Tower Hamlets Council approves 89.0% of planning applications, based on 26,296 real decisions analysed from the council’s public planning portal. The national average across all councils tracked by PlanningLens is 87.9%. Tower Hamlets sits 1.1 percentage points above the national average.
Enter your postcode for a personalised approval likelihood score — based on your ward and application type.
Not all applications are treated equally. Extension types, listed building consent, and change of use applications each have very different success rates in Tower Hamlets.
| Application Type | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Other | 14,613 | 1,602 | 16,215 | 90.1% |
| Full | 3,744 | 987 | 4,731 | 79.1% |
| Discharge of Conditions | 2,985 | 85 | 3,070 | 97.2% |
| Listed Building | 732 | 98 | 830 | 88.2% |
| Trees | 764 | 11 | 775 | 98.6% |
| Advertisement | 424 | 93 | 517 | 82.0% |
| Prior Approval | 144 | 14 | 158 | 91.1% |
A loft conversion in one ward can have a 90% approval rate. In the next ward, 55%. The free check tells you which side you're on.
Check My PostcodeWard-level data reveals where planning applications are most and least likely to succeed. Officers, local policies, and neighbourhood character all play a role.
| Ward | Approved | Refused | Total | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitechapel | 1,403 | 205 | 1,608 | 87.3% |
| Bow West | 1,203 | 168 | 1,371 | 87.7% |
| Spitalfields and Banglatown | 1,150 | 177 | 1,327 | 86.7% |
| Canary Wharf | 1,054 | 75 | 1,129 | 93.4% |
| Bow East | 995 | 118 | 1,113 | 89.4% |
| Blackwall and Cubitt Town | 824 | 106 | 930 | 88.6% |
| St Katharines and Wapping | 837 | 76 | 913 | 91.7% |
| Weavers | 627 | 120 | 747 | 83.9% |
| Lansbury | 640 | 76 | 716 | 89.4% |
| Mile End | 536 | 96 | 632 | 84.8% |
| WHITECHAPEL | 559 | 9 | 568 | 98.4% |
| Bethnal Green East | 424 | 52 | 476 | 89.1% |
| Island Gardens | 336 | 90 | 426 | 78.9% |
| Poplar | 383 | 39 | 422 | 90.8% |
| St Dunstans | 318 | 101 | 419 | 75.9% |
| Stepney Green | 337 | 80 | 417 | 80.8% |
| Bethnal Green West | 343 | 62 | 405 | 84.7% |
| SPITALFIELDS AND BANGLATOWN | 398 | 3 | 401 | 99.3% |
| Bethnal Green | 326 | 52 | 378 | 86.2% |
| St Peters | 306 | 67 | 373 | 82.0% |
| Shadwell | 303 | 56 | 359 | 84.4% |
| Bromley North | 309 | 45 | 354 | 87.3% |
| WEAVERS | 340 | 3 | 343 | 99.1% |
| MILLWALL | 298 | 2 | 300 | 99.3% |
| BLACKWALL AND CUBITT TOWN | 284 | 6 | 290 | 97.9% |
Showing top 25 of 39 wards by volume. Your Pro Report includes the full ward breakdown.
See full ward breakdown →Real residential planning decisions from Tower Hamlets council. Each reference links to the council's own planning portal so you can verify the details yourself.
| Reference | Proposal | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| PA/26/00059/NC Bow West | Demolition of existing rear outrigger and construction of a single storey rear a | Approved |
| PA/25/00867/NC Bethnal Green West | Proposed basement, side extension, windows replacement, internal changes, floor | Approved |
| PA/25/00866/NC Bethnal Green West | Proposed basement, side extension, windows replacement, internal changes, floor | Approved |
| PA/26/00207/S Whitechapel | Submission of details pursuant to Condition 7 (Disabled Parking Space) of planni | Approved |
| PA/26/00011/NC Bow West | Proposed ground floor rear extension, mansard loft extension and new rooflight t | Approved |
| PA/26/00058/NC Bow East | Original planning permission: Proposed ground floor rear extension and loft conv | Approved |
| PA/26/00085/NC Bromley South | Proposed change of use from a single dwelling house (C3) into a small (HMO) for | Refused |
| PA/25/02179/NC Bow West | Repair of existing rear windows frames, conversion of 1st floor bathroom into a | Approved |
| PA/26/00040/NC Bow West | Proposed single storey side infill extension with roof lights | Approved |
| PA/25/02178/NC Bow West | Repair of existing rear windows frames, conversion of 1st floor bathroom into a | Approved |
Find out what actually gets approved near your address first. Your Pro Report analyses the 20 nearest decisions to your property, ward-specific refusal patterns, and extension-by-extension approval patterns. Based on Tower Hamlets's 26,296 real decisions. Delivered by email in minutes.
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Dig deeper into Tower Hamlets's planning statistics — by ward, extension type, or project category:
Data-driven guides to help you understand planning approval patterns:
Based on 26,296 planning decisions, the overall approval rate in Tower Hamlets is 89.0%. The national average across councils tracked by PlanningLens is 87.9%. However, rates vary significantly by ward and application type.
PlanningLens has analysed 26,296 planning decisions from Tower Hamlets council. 23,406 were approved and 2,890 were refused. These figures cover decisions from January 2020 to the present.
The average approval rate in Tower Hamlets is 89.0%, but outcomes depend heavily on your specific ward, the type of extension or development you are proposing, and local planning policy. Use the PlanningLens free postcode check to get a personalised score.