Westferry Printworks flats plan set for approval

Tower Hamlets Council has been recommended to approve an application for more than 1,300 homes on the brownfield site

More than 1,300 homes and a new secondary school could be built on the former Westferry Printworks site in east London.

Tower Hamlets Council has been recommended to approve a new planning application for the site at a meeting on Wednesday.

The site has a long and complicated planning history and was at the centre of a political row a few years ago.

The most recent application is the third that has been submitted for the 15-acre (six-hectare) site, located on the Isle of Dogs, in eight years.

Boris Johnson approval

The council previously turned down two planning applications for the site from Northern & Shell.

In 2016, the then London mayor, Boris Johnson overruled a previous council decision and approved plans for 722 homes to be built on the site, complete with a secondary school and offices.

Westferry Development Ltd called the proposal an "exemplary opportunity for regeneration"

However the plans never materialised and two years later a revised planning application was submitted, which wanted to more than double the number of proposed homes for the site.

Northern & Shell’s hopes of building 1,500 homes across five tall tower blocks were rejected by the council and the Planning Inspectorate, who raised concerns about the buildings being too tall and it being out of character with the area.

'Apparent bias'

In 2020, the then housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, overturned previous objections and granted planning permission despite being advised not to by his own planning inspector.

It was later revealed that Northern & Shell had donated £12,000 to the Tory Party two weeks after Mr Jenrick gave the plans the green light.

Mr Jenrick later said what he did was "unlawful by reason of apparent bias" and Labour demanded an inquiry.

By late 2021, the Conservative government quashed Mr Jenrick’s previous decision, stating that the plans would have caused harm to the surrounding area.

The latest plans have been submitted by Westferry Development Ltd, a company which is part of Northern & Shell.

This time around the plans include 1,358 homes in several blocks ranging between four and 31 storeys, a secondary school for 1,200 pupils, a "police base" for the Safer Neighbourhoods Team and space for shops.

Out of 1,358 homes, 379 of these would be "affordable" with the remainder for private sale.

'Eyesore'

As part of its planning statement, Westferry Development Ltd called the proposal an "exemplary opportunity for regeneration" on a "strategically important brownfield site".

During the public consultation phase, 6,820 letters were sent out to nearby residents and owners.

The plans received 968 responses in support of the development while 51 people had objected to the plans.

Those in favour of the development said they supported the additional school, as existing ones were overcrowded.

They also said it would be a "fantastic opportunity" as the current site was an "eyesore".

However some people against the plan favoured the first application that was approved by Mr Johnson in 2016 and argued it provided more green space and "felt more liveable".

Other objectors raised concerns about the impact the development would have on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and buses.

The plans have been recommended for approval ahead of a meeting with the council’s strategic development committee.