Key Points
- Tower Hamlets Council has received planning applications for five residential schemes designed by AJ100 practices Levitt Bernstein, PRP and HTA Design.
- The schemes are part of the council-led Mayor’s Accelerated Housing Programme (MAHP), which aims to deliver more than 3,000 homes across the borough.
- The latest batch of applications covers 203 homes on underused, council-owned sites.
- Across the five schemes, 90 homes are proposed for social rent, 56 as affordable housing and 57 for the open market.
- The latest submissions follow three earlier applications under the programme, including a 44-home scheme in Bethnal Green designed by Matthew Lloyd Architects.
- Levitt Bernstein has submitted plans for three sites: Tent Street, Back Church Lane and 33-37 The Oval.
- The Tent Street scheme would provide 60 social rent homes on a 0.4-hectare brownfield site near Bethnal Green station, incorporating a large redundant railway viaduct.
- The Back Church Lane proposal includes 19 social rent homes in a six-storey building, including a three-bedroom wheelchair-accessible home near Aldgate East station.
- The 33-37 The Oval scheme proposes 23 open market homes in a six-storey building, alongside 99.5 square metres of ground-floor commercial space.
Tower Hamlets (East London Times) August 28, 2026 – Tower Hamlets Council has formally received planning applications for five new residential schemes designed by architect practices Levitt Bernstein, PRP, and HTA Design. The proposals form part of the council-led Mayor’s Accelerated Housing Programme (MAHP), an initiative targeted at delivering more than 3,000 homes across the borough. The five proposals in this latest wave comprise 203 homes situated across underused council-owned sites. Overall, the tenure split across the five applications includes 90 social rent homes, 56 affordable homes, and 57 open market homes.
The submission of these five applications represents the latest progress within the programme’s ‘batch one’ pipeline. It follows three applications previously lodged through the housing scheme. Among those earlier projects was a 44-home development located in Bethnal Green, drawn up by Matthew Lloyd Architects, which marked the first practice to submit plans under the local authority’s accelerated framework earlier this year.
What are the specific proposals submitted by Levitt Bernstein for the three sites?
Within this latest submission wave, architecture firm Levitt Bernstein has brought forward detailed proposals for three individual locations. The largest of the three is situated at Tent Street, covering a 0.4-hectare parcel of land located near Bethnal Green station. The site is currently used by a vehicle repair business, storage containers, and a play area. The design features 60 social rent homes and plans to retain and integrate a large, redundant railway viaduct that curves through the western boundary of the site.
At Back Church Lane, Levitt Bernstein has designed a project to provide 19 social rent homes. The plans detail a six-storey residential block situated on a constrained brownfield site roughly 480 metres from Aldgate East station. Included within the housing provision is one three-bedroom wheelchair-accessible home. The scheme involves the demolition and redevelopment of a vacant three-storey building and an adjacent car park.
As reported by a Mayor’s Accelerated Housing Programme spokesperson, the Back Church Lane site is not located within a conservation area and contains no listed buildings, though there are heritage assets in the immediate vicinity and the plot lies within the Old Tower Hamlets Archaeological Priority Area. The design also incorporates dedicated amenity and play space, long-term cycle storage, and targeted landscaping works.
The third scheme brought forward by Levitt Bernstein is located at 33-37 The Oval. This application outlines a six-storey building intended to accommodate 23 open market homes, accompanied by 99.5 square metres of commercial floor space positioned on the ground floor. The 0.06-hectare footprint sits directly to the west of the historic Marian Place Gasholders and to the east of the active Weaver Line railway tracks.
What is the background to the Mayor’s Accelerated Housing Programme?
The Mayor’s Accelerated Housing Programme was established by Tower Hamlets Council to directly address the acute housing shortage within the borough. As one of the fastest-growing local authorities in the UK, Tower Hamlets faces severe housing pressures, with tens of thousands of residents registered on local housing waiting lists.
To streamline the design and planning phases for underused municipal land, the local authority established a panel of top-tier architectural firms—including AJ100 practices Levitt Bernstein, PRP, HTA Design, and Matthew Lloyd Architects. The strategy focuses on unlocking small, complex, or constrained brownfield sites, garage courts, and underutilised council land to deliver mixed-tenure developments at pace while ensuring high proportions of social and affordable housing.
How will this housing development affect local residents and the housing market?
The progression of these five schemes under the Mayor’s Accelerated Housing Programme directly impacts local residents, particularly those registered on Tower Hamlets’ social housing waitlist. The addition of 90 dedicated social rent homes and 56 affordable homes provides targeted relief for low-income families seeking stable housing in central east London.
For the broader local community and nearby businesses, the urban regeneration of underused sites—such as replacing car parks, vehicle repair yards, and vacant structures—is expected to upgrade streetscapes, improve local play areas, and bring new commercial active frontages. Meanwhile, the inclusion of 57 market-rate homes will add private supply to the borough, aiding overall housing density while generating cross-subsidy funding for public infrastructure.
