Do I need a Construction Management Plan in the City of London?

The City uses different terms. Instead of a borough-style CMP, sites agree a Scheme of Protective Works with the City of London Corporation’s Pollution Control Team under its Code of Practice for Deconstruction and Construction Sites, commonly secured by planning condition. Construction and deconstruction sites (Category A) and façade-retention schemes (Category B) need it approved; refurbishment-only sites (Category C) need only neighbour communication. All major developments also need a Construction Logistics Plan.

What are the construction working hours in the City of London?

Noisy work is permitted 8am–6pm Monday to Friday and 9am–2pm on Saturdays, with none on Sundays or bank holidays. Within those hours, the City imposes reduced impact hours of 10am–12 noon and 2pm–4pm on weekdays, when noisy work should stop for the benefit of nearby businesses. Any variation needs a Site Hours Variation Request submitted to the Pollution Control Team at least five working days ahead.

Does the City of London require a Section 61 consent?

No. The City’s Code states that it does not advise the use of Section 61 consents, and instead supports a system of prior agreement on similar lines through the Scheme of Protective Works and Site Hours Variation Requests, which it considers more flexible for contractors. The City can still serve Section 60 notices where it considers them necessary, and breaching one can lead to prosecution.

What does the City of London charge for construction monitoring?

Under the Code’s current schedule, the monitoring contribution is £53,820 in the first year and £46,460 a year after for large-scale major developments, £30,935 and £25,760 for medium-scale majors, and £5,060 a year for minor developments. The Planning Obligations SPD adopted in June 2026 raises these to £58,500, £33,625 and £5,500 when it takes effect in late 2026, and adds a separate fee for reviewing Deconstruction and Construction Logistics Plans. Highway licences are charged separately.

Construction Management Plans in the City of London

The City of London is not a London borough: it is run by the City of London Corporation, which manages construction in the Square Mile through its own Code of Practice for Deconstruction and Construction Sites. Instead of a borough-style CMP, sites agree a Scheme of Protective Works with the Corporation’s Pollution Control Team, major schemes add a Construction Logistics Plan, and developers pay a monitoring contribution. The City’s working hours, quiet periods and highway rules are among the tightest in London.

City of London at a glance

Working hours: 8am–6pm Mon–Fri, 9am–2pm Sat
Quiet periods: Reduced impact hours 10am–12 noon and 2pm–4pm weekdays
Monitoring (minor schemes): £5,060 a year, rising to £5,500 under the 2026 SPD
Licences: Scaffold and hoarding licences at least four weeks ahead

On this page

The Code of Practice for Deconstruction and Construction Sites

The Code (Ninth Edition, January 2019) is published by the Corporation’s Department of Markets and Consumer Protection as its guide to “best practicable means”, and many City planning consents include conditions that refer to its standards. Before each stage of work, contractors must contact the City’s Highways Division and Pollution Control Team to agree the scope of the site’s Scheme of Protective Works. Each site is categorised by the size of the development and the sensitivity of its surroundings:

Category A (typically construction or deconstruction sites): a full Scheme of Protective Works approved by the Pollution Control Team, with full community engagement including Ward Members
Category B (typically façade retention with internal works): a Scheme of Protective Works approved by the Pollution Control Team
Category C (typically refurbishment only): communication with neighbours, without a formal approval

The Scheme of Protective Works

The Scheme of Protective Works is the City’s equivalent of a borough Construction Management Plan, and many City planning consents secure it by condition together with any agreed monitoring contribution. It must be agreed before works start and covers:

The programme of works and the liaison and consultation strategy, including at least fortnightly communication with neighbours and a site display board
A complaints procedure and staff training
Site plans referring to the haulage routes in the Construction Logistics Plan
Noise, dust and vibration monitoring, including baseline noise monitoring submitted to the Pollution Control Team
An Air Quality and Dust Management Plan, approved before works commence
Vehicles and machinery, including Non-Road Mobile Machinery, and working methods

Construction Logistics Plans in the City

The City’s adopted Local Plan (2015) requires a Construction Logistics Plan for all major development and for any development that will cause significant transport impacts during construction. The Freight and Servicing SPD (2018) assesses CLPs against TfL’s London-wide CLP guidance and requires an approved plan before construction commences. Recent City permissions secure the CLP by condition, to be approved before construction starts, prepared in line with the Mayor’s Construction Logistics Plan Guidance (April 2021) and addressing vulnerable road user safety through the CLOCS Standard.

Working Hours and Reduced Impact Hours

Standard hours for noisy work are 8am–6pm Monday to Friday and 9am–2pm on Saturdays, with no noisy working on Sundays or bank holidays. On top of this, the City imposes “reduced impact hours” of 10am–12 noon and 2pm–4pm on weekdays, giving nearby businesses at least four hours a day without noisy work, and party wall work and major works in partly occupied buildings are usually barred between 9am and 5pm. Work outside standard hours, or noisy work during reduced impact hours, needs a Site Hours Variation Request sent to the Pollution Control Team at least five working days in advance. Unusually, the City does not advise Section 61 consents, preferring its own system of prior agreement, and serves Section 60 notices where necessary.

Monitoring Contributions and Fees

The City’s new Planning Obligations SPD, adopted on 22 June 2026, will replace the Code’s fee schedule when it takes effect (the adoption statement gives 16 November 2026; the Corporation’s planning guidance page links implementation to adoption of City Plan 2040, expected late 2026). It raises the monitoring contributions to £58,500, £33,625 and £5,500 for large, medium and minor schemes, and introduces a separate fee on submission of a Deconstruction and Construction Logistics Plan of £3,500 to £10,000 plus £1,000 to £2,000 a month for the duration of the project. Until then, the Code’s Appendix L sets the monitoring contribution:

Large-scale major developments (200 or more homes, or 10,000 sq m or more): £53,820 for the first year and £46,460 for each year after, with twice-weekly site visits
Medium-scale major developments (10 to 199 homes, or 1,000 to 9,999 sq m): £30,935 for the first year and £25,760 for each year after, with weekly site visits
Minor developments (1 to 9 homes, or under 1,000 sq m): £5,060 a year, with very minor works occasionally treated as out of category and charged nothing

Highways, Licences and the Considerate Contractor Scheme

The Corporation is the highway authority for every street in the City except the four TfL red routes, where licences come from TfL. Scaffold and hoarding licence applications must be made at least four weeks before erection (£720 for up to a month under the April 2026 charges), road closures need at least 12 weeks’ notice and are typically limited to weekends or overnight, skips are not permitted to stand on the highway, and City streets must not be used as holding areas for waiting vehicles. All development sites are expected to join the City’s own Considerate Contractor Scheme, which is separate from the national scheme and has no membership fee, and the Code expects fleet operators to hold at least FORS Bronze accreditation.

Air Quality and Dust

The Code expects every project to implement all possible dust mitigation. Continuous particulate monitoring will normally be required on large sites next to sensitive premises, with a PM10 alert threshold normally set initially at 150 µg/m³ over 15 minutes. Burning materials on site and explosive blasting are not permitted, concrete crushers are not generally sanctioned, and the City’s new Air Quality SPD (June 2026) designates every construction site in the City as high risk and requires NRMM to meet Stage IV, rising to Stage V from 1 January 2030.

How CMP Construct Helps in the City of London

CMP Construct prepares council-compliant Construction Management Plans across the City of London and more than 20 London boroughs. We draft most plans within 7–10 working days, submit in the format the City of London Corporation 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 City of London Guidance

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