Tower Hamlets planning guide: what the council asks for and which report answers it
Tower Hamlets does not publish its validation list as one document. It sets it out as separate web pages, one for each type of information, under a Local Plan 2031 adopted on 15 January 2020, and the requirement pages carry no edition date. This guide reads the ones that apply to house work: how plans are drawn, heritage, daylight, flood risk and construction. Each is matched to the report that answers it. To see which of them your address triggers, a planning constraints report costs £19.
Fixed fee from £19 · all prices
Prefer to talk it through?
How Tower Hamlets publishes its list
The council's What to submit with your planning application page is the index. It holds a checklist for each application type, including householder, and then a local validation list of separate pages for each document the council may ask for, from Affordable Housing Statement through to Works to Trees. The checklist files on that page are labelled V5, September 2020, while the individual requirement pages show no date, so we read them on the day we prepare your set and note it.
Some pages still cite the 2016 London Plan, so where a policy number looks dated, the Local Plan 2031 is the document to rely on. The sections below cover the pages that a house is likely to meet.
Tower Hamlets Council Planning Guide
from £19
Every price is the full fixed fee you pay. No VAT is charged. Council application fees are paid to the council separately.
What you get
- The council's validation pages for house work, read in plain words
- Local Plan 2031 policies on heritage and amenity, quoted from the plan
- When the council asks for a heritage, daylight, flood or construction document
- The report that answers each, linked with its fixed fee shown
- Links to Tower Hamlets' planning register, validation list, Local Plan and building control
- A planning constraints report for your address from £19, no VAT
- Check the address
Conservation area, listing and flood zone decide which documents the council wants.
- Draw to the plan rules
Elevations, floor plans, sections and roof plans each carry a scale and a scale bar.
- Add the triggered reports
Heritage, daylight, flood and construction documents follow from the scheme and the site.
- Submit a complete set
A complete set means every drawing is scaled and carries a scale bar.
The Local Plan 2031 and two policies householders meet
The Tower Hamlets Local Plan 2031 was, in the council's words, adopted by Full Council on 15 January 2020. Our Tower Hamlets planning permission page covers drawings for applications in the borough.
Policy S.DH3, on heritage, says alterations, extensions or development near listed buildings are “expected to have no adverse impact on those elements which contribute to their special architectural or historic interest, including their settings”. For conservation areas it says development will be “expected to preserve or, where appropriate, enhance those elements which contribute to their special character or appearance”, with a presumption in favour of retaining unlisted buildings that make a positive contribution.
Policy D.DH8 covers amenity, and it is the policy behind most neighbour objections. Development must “not result in an unacceptable material deterioration of the sunlight and daylight conditions of surrounding development”, and must “maintain good levels of privacy” without an unacceptable increase in sense of enclosure. The supporting text gives about 18 metres between habitable room windows as a guideline distance.
The national Planning Data register lists 61 conservation areas for Tower Hamlets.
How the plans must be drawn
The council's page on local requirements for submitting plans asks for existing and proposed elevations and floor plans at 1:50, 1:100 or 1:200, with a linear scale bar on every drawing, and for “all elevations of the proposal” to be shown.
Site sections and levels use the same three scales, and a section at 1:50 or 1:100 should cut through the proposed building. Roof plans are typically drawn at a smaller scale than the floor plans. The page does not mention red hatching for demolition, so we mark demolition in the set anyway.
These rows are what our planning drawings and house extension drawings are checked against, with the Tower Hamlets house extension page for the borough version.
Heritage: conservation areas, listing and archaeology
The national Planning Data register lists 61 conservation areas for Tower Hamlets. That is a count of what is recorded, not a map of your street, so check your own address. Article 4 directions can also remove rights that would apply elsewhere.
The council's Heritage Impact Statement page sets three triggers. The statement is “required on all applications where the proposal impacts on the setting of heritage assets”, where the work involves demolition to listed buildings or in conservation areas, and where it involves disturbance of ground within an Area of Archaeological Potential. For listed buildings the assessment should include a schedule of works.
Our heritage statement follows those triggers. Listed work is covered by our listed building consent drawings, and a design and access statement is needed in a conservation area where a scheme creates a dwelling or 100 sq m or more of floorspace.
Daylight and sunlight in a dense borough
The council's Daylight and Sunlight Assessment page says an assessment is “required on all applications where the proposal is likely to have an adverse effect upon levels of light”, and it points to the Building Research Establishment guide, “Site layout planning for daylight and sunlight: A guide to good practice”.
As with D.DH8, the trigger is likely harm, not a size threshold. A loft with a raised flank wall or a deep rear addition beside a neighbour's window can reach it. Our daylight and sunlight report is prepared by a specialist we coordinate.
Flood risk and the construction plan
The council's Flood Risk Assessment page says an assessment is required for applications in Environment Agency Flood Zone 2 or 3, and it names new builds and basement or ground floor extensions among them. It sends you to the government flood map to find your zone. Our Tower Hamlets flood risk page covers the borough detail, and the flood risk assessment guide explains the document.
On construction, the council's page on the Construction Environmental Management Plan says it is required for all major developments and for “minor works including basement developments that are likely to impact on the amenity of neighbouring residents”. It covers site parking, storage, hoarding, wheel washing, dust control and waste. Our construction management plan page covers the document.
Building control, party wall and shared houses
Planning permission and building regulations are separate approvals. Tower Hamlets' make a building regulations application page offers a full plans application for any type of work, a building notice for smaller works without a full set of plans, and a regularisation certificate for work started or finished without approval. Our building regulations reports guide sorts which report fits.
The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 is national law and applies to work on or near a shared wall and to excavation beside a neighbour, whatever the planning position. See our party wall services guide. If the house is let to several people, the Tower Hamlets HMO licence plans page covers the drawings behind a licence.
Sources
Every figure on this page, where it comes from and a link to the original.
| Figure | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| 15 January 2020 | Tower Hamlets Council, Local Plan page: the Tower Hamlets Local Plan 2031: Managing Growth and Sharing Benefits (source wording: "was adopted by Full Council on 15 January 2020") | www.towerhamlets.gov.uk |
| 1:50, 1:100 or 1:200 | Tower Hamlets Council, Planning application local requirements for submitting plans: existing and proposed elevations and floor plans at 1:50, 1:100 or 1:200; (source wording: "A linear scale bar must be included on each drawing"); the page shows no date or version | www.towerhamlets.gov.uk |
| 18 metres | Tower Hamlets Local Plan 2031, Policy D.DH8 Amenity, 1d: development must (source wording: "not result in an unacceptable material deterioration of the sunlight and daylight conditions of surrounding development"); paragraph 8.86 gives approximately 18 metres between habitable room windows as a guideline | www.towerhamlets.gov.uk |
| no adverse impact | Tower Hamlets Local Plan 2031, Policy S.DH3 Heritage and the historic environment, 5: alterations, extensions or development in the vicinity of listed buildings (source wording: "will be expected to have no adverse impact on those elements which contribute to their special architectural or historic interest, including their settings") | www.towerhamlets.gov.uk |
| likely adverse effect | Tower Hamlets Council, Daylight / Sunlight Assessment page: (source wording: "Required on all applications where the proposal is likely to have an adverse effect upon levels of light"); also required for all residential major developments; BRE guide to be followed | www.towerhamlets.gov.uk |
| Flood Zone 2 or 3 | Tower Hamlets Council, Flood Risk Assessment page: (source wording: "Required for all applications in Environment Agency Flood Zone 2, or 3"), naming new builds and basement or ground floor extensions | www.towerhamlets.gov.uk |
| three triggers | Tower Hamlets Council, Heritage Impact Statement page: (source wording: "Required on all applications where the proposal impacts on the setting of heritage assets"), and where the work involves demolition to listed buildings or in conservation areas or disturbance of ground within an Area of Archaeological Potential | www.towerhamlets.gov.uk |
| basement developments | Tower Hamlets Council, Construction Environmental Management Plan page: required for all major developments and for (source wording: "minor works including basement developments that are likely to impact on the amenity of neighbouring residents") | www.towerhamlets.gov.uk |
| 61 | Our analysis of MHCLG Planning Data Platform conservation-area and article-4-direction datasets (extracted 19 Oct 2026) | www.planning.data.gov.uk |
Every report on this page, with its fixed fee
| Report | Fixed fee | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Planning constraints report | £19 | Conservation area, listing, Article 4 and flood zone checked for your address Written up on fixedfeeplans.co.uk. |
| Heritage statements | £595 | Significance and impact for listed buildings and conservation areas Written up on fixedfeeplans.co.uk. |
| Daylight and sunlight reports | £895 | The BRE assessment where neighbours' light could fall Written up on www.propertyarchitecture.co.uk. |
| Flood risk assessments | £395 | For applications in Flood Zones 2 and 3, including basements Written up on fixedfeeplans.co.uk. |
| Construction management plans | £575 | The plan Tower Hamlets asks for on basements likely to affect neighbours Written up on www.drawings4planning.co.uk. |
| Design and access statements | £245 | Needed in a conservation area where a scheme adds a dwelling or 100 sq m Written up on fixedfeeplans.co.uk. |
| HMO licence plans | £495 | The drawings behind a shared-house licence application Written up on fixedfeeplans.co.uk. |
| Building regulations reports | £225 | Which building regulations report fits your project |
| Party wall services | £45 | Notices under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 for terraces and excavation |
Questions people ask
Which scale should my Tower Hamlets drawings use?
Do I need a daylight report for a rear extension in Tower Hamlets?
Do I need a flood risk assessment for a basement in Tower Hamlets?
When does Tower Hamlets want a heritage statement?
Does Tower Hamlets date its validation list?
Photographs: Christopher Hilton (CC BY-SA 2.0).
