Overview
- Ministers approved the plans on 31 July 2026 after a planning inquiry, giving consent for five office buildings at the Truman Brewery, a cinema, supermarket, market, 44 homes with six for social rent, extra offices at Ely’s Yard and a data centre on Grey Eagle Street.
- The decision followed an appeal to the Planning Inspectorate after Tower Hamlets missed its decision deadline and was taken by Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook on behalf of Secretary of State Angela Rayner.
- The government gave substantial weight to claimed economic benefits, citing around £80 million of annual expenditure including about £48 million locally and saying the data centre would provide faster connectivity for nearby City financial traders.
- Local leaders and the Save Brick Lane Coalition say the scheme misses a housing opportunity, risks higher rents and displacement of long-standing Bangladeshi businesses and residents, and the campaigners are preparing legal challenges and fundraising.
- A draft Tower Hamlets Local Plan that would prioritise an 800-home housing-led redevelopment has not been examined by the Planning Inspectorate, so ministers gave it only limited weight and the unresolved plan is likely to shape the next legal and planning steps.