Westminster.

What the buildings are

Belgravia was laid out in the 1820s by Thomas Cubitt on Grosvenor land: "long stuccoed terraces of uniform mass, height and classical architectural treatment", with the short side streets in brick over stucco ground floors. Pimlico followed from the 1830s to the 1870s, Cubitt again, cream stucco on the squares and "yellow stock brick in Flemish bond with stucco ground floors" in the back streets. Mayfair is older and more mixed: building from 1717, Italianate stucco recladding in the mid nineteenth century, then Queen Anne red brick, then neo-Georgian after the First World War. Across the rest of the city, Bayswater is stucco, Dorset Square and Maida Vale are stock brick and stucco, and the public face of Westminster is Portland stone.

What the council says about paint and cleaning

The Pimlico audit (adopted 2006), paragraph 5.11, is blunt: "There are numerous examples of brickwork which has been painted above ground floor level… In many cases this is irreversible and can cause serious long term damage to brickwork." Its paragraph 5.12 finds porticos "particularly vulnerable to lack of maintenance". The council's conservation-area guidance gives Relton Mews in Knightsbridge as the example of an Article 4 direction under which "planning permission is required for the painting of the brickwork of the front facades". The same document refers readers to two council guides, on stucco care (1994) and on façade cleaning, "the removal of soiling and paint from brick and stone facades" (1995); neither is online now, so ask the council for a copy if you need it.

Consent and advice

Listed building consent "applies to all types of works and covers all parts of the building (interior and exterior)". Westminster has removed permitted development rights in eight conservation areas, including painting the exterior in Abbey Gardens, Bristol Gardens and the Queen's Park Estate. Pre-application advice for householder alterations is £456 for written advice within 28 days (2025–26 schedule; check the current one). Advice on alterations to a listed building starts at £1,500 written only.

Scaffold on the pavement

"All scaffolding placed on or over the public highway in Westminster requires a temporary structure licence", applied for online under the Code of Construction Practice. The fee is not on the public pages; it is quoted on application.

What this means for your job

• Assume your building is in a conservation area (three in four are) and check the listing: with 11,000 listed buildings, many ordinary-looking terraces are Grade II.
• Painted brick above ground floor in Pimlico is exactly the problem the council wants reversed; paint removal and gentle cleaning is the right job here.
• Stucco repair and repainting must match the established colour, and on the Grosvenor Estate may need the estate's licence too.
• Portland stone fronts: trial patch, superheated water or poultice, never "as new".