Tower Hamlets councillors have refused a planning application to change the school hours for Canary Wharf College Glenworth, citing concerns over potential antisocial behaviour, cumulative transport impacts, and a lack of equality duty assessment.
The Development Committee voted unanimously to reject the proposal, despite officers recommending approval. The application sought to amend the school's teaching hours from a maximum start time of 8:30 am and a minimum finish time of 3:55 pm to a maximum start time of 8:15 am and a maximum finish time of 3:00 pm.
Objectors, including local councillors and residents, argued that the proposed earlier finish time would significantly reduce the stagger with nearby schools, particularly George Green's Secondary School. The typical departure time for George Green's Secondary School is 3:10 pm, and for St Luke's Primary School, it is 3:30 pm. The proposed changes would reduce the stagger between Canary Wharf College Glenworth and George Green's Secondary School from 45 minutes to 10 minutes in the afternoon. For St Luke's Primary School, the morning start time gap would increase from 30 minutes to 45 minutes, and the afternoon finish time gap would increase from 25 minutes to 30 minutes.
This reduction in staggering was feared to lead to increased congestion, unsafe parking, noise, and pollution. Concerns were also raised about potential increases in antisocial behaviour and a lack of consideration for the agent of change
principle.
Councillor Amina Ali specifically highlighted a potential failure to comply with the Public Sector Equality Duty, stating that no specific assessment had been done for protected characteristics.
Councillor Hossain later added that no equity impact assessment has been provided. No assessment of impact on disabled users, S&D people, elderly residents, and those with post-chairs, buggies, and no assessment on annual increase in operating days.
He feared the proposal fails to demonstrate it will not have a disproportionate adverse impact on persons with protected characteristics.
While the applicant's agent argued that the proposed changes would increase the stagger between Canary Wharf College Glenworth and St Luke's Primary School and that transport surveys indicated no unacceptable impacts, the committee was not convinced. The applicant's transport surveys and assessments, reviewed by council highways officers and an independent consultant, indicated that the proposed changes would not lead to unacceptable transport, safety, or amenity impacts. However, objectors argued that the transport assessments were flawed, particularly regarding survey methodology and bus capacity claims. The committee ultimately refused the application, citing insufficient evidence
in a previous non-material amendment application to demonstrate that the proposed changes would not harm residential amenities, increase congestion, or raise highway safety concerns due to cumulative effects with nearby schools' operating times. While the current application provided additional evidence, the committee still refused it, citing cumulative transport impacts and insufficient consideration of the interaction with other schools.
Objectors raised concerns about potential increases in antisocial behaviour, referencing a study by TfL and the Metropolitan Police from 2008 that found youth crime and antisocial behaviour peaks between 3 and 5 pm, with hot spots around schools and transport hubs. They also noted that the current staggered hours prevent such issues and that removing them would be a safeguarding failure. However, the Council's Antisocial Behaviour & Community Safety team received little evidence of significant or persistent antisocial behaviour linked to pupils from the local schools over the past 12 months, and no reports substantiating concerns about violent clashes, knife-related incidents, or youth-related disorder directly linked to school dismissal times.
Officers had recommended granting planning permission, subject to conditions including an Arrival/Departure Management Plan and annual monitoring of the Travel Plan. However, the committee's decision to refuse the application was based on concerns regarding antisocial behaviour and community safety, cumulative transport impacts, and a perceived lack of compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty.
The committee resolved to delegate the task of issuing the refusal decision to the Director of Planning and Building Control. The full details of the committee's discussion can be found in the public reports pack for the Development Committee meeting on 8th October 2026 Public reports pack.