Manchester vs Tower Hamlets — planning approval compared

How do planning outcomes differ between Manchester and Tower Hamlets? A side-by-side comparison based on 24,797 combined decisions.

Last updated: February 2026

Manchester: 87.7%

12,663 decisions · 11,108 approved · 1,555 refused · 32 wards

Tower Hamlets: 87.9%

12,134 decisions · 10,667 approved · 1,467 refused · 22 wards

Overall approval rates

Manchester (12,663 decided)

87.7%

Tower Hamlets (12,134 decided)

87.9%

By application type

Advertisement — Manchester (627 decided)

78.8%

Advertisement — Tower Hamlets (517 decided)

82.0%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Manchester (620 decided)

80.6%

Change of Use — Manchester (597 decided)

92.1%

Discharge of Conditions — Manchester (4,091 decided)

84.7%

Discharge of Conditions — Tower Hamlets (3,070 decided)

97.2%

Full — Manchester (5,077 decided)

89.7%

Full — Tower Hamlets (3,864 decided)

78.7%

Listed Building — Manchester (519 decided)

97.5%

Listed Building — Tower Hamlets (830 decided)

88.2%

Other — Manchester (367 decided)

85.6%

Other — Tower Hamlets (3,061 decided)

88.4%

Prior Approval — Manchester (94 decided)

77.7%

Prior Approval — Tower Hamlets (17 decided)

94.1%

Trees — Manchester (671 decided)

97.0%

Trees — Tower Hamlets (775 decided)

98.6%

What the numbers mean

There is a 0.2 percentage point difference in overall approval rates between these councils. Manchester is the stricter of the two, which means similar applications may face higher refusal risk there. However, approval rates vary by ward and application type, so your specific situation may differ from the averages.

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See detailed data

Manchester full data Tower Hamlets full data