01Planning
Kensington and Chelsea, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
Heritage statements for houses in Kensington and Chelsea
The Royal Borough's validation list asks for something few councils do: a note of any underfloor heating, tanking, recessed downlighters and new service or drainage runs in a listed house, alongside the schedule of works and a full materials specification. We cover all of it in the statement, so the officer does not need to write back. From £655, fixed before we start.
From £655
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Our fee for heritage statement: from £655, no VAT to add. Covered in full, with its own guide and fee, at fixedfeeplans.co.uk.
02The fee
One fixed fee, published
What you get
- A heritage impact assessment for listed building consent, or a significance statement for a conservation area
- A schedule of works and the materials specification the validation list calls for
- Contextual and detailed photographs of everything to be altered or removed
- A note of any underfloor heating, tanking, recessed lighting or new service runs
- Elevation and section drawings at 1:20, with finer details at 1:5
- Free revisions if the case officer asks for them before the council decides
Council fees are paid to the Royal Borough and are separate from our fee. We can prepare the statement alone or with the consent drawings.
03How it runs
Note 22: what a listed building assessment holds
41
Conservation areas the national planning data lists for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Source: planning.data.gov.uk
04Planning
The council's list, and its age
The Local Validation List the Royal Borough links from its application page today is dated 10 March 2023. It asks for a heritage statement for listed building consent, for the substantial or total loss of a building in a conservation area, and for works affecting the setting of a listed building or conservation area.
The list quotes Local Plan policies CL1 to CL4 from an earlier plan, so we use it for what to submit and take the policy references from the plan now in force.
05Planning
The services detail
Note 22 of the list describes the heritage impact assessment for a listed house. Beyond the schedule of works and photographs, it lists details of works involving underfloor heating, tanking, recessed downlighters or new service and drainage runs. These are the interventions that cut through historic floors and ceilings, and they are the ones that draw conservation officers' questions.
We ask your mechanical and electrical designer, or specify the routes ourselves, before the statement is written, so each new run is shown against the historic structure rather than left for a condition.
06Planning
Drawings and specification the assessment depends on
For windows, doors, shopfronts and similar features the note asks for elevation and section drawings at 1:20 or larger, with architraves, sills, glazing bars, lintels, panelling and mouldings at 1:5 or finer. It asks for a detailed specification of all materials, with samples where appropriate, and for historic plans or photographs where a lost feature is being put back.
That is a drawing task as much as a writing one, and it is why we prefer to prepare the statement and the consent drawings together from one survey.
07Planning
A borough of conservation areas
The national planning data lists 41 conservation areas and 1,350 list entries in the Royal Borough. For works that affect setting, the list asks for a written statement with plans showing historic features, an analysis of significance and the effect on the listed building or the area, and advises applicants to discuss the proposal with a planning or conservation officer first. We can prepare the questions for that meeting.
08The record
Figures that shape the job
41
Conservation areas the national planning data lists for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Source: planning.data.gov.uk, conservation-area dataset, checked 25 Oct 2026
1,350
Historic England list entries inside the Royal Borough's planning boundary.
Source: planning.data.gov.uk, listed-building dataset, checked 25 Oct 2026
Note 22
The note in the council's local validation list that sets out the heritage statement and the heritage impact assessment for listed building consent.
Source: Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Local Validation List, 10 March 2023, checked 25 Oct 2026
1:20
The scale of elevation and section drawings the note asks for when windows, doors or shopfronts are altered, with 1:5 for finer details.
Source: Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Local Validation List, 10 March 2023, checked 25 Oct 2026
3
The situations that trigger a heritage statement in the council's list: listed building consent, loss of a building in a conservation area, and effects on the setting of a listed building or conservation area.
Source: Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Local Validation List, 10 March 2023, checked 25 Oct 2026
HE6
National policy: substantial weight is given to the conservation of a designated asset, and the more important the asset the greater the weight.
Source: National Planning Policy Framework, chapter 20, checked 25 Oct 2026
09Questions
What clients ask before they instruct us
Do I need a heritage statement for work in a Kensington and Chelsea conservation area?
The validation list names three situations: listed building consent, the substantial or total loss of a building in a conservation area, and works that affect the setting of a listed building or conservation area. We check your proposal against them and give you the answer before you commit.
Why does the list ask about underfloor heating and downlighters?
Because each one involves cutting into historic floors, ceilings or walls. The list wants those works described alongside the rest of the schedule so officers can judge the effect on the fabric.
The list is from 2023. Does that matter?
It is the list the council links today, so we meet it. We also read the current Local Plan, so the policy references in your statement are those the officer applies, not the ones the 2023 document quotes.
Can you also prepare the listed building consent drawings?
Yes. Many clients take the statement and the drawings together, since the survey and the photographs serve both. The statement alone is a fixed £655.
10Boroughs
The same service in other boroughs
11Related
Related services and guides
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.