Newham planning validation checklist
A Newham planning application is validated when the form, the fee and a scaled set of drawings are all in: a location plan at 1:1250 or 1:2500, a block plan, and existing and proposed plans and elevations. Newham granted 87% of its 388 householder decisions in the latest four quarters of published data. DrawingsDirect draws the set from £745.
Fixed fee from £545 drawings + £200 survey (£745 total) · all prices
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The checklist
Use this as a first pass before you submit. The council's own list of local requirements can add items, so read it for your type of scheme.
Required for every householder application: a completed application form with its ownership certificate; the fee, which is £548 for a householder application from 1 April 2026; and a location plan with the site outlined in red, which national practice guidance says should typically be 1:1250 or 1:2500, per its Making an application section.
Then the drawings: a block plan, existing and proposed floor plans, and existing and proposed elevations. Add sections, a roof plan or a heritage statement where the scheme calls for them.
Why drawings get returned
Sets usually come back for ordinary reasons: no scale bar, a plan drawn at the wrong scale, elevations that do not match the plans, or a red line that does not cover the whole plot. None of these is a design problem, and all of them cost days.
Before you submit, check that every sheet carries a scale, a north point and a sheet title, so an officer can tick it off without a query.
Our analysis of the Planning Inspectorate Casework Database (released 1 Oct 2026, Casework Database 2609) finds 92 householder appeals decided for Newham between 2021 and 2026, with 33% allowed.
How Newham decides once valid
Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2 (released 24 Sep 2026) counts 388 householder decisions in Newham from 2025 Q3 to 2026 Q2, with 87% granted and 95% of the householder decisions that were not prior approvals made within 8 weeks.
The statutory period for an application that is not major development is 8 weeks from the day after the council receives a valid application, under article 34 of the Development Management Procedure Order.
Appeals and conservation areas
Our analysis of the Planning Inspectorate Casework Database (released 1 Oct 2026, Casework Database 2609) finds 92 householder appeals decided for Newham between 2021 and 2026, with 33% allowed.
Our analysis of the MHCLG Planning Data Platform conservation-area dataset (bulk snapshot retrieved 19 Oct 2026) counts 9 Newham entries on the national conservation-area register. If your house is in one, add that to the checklist and expect closer scrutiny of materials and roof form.
Getting the set drawn
Our planning drawings start at £745. Read our planning drawings overview, the Newham planning permission page, and our building regulations drawings page for the stage after approval.
Sources
Every figure on this page, where it comes from and a link to the original.
| Figure | Source | Link |
|---|---|---|
| 388 | Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2 (district open data table) (released 24 Sep 2026, quarters to 2026 Q2) | www.gov.uk |
| 87% | Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2 (district open data table) (released 24 Sep 2026, quarters to 2026 Q2) | www.gov.uk |
| 95% | Our analysis of MHCLG planning application statistics, table PS2 (district open data table) (released 24 Sep 2026, quarters to 2026 Q2) | www.gov.uk |
| 92 | Our analysis of Planning Inspectorate Casework Database (released 1 Oct 2026 (Casework Database 2609)) | www.gov.uk |
| 33% | Our analysis of Planning Inspectorate Casework Database (released 1 Oct 2026 (Casework Database 2609)) | www.gov.uk |
| 9 | Our analysis of MHCLG Planning Data Platform conservation-area and article-4-direction datasets (bulk snapshot retrieved 19 Oct 2026) | www.planning.data.gov.uk |
| 8 weeks | DMPO 2015 art 34(2)(b): decision period for an application that is not major development (source wording: 8 weeks beginning with the day immediately following receipt) | www.legislation.gov.uk |
| £548 | Statutory fee from 1 April 2026, SI 2012/2920 Sch 1 Pt 2 category 6(1): householder application for alterations or extensions to a single dwellinghouse | assets.publishing.service.gov.uk |
| 1:1250 | Planning practice guidance, Making an application, paragraph 024 (ID 14-024-20140306): location plan scale should typically be 1:1250 or 1:2500 | www.gov.uk |
| £745 | DrawingsDirect starting fixed fee for planning drawings, from the published price list | drawingsdirect.co.uk |
Questions people ask
What makes a Newham planning application valid?
What scale should the location plan be?
Does Newham have conservation areas I need to check?
Photographs: Chris Whippet (CC BY-SA 2.0).
