Use the complete address and application boundary to establish whether Westminster or Camden is responsible. St John's Wood and NW8 are not jurisdiction tests.
Westminster adopted the current City Plan 2019–2040 (2026) on 21 January 2026. Its full New City Plan review is emerging work, not adopted policy.
The Camden Local Plan 2017 remains current. The Proposed Submission Draft is still at examination and must not be described as adopted.
The London Plan 2021 remains current. The Draft London Plan consultation from 16 July to 15 October 2026 concerns an emerging plan that is not adopted.
Postcode districts: NW6 / NW8. Neither district selects an authority or conservation designation.
Westminster and Camden publish separate St John's Wood conservation records and maps. Do not infer one designation, boundary or adoption date from the neighbourhood or postcode.
Camden's 2009 appraisal documents two small, separate sections adjoining Westminster. They do not place every Camden or NW8 address in one conservation area.
Older Westminster audits can cite superseded policy. Read the St John's Wood audit for character evidence alongside the current plan and map.
Schedule 2 Part 1 rights apply only to qualifying dwellinghouses and remain subject to every class, limitation, condition, history and live direction. Flats do not use them.
Westminster's city-wide basement Article 4 direction came into force on 31 July 2016. Camden's separate borough-wide basement direction was adopted on 1 June 2017. Other Article 4 controls are address- and operation-specific.
Westminster's Abbey Gardens direction is limited to 1–47 odd and 2–56 even; it is not a neighbourhood-wide control.
For basements, Westminster's policy and Code of Construction Practice are distinct from Camden Policy A5 and its proposal-specific Basement Impact Assessment process. Use proportionate evidence.
Planning permission, listed-building consent, title or landlord consent, Building Regulations or BSR approval, Party Wall procedures and tree controls remain independent.
A service child may be scoped to a verified authority and project. Recheck the address before applying it across the wider place-name.
A neighbouring permission, pre-application discussion or conservation description does not guarantee another site an approval or outcome.
The Westminster and Camden records describe different mapped land. Select the council's live map and the appraisal applicable to the complete site rather than using a single St John's Wood label.
Conservation status does not remove every permitted-development right or prevent every alteration. Test the operation against legislation, directions, policy and history.
Street names, villa character, mansion blocks and proximity to a landmark are context, not proof of authority, designation, listing or a particular control.
An older audit can explain character, but superseded policy references are not the current development plan.
Trees, gardens, boundaries and external work matter as the site, controls and proposal engage them. Survey before drawing conclusions.
Search the National Heritage List and the correct council records by complete address. A nearby listed building, conservation designation or period appearance does not establish listing.
Listed-building consent may be required where work affects special interest, including relevant internal fabric, attached structures or curtilage context.
Listing, planning, title, lease and Building Regulations answer different questions. Identify the affected fabric and each decision-maker before design is fixed.
For the wider local-authority picture — policies, timescales and application routes — see planning in Westminster.
