- Planning authority
- London Borough of Tower Hamlets
- Postcodes
- E1, E1W, E3, E14
- Noon sun, 21 March
- About 38°
- Shadow from a 5 m eaves line
- About 6.3 m
- Planning plan
- Local Plan
- County
- Greater London
What the council will look at in Tower Hamlets
Every application the London Borough of Tower Hamlets decides goes on its public planning register, and a refusal stays there. That record doesn’t stop a later application, but the next scheme has to answer the reasons given. It is one reason we prepare a garden plot in Tower Hamlets carefully before submitting: measured survey, access check, separation distances, trees and drainage.
We also check the planning history of your house and the gardens near it, and what the council’s Local Plan says about garden land. Past decisions on nearby plots are often the best guide to what the council will accept.
From first call to decision
Nothing is signed until you’ve seen the heads of terms and taken advice. Call us or use the form with your Tower Hamlets address, a rough idea of where the garden runs, and whether neighbours might join in. We’ll check the title, access and planning history first, then tell you plainly whether promotion, a sale subject to planning or another route suits your plot.
Free plot appraisal
We check your title plan, access, the surrounding gardens and the policies in the council’s Local Plan as a desktop exercise, then talk it through with you. If it looks viable, we visit. No cost and no obligation.
Heads of terms
We set out the deal in writing: the term, how our fee works, the cap on planning costs we can recover, the minimum price, the marketing approach and the cap on your reasonable legal fees that we cover.
We apply for planning
We commission the surveys and drawings, take pre-application advice where it helps, submit the application and deal with the council’s questions. You pay nothing at this stage, and the decision is the council’s.
Completion and payout
On completion, sale costs, our capped planning costs and our fee come out of the proceeds in the order the agreement sets. The balance is paid to you through your solicitor.
Worth checking early
- The plot’s price isn’t known until it’s marketed with permission; it depends on location, size, access and the permission itself.
- Promotion takes longer than a straight sale: planning, then marketing, then completion, and each stage can run on.
- You’ll live next to whatever is built, so the layout, windows and new boundary affect your house too.
Questions about garden plots in Tower Hamlets
How long does planning promotion take for a garden in Tower Hamlets?
It usually takes longer than a straight sale. Design and surveys often take a few months, then the London Borough of Tower Hamlets needs time to decide, and marketing and conveyancing follow. The council’s workload, extra reports and any appeal drive the timing, so we give a realistic range after the appraisal.
Can neighbours in Tower Hamlets combine gardens for a planning promotion?
Yes, and promotion often works better that way. Adjoining gardens can share one access and allow a better layout. Each owner keeps their house, signs an agreement setting out how proceeds are shared, and takes advice from their own solicitor. We can appraise the combined land as one site first.
Does a mortgage on my Tower Hamlets home stop a planning promotion?
No, but your lender has to be involved. The lender’s charge covers the garden, so it must agree to release the plot before it’s sold, and some lenders want to approve the promotion agreement too. We raise this at the start so it doesn’t delay a sale later.
Can you look at my garden in Tower Hamlets before I commit to anything?
Yes. The plot appraisal is free and carries no obligation. We start with a desktop check of your title, access and the planning policies that apply, then talk it through with you. If the plot looks viable, we arrange a site visit before any heads of terms are drafted.
Other options in Tower Hamlets
- Garden plot option agreement
- Plot feasibility and design
- Combine gardens with your neighbours
- Sell subject to planning
- Corner and side plots
- Sell part of your garden

