Planning policy and guidance
The council’s planning guidance consists of a series of documents that provide a positive approach to managing development by helping to assess planning applications and create a more vibrant, sustainable community to improve quality of life for all.
The Development Plan for Tower Hamlets includes
Until the adoption of the new Tower Hamlets Local Plan, the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) Plan also forms part of the Development Plan for Hackney Wick, Fish Island and Bromley-by-Bow.
The Development Plan is also influenced by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF), which sets out strategic policies for development and growth within England.
The policies we use to decide planning applications
- Neighbourhood planning enables the community to guide development in their local area through neighbourhood forums and neighbourhood plan documents.
- Monitoring and programme reporting provides further detail on the performance of council policies, deliverable housing sites and a project plan for emerging documents, through an annual monitoring report, Five Year Supply of Deliverable Housing Sites and Local Development Scheme (LDS)
- Upcoming projects
New Local Plan (Preparation for submission)
The plan-making team has moved to the next stage in adopting a new Local Plan.
Having completed two separate Regulation-19 consultation stages, we are now working towards submission to the Secretary of State.
The new draft Local Plan will guide development in the borough until 2038. This is the final draft we aim to submit to the Secretary of State in early 2026.
For more information see the emerging local plan page.
London Legacy Development Corporation
The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) came into being on 1 April 2012. It is the local planning authority for the Olympic Park and surrounding neighbourhoods including Hackney Wick, Bromley-by-Bow and Fish Island.
Parts of Tower Hamlets in the north east of the borough fell within the LLDC’s boundaries and from 2012, planning powers for these areas were held by LLDC.
Planning powers have now been returned from the LLDC to Tower Hamlets. All planning applications will be determined by Tower Hamlets, but the LLDC Plan and supplementary planning documents will remain in force for the area formerly covered by the LLDC until they are superseded by a new Tower Hamlets Local Plan.
More information about this can be found on the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) page.
Further information
You can email the team at localplan@towerhamlets.gov.uk or talk to us by phoning 020 7364 5009.
If you would like to be kept informed about local planning policy updates, please email us to join our mailing list.