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Free 2026 London Planning Report — North Kensington W10

Red-brick houses and apartment buildings with bay windows and balconies standing along a sunlit road under a blue sky.
W10 · North Kensington · Kensington & Chelsea

Planning and building regulation drawings in North Kensington (W10)

North Kensington combines a late-Victorian grid with large post-war estates, and the open ground of Kensal Green Cemetery lies to the north. Its roads include Ladbroke Grove, Golborne Road, Oxford Gardens and St Quintin Avenue. On the terraces of the Oxford Gardens grid the houses are a mix of whole houses and subdivided flats, so a project might be a family extending a house or a leaseholder reworking one floor of a converted building.

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  • Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea granted 94% of 574 householder applications
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The council's stance on the grid is clear from the conservation area. Oxford Gardens and Kensal Green Cemetery are both designated, protecting the Victorian terraces and the cemetery's landscape setting. Within them the Royal Borough applies an Article 4 direction on minor alterations, including works to windows, so replacing windows in the Oxford Gardens conservation area needs permission rather than being an unremarkable job.

Basements are the other main control. Kensington and Chelsea has an Article 4 direction on basements and one of the stricter basement policies in the country, so lower-ground work here is judged carefully and needs a full application. The borough also has a direction covering change from commercial use to residential, relevant on streets with shops and workshops. For the estates, the position depends on who owns and manages the building, which we establish at the start. We look at your address against these layers before suggesting a scheme.

Planning in North Kensington: what to know before you apply

In Kensington and Chelsea, permitted development can rarely be assumed, and North Kensington is no exception inside its conservation areas. A full planning application is usually required, with listed building consent added where a building is listed. Three Article 4 directions apply to the district: one on basements, one on minor alterations in conservation areas including windows, and one on commercial to residential change of use. Under the borough's basement policy, a new basement is generally restricted to one storey, and its extent is controlled. Drawings for the Oxford Gardens grid need to show elevations, window details and materials clearly. We confirm each constraint up front so the application does not stall on a missed designation.

Applications are decided by Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea — its planning pages.

Check your route

Does your North Kensington project need planning permission?

Route check · North Kensington (W10)

Listed building?
Conservation area?
Likely permitted development — no planning applicationNeeds checking
  • A single-storey rear extension up to 4 m deep on a detached house, or 3 m on any other house, is Class A permitted development subject to the height and materials conditions.
  • An Article 4 direction applies here and may withdraw this freedom — the schedule must be checked before relying on it.
  • One or more constraints are unknown — we check the council's registers as part of the free appraisal.
  • Where permitted development applies, a lawful development certificate proves it for lenders and buyers.

Sources: GPDO 2015, Schedule 2, Part 1 · Planning Portal — common projects · Building Regulations 2010 — when approval is needed

This is a first-pass indication from the national rules, not planning advice for your property. Your council's registers, any Article 4 schedule and the exact dimensions decide it — the free appraisal checks all three before we recommend a route.

Confirm it with a free appraisal

North Kensington (W10) in numbers

What Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has decided, and what W10 is built of — the two facts that shape every job here.

Householder planning decisions — Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

North Kensington (W10) applications are decided by Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea; these are its published householder figures for the last four quarters.

Householder applications decided2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1574
Granted541
Refused33
Grantedof 574 decisions · England 90%94%
Decided within 8 weeksof 339, excluding prior approvals97%

Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (PS2 district planning application statistics). Open Government Licence v3.0 Extracted 2026-09-22.

Permitted development prior approvals — Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

How the larger-home-extension route has fared with Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which decides W10 notifications.

Larger home extension prior approvals — not required2024 Q2 to 2026 Q10
Prior approval granted0
Prior approval refused0

Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (PS1 district planning application statistics). Open Government Licence v3.0 Extracted 2026-09-22.

Planning appeals — Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

Refusals in W10 can be appealed to the Planning Inspectorate; this is Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea's householder appeal record.

Householder appeals determined2021–2026188
Allowed81
Allowedof 188 · England 36%43%

Source: Planning Inspectorate appeals casework. Open Government Licence v3.0 Extracted 2026-09-22.

Conservation areas and Article 4 directions — Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea

Register counts for Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. A count describes what the council has published, never a rank against another council.

Conservation areas in the register41 dated, 1968–201941
Article 4 directions in the register84
Areas covered by an Article 4 direction84

Source: MHCLG Planning Data Platform. Open Government Licence v3.0 Extracted 2026-09-22.

What W10 is built of

Residential building form across North Kensington (W10), from 227 classified buildings — the fact that decides party walls, side returns and loft headroom before any policy does.

Attached on more than one side77%
Attached on one side20%
Detached3%
Median building footprint59 m²
Addresses per buildingAbove about 2 means flats and maisonettes dominate3.13
Buildings classified227

Source: Ordnance Survey National Geographic Database (derived statistics). Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026. Extracted 2026-09-22.

  1. Day 0Measured survey of your North Kensington property — or your existing plans if you have them.
  2. About 7 daysDrawings issued for your approval. Free redraws until you are happy.
  3. SubmissionWe validate against Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea’s checklist and submit on your behalf.
  4. Council: 8-week targetHouseholder applications carry an 8-week statutory target. Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea decided 97% of 339 recent householder applications inside it.

Source: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (PS2 district planning application statistics). Open Government Licence v3.0 Extracted 2026-09-22.

Neighbourhoods

Streets and neighbourhoods in W10

North Kensingtonpredominantly late-Victorian with substantial post-war estates
Nearby

Nearby postcode districts

Maida Vale W9Notting Hill W11Kensington W8Shepherds Bush W12Hanwell W7West Ealing W13Hammersmith W6West Kensington W14
FAQ

North Kensington (W10) — FAQs

Do I need permission to replace my windows in North Kensington?+
In the Oxford Gardens conservation area, yes. An Article 4 direction on minor alterations covers works to windows, so a window replacement that changes the look of the frontage needs consent; a genuine like-for-like repair that leaves the appearance unchanged is not development, and we can confirm which side of that line a proposal falls. Outside the conservation area the position can differ, which is why we check the address before advising.
How deep can a basement go under a North Kensington terrace?+
Policy in the borough restricts a new basement to one storey in most cases, and it also limits how far the excavation reaches. An Article 4 direction also removes the permitted development right for basement work, so a full application is needed. We look at both the policy limits and the structure of the house before drawing.
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