Re-designation of Neighbourhood Forum for Bow approved by Council after a three-year battle
Bow’s Neighbourhood Forum application to be re-designated in 2022 has finally been approved by Mayor Lutfur Rahman following three years of delays.
On 9 January 2025, The Roman Road Bow Neighbourhood Forum (RRBNF) application that allows residents and businesses to weigh in on local planning decisions was approved by the Council, concluding a battle for recognition that started in 2022.
Neighbourhood Forums are community-run groups that help create local guidelines for planning decisions. They must be formally designated by their local authority to be considered valid.
The RRBNF, which covers Bow West and Bow East, was officially designated in 2017 but needed formal re-designation in 2022 to continue weighing in on planning decisions. Residents voted yes to the Neighbourhood Plan,which the Forum had spent five years developing with the community, in a 2022 public referendum.
Mayor Lutfur Rahman rejected an application for re-designation in 2023 because a selection of 21 signatories out of the 300 members and execute committee in Bow did not reflect the ‘large Asian and Bangladeshi community in Tower Hamlets’.
In April 2024, the Forum submitted a fresh application with a more diverse list of signatories from their members. Planning officers reviewed the new application and recommended the RRBNF for formal approval by the Mayor.
The decision was finally discussed at a Council Cabinet meeting six months later, on 27 November, one day before the government’s guideline for making a decision. Still, the Mayor said he had made ‘a decision to defer,’ and no final decision was reached on time. The reason given was for continued concerns about the diversity of the Forum.
This final delay came shortly after the government decision to send ministerial envoys to oversee the running of Tower Hamlets Council, following their Best Value Inspection Report that identified management concerns including ‘excessive delays due to Mayoral micro-management’.
Finally, the decision was delegated to David Joyce, the Corporate Director for Housing and Regeneration. On 9 January 2025, the RRBNF was told the Forum had been approved, concluding a long wait.
The Council notice to the RRBNF said: ‘Council officers consider that the Neighbourhood Forum meets the legal criteria to be designated […] as well as addressing member questions regarding the diversity of the Forum’s membership and its executive committee.’
In an email newsletter to Bow residents, the RRBNF said: ‘Your support and encouragement has enabled us to keep going since August 2022 when we first submitted an application for redesignation. This successful outcome 28 months later inspires us to continue supporting our local community over planning issues.’
Currently, the RRBNF is focusing on input for the Canal and River Trust’s proposed development of the Bow Wharf site and the development on the Texaco garage.
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