en.Wedoany.com Reported - The UK Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has approved a major mixed-use development scheme near Brick Lane in East London, with the Truman Brewery site set to host a data center, offices, retail, event space, and homes. The project is being advanced by Truman Estates and Zeloof LLP, with the masterplan led by Buckley Gray Yeoman (BGY).
The scheme has faced sustained opposition since it was unveiled, with concerns centering on the limited housing supply and the impact of the development on the heritage environment and local character.
The project comprises four separate planning applications, submitted in August 2024. The proposed data center would have a floor area of 5,200 square meters and reach up to 29 meters in height, significantly taller than the existing derelict buildings set to be demolished. The Boiler House and Cooperage will be partially demolished and refurbished; five new buildings will also be constructed, forming a 35,000-square-foot mixed-use scheme encompassing homes, offices, retail, dining, community and event space, along with a microbrewery. A 4,500-square-meter office and retail space will be developed on the Ely's Yard side.
In addition to BGY, which leads the masterplan, Chris Dyson Architects, Carmody Groarke, Morris+Company, and Henley Halebrown are also involved in the design.
Last October, after Tower Hamlets Council failed to determine the applications, the project team lodged an appeal, and the proposals moved to a public inquiry. On Wednesday, July 29, Matthew Pennycook issued a formal decision letter on behalf of Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, publishing the inquiry's findings. The letter shows that the inspector recommended approval, and the Secretary of State concurred, thereby granting permission for the data center, the mixed-use residential and office development, a commercial building, and listed building consent for the refurbishment of the historic Boiler House.
The Ministry considered that the proposals comply with the adopted development plan, in part because the site falls within the City Fringe Opportunity Area. The letter also acknowledges that an emerging local plan (a draft submitted in February, after the public inquiry concluded) proposes residential-led use for these plots; however, given the plan's early stage and unresolved landowner objections, it carries limited weight.
In the letter, Pennycook wrote that Rayner "recognises the housing needs of the local community and the strength of local feeling about these proposals," but saw no "detailed evidence on the viability and deliverability of an alternative residential-led scheme." The letter also stressed the need for data center capacity and praised the Ely's Yard commercial and office development for its high design standards.
The scheme will deliver 44 new homes, six of which are social rent units reserved for large Bangladeshi families, with a further five classified as affordable housing. The letter acknowledges that the development would cause "less than substantial harm" to the Brick Lane and Fournier Street Conservation Area, primarily due to the loss of certain historic views; however, it concludes that such harm would be offset by improvements to heritage and townscape.
