®Planning appeal decision
Sceptre Court, 40 Tower Hill, London, EC3N 4DX
Planning appeal 3375733 at Sceptre Court, 40 Tower Hill, London, EC3N 4DX (London Borough of Tower Hamlets) was dismissed on 8 May 2026 by Inspector Shearing C, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: The acceptability of the removal of condition 1, having particular regard to the effects of the proposal on the designated Preferred Office Location and Central Activities Zone.
the removal of condition 1 of planning permission ref PA/13/02692 for ‘change of use of Sceptre Court from Officers (B1) to a dual use higher education use (class D1) and office use (class B1)’ dated 22 August 2014
- Authority
- London Borough of Tower Hamlets
- Appeal type
- minor · Planning Appeal
- Procedure
- Written Representations
- Development
- employment-industrial · Change of use
- Inspector
- Shearing C
- Postcode
- EC3N 4DX
Main issues, as the Inspector framed them
- The acceptability of the removal of condition 1, having particular regard to the effects of the proposal on the designated Preferred Office Location and Central Activities Zone
What decided it
The permanent loss of office floorspace within a designated Preferred Office Location and Central Activities Zone conflicts with development plan policies that prioritise office uses in these strategic locations, and the benefits of the current educational use do not outweigh this harm.
What the Inspector cited
- Development plan policies
- Policy 2.10 London Plan 2011Policy 2.11 London Plan 2011Policy 2.13 London Plan 2011Policy SP06 Core Strategy 2010Policy DM16 Managing Development Document 2013Policy D.EMP3 Tower Hamlets Local PlanPolicy S.EMP1 Tower Hamlets Local PlanPolicy SD4 London PlanPolicy E1 London PlanPolicy D.EMP4 Tower Hamlets Local PlanPolicy SD5 London PlanPolicy E2 London PlanPolicy E8 London PlanPolicy S.CF1 Tower Hamlets Local Plan
How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.
See how each was appliedThe decision letter
Town Planner Pro holds this letter. The Appeals plan opens it and every other letter we hold, all of them searchable, with the main issues and what decided each case picked out. We do not show letters on the free site because they carry people’s names and addresses.
With an account
What an account adds to this decision
More decisions in London Borough of Tower Hamlets
The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2026
- Allowed10 June 20253353754Royal Mint Court, London, EC3N 4QN
- Allowed1 December 20233320336Mulberry Place Town Hall, 5 Clove Crescent, Lighterman House, 3 Clove Crescent, London, E14 2BG
- Notice varied and upheld30 September 20263368399232 Whitechapel Road, London, E1 1BJ
- Notice varied and upheld30 September 2026336172248A White Horse Road, London, E1 0ND
- Dismissed30 September 202660110097 Douro Street, London, E3 2TS
The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.