Tower Hamlets vs Kensington & Chelsea — planning approval compared

How do planning outcomes differ between Tower Hamlets and Kensington & Chelsea? A side-by-side comparison based on 70,379 combined decisions.

Last updated: March 2026

Tower Hamlets: 88.6%

37,208 decisions · 32,960 approved · 4,248 refused · 31 wards

Kensington & Chelsea: 92.5%

33,171 decisions · 30,668 approved · 2,503 refused · 24 wards

Overall approval rates

Tower Hamlets (37,208 decided)

88.6%

Kensington & Chelsea (33,171 decided)

92.5%

By application type

Advertisement — Tower Hamlets (517 decided)

82.0%

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

97.2%

Full — Tower Hamlets (5,826 decided)

79.7%

Full — Kensington & Chelsea (5,706 decided)

88.6%

Listed Building — Tower Hamlets (830 decided)

88.2%

Other — Tower Hamlets (25,901 decided)

89.4%

Other — Kensington & Chelsea (27,351 decided)

93.4%

Prior Approval — Tower Hamlets (289 decided)

85.8%

Prior Approval — Kensington & Chelsea (114 decided)

61.4%

Trees — Tower Hamlets (775 decided)

98.6%

What the numbers mean

There is a 3.9 percentage point difference in overall approval rates between these councils. Tower Hamlets 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.

Planning in your area? Check your postcode to see approval rates specific to your ward and street.

See detailed data

Tower Hamlets full data Kensington & Chelsea full data

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