John “two jobs” Biggs is planning a new plan

At last week’s Cabinet meeting, John Biggs formally agreed that the Council will make a new Borough Plan over the coming years.

Cllr Rachael Blake pointed out that the borough’s population is increasing, as is the number of people who come here to work. The way that people shop is changing: the council needs to recognise this but, at the same time, try to support local retailers. Nearly one third of children in this borough live and go to school in areas with poor air quality. Those who live and work in the borough generate waste, which the Council must take away: there are improved technologies which we should use to do this. All these factors have prompted the decision to start the process of making a new Plan and/or will influence it.

Cllr Blake then began waxing lyrical. The Mayor should set a vision, she said, by having a conversation with residents. The pace of change in Tower Hamlets is significant and the scale of development is striking. Working together with residents to articulate a common vision, the Council must think about the quality and quantity of open space.

So here we go. Our borough plan must, however, fit in with the Tory Mayor of London’s Plan for London, which must fit in with Tory Government plans and policies too. It may be that John Biggs will find this is not a tool which will allow him to put his mark on the borough as he wishes. There will be public consultation: watch the Council website and this space.

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