Call 020 7864 7245Request a fixed quote
Georgian brick terrace with sash windows, arched fanlight doorways, stone steps and iron railings in London
Photograph: Lorenc Memaga

01Areas we cover

In Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea

Architectural drawings for Knightsbridge's squares and terraces

Knightsbridge is drawn across a borough boundary: the same street pattern can fall under Westminster on one side and Kensington and Chelsea on the other, with different basement rules on each. We check which council, which conservation area and which Article 4 direction govern your house before we price a line of drawing.

Fixed quote after a free constraints check

  • MCIAT chartered architectural technologists
  • £2m professional indemnity insurance
  • LABC Partnered
  • ICO registered

Fixed fee, VAT included

Ask for a fixed fee

Photographs or current plans (optional)

Drag files here or browse your device

Up to 10 files, 90 MB in total: PDF, JPG, PNG or DWG

    Write to us before 3pm and we reply the same working day. Redraws are free until approval.

    02The record

    Knightsbridge on the record

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Conservation areaKnightsbridgedesignated 1968-01-04westminster.gov.uk
    Local factThe Knightsbridge Conservation Area was designated on 4 January 1968 and extended on 9 February 1978; Knightsbridge Green and Albert Gate were designated in January 1989.No periodwestminster.gov.uk
    Local factWestminster adopted the joint Knightsbridge, Knightsbridge Green and Albert Gate audit as a Supplementary Planning Document on 20 April 2009.No periodwestminster.gov.uk
    Local factTerraces with an unbroken parapet line are unlikely to accept roof extensions, as they would disrupt group unity.No periodwestminster.gov.uk
    Local factRelton Mews Article 4 DirectionNo periodwestminster.gov.uk
    Local planning considerationWestminster's City Plan 2019-2040 (2026), Policy 50, supports basements only where they extend under no more than 50% of the garden land and are no more than one storey beneath the lowest original floor level, with exceptions for large sites.No periodwestminster.gov.uk
    Local planning considerationAn Article 4 direction covering the whole Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea removes permitted development rights for basement extensions to single dwelling houses; it came into force on 28 April 2016.No periodrbkc.gov.uk
    Conservation areas56 named conservation areas published by the councilNo periodplanning.data.gov.uk
    Conservation areas39 named conservation areas published by the councilNo periodplanning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries1,350 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)No periodplanning.data.gov.uk

    A blank value means the figure has not been published, not that there are none. Check your own address with the council.

    Knightsbridge4 conservation areas
    Conservation areas named for Knightsbridge
    • Knightsbridge: designated 4 January 1968
    • Knightsbridge Green: designated 1 January 1989
    • Albert Gate: designated 1 January 1989
    • Hans Town: designated 1 January 1971
    Rear view of brick terraced houses in London with slate roofs and chimney stacks along the shared roofline
    Photograph: Ben Hadfield

    03The drawing

    Constraints check: WestminsterA, Conservation areas: 56 named conservation areas published by the council. B, Article 4 directions: 10 Article 4 directions published by the council. C, Listed building entries: 4,015 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary). D, Heritage at Risk entries: 23 Heritage at Risk Register entries within the LPA boundary (Historic England)56Conservation areasA10Article 4 directionsB4,015Listed building entriesC23Heritage at Risk entriesD

    Constraints check: Westminster

    What we check first on any address in Westminster. Counts are for the whole council area.

    A Conservation areas
    56 named conservation areas published by the council
    B Article 4 directions
    10 Article 4 directions published by the council
    C Listed building entries
    4,015 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)
    D Heritage at Risk entries
    23 Heritage at Risk Register entries within the LPA boundary (Historic England)
    A period street in three dimensions3D
    Scroll the page: the model turns with it.

    04The brief

    Where two boroughs meet

    Westminster publishes 56 conservation areas and the Royal Borough publishes 39, and Knightsbridge touches both lists. Four conservation areas bear on it: Knightsbridge, Knightsbridge Green, Albert Gate and, on the Royal Borough side, Hans Town. For the borough next door, our Kensington page and our Chelsea page read its other districts.

    The Knightsbridge Conservation Area was designated on 4 January 1968 and extended on 9 February 1978; Knightsbridge Green and Albert Gate were designated in January 1989. RBKC's Hans Town Conservation Area was first designated in 1971, with extensions in 1975, 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990 and 1995.

    Upper floors of a large yellow-brick Victorian house in London with chimney pots

    05The detail

    Terraces, squares and the parapet line

    The Westminster part runs from the late-Victorian area around the Royal Albert Hall in the west, through mid-19th-century terraces and squares, to early-19th-century houses around leafy squares. A roof storey on any of these is read against the line of the whole group.

    The Westminster audit is direct about it: Terraces with an unbroken parapet line are unlikely to accept roof extensions, as they would disrupt group unity. Before we draw a mansard here, we look along the terrace for a break in the parapet that your proposal can legitimately join. Mansard roof drawings explains how we test that.

    Windows, mews and single-family squares

    On joinery the audit is blunt. uPVC or aluminium replacement windows and changed fenestration are listed as detrimental to the area. We draw window changes against the original pattern of the house.

    Two local controls are specific to Knightsbridge. The Westminster audit names the Relton Mews Article 4 Direction, and it records that Montpelier Square is designated as a single-family housing area in the Unitary Development Plan, to protect family dwellings from conversion.

    Basements: which borough's rule applies

    On the Westminster side the limit sits in the City Plan. Westminster's City Plan 2019-2040 (2026), Policy 50, supports basements only where they extend under no more than 50% of the garden land and are no more than one storey beneath the lowest original floor level, with exceptions for large sites.

    On the Royal Borough side the rule is different. An Article 4 direction covering the whole Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea removes permitted development rights for basement extensions to single dwelling houses; it came into force on 28 April 2016. It reaches only the Hans Town side of Knightsbridge. See basement conversion drawings for how we draw within each limit.

    Listed houses in Knightsbridge

    The Royal Borough records 1,350 list entries and Westminster 4,015. A listed house in Knightsbridge needs consent from whichever council covers the address, so the first step is to establish that. The Royal Borough route is set out under listed building consent drawings in Kensington and Chelsea.

    Planning sheet for a single-storey rear extension: proposed ground floor plan and rear elevation, with the Property Architecture title block
    Sample drawing. Proposed plan and rear elevation from a planning application set, sheet 03 at 1:50.

    06The papers

    What the drawings rest on

    Rows of brick terraced houses and gardens on a residential streetPlanning drawings
    Photograph: Altaf Shah
    Building regulations section through a rear extension, with the roof, floor, wall and foundation build-ups labelled
    Sample drawing. Section A-A with the build-ups building control checks, sheet 07 at 1:50.

    07Correspondence

    Questions

    Which council covers my Knightsbridge house?

    It depends on the street, because Knightsbridge lies across the boundary of Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea. Send the address and we confirm the council, then the conservation area and any Article 4 direction that applies.

    Can I extend the roof of a Knightsbridge terrace?

    Often not where the parapet line is unbroken. The area audit says such terraces are unlikely to accept roof extensions because they would disrupt group unity. We check your terrace for existing breaks before advising.

    Do basements work differently on the two sides of Knightsbridge?

    Yes. On the Westminster side: Westminster's City Plan 2019-2040 (2026), Policy 50, supports basements only where they extend under no more than 50% of the garden land and are no more than one storey beneath the lowest original floor level, with exceptions for large sites. On the Royal Borough side: An Article 4 direction covering the whole Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea removes permitted development rights for basement extensions to single dwelling houses; it came into force on 28 April 2016. We draw to the rule for your side.

    Can I change the windows on a Knightsbridge house or mews?

    The Westminster audit leaves little room: uPVC or aluminium replacement windows and changed fenestration are listed as detrimental to the area. We start from the original window pattern and draw any repair or replacement to follow it.

    Red-brick mansion blocks and shopfronts on a street corner

    56

    named conservation areas published by the council

    Conservation areas, Westminster. Source: planning.data.gov.uk

    Photograph: Tom McCarten

    08Further reading

    Nearby neighbourhoods

    09Sources

    Sources and dates

    Licences

    Kensington street lined with brick townhouses and lit streetlamps beneath an orange dusk sky

    Send us the address of your house.

    We look up the conservation area, listing and Article 4 position, then reply with a fixed fee. A message before 3pm is answered the same working day.

    Ask for a fixed feeCall 020 7864 7245WhatsApp
    Architectural drawings in Knightsbridge and Hans Town