications validated on existing and proposed plans across EC4. Any Fleet Street conservation area application is validated by City of London Corporation, with Royal Courts of Justice the usual Fleet Street reference point on the site plan.
- St Paul's (EC4M) — a conservation area application in St Paul's starts from mostly commercial, listed residential, and St Paul's reads as Listed heritage commercial core. Most applications on these Victorian streets are householder applications validated on existing and proposed plans in EC4M. City of London Corporation assesses St Paul's conservation area applications against its own St Paul's character guidance, and the location plan we draw for St Paul's references St Paul's Cathedral.
What local planning policy applies to a conservation area application in City of London?
27 conservation areas are run by the City of London Corporation. Smithfield, Fleet Street and Whitefriars come up most in the work we are asked to do. Inside a designation, permitted development falls away. The route becomes a householder application at £548 decided over eight weeks; the same work outside one could have gone in at £249 as a prior approval, decided over six. Householder volume is tiny here in any case: just 5 householder applications were decided across the whole of April 2023 to March 2026, far too few to draw any rate from. In Whitefriars the street elevation is what an officer looks at first.
What Article 4 removes near City of London: Multiple Article 4 Directions around office-to-residential, demolition, and shopfront changes. Before pricing a conservation area application we check whether the EC1A address is inside the mapped area, because City of London Corporation draws the City of London boundary street by street rather than across the whole of City of London.
What City of London is built from: 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. That mix decides the conservation area application route in City of London more than the postcode does.
Which neighbouring authorities border City of London?
- Camden — cross the City of London boundary and Camden Council takes the conservation area application instead, applying 40 conservation areas of its own around NW1. We re-price conservation area applications at the City of London edge because Camden policy and City of London policy rarely align on conservation area application depth.
- Islington — the Islington boundary runs against City of London, so a conservation area application a street from City of London is decided by Islington Council instead. Islington runs 40 conservation areas across N1 and its neighbours, which is why conservation area applications priced for City of London are re-checked against Islington policy whenever the City of London address sits on that edge.
- Hackney — adjoining City of London, with 29 conservation areas centred on E2. A conservation area application on the far side of the City of London line is determined by Hackney Council, so the City of London quote for conservation area applications is checked against Hackney guidance before it is issued.
- Tower Hamlets — cross the City of London boundary and Tower Hamlets Council takes the conservation area application instead, applying 58 conservation areas of its own around E1. We re-price conservation area applications at the City of London edge because Tower Hamlets policy and City of London policy rarely align on conservation area application depth.
Sources for this City of London conservation area application 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.
