Planning applications in Newham

Planning in Newham

Newham refuses applications more often than the areas we cover as a whole. Of the more than 17,600 decided since 2019, about 1 in 5 was refused, against about 1 in 7 across the areas we cover. The pattern is strongest for the most common kind of work. Rear extensions, with 7,052 applications, are refused about 1 in 4 times, more than 1,400 of them in all.

Several other kinds of work are tougher than average too. Front extensions and porches, with 2,664 applications, are refused about 1 in 4. Driveways and dropped kerbs, with only 85, are about 1 in 4 as well. Garden rooms and outbuildings are the most heavily refused of the lot at about 1 in 3, from 921 applications. Side extensions, with 2,566, and fences, walls and gates, with 576, are about 1 in 5. Loft conversions and dormers, with 3,799, are about 1 in 5 too, in line with the national picture for lofts. Windows and doors, with 1,594, are about 1 in 6, and solar panels, with 149, about 1 in 9.

That makes preparation worth the effort. Before applying, look at what has been approved close to your home, and be ready to explain size and design clearly.

Among its neighbours, Newham is in line with Barking and Dagenham, Greenwich and Waltham Forest, which all refuse about 1 in 5. Redbridge is stricter at about 1 in 4, while Hackney (about 1 in 7) and Tower Hamlets (about 1 in 8) are more lenient.

The typical householder decision takes about 8 weeks, and about 59 in 100 are decided within 8 weeks.

Things have eased a little. The busiest year was 2019 with 3,457 applications, and 2025 had 2,560, against an average of about 2,692 a year in the three years before. The refusal rate was lower in 2025, about 1 in 7, than the 1 in 5 of those earlier years.

Newham has 8 conservation areas, 125 listed buildings and 9 Article 4 directions.

Figures in this section as of 9 October 2026.