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Ask about London planning decisions.

Type your question. We’ll email you a research memo showing what was approved, what was refused and why, with links to the council’s or the Planning Inspectorate’s own records where they’re online. Answers take about 10 minutes, sometimes longer.

This is a limited release. The Reading Room is free while we learn what people use it for, and it covers London only. We let a limited number of new readers in each day.

Name the borough and the kind of scheme. Please leave out client names and anything confidential. 20 to 2,000 characters.

Ask what you actually need, even if you doubt we hold it.

We’ll email you when your answer is ready: about 10 minutes, sometimes longer.

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Free during the limited release · London only · limits apply

See the limits
  • One question until you confirm your email address, then up to 10 a day, subject to capacity.
  • We let in a limited number of new readers each day.
  • London only: the 32 boroughs and the City of London.
  • Free during the limited release. If we ever charge, we’ll tell you first, and answers you already have stay yours.
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Read an example answer

What happens next

  1. We start on your question straight away.

  2. In about 10 minutes, sometimes longer, you get an email saying your answer is ready. It doesn’t repeat your question, so nobody can use this form to send words to someone else.

  3. Press “Open my answer” in that email. That confirms the address is yours and opens the memo.

  4. Ask follow-ups from the answer page: up to 10 questions a day, subject to capacity.

If you don’t open the answer within 30 days, we delete it, your question and your email address.

An example answer

An example answer. We asked this ourselves on 30 September 2026; it took 3 minutes.

“What building heights have been approved in the Old Kent Road opportunity area in Southwark, and what did officers say about height in those decisions?”

Summary

Southwark has approved very tall buildings in the Old Kent Road Opportunity Area (a London Plan area marked for major growth). The tallest in the record are 48 storeys, at Ruby Triangle and Cantium Retail Park. Below those come towers of 38–44 storeys, then schemes of 19–22 storeys, then many of 9–15 storeys. Officers judged height mainly against the draft Area Action Plan's "Stations and Crossings" tiers. They accepted some schemes above the tier for their site, usually by pointing to neighbouring consents or to changes in the masterplan.

Evidence

  1. 18/AP/0897 Southwark

    Ruby Triangle, 17/40/48 storeys, granted with legal agreement.

    Granted
  2. 18/AP/3246 Southwark

    Cantium Retail Park, 3–48 storeys, granted.

    Granted
  3. 19/AP/1710 Southwark

    Carpetright site, 10/19 storeys; officers accept exceeding Tier Three.

    Officer report
Coverage.
- What we hold.
Not answered.
- I have not given a complete list of every height approved in the Opportunity Area.
All 15 references matched to records the Reading Room opened. Any that don’t match are removed before the memo is sent.

The terms

Free during the limited release · London only · limits apply

Is it free?
Yes, during the limited release. We may charge later. If we do, we’ll tell you before anything changes, and answers you already have stay yours.
What are the limits?
One question until you confirm your email address, then up to 10 a day, subject to capacity. The limited release is open to the first 100 readers, and we take a limited number of new readers each day; if today’s places are taken, we’ll say when to try again.
Why London only?
London is where our copy of the planning record is deepest today: the 32 boroughs and the City of London.
Who sees my question?
We never publish or sell readers’ questions. Only PlanningLedger, people working for us under a confidentiality agreement, and Anthropic, whose Claude model writes the answer, see them. Privacy notice
Is a memo advice?
No. The Reading Room reports what has been decided. It doesn’t predict the outcome of your scheme, and it isn’t legal, viability or structural advice.
How are answers made?
An AI research agent (Anthropic’s Claude) works only from our copy of the planning record, not the open web. Each reference is checked against those records before you see it, and any that don’t match are removed.

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