Planning decisions in Tower Hamlets
How long Tower Hamlets takes to decide a planning application and how many it approves, from the 1,283 decisions it made in the twelve months to September 2026. Days run from validation to decision, the clock the council reports against; the wait from receipt is shown beside it. How the figures are made.
56 daysmedian from validation to decision (UK 54); 56 from receipt
65%decided within eight weeks (UK 66%), 87% within thirteen
90%approved (UK 90%): 1,157 approved, 122 refused
275 of 388UK rank for speed, down 145 places on last year; 216 of 388 for approvals
By kind of application
| Kind | Median days | Within 8 weeks | Approved | Decisions | UK rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full applications | 56 | 62% | 85% | 410 | 111 of 359 |
| Discharge of conditions | 56 | 51% | 98% | 320 | 234 of 310 |
| Amendments | 40 | 70% | 93% | 136 | 118 of 356 |
| Tree works | 41 | 99% | 100% | 111 | 178 of 324 |
| Listed building consent | 56 | 63% | 90% | 106 | 85 of 307 |
| Lawful development certificates | 48 | 85% | 88% | 89 | 103 of 348 |
| Advertisement consent | 56 | 66% | 84% | 83 | 207 of 320 |
| Prior approvals * | 42 | 89% | 65% | 21 | 272 of 340 |
Delegated or committee
| Route | Share | Median days | Approved | Decisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delegated to officers | over 99% | 56 | 91% | 1,280 |
| Planning committee | under 1% | 69 | 33% | 3 |
Where the register states how the decision was made.
Appeals
83 appeals against Tower Hamlets decisions were decided by the Planning Inspectorate in the window, 68 for every 100 refusals; 27% were allowed. Every appeal in Tower Hamlets.
By year
| Year decided | Median days | Within 8 weeks | Approved | Decisions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 * | 56 | 57% | 88% | 322 |
| 2017 * | 53 | 95% | 47% | 96 |
| 2018 * | 55 | 100% | 4% | 199 |
| 2019 * | 52 | 77% | 90% | 88 |
| 2020 * | 56 | 75% | 89% | 84 |
| 2021 * | 54 | 86% | 90% | 114 |
| 2022 * | 56 | 60% | 78% | 124 |
| 2023 * | 56 | 62% | 79% | 99 |
| 2024 * | 41 | 93% | 98% | 130 |
| 2025 * | 56 | 67% | 78% | 126 |
| 2026 so far | 56 | 65% | 91% | 1,267 |
* Years from our archive, which carries no validation date: timed from receipt, so a few days longer than the live years above them.
Past their target date now
- South Quay Plaza 4, Marsh Wall, London, E14DoV to capture changes in AH trigger and the inclusion of an escrowdue 7 Aug 2025
- South Quay Plaza 1-3, Marsh Wall, London, E14DoV to capture changes to remove occupation trigger (linked to DoV to SQP 4 PA/15/03073) and alter number and mix of residential units (linkdue 8 Aug 2025
- Ground Floor, Marina Point, 14 Lanark Square, London E14 9QDSubmission of detail pursuant to condition no .3 (Construction Management Plan) of planning permission PA/24/01778 dated 10/12/2024due 8 Sept 2025
- 2-12 Cambridge Heath Road, London, E1 5QHApplication to modify the S106 Agreement Dated 17/12/2014, relating to planning permission PA/14/01045. Amendments proposed: - Removal of thdue 19 Sept 2025
- Marian Place Gasholder Site, Bethnal Green, London, E2 9APSubmission of details pursuant to condition no.57 (Scheme of permanent heritage interpretation) of planning permission ref: PA/19/02717, datdue 1 Oct 2025
- Tower Hamlets Town Hall, 160 Whitechapel Road, London, E1 1BJT1 (Large London Plane Tree) reduce by 2.0MTRS and T2, T3, T4 T5, T6, T7 & T8 ( x7 Small London Plane Trees) to reduce by 0.5/1.0MTRSdue 3 Oct 2025
- 56 - 58 Marsh Wall, London E14 9TPApplication for Non-Material amendment to planning permission ref: PA/22/00591, Dated 28/07/2023. Non Material amendment(s) Sought: The appldue 13 Oct 2025
- Unit 12, 56 Commercial Road, London, E1 1LPSubmission of details pursuant to condition no.5 (car free) of planning permission ref: PA/20/00303, dated 07/04/2020due 13 Oct 2025
Decided in the last three weeks
- Admin Block, Telehouse, Coriander Avenue, London, E14 2AASubmission of details pursuant to condition 18 (Carbon Verification Report) of planning permission ref PA/22/01526, dated 07/08/2023Approved26 Oct 2026
- Aberfeldy Estate, Phase A, Land to the north of East India Dock Road (A13), east of the Blackwall Tunnel Northern Approach Road (A12) and to the south west of Abbott Road.Submission of details pursuant to condition no.84 (Digital Connectivity) (Partial discharge in relation to Phase A only and covers blocks F,Approved23 Oct 2026
- 13 Cavendish Terrace, Tredegar Square, London, E3 5AYRear garden with no side access T1 & T2 - 2x X Large Sycamores Tree's are severely overgrown and has recently shed a large limb. - Fell andApproved23 Oct 2026
- Canary Wharf College, 169 East Ferry Road, London, E14 3BAx1 Ivy Tree (G6) - Cut back to boundary lineApproved23 Oct 2026
- Railway Arches, 352-355 Yorkshire Road, London, E14Proposed demolition of a rear extension, external works including vegetation removal, masonry repairs, roof replacement, alterations to theApproved23 Oct 2026
- 71 Lichfield Road, London, E3 5ALReplacement of the existing rear window with a double-glazed heritage-style uPVC sash window, installation of two rooflights to provide natuApproved23 Oct 2026
- 99 Mile End Road, London E1Works to Conifer Trees - T1, T2, T3, T4, T5,T6, T7, T8, T9, T10 and T11 to be removed to ground level.Approved23 Oct 2026
- Tower Of London, Tower Hill, London, EC3N 4AESubmission of detail pursuant to condition no.9 (Habitat Management and Monitoring Plan) of planning permission ref: PA/26/00292, dated 17/0Approved23 Oct 2026
Built nightly from Tower Hamlets's planning register. Ranks are among the 388 published councils. See planning applications in Tower Hamlets, appeals, or get alerts for Tower Hamlets.
About these figures
How are decision times measured?
Days from the date the council validated the application to the date it decided it, for applications approved or refused in the window. That is the clock councils report against and the official statistics use. Each council’s page also shows the count from receipt, which is what the applicant actually waited. Withdrawn and undecided applications are not timed.
Why do these figures differ from the council’s own?
Councils count an agreed extension of time as decided on time; we treat the calendar as the calendar. Our figures are also live and rolling, where official statistics are quarterly and annual. So a council’s own within-eight-weeks figure will usually sit a little above ours.
What counts as approved?
Approval rate is approvals divided by approvals plus refusals. Withdrawals, and decisions whose outcome the register does not state, are counted in the totals but not in the rate.
Why is a council missing?
A council is published when it has at least 25 timed decisions in the window and its register’s decision data passes our consistency checks. Councils that fail are listed with the reason rather than shown with a number that would mislead.
How often is this updated?
Nightly, from the decisions we collect from every council register we monitor. The window is the twelve months to the last complete month.