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Tower Hamlets, London

Planning consultant in Tower Hamlets

Only 12 per cent of Tower Hamlets households live in a house, so most home projects here are flats, and flats have no householder permitted development. Add 64 Article 4 directions and 59 conservation areas, and a planning consultant is often the sensible first call. We advise on a fixed quote after a free constraints check, with MCIAT chartered architectural technologists drawing the scheme.

Fixed quote after a free constraints check

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

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We use it to check conservation areas and constraints.
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    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 planning consultant

    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.

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    Georgian brick terrace with sash windows, arched fanlight doorways, stone steps and iron railings in London

    The local plan and the density guidance Tower Hamlets applies

    The borough works to the Tower Hamlets Local Plan 2031: Managing Growth and Sharing the Benefits. Beneath it sit two supplementary documents that shape many applications, the Central Area Good Growth SPD and the High Density Living SPD.

    The second is the more relevant for a conversion or new unit. It sets expectations for dwelling quality in tall and compact schemes, and an officer will test an application against it even where the building is modest.

    A consultant reads those documents against your flat or house before drawing begins, so the statement answers the points the officer is certain to raise.

    Brick cottage with a tiled roof, chimneys and a front dormer window

    Local figures for Tower Hamlets

    Figures with their unit, period and source
    MeasureValuePeriodSource
    Households living in a house12 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.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
    Conservation areas59 named conservation areas published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    worldHeritageSites2 World Heritage Sites intersecting the LPA boundary—planning.data.gov.uk
    Listed building entries916 list entries (Historic England, within the LPA boundary)—planning.data.gov.uk
    Tree preservation orders72 tree preservation orders published by the council—planning.data.gov.uk
    Minor applications granted84.3 %1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Minor applications decided in time92.3 % decided within 8 weeks or an agreed extended period1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
    Borough CIL residential rate£335.33/m² (Zone 1); £179.64/m² (Zone 2); £59.88/m² (Zone 3)rate for planning permissions granted 1 January to 31 December 2026 (schedule rates £280 / £150 / £50)towerhamlets.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

    Article 4 directions and heritage in the borough

    The council publishes 64 Article 4 directions, mapped as 63 areas, and 59 conservation areas. Together they mean a surprising number of addresses have lost rights that look available on the national map.

    Historic England lists 916 entries here, with 39 on the Heritage at Risk register, and the borough contains 2 World Heritage Sites. A site near either has its design read against that setting.

    There are also 72 tree preservation orders. In a dense borough a single protected street tree can alter where scaffolding, a rear addition or a basement lightwell can go.

    How Tower Hamlets decides applications

    The council decided 191 householder applications in the latest twelve months and granted 92.7 per cent. The sample is small because few properties here are houses, and the figure says little about a flat scheme.

    Minor applications are the larger group, at 427 decisions with 84.3 per cent granted and 92.3 per cent decided in time. That is the class most conversions and small developments fall into.

    Take the grant rate as context, not prediction. Our job is to find what could make your scheme different from the average and deal with it in the statement.

    Planning consultant in Tower Hamlets: how we work an address

    We start with ownership and form: freehold or leasehold, house or flat, and who must consent. Those answers decide which of the designations above can actually bite.

    Then we read the designations, the planning history and any decisions on neighbouring units, and send you a short written view on the route with the main risk named.

    If you go ahead, drawings and statement are prepared together, checked by a second chartered technologist and submitted with the fee. We handle officer queries after that and report each step to you plainly.

    What a Tower Hamlets statement has to cover

    On a flat or conversion in this borough the statement usually has to deal with residential quality, neighbour amenity, any heritage setting and construction impacts in tight streets. Each gets a short, evidenced paragraph rather than a general assurance.

    Where the building is near a listed structure or in one of the conservation areas, the statement also describes the significance of what is affected, in proportion to the change. A modest alteration gets a modest description.

    We keep the language factual and tied to the council documents above, because a clear file is easier for a case officer to assess.

    Construction logistics deserve a line too. Narrow streets and shared access mean officers sometimes ask how materials will arrive and where waste will go, so we note it in the statement before it becomes a condition. We also confirm whether party wall notices are likely, since neighbours here live close and the timing of those notices affects the programme as much as the permission does.

    Levy zones and the fee

    The borough levy is set by zone, at £335.33/m² (Zone 1); £179.64/m² (Zone 2); £59.88/m² (Zone 3). Your zone changes the charge on any new floor space, and a conversion that creates a new unit can attract it.

    The householder application fee is £548, though flats and conversions have different fee lines, so we confirm the correct one for your case first.

    Read our planning drawings in Tower Hamlets and planning appeals support in Tower Hamlets for the follow-on stages.

    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.
    Rear view of brick terraced houses in London with slate roofs and chimney stacks along the shared roofline
    The street around you
    Move across the plinth — the blocks rise around the pointer.

    Other services in Tower Hamlets

    Planning consultant nearby

    Questions

    Does a Tower Hamlets flat need planning permission for alterations?

    Flats have no householder permitted development, so many alterations need an application. We check your lease and the designations before advising a route.

    How many Article 4 directions does Tower Hamlets have?

    The council publishes 64 directions covering 63 mapped areas.

    How many conservation areas are in Tower Hamlets?

    There are 59 conservation areas, and the borough contains 2 World Heritage Sites.

    What does a Tower Hamlets planning consultant cost?

    A fixed quote after a free constraints check. The council fee is separate, and for a householder application it is £548.

    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.

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