Seven campaign groups have joined together to create the Save Brick Lane exhibition running until Christmas that opposes the controversial Truman Brewery development plans.
The exhibition at the Kobi Nazrul Centre is part of the second campaign chapter in opposition to development proposals in the Spitalfields and Brick Lane area that they believe will fragment the community.
A coalition lead by Nijjor Manush and The Spitalfields Trust have opposed the current Truman Brewery development proposal which seeks to convert empty spaces in the brewery into a shopping mall and introduce four storeys of offices above it.
Co-founder of Nijjor Manush, Dr Fatima Rajina said: “Amongst the Bangladeshi community we always say we have three Bengals and one of them is Brick Lane.
“This proposal tramples over these histories and completely disrupts any idea of conservation and heritage.”
The campaign said it recognises the housing crisis in London and wishes to see more affordable social housing that it believes is not being granted in the Truman Brewery plan.
The current Truman Brewery proposal contains 44 housing units with 35% of these guaranteed to be affordable.
However, urban planner and architect John Burell helped create a diagram of potential housing in Tower Hamlets which included between 800-1000 housing units.
Burell said: “There’s no real vision, it just tries to get the maximum footprint on the site.
“You lose the character, the uniqueness and the continuity of the area.”
A spokesperson for the Truman Brewery said: “The proposals are policy compliant in terms of provision of housing, affordable housing, workspace, and affordable workspace.
“The proposals draw from and are sensitive to the architectural and cultural heritage of the area.”
The success of the campaign’s first chapter in 2021 lead to the Tower Hamlets council commissioning a masterplan that drew from Burrell’s diagrams and extensive community consultation to reflect local needs.
Formally adopted in September 2024, the masterplan offers an alternative to Truman Brewery’s proposal which includes a vision of 350 new homes as well as improved public spaces and local services.
The brewery said it is in line with the aspirations of Tower Hamlets Council.
A spokesperson for The Spitalfields Trust said: “The Truman Brewery development might be fine if it was in the City of London, but it has no place in Brick Lane.
“We feel the council’s masterplan will add to the culture, the history and the economic environment in a positive way.”
The first chapter of the campaign was against proposals on Woodseer Street and gained nearly 7,500 letters of objection and support from notable figures such as actor Asa Butterfield.
Despite this, the Woodseer Street proposal was approved in 2021 with a vote of 2-1 after a fourth councillor was unable to vote due to self-isolation.
The Save Brick Lane coalition challenged this vote as unlawful but ultimately lost the case in the court of appeal.
Local resident and member of the campaign Susanna Kow said: “We are not against development but we challenge the thinking of a fixed corporate model of development.
“We do not need more segregation, instead we need more integration.”
The Truman Brewery have said that they will be opening parts of the brewery to the public and that this will further integrate the site to the wider area.
It said: “We are confident that our development plans for parts of the estate will support and protect local businesses, improve the area for local residents, and continue to add to the vitality of Brick Lane as a whole.”
The members of the campaign disagree and are determined to see out what could be a long fight to preserve the cultural history of Brick Lane but are motivated by the success of the Latin Village in Seven Sisters after a 15 year fight.
A Save Latin Village campaign was set up in 2006 to prevent the property business Grainger PLC from developing nearly 200 homes and a shopping centre in the middle of the area in Seven Sisters, very similar to the proposed developments on Brick Lane.
The campaign won that battle after Grainger PLC withdrew from developing in the area in August 2021.
The Save Brick Lane exhibition is running every weekend from 12pm-4pm until Christmas, and the campaign is encouraging as many people as possible to get involved.
Featured image courtesy of Aaron Edwards
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