Which ward in Tower Hamlets has the highest planning approval rate?

LIMEHOUSE at 100.0% based on 215 decisions.

Which ward in Tower Hamlets has the lowest planning approval rate?

St Dunstans at 76.1% based on 419 decisions.

How much do planning approval rates vary across Tower Hamlets?

There is a 23.9% gap between LIMEHOUSE and St Dunstans. Your postcode significantly affects outcomes.

Planning Approval Rates by Ward in Tower Hamlets

Planning outcomes in Tower Hamlets are highly localised. The gap between the most and least permissive wards is 23.9% — that's not noise, it's a fundamentally different planning environment depending on where you live.

15,664 real decisions·39 wards·Updated September 2026

All 39 wards ranked

#	Ward	Decisions	Approved	Refused	Rate
1	LIMEHOUSE	215	215	0	100.0%
2	EAST INDIA AND LANSBURY	194	193	1	99.5%
3	BROMLEY-BY-BOW	170	169	1	99.4%
4	MILLWALL	300	298	2	99.3%
5	SPITALFIELDS AND BANGLATOWN	401	398	3	99.3%
6	BETHNAL GREEN SOUTH	244	242	2	99.2%
7	WEAVERS	343	340	3	99.1%
8	MILE END AND GLOBE TOWN	159	157	2	98.7%
9	WHITECHAPEL	568	559	9	98.4%
10	ST. DUNSTAN'S AND STEPNEY GREEN	189	186	3	98.4%
11	MILE END EAST	182	179	3	98.4%
12	SHADWELL	241	237	4	98.3%
13	BLACKWALL AND CUBITT TOWN	290	284	6	97.9%
14	ST. KATHARINE'S AND WAPPING	227	222	5	97.8%
15	BOW EAST	225	220	5	97.8%
16	BOW WEST	215	209	6	97.2%
17	BETHNAL GREEN NORTH	277	269	8	97.1%
18	Canary Wharf	1,181	1,110	71	94.0%
19	Bromley South	269	250	19	92.9%
20	St Katharines and Wapping	866	795	71	91.8%
21	Poplar	424	384	40	90.6%
22	Lansbury	706	637	69	90.2%
23	Blackwall and Cubitt Town	942	845	97	89.7%
24	Whitechapel	1,613	1,413	200	87.6%
25	Spitalfields and Banglatown	1,332	1,161	171	87.2%
26	Bethnal Green East	485	421	64	86.8%
27	Bow East	722	620	102	85.9%
28	Bethnal Green	341	292	49	85.6%
29	Bow West	1,189	1,017	172	85.5%
30	Bethnal Green West	429	365	64	85.1%
31	Limehouse	235	198	37	84.3%
32	Mile End	626	528	98	84.3%
33	Weavers	733	614	119	83.8%
34	Shadwell	363	304	59	83.7%
35	Bromley North	267	223	44	83.5%
36	St Peters	335	279	56	83.3%
37	Stepney Green	423	335	88	79.2%
38	Island Gardens	395	304	91	77.0%
39	St Dunstans	419	319	100	76.1%

See how this applies to your postcode →

What the data tells us

A 23.9% gap separates the best and worst wards. LIMEHOUSE approves 100.0% of applications while St Dunstans approves just 76.1%. That's a fundamentally different planning environment.

High volume doesn't mean high approval. Some of the busiest wards aren't the most permissive. The number of applications a ward processes tells you nothing about how likely yours is to succeed.

Ward averages are a starting point, not a guarantee. Your specific outcome depends on your property, your neighbours, your proposal type and the comparable decisions near your address.

Before you spend £5,000+ on architects and drawings

2,333 planning applications in Tower Hamlets have been refused since 2020. Many of those homeowners had already paid for drawings and application fees. A free, property-specific report shows you what gets approved — and what gets refused — near your property.

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More Tower Hamlets planning data

Nearby councils ward breakdowns

Methodology: Covers 15,664 planning decisions in Tower Hamlets, January 2020 to September 2026. Approval rate = approved / (approved + refused). Pending, withdrawn and invalid excluded. Ward boundaries reflect current electoral divisions. Data from Tower Hamlets Council's public planning portal. Full methodology →