9 wks
Typical decision time
Approval rate is the overall planning approval rate for all applications decided by the council, YE Dec 2025, per MHCLG Live Table P124.
Planning in Harrow
Harrow is a London planning authority handling the full range of residential projects: rear and side extensions, loft conversions, basement extensions, outbuildings, prior approval applications, new build infill and change of use. Harrow has 29 designated conservation areas and over 280 listed buildings listed buildings, plus multiple Article 4 directions in force that remove permitted development rights in specific streets. Harrow's current Core Strategy dates from 2012 with a new 2021-2041 Local Plan submitted February 2025, and the borough is dominated by interwar semi-detached suburbia plus the historic Harrow Hill and Pinner village conservation areas. The council's overall planning approval rate was 78% for year ending December 2025 per MHCLG Live Table P124, reported by the London Borough of Harrow. If your property sits inside a conservation area, behind an Article 4 direction or on a listed building, assume you will need full planning permission rather than permitted development.
Why Harrow refuses planning applications
The commonest reasons London Borough of Harrow officers give when refusing householder planning applications - across extensions, loft conversions, basements, outbuildings and other residential projects - based on published committee reports:
- Harm to the character or appearance of a conservation area
- Overlooking and loss of privacy to neighbouring windows
- Bulk, scale or massing out of character with the terrace
- Loss of private amenity space below the 50% retention threshold
- Conflict with the council's adopted design or heritage policy
Harrow council resources
Authoritative Harrow planning sources you can cross-check:
Last reviewed by Jonathan Blewitt (founder, Mayfair Studio) on 11 April 2026. Approval rate sourced from MHCLG quarterly live tables (YE Dec 2025). Conservation area, Article 4 and listed building counts cross-referenced against planning.data.gov.uk. This page is reviewed quarterly.