Construction Management Plans in Camden

Camden runs one of the most demanding Construction Management Plan regimes in London. CMPs are secured through Section 106 agreements rather than ordinary planning conditions, the council’s own pro-forma is compulsory, neighbours must be consulted before the council will even review your plan, and an implementation fee and a refundable bond are payable before work starts. Highway consents only follow once the CMP is signed off, so the plan sits on the critical path of almost every Camden project. Knowing the process is the difference between a smooth discharge and months of delay.

When Camden Requires a CMP

Camden Planning Guidance on Amenity (January 2021) expects a Construction Management Plan for all major developments and assesses smaller schemes case by case. Typical triggers include basement developments, sites with poor access or reached through narrow residential streets, large-scale demolition, substantial work to or next to listed buildings, long construction periods, work likely to run outside normal hours, canal-side and rail-side sites, and areas already hosting a high number of active construction sites. The Basements CPG adds constrained sites and conservation areas to that list.

The CMP is submitted after planning permission is granted, with significant input from the appointed contractor, and must be prepared on Camden’s own Construction/Demolition Management Plan pro-forma: currently version 3.3, updated 23 April 2026, a 41-question form covering contacts, the site, community liaison, transport and environment. A Construction Logistics Plan prepared solely to TfL’s guidance cannot be submitted as a substitute, although the pro-forma’s transport section is based on TfL’s CLP. Where separate contractors handle demolition and construction, Camden expects a separate CMP from each for its phase, and later changes to an approved plan go in as a CMP addendum with its own discharge process. Plans are emailed to the council’s planning obligations team, and Camden says review is quicker when additional material is supplied as Word documents or searchable PDFs.

Consult Neighbours Before You Submit

Camden is explicit: if evidence of community consultation is not included with the submission, or the council is not satisfied with it, the council will not review the CMP. The consultation must be separate from any planning-stage engagement and focus on construction impacts, including proposed working hours. Before submitting, you must write to every property along the street and those backing onto and fronting the site, plus ward councillors, affected businesses and schools, and neighbouring construction sites (and TfL, Network Rail, London Underground or HS2 where relevant); give them at least 14 days to comment; keep formal proof of postage; and include a consultation appendix with the letter, the distribution area, a summary of responses and what changed as a result.

Medium and major sites must also form a Construction Working Group, as must some minor sites where neighbour interest is high. Camden expects it to meet at least monthly, with members given 14 days’ notice of each meeting, and recommends an independent chair approved by the attendees.

Fees, Bonds and the Section 106 Route

Planning conditions can only control matters inside the site boundary, so because a CMP manages highways and other impacts beyond it, Camden secures the plan through a Section 106 agreement in most cases. Camden’s CMP Planning Site Inspector makes planned and unannounced compliance visits; where work starts without a signed-off CMP or breaches persist, the Planning Enforcement Team will review whether all work on site should stop, and injunctive action is available because the CMP sits in a Section 106 agreement. Two payments are due before commencement:

• A CMP Implementation Support Contribution, at rates from 28 January 2026: £3,000 for small extensions excluding basements (band A1), £5,000 for a new house or a basement or other extension to a single dwelling (A2), £12,000 and £15,000 for medium schemes including basements (B1 and B2), and £35,000, £45,000 or £60,000 for large developments (C1 to C3). Phased schemes are charged per phase, demolition fees are separate on medium and large schemes, and Camden can instead charge bespoke officer time at £150 an hour (including VAT), for example where a scheme involves basements or significant excavation, piling or heavy demolition
• A refundable Construction Impact Bond, indicatively £3,000 (A1), £8,000 (A2, including single-dwelling basements), £16,000 (B1) and £35,000–£50,000 for large developments, with the unspent balance repaid typically within 28 days of a Certificate of Practical Completion. Deductions can be made for avoidable breaches, failure to fix issues after formal notice, damage to the public realm or highway, or starting work without an approved CMP

Approval Timescales and Highway Consents

Camden says CMP approval can take around 6 to 12 weeks or more, depending on the development and the number of revisions: 3–4 weeks for feedback on the first submission and 2 weeks to review each revision. The 14-day consultation has to be finished before you submit, and Camden explicitly advises building these timescales into construction programmes and contracts.

Highway consents follow the CMP rather than running alongside it. Temporary Traffic Restrictions (TTRs) can be applied for once consultation is complete but are not processed until the CMP is signed off, and then add 6–8 weeks for processing and statutory advertisement; application fees run from £2,855.57 for a minor order to £15,026.33 for a long-term order. Parking bay suspensions of up to six months are booked individually, at least 17 days ahead to avoid a £349.81 short-notice charge, at £79.63–£151.34 per space per day plus a £66.66 administration charge; anything longer needs a TTR. Scaffolds, hoardings, gantries and temporary crossovers need a building licence (£464.80, £711.50 or £1,548.16 plus a deposit, lasting up to six months), and cranes or MEWPs on or over the highway need a crane licence (£464.80 or £711.50). On red routes TfL is the highway authority, and Camden will only sign off the CMP once TfL’s requirements are met; on roads defined under the HS2 Act, you must approach HS2 yourself or allow time for Camden to do so.

Working Hours, Deliveries and Section 61

Camden’s standard hours for work audible at the site boundary are 8am–6pm Monday to Friday and 8am–1pm on Saturdays, with no working on Sundays or bank holidays. Saturday working is subject to Camden’s agreement and can be refused, and sites within the cumulative impact area start from an assumption of no weekend working at all. Where noise or vibration exceeds the significant observed adverse effect level (75 dB LAeq at homes during the day), works move to two hours on, two hours off: 8–10am, 12–2pm and 4–6pm on weekdays and 11am–1pm on Saturdays.

Construction vehicle movements are restricted to 9.30am–4.30pm on weekdays, and where a school is near the site or on the route, deliveries must also avoid 3pm–3.30pm in term time (the pro-forma notes pick-up generally runs from 3pm to 3.30pm or 4pm). Vehicles may arrive before 8am only by agreement; otherwise they arrive at 8am, are admitted to site immediately and held until 9.30am. Loading areas that block a cycle lane must keep it open 8am–9.30am and 4.30pm–6.30pm on weekdays.

Out-of-hours work means amending the CMP through Camden’s CMP Extension to Working Hours form, and planned noisy work outside permitted hours needs a Section 61 prior consent applied for at least 28 days ahead. Camden responds within 28 days and only considers requests where third parties impose the constraint, such as road or rail closures, safety reasons or heavy loads. Large developments must also confirm in the pro-forma whether a Section 61 application will follow once the contractor is appointed.

Basements, Conservation Areas and Listed Buildings

Basement policy is still Policy A5 of the Camden Local Plan (2017). The new Camden Local Plan, in which basements become draft Policy D6, is still at examination, with consultation on the Inspector’s main modifications closing on 23 November 2026, so Policy A5 and the Basements CPG (January 2021) remain the documents that apply. An Article 4 Direction covers the whole borough, so all basement development needs planning permission.

Policy A5 requires a Basement Impact Assessment and, where appropriate, a Basement Construction Plan, and says the council will generally require a CMP for basement developments. The BIA must be prepared by professionals holding the qualifications the CPG specifies (for example a chartered civil engineer for land stability or a chartered geologist for groundwater) and most are independently audited at the applicant’s expense. A draft CMP goes in with the planning application and is refined after the audit, and a Basement Construction Plan, certified by an engineer independent of the design team and secured through the Section 106, may be required on larger or complex basements close to neighbouring buildings or involving listed buildings. Basement CMPs must provide for building-movement monitoring, and outside neighbourhood plan areas with their own construction-hours rules, developers should ask affected neighbours whether they want noisy Saturday work ruled out and agree to it if they do.

Heritage adds its own layer. Camden expects a demolition or construction management plan for basement works in a conservation area or next to a listed building, new or extended basements in listed buildings need listed building consent even where planning permission is not required, and where a site set-up may affect heritage assets the council asks for evidence of engagement with its Conservation team and Historic England.

Standing Requirements on Every Camden Site

Several requirements apply to effectively every Camden CMP site and must be evidenced in the pro-forma:

• Considerate Constructors Scheme registration at site level (a site ID, not a company number) for the full project duration, including CLOCS monitoring visits throughout; Camden is a CCS Client Partner and sees all inspection reports
• Compliance with the CLOCS Standard for all vehicles and drivers; Camden is a CLOCS Champion, and drivers of vehicles over 3.5 tonnes need safe urban driver training, vision aids and audible left-turn alerts
• An Air Quality Assessment and/or Dust Risk Assessment for most CMPs; medium and high dust-risk sites need real-time PM10 monitoring (two monitors for medium risk, four for high) running at least three months before works start, with monthly reports published online
• Semi-permanent noise and vibration monitoring on medium and large developments, with monthly monitoring reports
• NRMM of 37–560kW meeting London’s Stage IV minimum (Stage V for generators) and registered on the GLA register
• Qualified traffic marshals overseeing every vehicle entry and exit, using STOP–WORKS signs rather than STOP/GO boards
• A footway at least 1.2m wide (Camden aims for 1.5m), with footway closures only where there is no alternative

How CMP Construct Helps in Camden

CMP Construct prepares council-compliant Construction Management Plans across Camden and more than 20 London boroughs. We draft most plans within 7–10 working days, submit in the format Camden Council expects, and handle officer comments through to discharge of your condition. Where your condition also asks for a Construction Traffic Management Plan (CTMP), a Construction Logistics Plan (CLP) or a Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP), we produce them as one consistent package. New to the process? Start with our complete guide to Construction Management Plans or see what a CMP costs.

Official Camden Guidance

The council documents below set out Camden Council's own requirements. We work to these day to day; they are linked here so you can verify any requirement directly:

• Camden: about Construction Management Plans (v3.3 pro-forma)
• Camden CMP Guidance and Requirements (February 2026)
• Camden Planning Guidance: Amenity (January 2021), section 5
• Camden Planning Guidance: Basements (January 2021)

Frequently Asked Questions

Other London Boroughs

Comparing boroughs? See construction working hours across London, basement rules in each borough and which councils expect their own CMP template, or go straight to another borough’s guide:

• Westminster
• Kensington and Chelsea
• Southwark
• Islington
• City of London
• Lambeth
• Tower Hamlets
• Hammersmith and Fulham
• Wandsworth
• Haringey
• All London boroughs