Planning applications in Harrow: how to comment, and what it costs to apply
Objections are published but names are not. Delegated officers decide about 99% of applications.
Harrow runs its planning register on a separate site from its main council pages, and the commenting process has a few rules that decide whether your objection counts.
Commenting
Council housing in Harrow: 2,142 households waiting, 283 homes a year
The council’s own figures say a three-bedroom home is a twenty-year wait, and that almost nobody waiting for four bedrooms will ever be offered one.
You need a MyHarrow account. Attachments must be in PDF format. You can only comment on live applications — valid and undecided — and Harrow sends no acknowledgement, so keep your own copy.
On privacy, Harrow is clearer than most councils: it does not publish names and property addresses, and does not publish emails, signatures or phone numbers. Representations on applications registered after 15 July 2024 are redacted and published; earlier ones are not published at all.
How long you have
South Harrow House Proposed as Children’s Home for Three
Harrow Council receives application to convert 70 Park Lane from residential use to specialist accommodation
The often-quoted "21 days" is the statutory minimum for displaying a site notice, not a Harrow rule — and the minimum period for representations after a website publication is fourteen days. Harrow does not itself publish a 21-day figure, so work to the date on the notice rather than a remembered number.
How long the council has
Eight weeks for non-major applications, thirteen for major ones and sixteen where an environmental impact assessment applies. Harrow states that delegated powers decide about 99% of applications, which is worth knowing before you plan a campaign around a committee meeting that will probably never happen.
What it costs to apply
From 1 April 2026, a householder application for an extension or alteration to a single house is £548. Outbuildings, fences and walls within the curtilage are £272. New dwellings are £610 each below ten units. Prior approval for a larger home extension is £249. Discharging conditions is £89 for householder applications.
There is no fee for listed building consent, for conservation-area demolition, or for works to protected trees.
Pre-application advice, and the free alternative
From April 2026 Harrow charges £324.40 for a written householder pre-application response and £530.80 for a meeting with a written response, turned around in fifteen working days. For one residential unit it is £1,469.60 written or £1,749.90 with a meeting.
There is a free alternative that is easy to miss: the Duty Planning Service, weekdays from 9.30am to 12.30pm on 020 8901 2650.
Appeals
The deadlines differ sharply by type and this is where people lose the right to appeal. A householder appeal must be lodged within twelve weeks of the decision letter. Every other planning appeal has six months. Where an enforcement notice has been served it is twenty-eight days.
Appealing is free. One thing to expect: nobody can comment on a householder planning appeal, so neighbours who objected to the original application do not get a second say.
Planning permission expires if the work has not started within three years.
Questions this report answers
+How do I comment on a planning application in Harrow?
Through a MyHarrow account, on live applications only, with any attachments as PDFs. Harrow sends no acknowledgement, so keep your own copy.
+Will my name be published if I object?
No. Harrow does not publish names, property addresses, emails, signatures or phone numbers. Representations on applications registered after 15 July 2024 are redacted and published; earlier ones are not published at all.
+How much is a planning application in Harrow?
From April 2026 a householder application is £548, outbuildings and fences within the curtilage £272, and prior approval for a larger home extension £249. There is no fee for listed building consent or works to protected trees.
+How long do I have to appeal a planning refusal?
Twelve weeks from the decision letter for a householder appeal, six months for any other planning appeal, and twenty-eight days where an enforcement notice has been served. Appealing is free.
WE FILE
No invented reporter. No hidden source trail.
The HNL Local Desk assembled this report from the outlets listed below. Language-model drafting is reviewed under human editorial supervision, with scoring notes and corrections kept visible.
Harrow AM
The compact morning rundown, with scores and source links.
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