Borough Investment Plan - Quality Homes in Quality Places

Quality Homes in Quality Places is the ambitious title of Tower Hamlets’ Local Investment Plan. We have a track record of success and the ambition for the future despite the continuing uncertainty surrounding public funding and the housing market.

In these circumstances, the need for a coherent and cogent local investment approach has never been greater. This places a challenge on us in Tower Hamlets to prioritise projects which both maintains housing delivery in 2011/12 and beyond but also ensures investment is steered to locations where it is most needed. The priorities that we have are identified are as follows:

• Housing Renewal – delivering decent homes and regenerating estates managed by Tower Hamlets Homes and Housing Choice social Landlords.
• Reshaping Poplar – an initiative designed to regenerate some of the most disadvantaged places in Tower Hamlets.
• Shoreditch and Spitalfields – focused on bringing forward Bishopsgate Goods Yard.
• Blackwall and Leamouth – focused on bringing forward Blackwall Reach.
• Fish Island – in and adjacent to the Olympic Park and subject to the Legacy regeneration process after the Games.

In addition, we have earmarked a number of schemes that are well developed and important to Tower Hamlets which will deliver new housing and wider regeneration objectives. Underpinning these priorities are cross cutting objectives that we wish to see delivered as a result of this investment, principally larger affordable homes, low carbon housing, jobs; and, delivery of placemaking objectives.

It is important to make this simple point: identification of schemes and areas in this plan as priorities for investment does not guarantee any future funding. In partnership with the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), we will examine schemes on a case by case basis and assess their value for money and the additional socio-economic and ‘placemaking’ value that they could generate.

There will be some schemes that we anticipate will warrant significant public sector support and there will be some that will not require any. We will certainly be seeking ‘more for less’ across the programme. We also see this is a ‘live’ document which will mean some identified schemes will not reach fruition and some new ones will be introduced. It has also become clear to me that the majority of our strategic investment priorities are located in areas that are on the borough’s boundary. We need to improve the way we work with our neighbours to generate the outcomes that we all wish to see.

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets looks forward to working in partnership with the HCA, the Greater London Authority, our East London housing delivery partners and the Tower Hamlets community in delivering this Borough Investment Plan.