As I reported at the official Full Council meeting tonight, the Council’s Corporate Director for Housing and Regeneration has confirmed 6,441 homes are in delivery or will have been delivered by this May.

We’ve put Tower Hamlets at the forefront of tackling London’s housing crisis, delivering more homes than any other London borough since 2013, and we are now not just meeting but far exceeding our target in the 2022 election of 4,000 new affordable homes, by nearly 2,500 homes.

We have a further 2,000+ social rented homes in the pipeline at the moment, as well as the Mayor’s Accelerated Housing Programme fast-tracking an additional 3,332 new homes over the next five years — particularly larger, social rented family-sized and accessible homes.

I am incredibly proud that we are delivering one of the most ambitious plans in the country to build thousands more affordable and social rent homes to meet the needs of our residents.

Congratulations and thank you to all of the nominees for your your invauable contributions to our community.

We are investing in a wide range of services to ensure all women residents are supported to thrive, including by:

– Launching the Tower Hamlets Women’s Commission

– Opening the Nari Centre, to provide a safe environment where women and girls can access services, activities and events.

– Opening the borough’s first dedicated youth centre for girls

– We introduced free swimming for all women and girls aged 16+ last year, with 18,000 women and girls in Tower Hamlets already benefitting.

– Closing the gender pay gap for women Council employees

Thank you again to all of today’s nominees. Together, we are working to build a more equal Tower Hamlets, and your leadership, passion and dedication is shaping our borough for the better.

When visiting new council homes today that we’ve built at Jute House, it was a pleasure to be invited into Mrs Begum’s new council home – an accessible property tailored to meet the needs of her disabled child.

We are launching our new Housing Strategy to build more affordable homes and upgrade existing ones. The plan has been shaped by the voices of local people and grounded in the needs of our community. I also visited at Docklands Community Organisation, which is one of the many community spaces supporting residents across our borough. We are investing to tackle the impact of London’s housing crisis in our borough and ensure our residents have a place they can truly be proud to call home.

As we mark #InternationalWomensDay and Women’s History Month with events across Tower Hamlets, we recommit ourselves to tackling the scourge of gender inequality and standing in solidarity with women facing oppression around the world.

I am proud of the range of services we’ve opened in Tower Hamlets dedicated to supporting women and girls, developed in partnership with residents.

This includes our recent opening of the Nari Centre, which brings services for women together under one roof, with classrooms, IT suite, creche facilities, a community kitchen and spaces for one-to-one support.

This is a wonderful, welcoming space for accessing support and advice, as well as building skills, taking part in activities, and connecting with others.

Mas Patel interviews the Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets about his political journey, challenges, and outside interferences including his long battle with those who waged a “vendetta” against him. Watch the full episode to find out more !

Mayor Lutfur Rahman and Cabinet Member for Environment and the Climate Emergency, Councillor Shafi Ahmed

Tower Hamlets has installed the first of 2,000 new on-street residential electric vehicle (EV) charging points, marking the launch of a major initiative to support the borough’s transition to electric vehicles and accelerate access to sustainable transportation. 

The project, which is being delivered in partnership with ubitricity, is a key component of the borough’s commitment to reducing emissions and improving air quality, following its declaration of a climate emergency in March 2019.  

The charge points will be installed in existing lampposts, helping local residents to conveniently charge their vehicles closer to their homes. The installation will also cause minimal disruption – they only take thirty minutes to install into current infrastructure.  

The charge points will be installed on a ward-by-ward basis, starting with Bow East, Island Gardens and Whitechapel. All 2,000 charging points will be installed by early 2026. 

Beyond enhancing EV accessibility, the project brings wider benefits to the community. As part of the contract, ubitricity, in collaboration with Shell UK, has committed to providing apprenticeship placements to upskill Tower Hamlets residents. Funding will support training for intermediate, advanced, and higher-level apprenticeships throughout the 10-year agreement. 

With over 9,200 public charge points already in operation, ubitricity will supply, install, own, operate, maintain, and manage the new infrastructure on behalf of Tower Hamlets Council, ensuring a seamless and effective transition to greener transport solutions. 

Lutfur Rahman, Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets, said: 

“As part of our commitment to becoming a net zero borough and tackling the climate emergency, expanding sustainable travel options is essential. We know that more residents and businesses are switching to electric vehicles – Tower Hamlets has over 5,400 registered plug-in vehicles, which represents an increase of over 200% from the previous 4-years.

“With 93% of homes lacking off-street parking, public charging infrastructure is vital. Our ambition is to build a comprehensive electric vehicle charging network in our borough – so that no residents are more than a 3-minute walk from an electric charging point. 

“Supporting a cleaner, greener borough for everyone means building emission-reducing infrastructure now while also investing in sustainable infrastructure that is fit for the future. We look forward to working with ubitricity as we deliver the new charging points and provide more apprenticeships for our young people to create local knowledge and support green job opportunities.” 

Stuart Wilson, UK Managing Director of ubitricity, said:

“We’re proud to work on this groundbreaking project alongside the London Borough of Tower Hamlets to expand access to EV charging across the community. By taking action to install 2,000 charge points using existing street lights, we’re making it easier for residents to charge right outside their homes – helping to build a more connected and cleaner London.”

In addition to these 2,000 new chargers being delivered, the council is working to deliver an additional thirty-five rapid charging points over the next twelve months. 

Posted on Wednesday 25th June 2025 on https://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/

Tower Hamlets Council and Jerram Falkus Construction have celebrated a milestone with the topping out of 62 new council homes in Bow.

The building is 100 per cent affordable new council homes, with each home being rented at social rent or Tower Hamlets living rent rates.

Arnold Road, which comprises one, two, three and four bedroom homes, including six wheelchair adaptable units in two blocks, is a key project in the delivery of the council’s commitment to build 4,000 new social homes for rent. The ground floor will feature five commercial units for local businesses.

To mark the occasion, Executive Mayor of Tower Hamlets Lutfur Rahman completed the traditional ceremony of laying a brick on the roof of the building, signifying the completion of the structure of the block.

The Mayor said: “I am so proud to reach this significant milestone in delivering high quality, genuinely affordable homes for our community, with this modern, state-of-the-art building providing 100 per cent new Council homes for social rent and Tower Hamlets Living Rent – including large, family-sized and accessible homes.

“We are determined to meet the urgent demand for affordable housing in Tower Hamlets, with far too many families currently living in overcrowded or unsuitable conditions and topping out this development marks important progress towards our goal of delivering 4,000 new social homes for rent.

“At a time when many councils are struggling to build new council homes, and many families are being pushed out of their communities in London due to the lack of affordable, family-sized homes, Tower Hamlets is leading the way in providing safe, sustainable council housing that meets the needs of local residents—today and for generations to come.”

The project has presented many challenges which we are proud to have worked collaboratively to overcome. We are proud and delighted to be here marking this achievement and construction milestone with Tower Hamlets Council.

Tower Hamlets is the fastest growing and most densely populated place in the UK, and as such, housing is a huge issue. More than 29,000 residents are on the Housing Register with many people living in overcrowded or unsuitable homes.

Historically, Tower Hamlets has a strong track record of housing delivery, and it is continuing to do this in an increasingly challenging market.

The development is a 100% affordable housing scheme being delivered by Jerram Falkus for Tower Hamlets Council. Construction commenced in December 2022 and is expected to complete by late December 2025 with a possible extension into early 2026.

The site was formerly used by the William Brinson Centre, a day centre for adults with learning disabilities, which was relocated to make way for the housing.

The development consists of 16, one-bedroom, 14, two-bedroom, 20, three-bedroom and 12, four-bedroom flats. Half of the homes will be Tower Hamlets Living Rent and the other half social rent.