The walls, piers and railings of St John’s Wood are all key elements which form the character of the area. They make a major contribution to the streetscape and must be carefully considered.

If your property is a listed building, the boundary wall, railings, gate piers, gates and most other structures within the curtilage are also listed, and Listed Building Consent is required for any change to them.

If your property is not listed but is within the Conservation Area (most parts of St John’s Wood are), then Conservation Area Consent is likely to be required for the removal of any part of the front boundary walls, gates or railings.

The Society does not object to modern gates or railings of high design quality if appropriate to the style of house.

We do resist the creation of streets where all houses are hidden behind high walls and blank gates, or where public access is restricted. This is detrimental to the natural policing of the area by residents and destroys any sense of community. We therefore ask that gates are not made of a solid material to ensure a connection between house and street.

We also request that full width sliding gates are designed sympathetically so that they appear as a pair of traditional gates rather than one wide sliding gate. The width of the opening should be appropriate to the streetscape, not just based upon maximising parking on the front garden.

Railings should be individually leaded into the coping stone as is traditional to the Conservation Area, particularly for our listed villas.

Walls and hedges
Walls and hedges are an important part of the streetscape and should be retained

It looks like a pair of gates
These gates successfully appear as a pair of traditional gates despite being one single sliding gate.

Backing plates
The backing plate to these huge gates allows no connection between house and street

Poor design
These railings are poorly proportioned, sitting on top of a wall that is too high, and lack quality as they are not individually leaded into the coping