Havering planning: 82.8% of householder cases approved, 97.1% of standard cases decided in eight weeks

Havering granted 82.8% of the householder applications it decided in the 2025-26 financial year, 844 of 1,019, with 175 refused. That is below the London rate of 85.6% across 24,758 decisions and the England rate of 90.3%. The council ranks 20th of the 32 London boroughs with a published rate, and 97.1% of its standard cases were decided within eight weeks.

It is the Havering Local Plan 2016-2031, adopted on 17 November 2021, which replaced the Core Strategy and Development Control Policies of 2008. The council says it is preparing a replacement and shows it at the evidence-gathering stage, though its Local Development Scheme planned earlier consultation. The 2021 plan remains the adopted plan.

The council says 11: Corbets Tey, Cranham, Gidea Park, Havering-atte-Bower, Langtons, North Ockendon, RAF Hornchurch, Rainham, Romford, St Andrews and St Leonards. The national planning data register also records 11. Upminster, Harold Wood and Emerson Park are not conservation areas, though Emerson Park has its own policy area SPD from 2009.

It is a direction, reference Art4/4/2015, confirmed on 24 June 2016, that removes some permitted development rights on named streets in the conservation area. There are two control levels. Level 1 covers Class A and C to the front and sides and Class E on all sides. Level 2 is stronger and adds the rear, porches and boundary walls. The notice says which street is which.

Usually yes. Two Article 4 directions have applied since 13 July 2016: any dwelling type in four named wards, and a flat, terraced or semi-detached house elsewhere. The Local Plan says a detached house outside those wards is not covered. The council is consulting until 16 October 2026 on a borough-wide direction. Licensing is separate and began on 18 March 2026.

Possibly. A council release says additional licensing applies to all wards in the borough for homes rented to three or four unrelated people sharing amenities, and selective licensing covers seven of the 20 wards for homes let to single families or up to two unrelated tenants. Both started on 18 March 2026. A licence is not planning permission, and neither replaces the other.

The council's 2011 SPD says as a general rule 3m for a terrace house and 4m for a semi-detached or detached house, with greater depth within a 45 degree angle. For permitted development, the validation page refers to larger single-storey rear extensions up to 6m for an attached property or 8m for a detached one. The council advises a certificate of lawfulness for certainty.

Only where the council considers they cause no harm. The SPD says dormers should normally face the rear garden and never rise above the ridge. If a front dormer is acceptable, its width should be no greater than 1.2m, and the combined width of several should not exceed half the width of the roof. A dormer in a hipped roof end will not normally be acceptable.

The council's checklist lists the application form, ownership certificate, fee, a location plan and a site plan, plus floor and roof plans and elevations at a minimum of 1:50 or 1:100. A heritage statement is required in a conservation area or for a listed building. Missing information is likely to make the application invalid on receipt, and you can only submit one proposal per application.

The Local Plan says more than half of the borough is designated Metropolitan Green Belt, as shown on the Policies Map. The council pages we read do not set out a householder extension test, and the 2011 SPD does not mention the Green Belt. Ask the council before relying on a standard suburban extension test, and note that telephone pre-application advice is not offered for Green Belt properties.

Better than in most boroughs. The Planning Inspectorate allowed 44.1% of householder appeals against Havering over the five years to 30 June 2026, 124 of 281, against 39.9% across London and 34.4% in England. That is the sixth highest share in London. An appeal still takes months, so a revised application can be the faster route.