Your council
Tower Hamlets: what’s happening where you live
What the council itself has published on the five things it most shapes for a household: homes, getting about, the bill, the local environment and schools. Each line is quoted from the council’s own document, with the link. This page says what was decided or proposed; it never says whether it was right.
London Borough of Tower Hamlets: London borough (unitary), England, London; part of the GLA combined authority. GOV.UK lists it as a unitary council.
Council website · Publication scheme
Do it online
- Household waste collection: Providing information
- Household waste collection: Reporting
- Bulky household waste collections: Applications for service
- Household garden waste: Providing information
- Recycling bags and containers: Providing information
- Flytipping: Reporting
- Road maintenance: Reporting
- Street lighting: Reporting
- Noise pollution: Reporting
- Council tax annual notification: Providing information
- Council tax annual notification: Collecting revenue
- Council tax discount: Applications for service
- Council tax benefit new claim: Applications for service
- Housing benefit new claim: Providing information
- Electoral register: Providing information
- Electoral register: Applications for service
- Primary school places: Applications for service
- Secondary school places: Applications for service
- Library facilities: Providing information
- Parking permits: Providing information
- Planning decision notices: Providing information
- Councillors directory: Providing information
- Complaints procedure: Providing information
Housing
We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website
Transport
We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website
Council tax
Band D set by Tower Hamlets for 2026–27: £1,327.27 of a £1,837.78 total bill in the area.
We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website
Environment
We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website
Education
We haven't read this council's own publications yet. The council’s website
What the council plans to spend, 2026–27
| Service | Budget |
|---|---|
| Education services | £423.9 million |
| Highways and transport services | −£3.3 million |
| Children's social care | £91.3 million |
| Adult social care | £173.3 million |
| Public health | £48.1 million |
| Housing services (general fund only) | £36.0 million |
| Cultural and related services | £5.1 million |
| Environmental and regulatory services | £54.8 million |
| Planning and development services | £10.2 million |
| Police services | none budgeted |
| Fire and rescue services | none budgeted |
| Central services | £76.5 million |
| Other services | £2.9 million |
| Total service expenditure | £918.7 million |
Tower Hamlets in numbers
- Total population
- 331,886 people
- Median age
- 30 years
- Gross disposable household income per head
- £32,568
- Gross median weekly pay
- £856
- Children in relative poverty after housing costs
- 50.3%
- Claimant Count
- 6.7%
- Average house price
- £447,796
- Housing affordability ratio (residence-based)
- 9.6 affordability ratio
- Female healthy life expectancy
- 59.2 years
- Male healthy life expectancy
- 59.5 years
- Greenhouse gas emissions
- 3.0 tCO2e per capita
- Gigabit capable broadband
- 86.7%
- Public electric vehicle chargers
- 775.6 per 100,000 population
- Active businesses
- 18,975 number of enterprises
Who runs the council
45 seats in 2026. Run by: Aspire Mayor, with a majority.
Councillors by party: Aspire 32, Green Party (E&W) 5, Labour Party 5, Conservative and Unionist 1, Independent / Other 1, Liberal Democrats 1.
Next scheduled council election: 2 May 2030.
All 45 councillors, by ward
- Ahmodul Kabir (Aspire) — Bethnal Green East
- Halima Islam (Aspire) — Bethnal Green East
- Syed Abdullah (Aspire) — Bethnal Green East
- Abu Chowdhury (Aspire) — Bethnal Green West
- Amin Rahman (Aspire) — Bethnal Green West
- Musthak Ahmed (Aspire) — Bethnal Green West
- Ahmodur Khan (Aspire) — Blackwall & Cubitt Town
- Bellal Uddin (Aspire) — Blackwall & Cubitt Town
- Minara Khatun (Aspire) — Blackwall & Cubitt Town
- Jonathan Purcell (Green Party (E&W)) — Bow East
- Mads Churchhouse (Green Party (E&W)) — Bow East
- Ottilie Swinyard (Green Party (E&W)) — Bow East
- Martin Parker (Green Party (E&W)) — Bow West
- Rupert George (Green Party (E&W)) — Bow West
- Abdul Mannan (Aspire) — Bromley North
- Mohammed Ilyas (Aspire) — Bromley North
- Bodrul Choudhury (Aspire) — Bromley South
- Shahaveer Hussain (Labour Party) — Bromley South
- Maium Talukdar (Aspire) — Canary Wharf
- Saied Ahmed (Aspire) — Canary Wharf
- Peter Golds (Conservative and Unionist) — Island Gardens
- Sadiqur Rahman (Aspire) — Island Gardens
- Abul Monsur (Independent / Other) — Lansbury
- Foysal Ahmed (Aspire) — Lansbury
- Iqbal Hossain (Aspire) — Lansbury
- David Edgar (Labour Party) — Limehouse
- Mohammed Mahmud (Aspire) — Mile End
- Mohammed Omar Mehdi (Aspire) — Mile End
- Rougie Khanom (Aspire) — Mile End
- Gulam Kibria Choudhury (Aspire) — Poplar
- Harun Miah (Aspire) — Shadwell
- Rabina Khan (Liberal Democrats) — Shadwell
- Faysal Ahmed (Aspire) — Spitalfields & Banglatown
- Suluk Ahmed (Aspire) — Spitalfields & Banglatown
- Shafiq Islam (Aspire) — St Dunstan's
- Shenaly Miah (Aspire) — St Dunstan's
- Abdal Ullah (Labour Party) — St Katharine's & Wapping
- Victoria Lupton (Labour Party) — St Katharine's & Wapping
- Abdul Wahid Ali (Aspire) — Stepney Green
- Sabina Akhtar (Aspire) — Stepney Green
- Amina Ali (Labour Party) — Weavers
- Kabir Ahmed (Aspire) — Weavers
- Abulkashem Helal (Aspire) — Whitechapel
- Kamrul Hussain (Aspire) — Whitechapel
- Shafi Ahmed (Aspire) — Whitechapel