Westminster's planning policies
A summary of the several key policies and documents that planning applications in Westminster are determined by.
Westminster's Development Plan
All planning applications in Westminster are determined in accordance with adopted policies in the 'Development Plan'. In Westminster, the Development Plan consists of three parts – the Westminster City Plan (produced by the council), Neighbourhood Plans (produced by designated Neighbourhood Forums with support from the council), and the London Plan (which is produced by the Mayor of London and provides strategic policies for all of Greater London). All such documents can be accessed below.
1 - Westminster's City Plan 2019-2040
- adopted by full council on 21 April 2021
- the City Plan 2019-2040 is the key document used in determining planning applications in Westminster
See our adoption documents:
You can also view an interactive version of the policies map.
More information on the previous stages can be found here.
2 - Neighbourhood Plans
Currently Westminster has six 'made' (adopted) neighbourhood plans:
- the Knightsbridge Neighbourhood Plan, adopted on 11 December 2018
- the Mayfair Neighbourhood Plan, adopted on 24 December 2019
- the Soho Neighbourhood Plan, adopted on 8 October 2021
- the Fitzrovia West Neighbourhood Plan, adopted on 8 October 2021
- the Queen's Park Neighbourhood Plan, adopted on 25 November 2021
- the Pimlico Neighbourhood Plan, adopted on 7 December 2022
- the Belgravia Neighbourhood Plan, adopted on 7 March 2024
Planning applications in any of the areas covered by these Neighbourhood Plans will, therefore, need to respond to these policies in addition to those in the Westminster City Plan and London Plan.
Work is also underway on new neighbourhood plans for other parts of the city. For further information, please see our Neighbourhood Planning webpage.
3 - London Plan
The Mayor of London adopted the London Plan in March 2021
National Planning Policy Framework
The government's National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) 2012 created a structure that assists local councils in creating their own local plans. It is part of the government's reforms to make the planning system less complex and more accessible.
Visit GOV.UK to view the latest version of the NPPF which was published in December 2023,
Policies in the NPPF can be used directly to determine planning applications in Westminster as a material consideration, however, they are not part of Westminster's Development Plan.
Superseded City Plan and saved UDP policies
The City Plan (November 2016) and the saved UDP policies are now superseded and are not part of Westminster's Development Plan. Policies in both documents have now been deleted or replaced by policies in the City Plan 2019-2040.
The City Plan (November 2016) and the saved UDP policies should therefore not be used when determining planning applications in Westminster. However, they may continue to be used when referring to old planning applications or appeals.
The City Plan 2019-2040 Appendix 3 contains a table that sets out which City Plan (November 2016) and UDP saved policies have been deleted. When they have not been deleted, the table sets out which City Plan 2019-2040 policy supersedes them.
See the superseded documents:
Published: 25 January 2021
Last updated: 2 August 2024
