It may be the middle of August 2026, but we cannot lose sight of the present state of one of the major open spaces in the area and the lack of planning for the consquences. It is over ten years since the Singaporean based City Developments Ltd (CDL) bought the Stag Brewery site for £165 million. Their website now states ‘for Development and / or Resale’. This is a small part of their £1.27 bn revenue just announced.

The developers have mothballed their project, finding it too expensive. Well they should not have paid so much in the first place, and they with Richmond Council, should have paid closer attention to the expertise of the local community.

The residential part was excessive, but as has always been accepted locally, necessary to some degree. It required a greater proportion of affordable housing, and it was always doubtful whether the design and type of accommodation approved would actually have sold. Except perhaps to foreign investors.

The Leader of Richmond Council was recently reported as blaming the Mayor of London for the debacle. (Richmond Nub News 29/06/2026) Politically convenient but nonsense.

Mortlake has always been of secondary interest to Richmond Council, save potentially as a cash cow. So local residents have no reason to expect assistance from that source. The Council is dominated by interests on the other side of the river.

Indeed if there was a balanced borough wide view, there would be questions asked about who should carry the can for the disatrous outcome. If this was in Twickenham or Teddington there would be a genuine debate. But this is Mortlake.