Planning approval has been granted for a new residential-led development on a derelict brownfield site in East London.
Blue Coast Capital has commissioned architectural firm Morris+Company to devise new proposals for Fleet Street Hill, adjacent to the vibrant Brick Lane area in Tower Hamlets.
The plans for the 13,300 metre squared site promise a significant increase in residential density as well as expanded community facilities.
It will deliver 220 co-living studio units alongside 25 homes designated for social rent. These will be housed within two towers, reaching 11 and part-11/part-12 storeys respectively.
A single-storey pavilion located at the site’s pointed western tip is intended to accommodate a café and community space to encourage local engagement and foster a vibrant neighbourhood hub.
The development follows a more modest plan by Londonewcastle, which involved a 14-storey office building on the Huntingdon Estate and a smaller mixed-use housing project.
The previous scheme faced local opposition and gained approval only after an appeal against Tower Hamlets Council’s initial rejection in 2015.
The newly approved plan markedly increases the number of residential units and improves communal facilities, positioning it as a more ambitious and comprehensive scheme.
Gentrification and community concerns
Blue Coast Capital has engaged with the local community through public exhibitions and workshops, incorporating feedback into the development’s design.
The emphasis on co-living spaces, affordable housing, and family-sized homes responds directly to London’s ongoing issues with housing supply and affordability.
However, the development comes amid long-standing concerns around gentrification and rising rent prices in the area.
Brick Lane has often been referred to as ‘Banglatown’ for its large Bangladeshi community, making the area famed for its curry houses, but redevelopments threaten residents and local businesses as rents increase in the now desirable area.
In fact, a report by Trust for London released earlier this year found Tower Hamlets to be the London borough with the highest number of gentrified neighbourhoods, with Spitalfields topping the list.
According to the report, the area has seen the average income increase by 45% between 2012 and 2020, while nearby Aldgate has seen a 29% increase.
Houses were, on average, 250% more expensive in the gentrified neighbourhoods between 2010 and 2023, compared to a 200% rise across the rest of London.
Campaigns in recent years opposing developments in the area include the Save Brick Lane Campaign, which opposed the Truman Brewery planning proposals, as well as Social Housing Action Campaign, and Spitalfields Society.
While no fixed timetable for construction has been announced for the Fleet Street site, the planning consent is a significant milestone toward regenerating the derelict corner of Spitalfields.
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