Luxury Builders
in Chelsea

Prime residential construction in Chelsea

Crown Building works at the top of the London market, and Chelsea is core territory for our team. The projects in our published case studies were delivered under exactly the constraints that define this part of London. Protected fabric, exacting consents, discreet site conduct and clients who judge the result at touching distance.

We do not operate at volume. We compete on execution. Meticulous programming, a trusted specialist supply chain and senior management present on site throughout are the baseline for every commission we accept in Chelsea. The standard does not change with the scale of the project.

What we build in Chelsea

Our residential work spans the full scope of high end building. We deliver architecturally distinctive new build homes, private residence refurbishments and structural reconfigurations, single and multistorey extensions, basement excavations, listed and period property works, and the bespoke joinery and interiors that define a finished home. Each project is delivered as design and build or contractor only, with Crown appointed as your prime residential main contractor, and transparent, itemised pricing from the outset. Commercial occupiers are served by the same teams through our commercial fit out division, and clinical and wellness premises through our healthcare and specialist environments team.

Chelsea's stock runs from artisan cottages off the King's Road to substantial stucco terraces in The Boltons and Chelsea Park conservation areas. Nearly all of it protected, party walled and closely watched by the Royal Borough's planners. Private residence refurbishment dominates: structural openings through Victorian spines, basement amenity space where policy allows, complete services renewal and finish specifications at the top of the market. Our published Chelsea project, delivered at £365 per square foot, demonstrates the discipline: transparent itemised pricing, locked programme, and craftsmanship that stands inspection at touching distance.

Areas we serve

We work across Chelsea and its borders: the King's Road, The Boltons, Chelsea Park, Cheyne Walk and the Royal Hospital quarter, plus South Kensington and Fulham. You can see our full coverage, London within the M25 and a fifteen mile radius of our Watford headquarters, on our areas we cover page.

Basements in Chelsea: what Policy CD11 actually permits

Kensington and Chelsea operates one of the most restrictive basement regimes in the country, and the first thing to know is that there is no permitted development route. A borough wide Article 4 Direction, confirmed in March 2016 and in force from 28 April 2016, removes permitted development rights for basement development, lightwells and any other development below a dwellinghouse or its curtilage anywhere in the Royal Borough. Every basement needs a full planning application.

The governing policy is CD11 in the Local Plan 2024, adopted on 24 July 2024. If you are reading advice that cites Policy CL7, it predates that adoption: the wording carried over largely unchanged but the reference did not. Under CD11 a basement must not exceed fifty per cent of each garden or open part of the site, must not comprise more than one storey, and must retain a minimum of one metre of soil above any part beneath a garden. Excavation underneath a listed building, including its vaults, is not permitted, although a basement in the garden of a listed building may be acceptable where it is structurally independent with a discreetly designed link.

Two details catch people out. The fifty per cent is measured separately for each garden, front, side and rear, not across the plot as a whole, and an existing lightwell with nothing built below it counts as garden. And the "large sites" exception that permits deeper schemes is drawn narrowly: the Council's Basements guidance states plainly that it does not apply to normal detached, semi detached and terraced houses. Our approach to basement conversion sets out the engineering behind an application likely to succeed.

The Cadogan Estate, and why planning permission may not be enough

Much of Chelsea and Knightsbridge sits on the Cadogan Estate, which holds over three thousand flats and houses alongside its commercial portfolio. If your property is one of them, your ability to alter it is governed by your lease as well as by planning law, and the two are separate permissions. Cadogan's own guidance is unambiguous that no alteration work should be undertaken until a Licence to Alter has been obtained and completed.

That process carries its own cost and programme. Cadogan's published Licence to Alter guidelines set an administrative charge of £1,000 plus VAT, payable whether or not the application completes, with solicitors' fees for a routine licence typically £1,800 to £2,000 plus VAT. The Estate may require independent structural, building services or acoustic review at your cost, a draft EPC for the proposed works, an independent schedule of condition of the common parts before work starts, and its own monitoring surveyor during the build. Where noise transference is a known issue in a building, permission for hardwood floors may simply be withheld. None of this is unreasonable, but a programme that has not allowed for it will slip.

Working hours, and what the Code of Construction Practice costs you

The Royal Borough was the first local authority in the country to ban noisy construction work on Saturdays, and it still does. Work audible at the site boundary is permitted from eight until six, Monday to Friday, and at no time on Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays. High impact activities, which include demolition, excavation using percussive equipment and percussive piling, are confined to nine until noon and two until half past five, weekdays only. Deliveries and collections run from half past nine to half past four.

Any basement excavation or extension is a Category 1 site under the Council's Code of Construction Practice, the most heavily monitored category, which means a construction bond currently set at £8,500 including VAT per year or part year for domestic schemes, a Construction Traffic Management Plan in draft with the planning application and in full before commencement, and a Site Construction Management Plan for which the Council asks you to allow at least eight weeks for approval. Work cannot begin until that condition is discharged. We build these lead times into the programme at tender rather than discovering them afterwards.

Speak to us about your Chelsea project

If you are planning a refurbishment, basement or new build in Chelsea, call us on 020 3675 3999 or book a free consultation here. Every enquiry is handled by a director.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Crown Building based?

Crown Building's registered office is at Unit 324-B, The Wenta Business Centre, Colne Way, Watford, WD24 7ND. We work throughout London within the M25 and across Hertfordshire and the Home Counties.

Which areas around Chelsea do you cover?

We work across SW3 and SW10: the King's Road, The Boltons, Chelsea Park, Cheyne Walk, plus South Kensington and Fulham.

Have you completed projects in Chelsea?

Yes. Our published Chelsea case study documents a 3,014 sq ft private residence refurbishment, Calacatta marble kitchen, bespoke joinery, full M&E renewal and smart home integration. Delivered at £365 per square foot.