There has been much controversy over the decision by Tower Hamlets to grant planning consent for a 75-storey building close to Westferry Circus.
This will drive a coach and horses through the carefully agreed policy previously enforced around Canary Wharf and is likely to result in a series of unco-ordinated and uninteresting skyscrapers.
As the committee was considering the application, consultation was underway for two further massive developments in the Westferry/South Quay area, one of which is for another 57-storey tower.
The problem for Islanders is that we rarely see the benefits of these developments. Our roads, infrastructure, health facilities and schools are bursting at the seams, while more and ever larger development takes place.
We are told that developers will be making available money for education, but this is needed locally and now.
Days after the development meeting, I was at my councillors advice surgery. I met two families, with children who are sending them to schools in Bethnal Green and on the City fringe.
Not easy journeys during the winter months. Unlike Mayor Lutfur Rahman, neither have a council-provided, chauffeur driven car.
As I promised to do what I could to help, we caught sight of East End Life and agreed the Mayor should spend less time posing for photographs and more time sorting out the actual needs of residents.
■ Peter Golds is Conservative councillor for Blackwall and Cubitt Town.