• The approved 5,200-square-metre data centre at 47 Grey Eagle Street is permitted to rise to about 29 metres
  • Truman Estates appealed after Tower Hamlets missed the decision deadline, shifting the final decision from the council to the national appeals process

The fact

The UK government has granted planning permission for a 5,200-square-metre data centre at 47 Grey Eagle Street, part of the former Truman Brewery estate near Brick Lane in east London. The scheme will demolish the existing derelict building and replace it with a data centre reaching about 29 metres in height. It was one of four linked appeals decided on 29 July, alongside a wider mixed-use redevelopment, a commercial building and listed-building works. The wider proposals include 44 homes.

Truman Estates appealed in June 2025 after Tower Hamlets missed the deadline to decide the applications. The council’s Strategic Development Committee later voted unanimously that it would have refused the data-centre proposal. The case then went to a public inquiry in October before being referred to ministers for the final decision. Housing and Planning Minister Matthew Pennycook ultimately allowed all four appeals and granted permission, subject to conditions.

The assessment

By appealing after Tower Hamlets missed the decision deadline, Truman Estates moved the case into the national appeals process before councillors voted. The council’s unanimous opposition still formed part of the evidence considered at the public inquiry, but it was no longer the final decision. Ministers later took over the appeals and accepted the inspector’s recommendation, granting permission.

For BTW readers, attention now shifts from the planning dispute to what happens on site. Truman Estates has three years to start development and must first work through the conditions attached to the approval. A legal challenge could still delay the scheme, but the planning battle itself is no longer the main obstacle.

What to watch

Any legal challenge could still delay the project, but otherwise attention turns to whether Truman Estates begins preparing the Grey Eagle Street site. Planning conditions, demolition work and contractor appointments will show whether the scheme is moving towards construction. The permission gives the company three years to start development, while progress on the wider Truman Brewery redevelopment will indicate whether the data centre is advancing on the same schedule.