Camden Planning: 770 Homes a Year, Hearings Over

Two things are happening in Camden planning at once. The council is at the far end of a two-year process to adopt a new Local Plan, the document that will decide what can be built in the borough until 2041. And on 10 August 2026 it stopped being the planning authority for part of its own territory. This page sets out where both stand, using the council’s own documents.

Camden no longer decides planning for its West End sites

Since Monday 10 August 2026, planning decisions for the parts of Camden around Oxford Street and the West End are made by the Oxford Street Development Corporation, not by Camden Council.

The OSDC is a Mayoral Development Corporation set up by the Mayor of London to lead the regeneration of Oxford Street and its surroundings. It was formally established on 1 January 2026, and The Oxford Street Development Corporation (Functions) Order 2026 transferred planning decision-making from Westminster City Council and the London Borough of Camden to the OSDC for sites inside its area from that date.

What it means in practice, from Camden’s own guidance:

• New applications for sites in the OSDC area go to the OSDC, through the Planning Portal, the Planda Portal or by email.
• Applications already with Camden that could not be determined before 10 August were transferred automatically. Camden is no longer the local planning authority for them.
• Policies do not change. The OSDC will determine transferred applications using Camden’s own development plan and supplementary planning documents, so the same policies apply as would have if the council had decided them.
• Enforcement moved too. Alleged breaches of planning control in the OSDC area are now reported to the OSDC, and open investigations transferred with it.
• Land charges for the area are the OSDC’s responsibility, though Camden still answers CON29 searches for properties in the borough, including in the OSDC area.

If your property is near Tottenham Court Road or Fitzrovia, the practical question is which side of the OSDC boundary it falls on. The council publishes an OSDC area boundary map, and that is worth checking before you submit anything.

The new Local Plan: 11,550 homes, and nearly through

Camden’s new Local Plan sets a housing target of 11,550 additional homes between 2026/27 and 2040/41, which works out at 770 homes a year, plus a borough-wide strategic target of 3,000 additional affordable homes over the same period. The council published the proposed submission draft for comment on 1 May 2025 and the consultation closed on 27 June 2025. (Camden Council, 1 May 2025)

Councillor Adam Harrison, then Cabinet Member for Planning and a Sustainable Camden, said at the time that Camden’s Local Plan “has helped us ensure that we can deliver award winning development across the borough, providing vital homes and jobs whilst protecting and enhancing what makes Camden such a great area to live, work and visit”.

Since then the plan has been through an independent examination, and it is close to the end of it.

The council submitted the plan to the Planning Inspectorate on 3 October 2025. The Inspector issued the Matters, Issues and Questions on 30 January 2026, hearings opened on 19 May 2026 and concluded on 16 June 2026, and the Inspector’s post-hearings letter followed on 18 June. Since then Camden has been working through the actions from that letter: an updated schedule of main modifications on 13 July, an updated monitoring framework on 17 July, and an updated housing trajectory plus a note on the Euston area on 3 August 2026. (Camden Council, Examination news)

What happens next matters if you want a say. Main modifications to a local plan normally go out for their own public consultation before the Inspector writes a final report. After that report, the plan goes to Cabinet and Full Council for adoption. That modifications consultation is the last formal chance to comment, and it is narrower than the 2025 round: the test is whether the plan is sound and lawful, not whether you prefer a different site.

Camden’s examination news page is the place this will be announced, and it is the only page that carries every document reference.

The biggest scheme in the borough: West Kentish Town

The largest council-led development in Camden is the redevelopment of the West Kentish Town Estate: 850 homes in total, of which 320 will be council homes.

In June 2026 the council appointed Higgins Partnerships to build phase one, designed by Mae Architects: 52 affordable homes in two six-storey blocks, 48 of them social-rented and four for returning leaseholders. The scheme follows more than ten years of resident engagement, and in 2020 estate residents voted 93 per cent in favour of full redevelopment on an 85 per cent turnout. Higgins was chosen through a procurement process that had community representatives on the interview panel. (Camden Council, 30 June 2026)

Councillor Nasrine Djemai, Cabinet Member for New Homes and Community Investment, said: “Everyone deserves access to a decent, safe and warm home.”

What is actually being applied for, week to week

The volume of ordinary planning work in Camden is large and mostly small-scale. Camden’s open planning register held 1,067 current applications on 14 August 2026, and 129 of them were registered in the previous seven working days, between 5 and 13 August.

Those 129 broke down by ward as follows:

The northern wards dominate that list, and the reason is worth knowing rather than guessing at. Of those 129 applications, 58 were tree works: applications to prune or fell protected trees and trees in conservation areas, 45 per cent of the week’s total. Another 57 were ordinary planning applications, 9 were listed building consents and 5 were advertisement consents. Belsize, Highgate, Hampstead Town and Frognal top the table because of their gardens and their conservation-area coverage, not because they are being built on hardest.

How to check and comment on an application near you

Camden is not on the Idox Public Access system that most councils use. Its planning portal is the NEC Planning Explorer at planningrecords.camden.gov.uk, which is where you search for an application, read the documents and submit a comment within the consultation period.

The council also publishes the register as open data, which is the faster way to see everything registered this week in one list: Planning Applications Current. Each record gives the application number, the address, a description of the development, the ward and the date it was registered.

For sites in the OSDC area, use the OSDC’s own portal instead, as set out at the top of this page.

Frequently asked questions

How many homes does Camden have to build?

Camden’s new Local Plan targets 11,550 additional homes between 2026/27 and 2040/41, which is 770 a year, along with a strategic target of 3,000 additional affordable homes over the same period.

Has Camden’s new Local Plan been adopted?

Not yet. The examination hearings concluded on 16 June 2026. The council is still responding to the Inspector’s post-hearings letter, most recently on 3 August 2026. The remaining steps are consultation on the main modifications, the Inspector’s report, and then a vote by Cabinet and Full Council to adopt.

Why is Camden no longer deciding some planning applications?

The Oxford Street Development Corporation (Functions) Order 2026 transferred planning decisions and enforcement for sites in the OSDC area from Camden and Westminster to the OSDC on 10 August 2026. Camden’s own policies still apply to those decisions.

What is the biggest development happening in Camden?

The West Kentish Town Estate redevelopment: 850 homes in total including 320 council homes, with phase one of 52 affordable homes appointed to Higgins Partnerships in June 2026.

How many planning applications does Camden get?

Its open register held 1,067 current applications on 14 August 2026, with 129 registered in the previous seven working days.

Where do I comment on a Camden planning application?

Through the council’s NEC Planning Explorer portal at planningrecords.camden.gov.uk, within the consultation period shown on the application.

Sources

• Camden Council, Transfer of planning powers to the Oxford Street Development Corporation for the 10 August 2026 transfer, the Functions Order and what happens to existing applications.
• Camden Council, Examination news for every date in the Local Plan examination timeline.
• Camden Council, Have your say on the Camden Local Plan proposed submission draft, 1 May 2025, for the housing target and the quote.
• Camden Council, Council appoints Higgins Partnerships to deliver first phase of the 850-home West Kentish Town Estate redevelopment, 30 June 2026.
• Camden Council open data, Planning Applications Current for the register total and the weekly ward breakdown.

Planning positions move quickly. Every date above is sourced to a council document, and this page is dated so you can see how current it is. If something here has changed, tell us at hello@camdentoday.co.uk.