Stan Crockett, a well-known character around locally, is 80 in January 2025. He was born when the family was living in Portman Avenue, went to school at East Sheen Primary School and then Mortlake Boys School, and has lived in Thornton Road for 55 years. He still works round the area.
His father Reginald, a notorious west country sheep stealer between the wars, turned his life round and opened a grocery shop at 325 Upper Richmond Road. As a fourteen year old Stan earned £3 per week at Stewarts the Butchers, now Artisans. He recalls cycling up to Chelsea to deliver four lamb chops.
Stan and his wife Margaret are well involved in the Sheen community and as members of the Mortlake with East Sheen Society, well informed. They have seen a few changes in the area, not all good. They recall when a council employee used to come round to ensure hedges were well maintained and check on potholes. There were not so many hairdressers, cafes or coffee bars and no vape shops. We didn’t do all our shopping at a supermarket. People didn’t wander round looking at their mobiles or cycle on pavements.
Like so many local residents they find the proposals for the development at the Stag Brewery difficult to understand. Why such density of residential units? Why a 1200 pupil secondary school, when all the local primary schools are reporting a shortage of entrants? And what are the implications for the already difficult local medical, transport and traffic problems?
Stan might be related to the legendary Davy of the Alamo. He had six children so who knows?
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We have many primary schools in the area but very few secondary, after Richmond Park Academy. In N Barnes many children are outside the catchment with no place to go. One in Four send their children to independent schools because there is a shortage of secondary choice at secondary. Now with VAT on school fees not everyone can afford the sacrifice. We have needed an additional secondary school for over 15 years and have been waiting so long for this site to give the school which is needed. Please do not obstruct this permission which we have waited over ten years to secure.
We have been waiting over 10 years for a site to put a secondary school. People without the need for a school there do not understand the complete shortage of provision.
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People will be aware that reflects the Council view. But you Helen and our local councillors (and one other) are the only people many of us have heard express that view. It would be interesting to hear if there are others. You write that one in four send their children to private schools: where do the others attend? It would also be interesting to hear how children from North Barnes expect to get to the Brewery site. Rush hours buses will surely be problematic?
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Sadly that is the way of the world- we cant get a much needed special needs school in North worple way without selling the land to a developer to put YET another unsustainable greedy development with basement parking on a road that cannot cope with the extra traffic, particularly the dangerous and severely congested crossing on White Hart Lane….and already overparked kerbs on Queens Rd..
but I digress…
Is it really the only way forward?
More importantly, when the banks of the Thames overflow cos the barrier can no longer cope, and the silt and sewerage floods up Sheen Lane and White Hart Lane into the streets ABOVE the railway line as is already anticipated 1;100 years, will we be throwing the mud at the king and queen, or will we be blaming the council and the politicians for a natural disaster which they could predict but NOT prevent
The risk lies with the politicians and the council, yet they deflect it to the developers and the people that buy property in these flood zones. In the meantime we shift the deckchairs on the Titanic….
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