Plans to demolish and rebuild a housing estate in Poplar have been approved by Tower Hamlets Council’s planning committee.
Property developer The Hill Group and housing association Poplar Harca want to demolish the Teviot Estate and replace it with a new development of up to 1,928 homes. Cllrs on the planning committee considered the plans on Tuesday, 8 July – where residents spoke for and against the scheme.
One resident, Mr Rahman, said he spoke on behalf of families who have been moved from Chadbourn Street on the estate and “who were promised the right to return.”
He said the residents were “still waiting for clarity on their return” and raised concerns about the mixture of affordable housing on the estate.
London. Image: Google Maps
Plans say 35% of the units on the new estate will be designated as affordable housing. But Mr Rahman warned that while many existing residents were social housing tenants, new homes could be let at more expensive rates still classified as “affordable”.
He said: “Crucially, it’s unclear how many of these will remain at true social rent versus higher cost options like Tower Hamlets living rent. Meanwhile the masterplan delivers an astonishing 1,719 private homes – that’s an uplift of over 1,500 market rate units increasing the estate’s private footprint nearly tenfold.
“Without clarity it’s impossible to know if this plan protects affordability or quietly erodes it.”
He called on cllrs to “demand better” and for “a future Teviot that doesn’t just look new but serves those who have always called it home.”
Another resident, Sheila Snoddy, said she was worried about the increased size and number of homes on the new estate.
She said: “We did not want high-rise buildings, we did not want high density. The size of our area cannot support 1,928 new homes. Where will these people go to travel to work? How will they get on a bus? Where will their children go to school?”
But Crissy Townsend of the Teviot Action Group received a round of applause from a busy public gallery after she spoke in favour of the plans, which she said residents had “shaped from the start” through meetings and conversations with the developers.
Townsend also spoke of problems on the current estate. She said: “Our balconies and windows are unsafe and rats are now out of control despite Tower Hamlets and Poplar Harca dealing with them to no avail.”
Amran Ali of the Teviot British Bangladeshi Association also spoke in favour of the plans, and said plans to build a larger replacement mosque were “particularly important to our community.”
He said: “The current mosque premises on the Teviot estate is no longer fit for purpose. The mosque currently serves approximately 300 households on the Teviot estate.
“The space is way too small and lacks facilities especially for women who currently have no place to pray. The plan for the new purpose-built mosque changes that.”
In response to questions from committee members, council planning officer Nelupa Malik said there would be a replacement block of social housing on Chadbourn Street.
And Babu Bhattacherjee of Poplar Harca said there would be a “mixture of social rented provision around the estate”. He said the housing association would work “very closely” with residents who had been decanted to “get them a home that is suitable for their needs.”
He said: “I think that in most cases we’ll be able to get them very close to what they want if not getting them exactly what they want.”
Cllrs voted to approve the plans with eight in favour and one abstaining.
The vote was to grant full planning permission for the first phase of the regeneration scheme, which encompasses housing on Ullin Street and Chadbourn Street.
The other phases, which encompass the housing in between Teviot Street and the A12 were granted outline planning approval, which means detailed plans including, design, layout and landscaping will still need to be approved at a later date.
Developers say they aim to have completed the entire regeneration by 2041.
