Fears of Gridlock South of the River Due to Developments
Over a thousand Richmond residents sign petition calling for investigation
Residents have been raising concerns about the ability of existing roads being able to cope since the developments were first proposed. Picture: Mortlake Brewery Community Group
July 5, 2023
More than a thousand Richmond residents have signed a petition demanding solutions to gridlocked traffic on their roads. The petition argues public transport, including train and bus services, in Mortlake, Barnes, East Sheen and Kew is not good enough to accommodate the level of development proposed for the neighbourhoods.
The petition calls on Richmond Council and the Mayor of London to appoint an independent transport consultant to investigate the overall impact of four developments proposed for the borough – at the old Stag Brewery site, on Lower Richmond Road, Barnes Hospital, on South Worple Way, former Homebase site, on Manor Road, and Kew Retail Park. It has been signed by more than 1,150 Richmond residents so far.
Green councillor Niki Crookdake, who started the petition, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the developments would add thousands more homes and residents to the areas, if they all go ahead. She said the neighbourhoods are constrained by being “squashed” between the River Thames, Richmond Park, railway lines and level crossings.
She said: “We’re completely logjammed on our main roads, and that’s before any of the development begins. So from that point of view we need somebody holistically, an independent person, to look at all these transport issues in the area and try to come up with a solution that will work in the long-term.”
Councillor Crookdake added “more reliable and more frequent” public transport services are needed locally.
The petition says there are “regular and serious levels of traffic congestion causing both gridlock and safety risks at strategic junctions and hotspots such as the four level crossings at Mortlake Station, Manor Road, White Hart Lane and Vine Road and Chalker’s Corner”.
It adds there are “major uncertainties over the future of Hammersmith Bridge and rail and bus service levels in the locality, some of which have recently been reduced”.
The petition says, “We see no evidence that this significant increase in development can be accommodated within our current transport infrastructure – principally roads – when our current public transport service levels are so weak.”
It continues: “We therefore respectfully ask that the Mayor and Richmond Council… work together to appoint an independent transport consultant to assess the detailed cumulative impact of the developments on the transport infrastructure in the locality and to determine what action is needed to mitigate this.”
Plans for the old Stag Brewery site, being considered by the council, include more than 1,000 new homes, offices and a 1,200-place secondary school.
A visualisation of the Stag Brewery scheme from the developer. Picture: Squire + Partners
A new NHS mental health centre and school for kids with special educational needs have been approved for the Barnes Hospital site, while a separate application proposing 109 new homes are also being considered.
A total of 453 homes are also proposed for the former Homebase site. Initial proposals for up to 1,200 new homes and shops at Kew Retail Park were also revealed last year, but no planning application has been submitted.
About the former Stag Brewery site plans, a Dartmouth Advisors spokesperson, acting for the applicant, said the scheme offers many benefits to the community – including transport improvements, such as highways works, contributions to bus services, cycle parking spaces and new pedestrian routes.
They said the site is currently “redundant” and a “barrier between the residential community of Mortlake and the banks of the River Thames”.
The spokesperson said: “Our scheme does away with the massive nine and 10-storey industrial buildings currently on site and opens the whole site to public access.
“The application to develop the scheme is with Richmond Council and is supported by robustly tested transport, environmental and social assessment reports. These have been tested and are supported by TfL, Richmond’s own traffic engineers and officers.”
They added, “Furthermore the maximum level of affordable housing to be included has been assessed and agreed by two sets of independent valuers and this content is to be optimised in favour of three-bed units as requested by the council. This is also subject to intermittent review during the delivery years of the scheme.”
About the Barnes Hospital redevelopment, a South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust spokesperson said, “We want to provide our communities with the best possible mental health care in the most suitable environment. At the moment the Barnes Hospital site is underused, and its condition and design make it harder to provide high quality care.
“We are using part of the site to replace the outdated buildings with a brand-new facility to deliver the existing services at Barnes Hospital – there will be no change to the level of mental health services provided. We have been engaging with our local community on these plans and will continue to work with them as the redevelopment of Barnes Hospital progresses.”
A Richmond Council spokesperson said, “When individual developments are considered by the council’s planning committee, this includes the potential impact on transport and other services, including the context of the local area.
“The council works closely with Transport for London and the rail organisations to ensure transport is suitably provided, with or without new development. The council itself is not directly responsible for deciding the levels of bus or rail services, and TfL is also responsible for managing the red route network and traffic signals and determining what changes may be needed to these.”
TfL has been contacted for comment.
Charlotte Lillywhite - Local Democracy Reporter