Which postcode districts around Lewisham do we cover for conservation area application work?
Each Lewisham postcode below, with the stock it contains and the authority that validates a conservation area application at addresses inside it. The fees listed are England's 2026 statutory rates, not what an application costs to prepare.
| Postcode | Area | Dominant stock | What it means for a conservation area application |
|---|
| SE3 | Blackheath / Kidbrooke | Georgian villas, Victorian terraces | SE3 is shared. Blackheath and Kidbrooke addresses fall either to Greenwich Council or to Lewisham Council; the boundary runs across the heath, and it is the address rather than the district that decides. |
| SE4 | Brockley | Victorian and Edwardian terraces | SE4 is Brockley. Lewisham Council handles the application, and the Brockley conservation area boundary is what decides whether designation bites at a given address. |
| SE6 | Catford / Bellingham | 1930s semi-detached, post-war flats | Catford and Bellingham make up SE6. The application goes to Lewisham Council, which applies whichever designations happen to reach the address. |
| SE8 | Deptford | Georgian terraces, post-war estates, new-build | Deptford addresses in SE8 are decided by Lewisham Council, applying whichever Local Plan policies govern that quarter of the borough. |
| SE12 | Lee / Grove Park | Victorian and Edwardian terraces across Brockley | SE12 crosses a boundary. Lee and Grove Park addresses go to either Lewisham Council or Bromley Council, so which of the two owns yours is worth settling before SE12 drawings go anywhere. |
| SE13 | Lewisham / Hither Green | Victorian terraces, post-war flats | Addresses in SE13, covering Lewisham and Hither Green, are determined by Lewisham Council under its own Local Plan. |
| SE14 | New Cross | Victorian and Edwardian terraces across Brockley | New Cross sits in SE14, and Lewisham Council determines applications there under its own Local Plan policies. |
| SE23 | Forest Hill / Honor Oak | Victorian villas, Edwardian terraces | SE23 is Forest Hill and Honor Oak, entirely within the borough, so Lewisham Council handles the application and works out which designations touch the address. |
How does a conservation area application differ street by street across Lewisham?
How deep the plot runs, what the walls are made of and how steeply the roof pitches all differ on every Lewisham street, and what a conservation area application can realistically ask for follows from them.
- Catford (SE6) — conservation area application work in Catford means 1930s semi-detached, post-war flats. Catford is 1930s semi-detached, post-war centre. On these 1930s semis the prior approval route often replaces a full application throughout SE6. Lewisham Council decides the Catford application, and Catford Cat anchors the Catford location plan.
- Deptford (SE8) — Georgian fragments, regenerating quarter defines Deptford, where georgian terraces, post-war estates, new-build set what a conservation area application can do. Applications on Georgian stock here almost always need a heritage statement alongside the drawings across SE8. Any Deptford conservation area application is validated by Lewisham Council, with Deptford High Street the usual Deptford reference point on the site plan.
- Hither Green (SE13) — Edwardian terraces, 1930s semi-detached defines Hither Green, where edwardian terraces, 1930s semi-detached set what a conservation area application can do. Edwardian houses here typically need the same householder set plus a roof plan where a dormer is proposed across SE13. Any Hither Green conservation area application is validated by Lewisham Council, with Mountsfield Park the usual Hither Green reference point on the site plan.
- Sydenham (SE26) — Victorian villas, Edwardian terraces defines Sydenham, where victorian villas, edwardian terraces set what a conservation area application can do. Most applications on these Victorian streets are householder applications validated on existing and proposed plans across SE26. Any Sydenham conservation area application is validated by Lewisham Council, with Sydenham Wells Park the usual Sydenham reference point on the site plan.
- Brockley (SE4) — conservation area application work in Brockley means victorian and edwardian terraces. Brockley is Victorian and Edwardian terraces. Most applications on these Victorian streets are householder applications validated on existing and proposed plans throughout SE4. Lewisham Council decides the Brockley application, and Brockley station anchors the Brockley location plan.
- Forest Hill (SE23) — conservation area application work in Forest Hill means victorian villas, edwardian terraces. Forest Hill is Victorian villas, Edwardian terraces. Most applications on these Victorian streets are householder applications validated on existing and proposed plans throughout SE23. Lewisham Council decides the Forest Hill application, and Horniman Museum anchors the Forest Hill location plan.
- Honor Oak (SE23) — a conservation area application in Honor Oak starts from victorian villas, edwardian terraces, and Honor Oak reads as Victorian villas on the hill. Most applications on these Victorian streets are householder applications validated on existing and proposed plans in SE23. Lewisham Council assesses Honor Oak conservation area applications against its own Honor Oak character guidance, and the location plan we draw for Honor Oak references One Tree Hill.
What local planning policy applies to a conservation area application in Lewisham?
Lewisham conservation designations: 30 in total, with Lee Green, Blackheath and Deptford High Street among them. Designation removes the permitted-development route, so work then needs a £548 householder application, determined over 8 weeks, rather than the £249 prior approval that runs to 42 days. Which of the 30 applies is a question about the address rather than the postcode, and it is the character appraisal for that specific area the design has to answer to.
No blanket Article 4 over Lewisham: Lewisham Council has not withdrawn permitted development across Lewisham, so a conservation area application outside a Lewisham conservation area usually keeps it. The £274 Lawful Development Certificate is still the document a SE4 owner wants on file.
The building fabric around Lewisham: Victorian and Edwardian terraces across Brockley, Honor Oak, Forest Hill; 1930s semi-detached in Catford and Hither Green; post-war mixed in Deptford. Generally permissive planning compared to central boroughs; loft conversions and side-return extensions routinely approved under PD. A conservation area application in Lewisham is scoped against that stock first.
Who decides a conservation area application on the edge of Lewisham?
- Southwark — cross the Lewisham boundary and Southwark Council takes the conservation area application instead, applying 43 conservation areas of its own around SE1. We re-price conservation area applications at the Lewisham edge because Southwark policy and Lewisham policy rarely align on conservation area application depth.
- Greenwich — cross the Lewisham boundary and Greenwich Council takes the conservation area application instead, applying 20 conservation areas of its own around SE3. We re-price conservation area applications at the Lewisham edge because Greenwich policy and Lewisham policy rarely align on conservation area application depth.
- Bromley — cross the Lewisham boundary and Bromley Council takes the conservation area application instead, applying 48 conservation areas of its own around BR1. We re-price conservation area applications at the Lewisham edge because Bromley policy and Lewisham policy rarely align on conservation area application depth.
- Tower Hamlets — adjoining Lewisham, with 58 conservation areas centred on E1. A conservation area application on the far side of the Lewisham line is determined by Tower Hamlets Council, so the Lewisham quote for conservation area applications is checked against Tower Hamlets guidance before it is issued.
Sources for this Lewisham 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.
