Purpose-built or converted flats with restricted PD rights. Internal-only alterations dominate.
Modern flat stock in Kensington and Chelsea responds best to extensions that respect the existing rhythm. For Victorian and Edwardian period property, side returns and rear infill are routine. For 1930s suburban, single-storey rear and loft conversions dominate. We design to the block, not the brochure.
MCIAT chartered drawings for planning, building regs, lofts and extensions — fixed fees 30% below typical London architects. Tell us what you need and we’ll reply the same working day.
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Every Kensington and Chelsea postcode district we draw in, the stock that dominates it and the authority that validates a modern flat project there. Kensington and Chelsea fees below are the statutory England rates for 2026, not modern flat project estimates.
| Postcode | Area | Dominant stock | What it means for a modern flat project |
|---|---|---|---|
| SW1X | Knightsbridge / Belgravia | Regency stucco terraces, listed buildings | SW1X straddles a boundary: Knightsbridge / Belgravia addresses fall to Westminster City Council or RBKC Planning, so confirm which authority validates the modern flat project before submitting SW1X drawings. |
| W14 | West Kensington / Barons Court | Victorian and Edwardian villas | A modern flat project in West Kensington / Barons Court may land with Hammersmith & Fulham Council or RBKC Planning — W14 crosses the boundary, and the W14 policies map decides it street by street. |
| SW3 | Chelsea / Brompton | Georgian and Victorian terraces, listed buildings | Chelsea / Brompton sits wholly inside SW3, so RBKC Planning validates every modern flat project submitted from an SW3 address. |
| SW5 | Earl's Court | Stucco terraces, Edwardian mansion blocks | A modern flat project at an SW5 address in Earl's Court is determined by RBKC Planning under its own Local Plan policies for Earl's Court. |
| SW7 | South Kensington / Knightsbridge | Stucco terraces, mansion blocks, listed buildings | South Kensington / Knightsbridge is split at SW7. Either RBKC Planning or Westminster City Council can determine a modern flat project here, so the SW7 address is checked against both policies maps first. |
| SW10 | West Brompton / World's End | Georgian and Victorian terraces, listed buildings | SW10 straddles a boundary: West Brompton / World's End addresses fall to RBKC Planning or Hammersmith & Fulham Council, so confirm which authority validates the modern flat project before submitting SW10 drawings. |
| W8 | Kensington | Stucco terraces, listed buildings | W8 covers Kensington only; RBKC Planning handles the modern flat project, and Kensington case officers apply the W8 conservation-area map. |
| W10 | North Kensington / Ladbroke Grove | Victorian terraces, post-war estates | North Kensington / Ladbroke Grove sits wholly inside W10, so RBKC Planning validates every modern flat project submitted from an W10 address. |
Roof pitch, wall build-up and plot depth change every few Kensington and Chelsea streets, and each one changes what a modern flat project can achieve at that address.
Conservation areas covering Kensington and Chelsea: RBKC Planning runs 38, and Notting Hill, Holland Park, Earls Court are the ones Kensington and Chelsea owners meet most. A modern flat project inside a Kensington and Chelsea conservation area loses permitted development, so the Kensington and Chelsea submission is a householder application at £258 decided in 8 weeks — not a £120 prior approval decided in 6 weeks. In Kensington a modern flat project is judged on the street elevation first.
Kensington and Chelsea 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 modern flat project planned at a SW3 address is checked against that direction first; RBKC Planning publishes the Kensington and Chelsea extent, and the SW3 line rarely follows the Kensington and Chelsea boundary you would expect.
Kensington and Chelsea 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 modern flat project in Kensington and Chelsea 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.
The building fabric around Kensington and Chelsea: 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. A modern flat project in Kensington and Chelsea is scoped against that stock first. Our Kensington and Chelsea fixed fee starts at £840; the £1,750 Complete package runs the Kensington and Chelsea scheme through RBKC Planning planning and building control in one go.
Sources for this Kensington and Chelsea modern flat project 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.