The Truman Brewery redevelopment plans spark public backlash

Plans to redevelop The Truman Brewery in Brick Lane have been met with an entirely unsurprising public backlash.

At present, The Truman Brewery is home to a vintage market, pop-ups, and a load of bars and eateries. But that could be all about to change, in plans to redevelop the site that include a bunch of apartments and a data centre.

The plans have sparked a change.org petition, one with an open letter attached. It’s addressed to Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, and asks him to stop both the data centre and redevelopment plans.

These plans include the construction of 44 flats, 11 of which would be social units, retail space and a data centre. That last part is consistent with government aspirations to make London a data centre hub, fuelling the current insatiable hunger for AI malarky.

And that data centre may be a sweetener to try to get these plans approved by the powers that be.

Proposed redevelopment plans were voted on by local councillors on July 31st, 2025. They voted against the plans following a negative reaction from local residents and businesses, but MP Steve Reed has taken matters into his own hands and will decide on the plans’ future.

There are three planning application strands to the redevelopment, best summed up as two sites. The data centre will live on Gray Eagle Street, on the site of what is currently a derelict building. Multiple buildings on the Truman Brewery site itself will also potentially be demolished, to make way for the flats and other amenities, including a supermarket, cinema, restaurant and a market.

The aim isn’t, then, to entirely replace what is currently a cultural space with expensive generic flats, but the plans have been subject to significant local backlash.

“Brick Lane is not an abstract development site. It is a living cultural, social, and economic ecosystem with deep historical significance and an internationally recognised identity,” the Save Brick Lane campaign writes in its open letter to Steve Reed.

It also claims Reed’s personal handling of the plans “undermines local democracy” and “sets a troubling precedent for central government interference in community-led decision-making.”

At the time of writing, the group’s change.org petition has 1235 signatories.

The Truman Brewery site is owned by the Zeloof family, which bought it in 1995.

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