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The Save Bricklane Campaign Group has called on the council’s planning committee not to grant permission for the construction of any commercial building on the Truman Brewery Complex in Bricklane. The group’s leaders made this call at a press conference held at the Hason Raja Centre in east London on Friday (July 18).
They said that the people of the community must come forward unitedly to save Bricklane. They have called on people from all walks of life to participate in the protest rally called in front of Town Hall on July 31. They have also called on the council to build social housing flats instead of building commercial buildings on the Truman Brewery Complex.
The crowded press conference, moderated by former councillor Puru Mia, was addressed by Jonathan Moberly, former chairman of Shordes Tenant-Resident Associations, Deepa Malik, vice-chairman of Chicksend Estates Resident Association, Suzanne Louis, chairman of Boundary Estate Association, Saif Osmani of East End Bangla Heritage Society, local community campaigner Faisal Ahmed, youth worker Zakaria Hossain and local businessman Abul Khair. Journalist Hasnat Chowdhury read out a written statement on behalf of the organising organisation.
The written statement said that our lifeline, Brick Lane, is under threat for various reasons today. Various attempts have been made to evict Bangladeshis from Brick Lane, the capital of Bangladeshis in Britain, for a long time. Once upon a time, there were more than fifty Indian restaurants owned by Bangladeshis on both sides of Brick Lane and in the surrounding streets. There were many other businesses, including trailering and garment factories. But now only a handful of restaurants and businesses remain. The former bustling atmosphere is gone. The main reason for this is the expulsion of Bangladeshis from here.
The written statement also said that a charity organization called Runnymede Trust published a report called ‘Beyond Bangla Town’ in 2020. It said that the main reason why Bangladeshi businessmen were forced to leave Brick Lane was the abnormal increase in rent. The number of freehold businessmen here is only 14 percent. The remaining 86 percent are leaseholders. Therefore, the rents of leaseholders are increasing almost every year. The report also said that the rents of business establishments have increased by 25 percent more than the rate at which rents have increased in the whole of London. And the main reason for this increase is that more and more commercial buildings are being built here. Where more commercial buildings are built, the rents of small businesses increase manifold. Businesses were forced to leave the premises because they could not afford the costs.
The press conference also said that they have been protesting the attempt to convert the Tuman Brewery Complex (a former brewery) in Bricklane into a commercial building since 2020. They have always demanded the construction of social housing, i.e. flats, keeping in mind the needs of the local community. Tower Hamlets Council is sincere in their demands. The council’s local policy is also in favor of building flats here.
The owner of this complex is Israeli citizen Ofer Zeluf. He has been trying to build commercial buildings here instead of building social housing. Only he will benefit if a commercial building is built. However, if social housing is built here, the people of the community will benefit greatly. There is an acute housing crisis in Tower Hamlets. Thousands of people have been waiting for years for housing. They are living extremely inhumane lives due to the lack of housing. Therefore, if social housing is provided in the Truman Brewery Complex, it will be possible to solve the housing problems of many people.
They said, we have learned that the owner of the Truman Brewery Complex has applied to the Planning Committee for permission to build a commercial building here. In the interest of the community, no permission should be given to build a building here. According to the local policy of the council, permission should be given to build social housing in that place. According to the local policy, 345 flats can be built in this complex. The council will be able to provide accommodation to 345 families.
The written statement also said that we have learned that a meeting of the Planning Committee of Tower Hamlets Council will be held on July 31. At that meeting, a decision will be made whether permission will be given to build a commercial building here. Therefore, we have called a protest rally in front of Tower Hamlets Town Hall that afternoon. In the interest of the community, we humbly request people from all walks of life to participate in this rally.
Regarding the current planning committee of the council, it is said that this 9-member committee has 4 councilors from the Aspire Party, 3 from the Labor Party and 2 independent councilors. The three councilors from the Aspire Party are Councilor Amin Rahman, Councilor Saeed Ahmed, Councilor Golam Kibria Chowdhury and Councilor Iqbal Hossain. The three councilors from the Labor Party are Councilor Shuvo Hossain, Councilor Asma Begum and Councilor Lilu Ahmed. The two independent councilors who resigned from the Aspire Party are Councilor Kabir Hossain and Zayed Ahmed Chowdhury. Aspire Party Councilor Amin Rahman is serving as the chairman of the committee. They called on the committee members to refrain from granting permission to construct a commercial building in the Truman Brewery Complex in the larger interest of the community.
