London
London is thirty-three planning authorities
Ofsted recorded 250 children’s homes in London at 31 March 2025, the smallest regional total in Table 1. Fewer homes do not make a London proposal simple. Planning is decided by the London borough, or by the City of London, for that address. There are 32 boroughs and the City. There is no London-wide permission we can obtain for you.
Children’s services are also organised borough by borough, with a few shared arrangements. We ask which borough, which department, and which decision you are actually facing. “London” is not a sufficient answer.
Fiveways is based in Birmingham. This page is about the work in London, not a local branch.
Planning applications in this area are decided by the London borough for the address.
- A planning note written for one borough should not be reused in the next. The constraints, the neighbours and the development plan are local.
- We do not keep a London office or a London duty rota. The company is in Birmingham and works in the service.
- Property searches in London fail when the building is chosen before the model of care. We work in that order on purpose.
The work that usually belongs here
Children’s homes of the subtype “children’s home”, including short-break-only homes, at 31 March 2025.
Questions that come up here
Which boroughs do you cover?
We can work in any London borough. We will not pretend they share a planning decision. Tell us the borough in the first message.
Is it easier to register outside London?
Ofsted’s framework does not become easier because the region has more homes. Location still has to be justified, and London’s planning position is often the harder local fact.
Nearby, and not the same
- Reading — Not a London borough. Not Southampton.
- Milton Keynes — Its own council. Its own grid of streets.
- Birmingham — Visits are arranged at the service.