FAQs

The consultation draft of the AAP includes planning policies for the Leaside area relating to:

• Improvements to the quality and connectivity of walking and cycling links
• New employment development, creating greater access to jobs
• Access to community facilities
• The type and quality of homes in the area
• The quality and type of parks and open spaces

This AAP is needed to:

• Provide local residents and businesses with more information about possible future development in the area and how it could affect you and your community.
• Provide greater understanding of the infrastructure needed in this area.
• Help manage the scale of development and change that is likely to take place in the area.
• Deliver a clear vision and identity for this area of Tower Hamlets.

There will be two online webinars: one at 12.30 pm on Monday 6th December and one at 6.30 pm on Monday 10th January.  Each of these webinars will run for an hour. Policy officers will give a presentation summarising the main changes to the plan since the first regulation 18 consultation. Then there will be an opportunity for you to give your thoughts on the AAP or ask the policy officers your questions. These two webinars will be hosted on Microsoft Teams and can be accessed from the link below:

•    Online webinar on Monday 6th December – 12.30 pm - 1.30 pm. 

•    Online webinar on Monday 10th January - 6.30 pm - 7.30 pm

Alternatively, you can email planmaking@towerhamlets.gov.uk and we will send you a Microsoft Teams calendar invite.

•    In-person drop-in session webinar on Thursday 16 December, 3 pm-5.30 pm - Tower Hamlets Town Hal. There is no need to book a slot to speak with us, feel free to pop along. 

There will also be one online drop-in session running from 12 pm - 3 pm on Thursday 16 December. You can book a 15-minute slot to speak with us either by phone or video call at any point over the three hour period. Please email planmaking@towerhamlets.gov.uk to book a slot.

Once the consultation period has finished all the comments and information received will be carefully analysed and a consultation outcome report will be prepared. The report will summarise the comments made and set out the council’s response to them, including how they have been taken into account in the updated version of the AAP.

Later in the year, the Council will hold a ‘Regulation 19’ consultation. This will present a finished draft of the AAP before the plan is submitted to the Secretary of State to arrange an independent examination. The examination will assess whether the AAP is ‘sound’ and legally compliant, and recommend any necessary alterations before the plan can be formally adopted. 

The AAP will be part of the statutory development plan once adopted, and the policies in the adopted AAP will be a material consideration in planning decisions. Given that it forms part of the development plan, decisions should be taken in line with the AAP unless there are material considerations that indicate otherwise. It should be read in conjunction with the London Plan, the Tower Hamlets Local Plan (adopted in 2020) and any relevant neighbourhood plans that come forward in the area (at the time of writing, there are none).

The AAP policies will only apply to the Leaside area, which is outlined on the map below. However, some of the initiatives and policies outlined in the AAP will have impacts on the surrounding areas as well, for example improvements to transport links will likely be felt more widely.