Planning Permission in Smithfield | Fixed-Fee Plans

An Article 4 Direction applies across City of London, so check it before assuming Smithfield permitted development survives. In Smithfield the streetscape argument usually decides the case before the numbers do, because the area is Georgian and Victorian commercial. Where a Smithfield property sits inside St Paul's or Barbican — two of City of London's 27 designations — permitted development narrows and a full City of London Corporation submission is usually quicker. Every Smithfield enquiry starts with that check.

We check Article 4 directions against the Smithfield address first — it changes what is worth drawing. On a Smithfield house the measurements bite through the mostly commercial: it sets the original rear wall, and the roofline around Smithfield Market sets what ridge height will pass. The borough policy layer over every EC1A address is set out on City of London planning. The Smithfield survey then carries into house extension drawings in Smithfield if the project runs on to construction.

City of London Corporation takes one to two weeks to validate a Smithfield submission. Survey first: we measure the Smithfield property in person, then draw the existing plans, sections and elevations from that data.

Statutory periods: 8 weeks from validation for a householder application, 13 weeks for a major scheme, 6 weeks for prior approval with a 21 days neighbour consultation, and 5 weeks for a full plans building control submission. A party structure notice requires one month notice and two months where excavation is involved.

A Smithfield case only reaches committee if it draws significant objection. A Smithfield pack that misses a scale bar is a pack City of London Corporation will reject — ours do not.

A EC1A objection about light or overlooking carries more weight than one about taste. We photograph the Smithfield property alongside the measurements for the record.

The party wall step is not optional on shared Smithfield walls, and serving late is what stalls sites. Once consent is granted, architectural drawings follows for the EC1A property.

Smithfield is characterised by mostly commercial, residential lofts, concentrated across EC1A in the Smithfield area. Every Smithfield scheme starts from what is actually there: mostly commercial, residential lofts, surveyed to the millimetre before a proposal is drawn. The Smithfield version of that is simple: most applications on these Victorian streets are householder applications validated on existing and proposed plans, elevations, a site plan and a location plan. It shapes what a EC1A scheme can realistically achieve. Case officers at City of London Corporation look first at whether a EC1A scheme keeps the eaves and ridge line of the Smithfield row.

Subterranean EC1A work needs a structural case as much as a planning one. If a Smithfield project extends into building regulations drawings for EC1A properties or loft conversion drawings, the survey is already done.

What the Smithfield drawing pack contains

Everything a Smithfield submission needs is in the list below.

• site location plan for the Smithfield property
• block plan
• existing and proposed floor plans
• existing and proposed elevations
• Design & Access Statement

Streets and landmarks we survey around Smithfield

• Farringdon Street — shared flank walls, so Farringdon Street party structure notices go out before work starts.
• Giltspur Street — shared flank walls, so Giltspur Street party structure notices go out before work starts.
• Charterhouse Street — terraced rear elevations — the Charterhouse Street party wall position is drawn first.
• Goswell Road — shared flank walls, so Goswell Road party structure notices go out before work starts.
• Farringdon Road — front-to-back level changes that drive the Farringdon Road section drawings.
• Cock Lane — front-to-back level changes that drive the Cock Lane section drawings.
• Turnmill Street — side returns where the 45-degree amenity test decides how far a Turnmill Street extension goes.
• Ludgate Hill — closet wings that change how a rear extension meets the Ludgate Hill back addition.
• Smithfield Market — it anchors the Smithfield streetscape argument in an officer report.
• Metropolitan Cattle Market — the surrounding mostly commercial takes its scale from it.
• Billingsgate Fish Market — a Smithfield roof extension is judged against the datum it sets.
• Leadenhall Market — massing on adjoining EC1A plots is tested against it.
• Smithfield Poultry Market — sightlines from here are part of the City of London Corporation character assessment.

Getting to a Smithfield survey

Surveyors travel to EC1A addresses from the studio; the nearest stations are Blackfriars, London King's Cross, power station, Farringdon. Appointments are booked in Smithfield on weekdays and Saturdays, and the measured survey of a standard mostly commercial takes two to three hours.

Where Smithfield sits

Practical detail for a Smithfield submission: Blackfriars and London King's Cross and power station and Farringdon serve the area; post town London; dialling code 020; the listed stock near Smithfield includes Grade II Market (place) and Grade II listed building. Site plans are drawn to the address as City of London Corporation holds it.

Smithfield postcode coverage

Smithfield work spans EC1A (Smithfield), which Smithfield holds on its own, with the EC1A boundary setting which designations bite.

Streets and stations in Smithfield

Work in Smithfield clusters around Farringdon Street, Giltspur Street, Charterhouse Street, Goswell Road, Farringdon Road, Cock Lane, Turnmill Street and Ludgate Hill. most Smithfield sites are within walking distance of Blackfriars or London King's Cross or power station. and Grade II Market (place), Grade II listed building are listed, which pulls neighbouring EC1A proposals into a setting assessment.

Areas we cover around Smithfield

Beyond Smithfield we cover Swiss Cottage (NW3, NW6), Gospel Oak (NW5), West Hampstead (NW6), Angel (N1, EC1V), Barnsbury (N1), Canonbury (N1), and cross into Hackney. A consent granted a mile from Smithfield Market is not a precedent for the plot next to it.

What changes a Smithfield fee is the property: mostly commercial construction, shared walls on EC1A, and whether heritage input is needed.

Statutory application fees are set by regulation, not by the council: £548 householder, £610 for a new dwelling, £274 for a lawful development certificate, £249 for prior approval.

That fee is collected by City of London Corporation when the EC1A application is lodged. London planning approval-rate dataset · City of London planning · Planning Permission London-wide · planning permission in Swiss Cottage.

We are architectural technologists, MCIAT chartered, and every Smithfield set carries that accountability. Where a Smithfield case is borderline — a corner plot near Smithfield Market, a St Paul's frontage, a flank wall hard onto a EC1A neighbour — we buy pre-application advice from City of London Corporation rather than gamble the statutory 8 weeks.

Drawings are produced by chartered members of the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists (MCIAT), the professional body for technical design and building-regulations competence. First-time approval across our London caseload is 98%. Statutory fees shown are those in force in England in 2026 under the Town and Country Planning (Fees for Applications) Regulations. Confirm your local authority at gov.uk and submission requirements on the Planning Portal. Studio: 71–75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ.

We survey Smithfield properties within a few days of instruction. This Smithfield page was reviewed in August 2026.