SW3 2LS Kensington and Chelsea
Live postcode, introduced January 1980. Ward: Brompton & Hans Town. Region: London.
Streets
- Rawlings Street, Chelsea: 37 addresses
- Rosemoor Street, Chelsea: 1 address
Council tax
What each band costs in Kensington and Chelsea in 2026-27: Band D £1,667 a year on average, including the police, fire and any county and parish charges.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £1,111 | £1,296 | £1,481 | £1,667 | £2,037 | £2,407 | £2,778 | £3,333 |
Homes by band in the neighbourhood around this postcode: most are in band H (50% of about 960 homes).
Planning and heritage
- Conservation area: yes, Chelsea, Chelsea. Extensions, demolition, some windows and doors, and work on trees need consent.
- Listed buildings within 100 m of this postcode: 4.
- Article 4 direction (removing permitted development rights): Article 4 - No 100.
- Tree preservation orders: in a protected area: 26.
- Green belt: no.
Listed buildings
- 1-23, HALSEY STREET SW3, grade II
- 10, MILNER STREET SW3, grade II
- 24-47, HALSEY STREET SW3, grade II
- SHUCKBURGH ARMS PUBLIC HOUSE, grade II
Brownfield land registered for housing within 1.0 km
- Clearings Draycott Avenue: up to 78 homes, permissioned (130 m)
- Colebrook Court, 75 Sloane Avenue: up to 20 homes, not permissioned (230 m)
- Colebrook Court, 75 Sloane Avenue: up to 20 homes, not permissioned (230 m)
- 2 Lucan Place, London, SW3 3PB: up to 32 homes, permissioned (270 m)
- 60-62 Walton Street SW3 2HH: up to 6 homes, permissioned (300 m)
- 196 to 222 King's Road: up to 39 homes, permissioned (640 m)
- 196 to 222 King's Road: up to 20 homes, permissioned (640 m)
- South Kensington Station: up to 20 homes, not permissioned (660 m)
Flood risk
Rivers, the sea or surface water: in this postcode, 0 addresses are in areas at high risk, 0 at medium risk and 7 at low risk. Each address counts once, at the higher of its rivers-and-sea and surface-water risk.
Rivers and the sea alone: no home is in an area at risk.
High: 3.3% (1 in 30) or more chance of flooding a year. Medium: 1% to 3.3%. Low: 0.1% to 1%. Very low: under 0.1%. The rivers and sea figures allow for flood defences. Counts cover whole postcodes, which can include other streets.
Flood zone for planning: no postcode centre is in flood zone 2 or 3.
Height above sea level
The postcode's addresses are about 8 m above sea level.
Broadband
Superfast 96%, ultrafast 96%, gigabit 96% of premises; 0% cannot get 10 Mbit/s. Ofcom Connected Nations, data as at January 2026.
Getting around
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Railway stations | London Victoria 54 million journeys in 2024–25 | 1.3 km |
| Battersea Park 2.2 million journeys in 2024–25 | 2.2 km | |
| West Brompton 4.5 million journeys in 2024–25 | 2.3 km | |
| Underground, metro or tram | Sloane Square Underground Station | 520 m |
| South Kensington Underground Station | 730 m | |
| Knightsbridge Underground Station | 930 m | |
| Bus stops | 12 stops within 400 m, 56 within 800 m; nearest Marlborough Primary School Brompton | 200 m |
| Bus or coach station | Victoria Station | 1.3 km |
| Ferry terminal | Cadogan Pier Chelsea | 1.2 km |
| Car parks | 4 within 800 m; nearest Fulham Road Car Park | 560 m |
| EV charging points | 58 within 1.6 km; nearest Shell Recharge | 60 m |
| Airport with scheduled flights | London City Airport LCY | 15.3 km |
| Nearest large airport | London Heathrow Airport LHR | 20.7 km |
Local services
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| GP surgeries | 11 practices within 1.6 km; nearest Knightsbridge Medical Centre | 570 m |
| Pharmacies | 20 pharmacies within 1.6 km; nearest Chelsea Pharmacy | 220 m |
| NHS dentists | 18 practices within 1.6 km; nearest Happy Kids Dental Practice Limited | 270 m |
| Hospital | Royal Brompton Hospital | 660 m |
| Police station | Chelsea Police Station | 260 m |
| Cash machines | 3 machines within 800 m; nearest Cashpoint® 33-33A Kings Road Lloyds Bank | 360 m |
Parks and green space
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Park or garden | 23 within 800 m; nearest Unnamed 3,990 m² | 170 m |
| Largest park within 800 m | Eaton Square Gardens 2.4 ha | 690 m |
| Play area | 3 within 800 m; nearest Unnamed 400 m² | 80 m |
| Playing field | 2 within 800 m; nearest St Luke's Gardens 5,940 m² | 510 m |
| Allotments | Unnamed 760 m² | 2.7 km |
Within 800 m: 23 parks and gardens, 13 hectares in all.
Landmarks
The nearest historic landmark is Church of St Simon Zelotes, a listed building (Grade II*), 160 m north-east. 611 listed buildings are within 1.0 km, 13 of them Grade I and 45 of them Grade II*.
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| Church of St Simon Zelotes | Listed building, Grade II* | 160 m north-east |
| Church of St Mary | Listed building, Grade II* | 160 m east |
| 68, Cadogan Square Sw1 | Listed building, Grade II* | 190 m north-east |
| 72, Cadogan Square Sw1 | Listed building, Grade II* | 190 m north-east |
| Cadogan Place | Registered park or garden, Grade II | 510 m north-east |
| Hans Place | Registered park or garden, Grade II | 510 m north |
| Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey and St. Margaret's Church | World Heritage Site | 2.7 km east |
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| Chelsea Reach | Tidal water | 1.2 km south |
| The Serpentine | Lake or reservoir | 1.3 km north |
| Ransome's Dock | Lake or reservoir | 1.5 km south |
| Fountain Lake | Lake or reservoir | 1.5 km south |
| Holland Park | Wood | 3.0 km west |
| Barrow Hill | Hill | 4.9 km north |
Air quality
| Pollutant | Here | UK limit | WHO guideline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 24.9 | 40 | 10 |
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 9.6 | 20 | 5 |
| Particles (PM10) | 15.9 | 40 | 15 |
All three are within the UK legal limits; all three are above the WHO guideline, as in most towns and cities.
Road, rail and aircraft noise
| Level | Road traffic | Railways | Aircraft |
|---|---|---|---|
| 70 to 74 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 65 to 69 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 60 to 64 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 55 to 59 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| Under 55 | 28 | 22 | 38 |
10 of the postcode's 38 addresses are modelled at 55 dB or more from road traffic, and 16 from railways, above the WHO guidelines.
People and work
Who lives here
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Median age | 38 | 40 |
| Children under 15 | 19% | 17% |
| Aged 65 and over | 10% | 18% |
Homes
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Owned (outright or with a mortgage) | 55% | 61% |
| Owned outright | 34% | 33% |
| Shared ownership | 0% | 1% |
| Social rented | 6% | 17% |
| Private rented | 39% | 21% |
Work and commuting
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Adults (16 and over) in work | 59% | 57% |
| Unemployment (of those working or looking for work) | 3% | 6% |
| Retired (of adults) | 13% | 22% |
| Long-term sick or disabled (of adults) | 0% | 4% |
| Work mainly from home (of those in work) | 64% | 32% |
| Travel to work by car or van | 7% | 48% |
| By train, Underground, metro or tram | 12% | 4% |
| By any public transport, including bus | 13% | 8% |
| On foot or by bicycle | 15% | 10% |
| Work within 10 km of home (of those who travel to work) | 100% | 65% |
| Work 30 km or more away | 0% | 8% |
Education and languages
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Degree or other higher qualification, Level 4+ (of adults) | 69% | 34% |
| No qualifications | 0% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship as highest qualification | under 1% | 5% |
| Main language English (aged 3 and over) | 90% | 91% |
| Cannot speak English well or at all | 0% | 2% |
Deprivation
The neighbourhood around this postcode is in decile 7 of 10 on the English Indices of Deprivation 2025, where 1 is the most deprived tenth of England's 33,755 neighbourhoods and 10 the least.
The full dossier for this postcode's main street is on Rawlings Street.