Southern Grove, Mile End
- Latest planning submissions include 146 Social Rent homes and brings the total submitted through the programme to 307 homes
Tower Hamlets Council has reached another major milestone in its Mayor’s Accelerated Housing Programme, submitting five planning applications in a single week for proposals that are expected to deliver 203 new homes across the borough.
The applications submitted last week are for:
- Tent Street, Bethnal Green – 60 Social Rent homes
- Gill Street, Limehouse – 11 Social Rent homes
- The Oval, Bethnal Green – 23 market homes
- Southern Grove, Mile End – 90 homes, including 56 Social Rent homes
- Back Church Lane, Whitechapel – 19 Social Rent homes
Together, the proposals include 146 Social Rent homes, representing 72% of the homes submitted this week. Tent Street, Gill Street and Back Church Lane will provide 100% Social Rent housing.
The latest submissions are in addition to three applications already submitted through the programme, 55 homes at Tomlinson Close, (33 for Social Rent), 44 homes at the Bethnal Green Professional Development Centre, (24 for social rent) and 5 social rent homes at Strout’s Place.
This brings the total submitted through the Mayor’s Accelerated Housing Programme to eight planning applications providing 307 new homes.
The programme aims to deliver up to 3,400 homes across Tower Hamlets, with at least 51% affordable housing and a strong focus on the larger, family-sized homes local residents urgently need.
It is bringing forward underused Council-owned sites to help tackle the borough’s housing shortage while creating well-designed, sustainable developments that respond to their individual neighbourhoods.
Each application follows extensive work by Council officers and the wider programme, design and technical teams. Community engagement has taken place across the sites, helping the teams understand local priorities and concerns and informing the development of the proposals.
Lutfur Rahman, Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets said:
“Submitting five planning applications in a single week is a significant milestone in our determination to deliver the genuinely affordable homes Tower Hamlets residents need.
“These proposals could provide 203 new homes, including 146 at Social Rent. Together with the three applications submitted previously, we have now brought forward plans for 307 homes across eight sites.
“We know the scale of the housing challenge facing our borough, particularly for families living in overcrowded or unsuitable accommodation. We are moving with ambition and urgency while continuing to listen to residents and work towards high-quality developments that benefit our communities.”
The planning milestone comes as the Council formally launches procurement for the programme’s first batch of nine sites. Pre-selection questionnaire documents were issued on 19 August, inviting prospective delivery partners to express an interest in delivering the schemes.
Further information and the procurement documents are available through the Tower Hamlets ProContract procurement portal.
The applications will now progress through the statutory planning process, during which residents and stakeholders will have a further opportunity to comment on the detailed proposals.
Posted on Wednesday 26th August 2026