Havering Planning Consultant
Where London meets the Green Belt
More than half of Havering is Metropolitan Green Belt, which makes it the most rural-feeling of the outer London boroughs. Growth is concentrated in Romford and along the Thames at Rainham and Beam Park, while suburbs such as Emerson Park and Gidea Park have their own local controls. Cedar Planning helps clients read that mix correctly.
The practice is led by Dan Malloy MRTPI. Cedar is based in Norfolk and works across England, including east London and neighbouring Essex, and site visits to Havering are arranged whenever a project calls for one.
- RTPI Chartered
- Fixed-fee quotations
- Direct advice from a Chartered Planner
Havering's 2021 plan and the review that follows it
The Havering Local Plan 2016-2031 was adopted on 17 November 2021. It replaced the 2008 Core Strategy and Development Control Policies and superseded policies in the 2008 Romford Area Action Plan. Its policies are numbered simply, from Policy 1 on the Romford Strategic Development Area onwards.
The plan's housing requirement is stepped, with at least 12,505 homes expected in the first ten years. Two Strategic Development Areas take much of that growth: Romford town centre under Policy 1, and Rainham and Beam Park under Policy 2.
When the plan was examined, the Inspector asked the council to start an immediate review once it was adopted. That update is now under way. The council's Local Plan page shows it at the evidence-gathering stage, with a draft (Regulation 18) consultation still to come, so the 2021 plan will remain in force for some time.
Other adopted documents still matter, including the Site Specific Allocations DPD (2008), the Joint Waste Development Plan (2012) and a set of supplementary planning documents on heritage, residential extensions and particular suburbs.
HMO controls may soon cover the whole borough
Two HMO Article 4 Directions have applied since 13 July 2016, the stricter one covering the former Brooklands, Romford Town, Heaton and Gooshays wards. The council is consulting until 16 October 2026 on a borough-wide direction, proposed to take effect one year after it is made.
Planning issues particular to Havering
Policy 29 protects the Green Belt around Havering-atte-Bower, Noak Hill, North Ockendon and the Upminster fringe, so extensions, outbuildings and replacement dwellings are tested for their effect on openness.
These two suburbs have their own Policy Area SPDs from 2009, which protect generous plot sizes and spacious character and make subdivision and backland plots harder.
Tall buildings may be acceptable close to Romford station, but the plan treats them as inappropriate inside the Romford Conservation Area around the Market Place.
Rainham and the London Riverside area lie beside the Thames, so flood risk under Policy 32, flood resilient design and a sequential test can be decisive for new homes.
Our planning services in Havering
Every instruction is priced as a fixed-fee quotation. The services below match the questions Havering clients raise most.
Green Belt Planning
Advice and applications for homes, stables, outbuildings and rural businesses in Havering's Green Belt, including whether land might qualify as grey belt.
View serviceHouseholder Applications
Extensions and loft conversions in Hornchurch, Upminster and Gidea Park, prepared around Policy 7 and the Residential Extensions and Alterations SPD.
View serviceHMO Planning Permission
Applications for HMOs inside the existing Article 4 areas and advice on what the proposed borough-wide direction would mean for your property.
View servicePlanning Applications
Infill homes, small residential schemes and mixed-use proposals in Romford and Rainham, set against Policy 26 on urban design and the London Plan.
View serviceHeritage Statements
Statements for listed buildings and conservation areas including Gidea Park, Upminster's Corbets Tey, RAF Hornchurch and Havering-atte-Bower, under Policy 28.
View serviceStrategic Land Promotion
Promotion of land through the Local Plan update, from early evidence stages to representations, for owners on the edge of Havering's settlements.
View serviceHow local and London Plan policy fit together here
Most smaller Havering applications turn on a handful of Local Plan policies. Policy 7 covers residential extensions and HMOs, Policy 26 urban design, Policy 28 heritage assets, Policy 29 the Green Belt and Policy 32 flood management. Larger schemes also meet Policy 3 on housing supply and Policy 4 on affordable housing.
Two London Plan Opportunity Areas reach into the borough. Romford has indicative capacity for 5,000 homes and 500 jobs, guided locally by the Romford Town Centre Masterplan SPD. London Riverside, shared with Barking and Dagenham, has capacity for 26,500 homes and 16,000 jobs. London Plan policies G2 on Green Belt, SD1, D9 and SI 12 on flood risk apply alongside.
Havering introduced its own Community Infrastructure Levy in 2019, which replaced the tariff approach in the 2013 Planning Obligations SPD. The Mayoral CIL is charged as well.
Key policy areas we navigate
Openness, proportionate extensions, replacement buildings and the newer grey belt tests in national policy.
Havering's 11 conservation areas, from Romford and Rainham to Cranham and St Leonards, and the borough's listed buildings.
Scale, neighbour amenity and street character for extensions, plus the tests for any HMO change of use.
Layout, density and appearance, including the stricter expectations for plots in Emerson Park and Hall Lane.
A Consultancy That Works With You, For You
Havering sites often sit at a boundary: the edge of the Green Belt, the edge of an HMO Article 4 area or the edge of a special policy area. Getting the constraint right at the outset avoids a refusal that could have been designed out.
Landowners should also take advice now. The Local Plan update is at an early stage, which is the point at which sites can be put forward and the evidence behind them shaped.
RTPI Chartered
Led by a Chartered member of the Royal Town Planning Institute with more than ten years of public and private-sector planning experience.
Honest Prospects
A realistic view of the planning risks and options before you commit time or money.
Fixed, Transparent Fees
Fixed-fee quotations agreed before work starts, so you know the cost from the outset.
Direct Access
You deal with the Chartered Planner doing the work, not an account manager.
Planning Consultants Across London
We cover every council area in London. See our main London planning consultants page.
Havering Planning FAQs
Can I build a new house on my land in the Havering Green Belt?
New buildings in the Green Belt are inappropriate unless an exception applies, such as limited infilling in a village, redevelopment of previously developed land or land that qualifies as grey belt. See our explainer on grey belt land for the current tests.
Will I need permission for a small HMO in Hornchurch?
At present, it depends on the ward and the type of house, because the existing directions differ. If the borough-wide direction is confirmed, planning permission will be needed for any new small HMO once it takes effect, a year after it is made.
Is Havering writing a new Local Plan?
Yes. The council is updating its 2021 plan and is currently gathering evidence. Draft and submission consultations follow, so the adopted 2016-2031 plan remains the basis for decisions in the meantime.
Why is it harder to split a plot in Emerson Park?
Emerson Park and Hall Lane have dedicated policy area SPDs that protect their large plots, spacious gaps and mature landscaping. New dwellings on garden land must respect that character, which limits subdivision more than elsewhere in Havering.
What guidance applies to development in Romford town centre?
Policy 1 of the Local Plan, the Romford Town Centre Masterplan SPD and the Romford Conservation Area appraisal all apply, alongside London Plan Opportunity Area policy. Tall buildings are only considered near the station, not in the historic core.
Do you work in Havering and nearby Essex?
Yes. We work across England, including Havering and the neighbouring Essex districts of Brentwood and Thurrock, with visits arranged as projects need them.
Get a Free Quote
Tell us what you are trying to achieve and where the property or site is. We will give you an initial view and a fixed-fee quote.
Or email us at info@cedarplanning.co.uk with the relevant information.
Looking at a Green Belt plot, extension or HMO in Havering? Book a free 15-minute call, or see our Green Belt objections and HMO Article 4 pages.