Richmond councillors last night overruled a recommendation by planning officers and voted for new homes on the former Greggs Bakery site in Twickenham - which will deliver 58 high quality affordable homes in a borough where only one affordable home has been completed since May.
Award-winning developer London Square hailed the decision as “a victory for common sense.” London Square will now build 116 new homes, with 58 affordable homes, 47 of which are London Affordable Rent homes, which are genuinely affordable, on the 2.7 acre derelict brownfield site, which has been vacant since 2018. An earlier application by London Square was turned down in 2020. Last night, the borough’s planning committee voted 7-2 in favour of the new scheme.
Mark Smith commented, "Last night’s decision will provide 58 new affordable homes – almost double the overall number of affordable delivered in the borough in the past year"
Mark Smith, Group Development Director
Mark continues, "Planning policy is a snapshot in time and dates very quickly. The protection of industrial land post-pandemic in a residential neighbourhood is no longer appropriate for this site in a borough which has the highest proportion in London of home working – 58.75%. We look forward to delivering a new chapter for the site with a beautifully designed scheme."
London Square has an outstanding track record of delivery in the London Borough of Richmond. It undertook the award-winning conversion and restoration of the Grade II listed Star and Garter Building and Ancaster House on Richmond Hill, the former home of The Royal Star & Garter Homes charity. The sale of the building to London Square enabled the charity to establish purpose-built residential centres for former servicemen and women.
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