Tower Hamlets vs Newham — planning approval compared

How do planning outcomes differ between Tower Hamlets and Newham? A side-by-side comparison based on 21,754 combined decisions.

Last updated: February 2026

Tower Hamlets: 87.9%

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

Newham: 81.8%

9,620 decisions · 7,873 approved · 1,747 refused · 28 wards

Overall approval rates

Tower Hamlets (12,134 decided)

87.9%

Newham (9,620 decided)

81.8%

By application type

Advertisement — Tower Hamlets (517 decided)

82.0%

Advertisement — Newham (300 decided)

92.0%

Certificate of Lawfulness — Newham (1,618 decided)

74.7%

Change of Use — Newham (554 decided)

75.3%

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

97.2%

Discharge of Conditions — Newham (205 decided)

94.1%

Full — Tower Hamlets (3,864 decided)

78.7%

Full — Newham (4,347 decided)

77.9%

Listed Building — Tower Hamlets (830 decided)

88.2%

Listed Building — Newham (32 decided)

96.9%

Other — Tower Hamlets (3,061 decided)

88.4%

Other — Newham (2,221 decided)

94.9%

Prior Approval — Tower Hamlets (17 decided)

94.1%

Prior Approval — Newham (119 decided)

38.7%

Trees — Tower Hamlets (775 decided)

98.6%

Trees — Newham (224 decided)

92.0%

What the numbers mean

There is a 6.1 percentage point difference in overall approval rates between these councils. Newham 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

Tower Hamlets full data Newham full data