020 7864 7245Request a fixed quote

Tower Hamlets, London

Biodiversity net gain plan in Tower Hamlets

A biodiversity net gain plan in Tower Hamlets usually concerns a yard, a street tree or a strip of planting on a tight urban site. The statutory gain is 10 per cent, but many home projects here fall under an exemption. We tell you which side of the line yours sits on, on a fixed quote after a free constraints check.

Fixed quote after a free constraints check

  • MCIAT chartered
  • £2m PI insured
  • LABC Partnered
  • Fixed fees, VAT included

Request a fixed quote

We use it to check conservation areas and constraints.
Pick the council that decides your application.
A few lines: what you want to build, and anything the council has already said.
Add photos or drawings

Drop files here or choose from your device

PDF, JPG, PNG, DWG · up to 10 files, 90 MB in total

    Architectural model of a four-storey London stucco townhouse in its terrace, with a portico, area railings, sash windows, a cornice and chimney stacks
    The house as it stands: four storeys over a lower ground floor.Existing Proposed worksAn illustrative model, built for this page.

    How we work on biodiversity net gain plans

    Seven steps from first call to approval.

    The same model cut through the middle: every floor, the stair, the chimney breasts, the new mansard, rear extension and basement in section
    Section through the model: every floor on one datum.

    1. Enquiry and constraints check

      We check the property against conservation areas, listed status, Article 4 directions, tree preservation orders, flood zone and planning history. We choose the right route and send a fixed quote.

    2. Measured survey

      We survey the house on one datum: rooms, levels, boundaries, drains, trees and the neighbours' windows that the 45° and 25° tests depend on.

    3. Design options

      We model the house in Revit and show you options in 3D and plan, with the planning strategy and the precedents in your street.

    4. Design frozen

      You choose an option in writing. Nothing changes after this without your say.

    5. Independent check

      A second chartered technologist checks every sheet against the council's validation checklist and the policy. A senior review signs it off before anything is submitted.

    6. Submission

      We prepare the forms, certificates, fee and documents and submit through the Planning Portal.

    7. Officer liaison

      We answer the planning officer and make any amendments within five working days, at no charge until approval.

    Free redraws until approval. Every drawing set is checked independently, and the checker is never the person who drew it.

    Request a fixed quote
    Rear view of brick terraced houses in London with slate roofs and chimney stacks along the shared roofline

    How biodiversity net gain applies in Tower Hamlets

    As far as we have read, Tower Hamlets applies the national rule. We have not found a published local percentage above the statutory one, and the council's data gives no biodiversity rule with a value that we can quote, so this page does not claim one. The development plan is the Tower Hamlets Local Plan 2031: Managing Growth and Sharing the Benefits, adopted in 2,020.

    The national position is straightforward. Householder applications, including extensions and loft conversions, are exempt, and so are schemes granted by a development order such as permitted development. Where a scheme is not exempt, the plan has to show at least 10 per cent more biodiversity value after the work than before it, maintained for at least 30 years.

    In practice, we begin with your plot: its area, its surfaces and what grows on it. In a dense borough these facts often settle the question in a single phone call.

    Pencil resting on a dimensioned technical drawing beside a scale rule

    Local figures for Tower Hamlets

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Environment Act 2021 Sch 14 para 2, inserting Sch 7A TCPA 1990: 'relevant percentage' 10%10 %—legislation.gov.uk
    Sch 7A para 9(3) as inserted: enhancement maintained for at least 30 years after completion30 years—legislation.gov.uk
    'Developments of 0.2 hectares or below': from 6 August 2026 BNG does not apply where the site area within the red line boundary is 0.2 ha or below0.2 ha—gov.uk
    Tree preservation orders72 tree preservation orders published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Tree preservation zones1 tree preservation zone polygons published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Conservation areas59 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries916 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    Domestic gardens share of land (GLUD 2005)7.4 % of land that is domestic garden (GLUD 2005)2005data.london.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted92.7 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Minor applications granted84.3 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk

    A blank value means the figure has not been published, not that there are none. Check your own address with the council.

    Councils bordering Tower Hamlets
    Which application your project needsLawful Development Certificate decision: 8 weeks. Prior approval decision: 42 days. Householder decision: 8 weeksYour projectWithin permitted development?Lawful Development CertificatePrior approvalHouseholder applicationYesLarger rear extensionNoABC

    Which application your project needs

    The usual route for a house; flats and listed buildings follow other rules.

    A · Lawful Development Certificate decision
    8 weeks
    B · Prior approval decision
    42 days
    C · Householder decision
    8 weeks

    Small sites, trees and the exemptions that matter here

    Domestic gardens cover only 7.4 per cent of the borough's land, and 12 per cent of households live in a house, so the typical project is a small plot or a flat. Nationally, a site of 0.2 hectares or below can fall outside the rule, and a development that harms less than 25 square metres of on-site habitat, or 5 metres of linear habitat, is outside the rule as well.

    Trees are where a small site can still become a biodiversity matter. The borough records 72 tree preservation orders and 1 protected zone, so a protected tree on or beside your site can change what you may remove, whatever the metric says.

    If the site holds a mature tree, a green roof or an overgrown yard, keep dated photographs of it as it is now, and do not clear it before we speak. The baseline is the site as it was before any clearance.

    Heritage and constraints beside a BNG plan

    Tower Hamlets has 59 conservation areas, 64 Article 4 directions and 916 listed entries, plus 2 World Heritage Sites and 5 registered parks and gardens. A planting scheme near a listed building or in a conservation area is also a heritage design choice.

    That is why we do not treat the plan as a standalone document. The habitat map, the proposed planting and the landscape sheet should agree with the elevations and with the heritage statement, so the officer reads one coherent proposal.

    Historic England lists 39 borough entries on its Heritage at Risk Register, and we mention any that neighbour your site in the free check.

    What the planning statistics say about the borough

    The council decided 191 householder applications in its latest year, granted 92.7 per cent and decided 95.8 per cent in time. Householder applications are exempt from biodiversity net gain, so those figures describe the exempt majority.

    For minor applications, such as a small new home on a backland plot, the council decided 427 and granted 84.3 per cent. Those are projects that can meet the rule, which is why the exemption check comes first.

    Our new build drawings in Tower Hamlets include the landscape layout a plan relies on, and the planning drawings in Tower Hamlets carry the application.

    Price and next steps

    A biodiversity net gain plan has no list price, because the scope depends on the habitats on the site. After the free check you receive a fixed quote, or a plain statement that an exemption applies and no plan is needed.

    For the borough overview, see architectural drawings in Tower Hamlets. To the north, Waltham Forest offers a very different mix of garden land, and the national rules are on the biodiversity net gain plan hub.

    What you receive

    Planning drawing sheet for a rear extension with plans, elevations and sections
    Sample drawing. Planning drawings for a rear extension: plans, elevations and sections on one sheet set.
    Rows of brick terraced houses and gardens on a residential street
    The street around you
    Move across the plinth — the blocks rise around the pointer.

    Other services in Tower Hamlets

    Biodiversity net gain plans nearby

    Questions

    Does my Tower Hamlets extension need a biodiversity net gain plan?

    No. Householder applications, which cover extensions and loft conversions, are exempt, as is development permitted by a development order. The form must still say why the condition does not apply.

    Is a small plot in Tower Hamlets exempt?

    A site of 0.2 hectares or below is exempt unless priority habitat is affected, and impacts below 25 square metres of habitat are excluded.

    Do tree preservation orders affect a BNG plan?

    They do not change the metric, but with 72 orders in the borough, a protected tree can limit what you may remove.

    What does a plan cost?

    A fixed quote after a free constraints check, because the scope depends on the habitats on the site.

    Sources and dates

    City of London skyline glowing at dusk across the Thames under a dramatic orange sky

    Tell us about your property.

    We check the constraints, then send a fixed fee. Messages before 3pm get a reply the same working day.

    Request a fixed quoteCall 020 7864 7245WhatsApp