Planning permission for a huge development in Silvertown has been delayed after councillors raised concerns about funding for a new footbridge.
Plans to build up to 7,172 homes along with offices, restaurants, bars, a cinema or theatre, plus a hotel and shops, were set to be considered at Newham Council yesterday (Tuesday 11th).
But councillors voted to delay their decision over the management of funding for a new footbridge across Royal Victoria Docks, despite reassurance from the council’s legal adviser.
Labour councillor Rachel Tripp, chair of the strategic development committee, said she wanted the decision to be “crystal clear” over who was responsible for overseeing the funds.
Development group The Silvertown Partnership wants planning permission for the huge project at Silvertown Quays. It also already has planning permission to build a new footbridge across Royal Victoria Dock, connecting Silvertown Quays and the ExCel Centre.
However, the bridge has been beset by delays due to disagreements among Labour councillors over its funding.
The Labour-run council’s cabinet first agreed to contribute £13million towards the bridge in June 2024, paid for by a loan.
But councillors challenged the decision at an overview and scrutiny committee the following July and recommended that the cabinet review its decision.
Reporting the challenge to the cabinet in September, Labour councillor Lester Hudson questioned taking out a loan when “Newham Council has got a serious fiscal hole in its budget”.
The cabinet agreed to instead contribute £6.9m, paid for with Section 106 money from developers as part of other planning agreements.
This is money for infrastructure needed to support new developments, and is a normal feature of planning permission agreements.
However, the reduced funding left the bridge short of another £6.3m.
A planning officers’ report to the strategic development committee yesterday said the remaining £6.3m would now be paid for with more Section 106 money as part of planning permission for the Silvertown Quays development.
The report said: “The management and allocation of this funding will be overseen by the strategic development committee (SDC) rather than cabinet.”
It also said the cabinet had “referred the decision” on the funding to the SDC.
Cllr Tripp raised fresh challenge to this, arguing that the committee could only be responsible for granting planning approval, and not overseeing the use of funds associated with planning agreements.
She said: “As a committee we’re not making decisions about council allocations of funding.
“We’re not really involved in a detailed way in projects in which those development contributions are funnelled towards.”
Cllr Tripp asked whether deleting the two sentences from the report would allow the committee to consider the plans.
The council’s legal adviser Vincent Healy said this would be possible as the sentences were “unnecessary to the determination of the application”.
Labour councillor Blossom Young, a member of both the committee and the cabinet, agreed that “the legal position is clear that we are able to consider this application today”.
However, Labour councillor Terence Paul said deleting the sentences “doesn’t solve the issue” over who would be responsible for managing the funds.
Cllr Tripp proposed a vote on whether the committee should defer its decision. Labour councillors John Morris, Blossom Young and Alan Griffiths voted against this.
But Cllr Tripp, Cllr Paul and Newham Independents councillor Mehmood Mirza voted in favour of the delay.
Cllr Tripp cast the deciding vote as the committee chair. She said she wanted “to be completely sure about the basis and the limits of the strategic development committee’s powers”.
The vote means the decisions on the Silvertown Quays development and funding for the footbridge will be delayed at least until the committee’s next meeting on 9th December.
