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Tower Hamlets, London

Retrospective planning applications in Tower Hamlets

Only 12 per cent of Tower Hamlets households live in a house, so a retrospective application here usually concerns a flat: a new window, a roof terrace, a rear infill, a shopfront turned into a home. The council can approve work after the event, judging it as though it were still a proposal. We survey, draw and present the case. Fixed quote after a free constraints check.

Fixed quote after a free constraints check

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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 retrospective planning applications

    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

    Tower Hamlets policy for a retrospective planning application

    The Tower Hamlets Local Plan 2031: Managing Growth and Sharing the Benefits was adopted in 2,020. The council also publishes the Central Area Good Growth SPD and the High Density Living SPD. None of them gives finished work an easier ride, so an officer applies the same design, amenity and density policies to your building that they would apply to a drawing.

    Those documents were written mainly for larger schemes, which means a small householder case leans on the plan's general design policies. We read them for the points that bear on a single flat or terraced house: the effect on neighbours' daylight and privacy, the materials, and how the change looks from the street or the courtyard.

    The honest advice is sometimes that a change is acceptable on one elevation and not on another, and we price each separately.

    Evidence of timing still helps. Estate agents' particulars, old street photographs and utility bills can show when a change first appeared, which matters if you hope to prove the work lawful rather than apply for permission.

    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
    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
    Householder applications decided in time95.8 % decided within 8 weeks or an agreed extended period1 July 2025 - 30 June 2026assets.publishing.service.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
    Article 4 directions64 Article 4 directions 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
    Households living in a house12 % of households living in a house or bungalow (detached, semi-detached or terraced)Census 2021nomisweb.co.uk
    Local planTower Hamlets Local Plan 2031: Managing Growth and Sharing the Benefits—towerhamlets.gov.uk
    Average house price447,796 GBP2026-07publicdata.landregistry.gov.uk
    Householder: alterations/extensions to a single dwellinghouse, from 1 Apr 2026548 GBP—ribblevalley.gov.uk
    DMPO 2015 art 37(2)(a): householder appeal, from the date of the decision notice12 weeks—legislation.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

    Heritage that reaches into everyday alterations

    Tower Hamlets has 59 conservation areas and 64 Article 4 directions, and the council records 2 World Heritage entries. Historic England lists 916 entries in the borough, with 39 on the Heritage at Risk Register.

    Where a house sits inside these designations, the controls reach small things: replacement windows, painted brickwork, roof lights, front boundaries. An alteration that would be permitted development elsewhere may have needed permission, and that gap is where retrospective applications come from.

    The council also records 72 tree preservation orders. A tree removed or cut back without consent is a separate matter from the building and we flag it if the site is affected.

    Flats, freeholders and leases

    Owner-occupiers are 23.1 per cent of Tower Hamlets households, so most households rent, and many owners hold a lease rather than the freehold. A lease may forbid alterations that planning permission would allow, and a freeholder or management company can require a licence to alter in addition to the council's decision.

    We supply the drawings both processes need, and our measured building survey service records the flat or house as it is, including internal layouts where the lease or building control asks for them. The lease terms themselves are for your solicitor.

    The average Tower Hamlets home sold for £447,796 in the latest Land Registry month, and a buyer's lender will want the position settled before completion.

    A small caseload and what it tells you

    The council decided 191 householder applications in its latest published year, granted 92.7 per cent and decided 95.8 per cent on time or within an agreed extension. The number is modest, and the percentages cover every kind of home extension, so treat them as context for your own case rather than a prediction.

    The same return shows 136 certificate applications for existing development. If the work is old enough, our Lawful Development Certificate drawings in Tower Hamlets may show it is lawful without any application.

    Where a retrospective route is needed, we prepare the planning drawings in the form the council's portal expects.

    Fees, deadlines and the road after a refusal

    The householder fee is £548, paid to the council, and it must decide within 8 weeks unless you agree longer. The time limit for enforcement against most unauthorised building works is 10 years. The borough falls in Mayoral CIL band 2, and we confirm any liability before you apply.

    If the council refuses, 12 weeks run from the decision notice to lodge an appeal, which our planning appeals service can prepare. The full range for the borough is on our architectural drawings in Tower Hamlets page, and the Hackney page covers its northern neighbour.

    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

    Retrospective planning applications nearby

    Questions

    I replaced the windows in my Tower Hamlets flat without permission. Is that a planning matter?

    It can be. The borough has 59 conservation areas and 64 Article 4 directions, which can remove the right to change windows without permission. We check the address first.

    Does my lease matter as well as planning?

    Yes. A lease may require the freeholder's consent separately from the council's decision. We prepare drawings for both, but the lease itself is for your solicitor.

    How long does the council take to decide?

    The statutory period for a householder case is 8 weeks. The council decided 95.8 per cent of householder cases in time in its latest published year.

    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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