00:00Brick Lane, heart of East London, home to the city's Bangladeshi community, known for its iconic curry houses, thrift shops
00:08and colourful graffiti, may soon cease to exist as we know it.
00:13That's what Tower Hamlets Council tell us after the government approved controversial plans to build a data centre on the
00:20former Truman Brewery site,
00:22despite 7,000 objections from residents and a cry for help from the local council and the Save Brick Lane
00:28campaign.
00:29A data centre will just erode that rich history that we've spent centuries building.
00:35The plan includes five office buildings between Brick Lane and Spittle Street, along with a cinema, supermarket, a market and
00:4244 homes, of which only six will be for social rent.
00:46It also includes a data centre on Grey Eagle Street, just to the west of Brick Lane.
00:51My name's Councillor Faisal Ahmed. I'm a councillor, Spittle Foods in Bangor Town, Brick Lane.
00:56The mayor, myself and this administration, we believe this is the wrong development for this site, for Brick Lane.
01:05Throughout the planning process, I mean, our planning department rejected the proposal.
01:11The mayor, councillors, this administration, we were opposed to this plan.
01:16And then it went to a planning inquiry where the council, alongside Save Brick Lane, local campaigners, we put forward
01:24our arguments against the proposals.
01:26And then it was pulled by the Secretary of State, who ultimately made the decision to grant the planning permission.
01:33And do you think that's fair?
01:35Definitely not fair.
01:36The feeling is that we went through the process, invested huge amounts of time and money from the council and
01:42the local community,
01:43and then for the Secretary of State to pull the decision from the local authority is unfair and just makes
01:50a mockery of local democracy.
01:52According to local campaigners, the facility will suck up enough electricity to power 15,000 homes.
01:58And while financial traders based just minutes away in the City of London will gain faster internet connections from the
02:05site,
02:05local residents will reap fewer benefits.
02:08A supermarket, a cinema and only a handful of social housing.
02:12Matthew Pennycook actually said one of the justifications for it is that it will strengthen internet connections to the City
02:19of London.
02:20Now, is that entirely fair that your area is being used to the benefit of a different area?
02:25How does that sort of make you feel?
02:26Definitely.
02:27I mean, residents will be rightfully angry at that justification.
02:32I understand they can have benefits, but if it's to serve the City of London, they can have the data
02:39centre in the City of London.
02:40You know, we, the residents of this borough and Brooklyn in particular, we don't want it.
02:46And it doesn't serve our needs.
02:47We want development that serves the needs of the local community, not just big developers and profits.
02:57We do have an acute housing crisis in the country and particularly in Tower Hamlets.
03:04We have more than 31,000 people on the housing waiting list.
03:08And this development offers nothing in that regard.
03:11You know, the offer of six social homes in a development, which is, I think, about a 10-acre site
03:18is just not enough.
03:20Regardless, Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said she had seen no detailed evidence on whether an alternative housing-led development was
03:28feasible.
03:28The government told us their decision was in line with the recommendation of the independent planning inspector, claiming the harm
03:35to the area's heritage will be minor
03:37and that it will help crack down on anti-social behaviour in and among the derelict buildings,
03:43and highlighting the desperate need for more data centres in the city and the economic benefits that come along with
03:49them.
03:49While Truman Estates, who own the land, say the development will provide 1,600 new jobs,
03:54over 37,000 new visitors to the area each week, and more than £18 million of new local spends per
04:01year.
04:02When this development goes ahead, if it does, prices will rise, rent prices,
04:07and local small independent businesses will no longer be able to afford those rents.
04:12And what we'll have is an area losing its character,
04:17and we'll have big multinational corporations coming in and filling that void
04:22and, you know, essentially lead to the erasure of the identity of Brick Lane.
04:28There's not a single resident or business that I've spoken to is happy.
04:33So my message to the Secretary of State and to the government is please reconsider, review this decision.
04:38This development and this data centre does nothing for the local community.
04:44We, the council, the mayor, and this administration are firmly opposed to it,
04:48and so are the local businesses, please listen to us, listen to a residence,
04:54and review this decision and reverse it.
04:58If there's no longer any local businesses, the curry houses all cease to exist,
05:01who will want to come down to Brick Lane?
05:05You
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