Roman Road Bow Neighbourhood Forum Newsletter – January 2026

Mayor of Tower Hamlets’ Accelerated Housing Programme Proposed Bow Sites

This programme was approved in December 2025 to fast-track up to 3,332 new homes
over the next 5 years. It includes 37 Council-owned sites and has a focus on affordable
and larger family homes.

The report detailing the sites, a map with their locations and stages of development is on
the Council’s website.

There are 4 sites listed for Bow.

1. Chisenhale Road site. The derelict west-part of the site, where 52 homes are
planned. The Chisenhale charities are supportive of the need to provide more
affordable homes, and do not see an inevitable clash between this and securing
the rest of the site long-term for arts and community use. Their hope is rather that
a way can be found to combine housing with improving the rest of the site,
thereby safeguarding the Gallery, Studios, and Dance Space for the long-term.
The architects for the proposed housing are HTA.

2. John Onslow House, Ewart Place off Roman Road Market Plans are for 225
homes at this former Council office and One Stop Shop building. Its
redevelopment provides an opportunity for the Council and developer to work
with market traders, other local businesses, and residents to improve the market
infrastructure. The architects are Pollard Thomas Edwards.

The Council has arranged a ‘community conversation’ for anyone interested in finding
out more about these two projects:

Friday 30 Jan 16:00 – 19:00 at St Paul Old Ford, Saint Stephen’s Road E3 5JL.
Two other sites are at the initial planning stage.

3. Land adjacent to Guardian Angels in Mile End Park. An estimated 30 homes
could be built here.

4. 109A Antill Road. This is the current site of ‘Go Train’. The estimated potential is
30 homes.

Draft Borough Local Plan and Tall Building Zones

Source of map below is Tower Hamlets Local Plan

The November full Council meeting agreed the draft Local Plan, including the creation
of the extensive new tall building zone F (shown in yellow above.)

The draft plan has been sent to the Secretary of State who will appoint an independent
examiner. The public will have an opportunity to submit comments during the 2026
examination of the plan.
The next steps for the borough Local Plan are as follows:

Independent Examination A Planning Inspector will assess the plan’s soundness and
legal compliance, hold public hearings, issue post-hearing advice and identify any
required Main Modifications

Consultation on Main Modifications If the Inspector requires significant changes, the
council must publish the modifications for public consultation and submit consultation
responses back to the Inspector.

Inspector’s Final Report If the plan is found sound (with or without modifications), the
Inspector issues a final report.

Adoption by Full Council Once adopted by Full Council, the Local Plan becomes part
of the the statutory development plan for Tower Hamlets, along with the London Plan
and Neighbourhood Plans.

Tall building proposals

The plan includes the controversial proposal to create a sixth zone (Zone F) on top of
the 5 existing zones (A-E) for tall buildings. This would mean much of the borough would
be seen as suitable for tall buildings. Zone F would allow buildings up to 70m tall,
significantly expanding the scope for high-rise development. The existing Clare House
in Hawthorn Avenue is approximately 62 metres high.

Petition opposing new Zone F

A petition to the Council opposing the introduction of the extensive zone F for tall
building has been set up by the Neighbourhood Forum.

Please consider signing the petition. The deadline for signing is 28th February
You can find out more about the subject of tall buildings and the new Local Plan in the
Forum article

Bow Wharf: Canal & River Trust appeal Information Commissioner’s Office
Decision Notice over Heritage Report

The Council issued a decision notice on 2nd December refusing planning permission for
the proposed 66 flats and one small commercial space at Bow Wharf.

Prior to the planning application being submitted, the Forum had requested under the
Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) a copy of the 2019 heritage report on the
Bow Wharf site. This was commissioned by H20 Urban LLP, the 50/50 partnership
between the Canal & River Trust (CRT) and bloc Ltd, a private developer. Our request
was refused by the CRT.

Following this refusal to share the heritage report which the CRT had publicly stated
formed the basis for the 2025 planning application, the Forum complained to the
Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

After investigation, the ICO issued a decision notice on 23rd October 2025 which
required the Trust to provide a fresh response to our request for the heritage report ‘on
the basis that the requested information is held by the Trust for the purposes of
the EIR. That response should either disclose the requested information, or else
state why that information will not be disclosed.’

Disappointingly, the Canal & River Trust disagrees that it ‘holds’ the report for the
purposes of the Environmental Information Regulations, even though it admits
possessing the report. It has decided not to disclose the report but appeal to a First-Tier
Tribunal. The tribunal case between the ICO and Canal & River Trust will be held on
27th March. A member of the Forum is a third party to the case and has submitted a
witness statement. We will keep you updated.