How an east London estate fought developers for its own purpose-built mosque — and won
Residents of the Burdett estate in Tower Hamlets campaigned for redevelopment plans to include a new mosque. Almost 10 years on, they say it has transformed the area and the community for the better
Set among low-rise flats and post-war blocks in Poplar, east London, Burdett Estate Masjid, with its glass minaret, stands in sharp contrast to its surroundings.
The mosque, situated on the aptly named Masjid Lane, welcomes upwards of 1,000 worshippers every week for Jummah prayers, and has served the local community since April 2017.
When Muslim families from Sylhet, in north-east Bangladesh, first began settling in Tower Hamlets in the 1970s, they established mosques in improvised spaces such as flats, shops and later community centres. Now, more than 50 years on and as the largest demographic in the area, the community is increasingly shaping the borough’s social infrastructure.
The development of Burdett Estate Masjid is a symbol of this shift. The mosque was commissioned by social landlord Poplar Harca as part of a regeneration project on the estate from 2015 to 2019. Harca worked closely with the local community, represented by the Burdett Bangladeshi Cultural Association (BBCA), on the development. The project also included the construction of 109 homes, a primary school and a nursery. The mosque is not the only place of worship; a church has been situated on the estate since 1955.
Historic England estimates that around 20% of British mosques are purpose-built, with most being housed in adapted buildings. Mosques that are integrated into social housing developments are rarer still. The Burdett Estate Masjid is one of few examples Hyphen has been able to find. In Telford, a regeneration project led by the Wrekin Housing Group in 2024 included upgrades to the local mosque. Also in Tower Hamlets, the redevelopment of the Harriott, Apsley and Pattinson Houses estate by Countryside Partnerships, announced in 2024, will also incorporate a mosque for the local community.
Today, the mosque is a pillar of the Burdett estate. “It’s instilled a sense of being for the Muslim community here,” Mohammad Kashim, a trustee of the mosque says. “Especially having a road named Masjid Lane. You don’t get that often. It’s something to be proud of.”
Tia Bibi, who has lived on the estate for more than 25 years, says the mosque had significantly improved life for her children. “It’s the mosque that has made this area a nice place to live,” she says. “We can see the change in our children. It’s improving their behaviour.”
Aside from providing prayer space, the mosque also hosts a youth club, as well as Islamic classes for young boys and girls. There are Qur’an classes for women and Islamic lectures in both English and Bangla.
“I used to be scared for my son to go out, but now with the youth club I know where he is,” Bibi says, as we speak at the Limborough Food Hub, a community space based inside a ground floor flat, just a three-minute walk from the mosque. The hub hosts weekly events for women and children of all faiths and backgrounds. It also has a garden where locals can grow their own produce, including traditional Bangladeshi fruits, vegetables and spices, such as bottle gourds, pumpkins and naga peppers.
Bibi says that frequenting the mosque has helped build relationships with neighbours. “So now if my son goes anywhere, I know there’s probably someone I know who will see him and look out for him.”
Fedousy Haque moved to the area with her husband 15 years ago. At the time, Tower Hamlets ranked in the 10 London boroughs with the highest crime rates according to data released by the Metropolitan Police, and anti-social behaviour on the estate was rife, but the couple had no other option. “It was either we took it, or we stayed in temporary accommodation,” she recalls.
Haque says that although there are still some problems, she believes the regeneration project and the introduction of neighbourhood patrol officers has improved conditions on the estate.
Echoing Bibi’s comments, Haque says that the mosque in particular has become an anchor for the community. “It’s very tight-knit. The neighbours are good and everybody supports each other. If you have any problem, you can knock on a door and they will come straight away.”
While parts of the project were welcomed by families on the estate, there were strong criticisms of the redevelopment at the time.
Poplar Harca was given permission to build on land that was being used as a recreational area by children who lived on the estate. Some of the land needed for regeneration was also occupied by the BBCA’s old mosque, located in a Portacabin-style building. A council report from 2015 found the redevelopment included 23 fewer council homes than had previously existed on the site. Residents staged demonstrations at the town hall.
One of the protestors was Helal Miah, who grew up on the Burdett Estate. “When Harca first came in, there was a lot of talk of gentrifying the area,” Miah says.
“We are one of the last bastions that fought tooth and nail against Harca, and when I say we fought, we actually fought. We took 500 people to the town hall to demonstrate, and we went to Harca’s offices.
“Everyone came out. Kids, women, disabled people, elders. We all grew up in the same area and we stuck together. Even the non-Muslim people were supportive.”
Following a period of negotiations with Poplar Harca, the BBCA agreed to give up the land used by children as a play area in exchange for the masjid.
“It is rare. We are one of the last areas in Tower Hamlets that are still community-led,” says Miah.
Poplar Harca also saw the discussions as a success. “We wanted to work closely with residents and try to find out what the estate needed and the kind of infrastructure we could provide,” says Babu Bhattacherjee, the landlord’s chief communities officer. “Throughout the conversation with the community, there was a real desire for a purpose-built space.
“They wanted to build something that would be a really important feature of public life, that children from the school could go and visit, and that had a clear relationship with everything around it.”
Today, Miah is also a trustee of the mosque. Both he and Kashim were involved in the planning and design of the building through to completion.
Dominique Oliver, a managing partner at Pollard Thomas Edwards and the scheme’s architect, says there was an in-depth consultation process with the mosque committee. “We couldn’t have done this project without them, it would have been nonsense.”
Together, they looked at overseas and historic mosques for inspiration, but ultimately decided that the space should be a “modern representation of the community”, Oliver says.
The final product is a contemporary building that honours the features of traditional mosques. Burdett Estate Masjid is spacious enough to hold 1,600 worshippers, with a tall glazed minaret on one corner and two large windows that stretch across its two floors. The entire exterior is wrapped in white metal cladding and one side is perforated with kufic calligraphy, which allows light to flow into the main hall on sunny days.
The metal cladding has “multi-functions within it”, Oliver explains. “It’s there to provide security. Within it, there are doors that can be opened up and locked away in the evening. It gives screening, and light and shade to the rooms behind it, but it also builds a visual connection to say, ‘This is what we are’.”
The kufic script is a defining feature and is inspired by the detailed carvings of historic mosques. The mosque backs onto St Paul’s Way Primary School. During school holidays, or on occasions such as Eid, the doors of the mosque are opened up and the school playground is used as an additional prayer space.
For the women at the Limborough Food Hub, it has provided an opportunity they had longed for — to be able to attend Taraweeh prayers during Ramadan.
“Usually, local mosques are too small to accommodate us as well, so when they announced that women could attend, we felt relieved,” Bibi says.
