The Limes east of Jubilee Gardens, at 123 Mortlake High Street on one side and this view on Thames Path the other, was built in around 1720. After a number of uses it was converted into seven private apartments in the early 21st century. The Limes is a Grade II Listed building.
Examining the ancient wall of John Dee’s Garden by John Dee House in Mortlake High Street. Note the different bricks.
Patience explains the concrete houses in Mortlake.
Learn with our local RPR experts Gill and Simon Silvester. This is the beekeeping association open day for this year. It’s a short walk from Twickenham Station. It should be a fun afternoon.
See previous bee posts on 17 May at https://childlawobserver10.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=2688&action=edit
and on 28 March at https://childlawobserver10.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=2096&action=edit
A local team made up of councillors, police, MESS Committee, Probus and an East Sheen Villager emerges from shelter.
Charlie Standing is giving a concert of his musical mishaps and disasters on June 8th. For many years Charlie was Organist at All Saints, and is a popular jazz pianist at a number of London Clubs.
Charlie’s repertoire ranges from Bach to Star Wars, and according to one fan he can play Messiaen with his right hand and I do like to be beside the seaside with his left!
The concert is raising funds for All Saints Church, East Sheen. Charlie will be playing on the excellent Yamaha grand piano there. Ticket price includes a glass of wine and a savoury nibble, £12 on the door or email ksheldon.vol@outlook.com
Richmond Council
We are looking for your input to build The Richmond upon Thames Transport Strategy 2040. The strategy will guide the development of long-term, sustainable, and inclusive transport improvements throughout the borough. It will address the emerging needs of the borough’s residents, businesses, and visitors over the next 15 years. There is a map to which you can pin your comments.
To date there are many comments on Richmond Town Centre and far fewer about East Sheen and Mortlake.
Have your say and tell the Council how it should be shaping its Transport Strategy 2040.This consultation closes on 31 May 2025.
https://richmondtransportstrategy.commonplace.is/
Although the Upper Richmond Road is a Transport for London route it is a key area for East Sheen and Mortlake and a cause of major difficulties. This is not surprising given it is the main south London road route. This received little attention in the Council’s evidence to the Stag Brewery Inquiry nor in the Inspector’s decision.
It was remarkable to hear from two Council officers at a MESS meeting last week that the junction of Sheen Lane iand the Upper Richmond Road is the most polluted spot in Richmond Borough. Not what we heard at the Inquiry.
Conditions are of course made worse by the closure of Hammersmith Bridge. The sad reality is that it is never likely to be opened to vehicles again, so we cannot look to a reopening as a solution.
The frequency with which the level crossing at Mortlake is down causes congestion on all adjacent roads. Network Rail has no plans to improve that area.
When the development at the Stag Brewery gets under way, all these problems will be exacerbated and they demand an urgent solution. The Transport Strategy must address them. It is perhaps understandable that the local community has paid less attention to these problems after several years of battling against excessive local development. But regrettably it appears that yet again we have to say to Richmond Council that Mortlake and East Sheen requires attention.
The Council is seeking your feedback on a proposal to implement measures aimed at enhancing road safety near Sheen Mount Primary School on Christchurch Road.
You may already be aware of the School Street that was implemented on West Temple Sheen in early March 2025. At the time of consulting on this school street, residents were also asked about the potential for an extended school street area to include Christchurch Road. This extended area was not supported for school street restrictions and the proposed school safety measures are designed to complement the existing school street restriction on West Temple Sheen, while ensuring that traffic on Christchurch Road remains unrestricted.
Due to the cost of implementing these proposed measures on Christchurch Road, they would be introduced on a permanent basis. The proposals look to ensure the safety of school children walking to and from school.
To respond to the survey go to https://haveyoursay.citizenspace.com/richmondecs/crssm-25/
Continue readingOne of the key issues of the residential aspects of the planning application was the viability of the scheme and its impact on affordable housing. What was eventually decided remarkably produced an outcome which concluded that the affordable housing could be at zero and that the 7% offered ‘exceeds the maximum reasonable provision and this provision is therefore a benefit of the Appeal Scheme’.
The Inspector’s decision included the following paragraphs.
172. Towards the end of the Inquiry the appellant offered an amended affordable
housing offer, on the basis that I might agree that the GLA’s case is
appropriate and that find that the appellant’s original affordable housing offer,
as considered within this main issue, does not represent the maximum
reasonable amount that could be provided………
173. Although I have some concerns as set out above, I do consider that the
intended level of profit is appropriate, that sales values are somewhere close
to the Council’s assessment, and that the comprehensive review mechanisms
that are proposed would be an appropriate method of ensuring that the
scheme would provide a suitable amount of affordable housing, in the event of
future economic growth.
174. As such, I consider that the proposed development provides the maximum
possible amount of affordable housing at this stage, and that the appellant’s
alternative offer of 12% would not be appropriate. I therefore conclude that
the development would have a positive effect on the local supply of affordable
housing ……….
In bald figures that means that of the proposed 1075 units, 65 would be affordable, 52 social rent and thirteen shared ownership. (Para 152) To be eligible for shared ownership in Richmond you need an income of £90,000 per annum. So you can exclude those.
Many of you will be familiar with other developments along the riverside into London. How many of the units in those are actually occupied? How many of those have been bought for investment by non-UK residents?
Richmond Council now has no chance of achieving its objectives on affordable housing. It appears they may now be able to rewrite the targets. Surely that would have to cause concern to some councillors? The less affluent will continue to be driven out. Local services will suffer.
Unless the developers are more successful selling expensive properties in Mortlake than they have been in Teddington, the waterside could be as much of a ghost town, fit only for filming scary movies, as it is now. (The Story Works may also be driven out. What a local loss.) The nationwide policy on broadening the availability of lower cost housing will need a rethink.
Although the Inspector stated that he had concerns, regrettably he felt unable to translate them into what would have reflected reasonable provision. Find a person other than witnesses for the developers and the Council who finds the decision acceptable in relation to this aspect of the case.
This is an issue which will not go away and you can expect it to be revisited here at regular intervals. So what private discussions are now being held about housing in the Borough? And when can we expect to see them published?
Community Ventures: The next Bring and Share lunch with parish friends will be at All Saints, on Thursday, 22 May, at 12.30pm. Please contact Mireille Stanton – email: mireille.stanton@gmail.com Sue Bonnell – 07762 018864, Sara Bromfield – 07986 726309, or Kate Woodhouse – email: katewoodhouse20@gmail.com if you would like to come and for further information.
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