Rear dormer loft in Kensington and Chelsea

Which postcode districts around Kensington and Chelsea do we cover for rear dormer work?

Every Kensington and Chelsea postcode district we draw in, the stock that dominates it and the authority that validates a rear dormer there. Kensington and Chelsea fees below are the statutory England rates for 2026, not rear dormer estimates.

What changes about a rear dormer in each part of Kensington and Chelsea?

Roof pitch, wall build-up and plot depth change every few Kensington and Chelsea streets, and each one changes what a rear dormer can achieve at that address.

• Knightsbridge (SW1X, SW7) — rear dormer work in Knightsbridge means regency and victorian terraces, mansion blocks. Knightsbridge is Regency and Victorian terraces, luxury. Full-width rear dormers on Victorian terraces here are the default throughout SW1X. RBKC Planning decides the Knightsbridge application, and Harrods anchors the Knightsbridge location plan.
• North Kensington (W10) — a rear dormer in North Kensington starts from victorian terraces, post-war estates, and North Kensington reads as Victorian terraces, post-war estates. Full-width rear dormers on Victorian terraces here are the default in W10. RBKC Planning assesses North Kensington rear dormers against its own North Kensington character guidance, and the location plan we draw for North Kensington references Golborne Road.
• Brompton (SW3) — Victorian stucco terraces, mansion blocks defines Brompton, where stucco terraces, edwardian mansion blocks set what a rear dormer can do. The deeper Edwardian rear slope takes a full-width dormer without breaching the 40 m³ or 50 m³ volume limits on most of these houses across SW3. Any Brompton rear dormer is validated by RBKC Planning, with Brompton Cross the usual Brompton reference point on the site plan.
• Kensington (W8) — Georgian and Victorian stucco terraces defines Kensington, where stucco terraces, listed buildings set what a rear dormer can do. Full-width rear dormers on Victorian terraces here are the default across W8. Any Kensington rear dormer is validated by RBKC Planning, with Kensington Palace the usual Kensington reference point on the site plan.
• Chelsea (SW3, SW10) — Georgian and Victorian terraces, riverside defines Chelsea, where georgian and victorian terraces, listed buildings set what a rear dormer can do. A dormer on a Georgian roof has to sit behind the parapet line to stand any chance of consent across SW3. Any Chelsea rear dormer is validated by RBKC Planning, with King's Road the usual Chelsea reference point on the site plan.
• Notting Hill (W11) — rear dormer work in Notting Hill means victorian stucco terraces. Notting Hill is stucco terraces, painted facades. Full-width rear dormers on Victorian terraces here are the default throughout W11. RBKC Planning decides the Notting Hill application, and Portobello Road anchors the Notting Hill location plan.
• Holland Park (W11, W14) — rear dormer work in Holland Park means victorian and edwardian villas. Holland Park is Victorian villas around the park. Full-width rear dormers on Victorian terraces here are the default throughout W11. RBKC Planning decides the Holland Park application, and Holland Park anchors the Holland Park location plan.

How do conservation areas and Article 4 affect a rear dormer in Kensington and Chelsea?

Conservation areas covering Kensington and Chelsea: RBKC Planning runs 38, and Earls Court, Kensington, Chelsea are the ones Kensington and Chelsea owners meet most. A rear dormer inside a Kensington and Chelsea conservation area loses permitted development, so the Kensington and Chelsea submission is a householder application at £548 decided in 8 weeks — not a £249 prior approval decided in 6 weeks. In Kensington a rear dormer 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 rear dormer 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 rear dormer 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 rear dormer in Kensington and Chelsea is scoped against that stock first.

Which neighbouring authorities border Kensington and Chelsea?

• Westminster — cross the Kensington and Chelsea boundary and Westminster City Council takes the rear dormer instead, applying 56 conservation areas of its own around SW1. We re-price rear dormers at the Kensington and Chelsea edge because Westminster policy and Kensington and Chelsea policy rarely align on rear dormer depth.
• Hammersmith and Fulham — the Hammersmith and Fulham boundary runs against Kensington and Chelsea, so a rear dormer a street from Kensington and Chelsea is decided by Hammersmith & Fulham Council instead. Hammersmith and Fulham runs 45 conservation areas across W6 and its neighbours, which is why rear dormers priced for Kensington and Chelsea are re-checked against Hammersmith and Fulham policy whenever the Kensington and Chelsea address sits on that edge.
• Brent — the Brent boundary runs against Kensington and Chelsea, so a rear dormer a street from Kensington and Chelsea is decided by Brent Council instead. Brent runs 22 conservation areas across NW2 and its neighbours, which is why rear dormers priced for Kensington and Chelsea are re-checked against Brent policy whenever the Kensington and Chelsea address sits on that edge.

Sources for this Kensington and Chelsea rear dormer 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.