This Week in Astor  //  Planning week 20 Jul–26 Jul 2026

1,976 applications filed across 38 councils in the week to 26 July.

Last week saw a broad push of planning activity across our covered territory. Camden led by a margin, but the week's real shape was spread — new filings came in from a third of the portfolio.

In short

Last week delivered 1,976 new applications across the London boroughs and wider territory we cover, with 195 decisions made (158 approvals, 27 refusals). Camden led with 332 filings. A five-storey office building was approved in the City of London, and notable change-of-use and HMO applications were filed in Barnet, Greenwich, Bristol and Bradford.

Applications filed and decided

Over the seven days to 26 July, 1,976 new applications landed in our records across the 38 councils we cover — 20 of them London boroughs, the rest authorities outside London, Bristol and Bradford among them. London has 33 boroughs. (Corrected 11 August 2026: the headline described those 38 councils as boroughs, which reads as a count of London boroughs.) Of 195 decisions made last week, 158 were approvals and 27 refusals; a further 10 applications were withdrawn. Camden alone accounted for 332 filings, with Westminster (160) and Leeds (146) close behind.

Scheme of the week: City of London office building, Garlick Hill

A five-storey office building comprising 2,485 sq.m gained approval at 19–20 Garlick Hill and 4 Skinners Lane in the City of London. For lenders and developers working mixed-use or commercial redevelopment, City sites remain constrained; this approval signals movement where consents are sparse.

Notable conversions and larger schemes filed

Barnet received a change-of-use application for Merit House (205 residential units from commercial office), while Greenwich saw a PBSA and large-scale shared living filing on the former National Grid site at Millennium Way. Bristol and Bradford each filed HMO-related proposals — one a two-unit conversion with mansard extension, the other a six-bed house within Use Class C4.

Past weeks