This meeting will consider two planning applications previously deferred at prior meetings, and one new planning application.

7 Brannan Street, London

The application for planning permission at 7 Brannan Street seeks permission to construct a 46 storey building providing 912 student bedrooms and amenity spaces as well as some commercial space at ground floor level.

The proposed building has a slightly different massing to that approved under the Wood Wharf Masterplan and so the applicant has submitted a new application rather than seek to vary the extant permission to allow the proposed use.

The site is currently undeveloped, having been cleared ahead of the wider construction of the Wood Wharf Masterplan which was granted outline planning permission in 2014. Outline planning permission establishes the principle of development on a site but leaves the final details to be approved via future applications for 'reserved matters' such as the design and layout of buildings.

This application is notable because it seeks to introduce a new use to Wood Wharf that was not included in the original outline permission. In considering the application the Committee will have to balance the needs of students in the Borough against the Council's commitment to delivering mixed communities, in particular the requirement in the Tower Hamlets Local Plan¹ to resist schemes that could reduce the supply of self-contained housing. The Tower Hamlets Local Plan is the statutory document that establishes how land should be used and what sort of development is acceptable in the Borough.

The Committee will also need to consider how the building fits in with the wider masterplan area given that,

[t]he Wood Wharf outline permission has delivered a significant quantum of housing and the applicant would be under no obligation to continue to deliver any further housing as part of that permission thereby ensuring that the delivery of student accommodation in place of residential would neither undermine nor compromise the supply of standard residential housing.

The Committee previously resolved to undertake a site visit, to help members understand the impacts of the proposed development before making a decision. That site visit was undertaken on 21 November 2024.

Blackwall Way Yard Jetty, Blackwall Way, London

This is an application to vary the wording of an existing planning condition attached to an extant planning permission to allow the construction of a riverboat passenger terminal at Blackwall Yard.

The application was submitted because,

The Applicant’s rationale for the initially proposed full removal of Condition 22 was due to the condition being onerous on the operations of the pier. This was following the Applicant’s better understanding of the intended end user’s operations.

The condition in question (Condition 22) limits the hours of operation of the terminal and sets a maximum number of boat movements that are allowed to take place per hour.

The applicant originally wanted to remove the condition completely but, following discussions with officers, is now seeking to replace it with an amended version.

The amended condition would allow for up to 106 passenger boats to stop at the jetty each day, with no more than six boats stopping at the jetty in any given hour between 11pm and 1am or 5am and 6am. No boats would be able to stop at the jetty between 1am and 5am. This is a significant increase on the current condition which only allows boats to stop at the jetty during the weekday peak times and at weekends between 8.30am and 10pm, with no more than 5 boats able to stop at the jetty per hour.

The application is supported by an Environmental Statement, including additional information relating to the impact of the proposed amendment on air quality and noise.

The Committee will need to decide whether the impacts arising from the amendment are acceptable.

Poplar Gas Holder Site (PHASES 2 And 3), Leven Road, London, E14

This application seeks permission for a large residential-led, mixed use development at the former Poplar Gas Holder Site on Leven Road in Tower Hamlets. The development would deliver up to 1,934 new homes and 812sqm of commercial, business and service floorspace across two distinct phases.

The application is what is known as a 'drop in' application. The Site is currently covered by an existing planning permission, granted in 2019, which allows for up to 2,800 new homes and other uses to be built on the wider Poplar Gasworks Site. This application seeks permission for a slightly different development than the one already approved on the part of that site containing what were known in the 2019 permission as 'Phases 2 and 3'. Should it be granted, the existing permission would continue to cover the rest of the site and would be built alongside the newly permitted development.

A key difference between the proposals in this application and the 2019 scheme is that this one seeks permission for taller buildings on the Site than were previously approved. In particular, the tallest building in Phase 2 of this application would be 99 metres tall, 23 metres taller than the tallest building approved as part of the 2019 scheme.

The application is accompanied by an Environmental Statement, including additonal information relating to the impact of the development on daylight, sunlight, and transport.

The Committee will need to decide whether the impacts of the proposed development are acceptable in planning terms.