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Tower Hamlets, London

Lawful Development Certificate in Tower Hamlets

In Tower Hamlets a Lawful Development Certificate is only available where your street has kept its permitted development rights, and 59 conservation areas plus 64 Article 4 directions make that the question to settle first. We check the address free, then draw and submit the application from £645 including VAT.

From £645 (VAT included)

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  • Fixed fees, VAT included

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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.
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    Where a Tower Hamlets certificate is possible

    Designation is dense here. The borough has 59 conservation areas, 64 Article 4 directions mapped as 63 separate areas, and 916 listed building entries. With that many layers, the address check is never a formality.

    Each layer does something different. A conservation area bars side extensions, cladding and rear extensions of more than one storey under Class A. An Article 4 direction removes a named right locally. Listing takes a house out of the ordinary system for most alterations, and consent is needed whatever a certificate says.

    We lay your plot over all three before we quote, and send you a short note of what we found. Where the answer is no, you save the cost of drawings that could not succeed and can go straight to planning drawings in Tower Hamlets.

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    Local figures for Tower Hamlets

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Conservation areas59 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Article 4 directions64 Article 4 directions published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Article 4 direction areas63 Article 4 direction area polygons published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries916 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    Lawful development certificate applications (PS1)136 certificates2025 Q2 to 2026 Q1 (1 Apr 2025 to 31 Mar 2026)assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder decisions191 decisions1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Householder applications granted92.7 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    GPDO 2015 Sch 2 Pt 1 Class A, para A.1(f)(i)3 m (attached) / 4 m (detached) beyond the original rear wall, single storey—legislation.gov.uk
    Class A, para A.1(f)(ii): single-storey rear extension height4 m—legislation.gov.uk
    GPDO 2015 Sch 2 Pt 1 Class B, para B.1(d)40 m³ (terrace house) / 50 m³ (any other house) additional roof volume—legislation.gov.uk
    Class A, para A.1(b)Buildings (other than the original house) may not cover more than 50% of the curtilage—legislation.gov.uk
    Lawful Development Certificate: proposed use or operationHalf the normal planning fee (householder: £274)—ribblevalley.gov.uk
    DMPO 2015 art 39(10)(a)8 weeks—legislation.gov.uk
    Households living in a house12 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    worldHeritageSites2 World Heritage Sites intersecting the LPA boundary—planning.data.gov.uk
    Tree preservation orders72 tree preservation orders published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Heritage at Risk entries39 Heritage at Risk Register entries within the LPA boundary (Historic England)—planning.data.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

    Dense housing, few houses

    The borough's development plan is the Tower Hamlets Local Plan 2031: Managing Growth and Sharing the Benefits, adopted in 2,020, supported by documents such as the High Density Living SPD. Its policies are written for a dense, flat-heavy borough, and that has a direct effect on certificates.

    Householder permitted development does not apply to a flat or a building containing flats. Many Tower Hamlets homes are flats, so only a freehold house that has not been converted can use the route. We ask about tenure and conversion history in the first call.

    Where a freehold terrace does qualify, the certificate is useful. A buyer's solicitor will ask for it, and it fixes the position before a builder starts.

    What the planning returns say about certificates

    The government's planning returns record 136 lawful development certificate applications in Tower Hamlets over the latest year. Only 12 per cent of the borough's households live in a house, which limits who can use the route at all.

    On the planning side, the council decided 191 householder applications and granted 92.7 per cent. These figures describe applications for permission, not certificates, and we give them only as background.

    If you own a freehold house, the first step is a short call and a plot check. We confirm tenure, original use and any later conversion, then tell you in writing whether the certificate route is open, before any drawing fee is spent.

    The limits an east London terrace must meet

    Where rights survive, a single-storey rear extension may reach 3 m (attached) / 4 m (detached) beyond the original rear wall, single storey and stand no higher than 4 metres. Under Class B a loft may add 40 m³ (terrace house) / 50 m³ (any other house) additional roof volume.

    Narrow plots make the curtilage rule matter. The Order says: Buildings (other than the original house) may not cover more than 50% of the curtilage. In a small yard a rear extension and a garden room can reach that cap quickly, so we total the areas before you commit.

    We measure from the original house, so an older extension already uses part of the allowance. The survey records it, and a second chartered technologist checks the sums.

    World Heritage, trees and the rest of the register

    The borough contains 2 World Heritage Sites, and it lists 21 entries at Grade I and 39 at Grade II*. A house near one of these may sit in a conservation area, which narrows the Class A rights. We check the setting as well as the address.

    Trees are the other constraint people forget. Tower Hamlets records 72 tree preservation orders. A certificate does not give consent to work on a protected tree, so a rear extension close to a mature garden tree needs its own check before the drawings are final.

    The borough also has 39 entries on the Heritage at Risk Register. If your building is one of them, we say so early, because repairs and alterations to such a building are handled with extra care.

    Fee, drawings and next steps

    The council fee for a proposed-use certificate is set nationally: Half the normal planning fee (householder: £274). Ours is quoted fixed, and we redraw at no charge if the officer asks for changes.

    The statutory period for a decision is 8 weeks. Once a certificate is granted, building regulations drawings in Tower Hamlets cover the structure.

    Across the river and the boundary the rules shift: see Newham, Hackney and Southwark, or start from architectural drawings in Tower Hamlets.

    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
    Locked in
    Bring the pointer close to the padlock.

    Other services in Tower Hamlets

    Lawful Development Certificates nearby

    Questions

    Can I get an LDC in a Tower Hamlets conservation area?

    Sometimes, but the Class A rights are cut back: no side extensions, no cladding and no rear extension of more than one storey. The borough has 59 conservation areas, so we check first.

    Do Tower Hamlets Article 4 directions affect a certificate?

    Yes where one covers your plot. The borough has 64, each removing a named right locally.

    How much does an LDC cost in Tower Hamlets?

    Our fee starts at £645 including VAT. The council's fee is separate: Half the normal planning fee (householder: £274).

    Can a flat owner in Tower Hamlets use an LDC?

    Not for householder extensions. Those rights do not apply to flats or buildings containing flats.

    Sources and dates

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    Tell us about your property.

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

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