Campaigners Urge Rethink Ahead of Stag Brewery Vote

Say plan must be blocked due to density and lack of affordable housing


Mortlake Brewery Community Group (MBCG) after refused the previous scheme in 2021. Picture: MBCG

January 31, 2024

A community group has demanded an ‘urgent rethink’ of plans to build a huge new neighbourhood with a ‘paltry’ level of affordable housing in Mortlake. Richmond Council is set to make a final decision on Wednesday (31 January) on the 1,075-home scheme for the former Stag Brewery site in Mortlake across the river from Chiswick, which only includes 65 affordable homes.

Mortlake Brewery Community Group (MBCG) has also raised objections to the scheme over its scale, density and height, along with concerns about its impact on traffic levels and the surroundings. MBCG told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) the 22-acre site is the “biggest development opportunity” in Richmond but decisions on its revamp have been plagued by years of delays. It has called for its “urgent rethink”.

It comes after the brewery’s former owners Anheuser-Busch InBev announced in 2009 it would close and left the site in 2015. Developer Reselton Properties Limited then bought the site, which had been home to a brewery since 1487.

The council approved an 813-home scheme for the site, with 17 per cent affordable housing, from Reselton Properties Limited in 2020. The decision was called in by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan due to the low proportion. The developer increased the number of homes to 1,250, with 28 per centaffordable housing, but this was thrown out by the Mayor in 2021 due to concerns including height and scale.

Reselton Properties Limited then revised both planning applications making up the scheme to propose 1,068 homes, including 65 affordable homes, which were approved by the council in July last year. It had to make slight changes after Housing Secretary Michael Gove announced all new residential buildings taller than 18 metres will need a second staircase. This led to an increase in the number of homes to 1,075 – with the same number of affordable homes.

CGI of the revised scheme for the former Stag Brewery viewed from across the river in Chiswick. Picture: Reselton Properties Limited/Squire and Partners

MBCG has called for the revised application to be rejected as it goes against local planning policy in terms of affordable housing provision, building heights and the loss of playing fields it would bring about. It said the scheme proposes a “paltry” level of affordable housing and does “nothing to alleviate the housing crisis in Richmond”.

Guy Duckworth, on behalf of Reselton Properties Limited, said the scheme’s proposed level of affordable housing is higher than the figure multiple independent valuers had agreed it could support. He added 80 per cent of the affordable homes would be available at social rent for families and built in the first phase of the scheme, while the developer would reassess whether it could include more affordable homes if market conditions allow at the start, middle and end of the process.

CGI of the revised scheme for the former Stag Brewery. Picture: Reselton Properties Limited/Squire and Partners

Mr Duckworth told the LDRS the scheme has the “same external physical dimensions” as the plans that were approved last year.

The council’s planning committee will only look at the changes in the revised application, which has been recommended for approval by officers, when it votes on 31 January. The second application making up the scheme is for a new secondary school, which the council has approved and will not consider again. The overall scheme includes tower blocks up to nine storeys tall, shops, restaurants, offices, a cinema and space for a hotel or pub.

Francine Bates, co-chair of MBCG, told the LDRS it is “shocking that the council is willing to allow this huge scheme to go through” with the proposed level of affordable housing. She said, “By insisting on land for a secondary school that is not needed, they are denying the chance of more low-cost homes for people in Richmond.”

Mortlake residents also told the LDRS they felt the council had ignored their concerns about the scheme. Alistair Johnston, who lives in Mortlake, said, “It is very sad that the council are not listening at all to local people on how incredibly unsuitable this massive, dense and tall, development is to this beautiful part of the Thames.”

Richard White, who has lived in East Sheen for 40 years, added, “What most disappoints me about the council’s current attitude to the Stag Brewery planning applications is their refusal to acknowledge the widespread opposition from local residents many of whom have a high level of relevant expertise.”

Philip Carter, who lives and runs a business in Mortlake, said the scheme is “flawed” due to the site’s limited position between the River Thames and Lower Richmond Road. He said, “Losing the open playing fields and building above and beyond the restricted heights will only exacerbate this, plus the ensuing increased traffic mayhem will create intolerably high air pollution.”

A total of 1,346 residents signed a petition last year calling on the council to investigate measures to tackle congestion in areas such as Mortlake, including by considering the Stag Brewery plans. Green councillor Niki Crookdake said the lack of a transport strategy to “accommodate the unprecedented level of development in the area is shocking” and claimed residents who had “petitioned the council to come up with a cohesive transport plan were ignored”.

CGI of the revised scheme for the former Stag Brewery. Picture: Reselton Properties Limited/Squire and Partners

MBCG has put forward a community plan for the site, which suggests two new areas for potential affordable housing, along with keeping the playing fields and building heights to a maximum of seven storeys. It also proposes moving Thomson House Primary School to the site, instead of building a new secondary school.

Mr Duckworth told the LDRS the scheme would “open up the site to create a publicly-accessible 22-acre brownfield riverside site which has been privately occupied and sealed to public access for centuries”. He said it broadly complies with the council’s development brief and rises “to a level in two isolated locations which is marginally taller than the guidelines in the plan” to “ensure an interesting and varied skyline”.

The representative argued the plans would bring a “new commercial heart to Mortlake” and could create more than 300 jobs. He added Community Infrastructure Levy payments ranging from £48million to £60m would be made as part of the development to upgrade infrastructure.

Mr Duckworth said the scheme includes a new public park on Lower Richmond Road and road improvements to ease congestion, along with works to improve access around the site for pedestrians and cyclists and the safety of the Mortlake level crossing. He described it as having a “positive air quality status” as all heating and hot water would be provided by electronically-powered air source heat pumps, while it proposes more than 400 new trees.

He added the planned school meets the demands of the council and Department for Education, while its sports facilities would be available to the public outside of school hours and in the holidays.

The plans will also be referred to the Mayor for a final decision, who can let the committee’s decisions on both applications stand, direct refusal or call the scheme in.

Richmond Council has been contacted for comment.

Charlotte Lillywhite - Local Democracy Reporter