Businesses and locals are divided over a £500m plan to redevelop the Truman Brewery estate in Brick Lane, east London, which will include a new data centre that campaigners fear will cause temperatures to soar in what is already one of London’s hottest boroughs.
Blueprints for the development at what was once London’s biggest brewery, shared with The i Paper, show that ground-floor diesel generators would expel fumes just metres away from the busy street made popular by its vibrant street art, vintage shops and food culture.
Housing Secretary Angela Rayner approved the proposal late last month despite local opposition. Tower Hamlets council and campaigners wanted the site to be used for hundreds of homes but instead the plan includes offices, a cinema, shops, cafes and 44 flats.
Critics fear that a new data centre built at the old Truman Brewery site in east London, rendered here, will cause temperatures to soar further (Photo: Conica Studio)
Jonathan Moberly, a lead campaigner with the Save Brick Lane coalition group, said he was “left speechless” when he saw the plans. During the consultation process, the Environment Agency raised no objections to the project, but said the generators could expose locals to “short term peak nitrogen oxides, engine fumes/odour and noise”, according to correspondence shared with The i Paper.
