Details of a new housing scheme for the prime Stag Brewery site, in Mortlake, which has been at the centre of a tug of war over its future, have been revealed.

The scheme – on the banks of the Thames - includes up to 1,085 homes in blocks which are up to nine storeys tall, alongside a new secondary school.

The new application claims the scheme will create a new 'village heart' for Mortlake with residential blocks alongside shops, offices, a cinema, restaurants, a pub or hotel, boathouse and a new riverside promenade.

An original scheme incorporating 633 homes and a 'care village' with up to 150 properties was approved by Richmond Council in 2020 only to be rejected by the Mayor of London.

The mayor, Sadiq Khan, blocked the scheme on the grounds it included too few affordable homes – around 138.

A second scheme was then lodged, which massively increased the scale and height of the development, with some blocks up to 10 storeys tall.

This included plans for up to 1,250 homes with 30per cent listed as affordable – around 375.

This scheme was also blocked by the mayor on the grounds it represented a major overdevelopment of an important site on the banks of the Thames, which incorporates some historic brewery buildings.

The third version of the scheme is slightly scaled back with some of the blocks limited at eight and nine storeys and the total number of homes brought down to a maximum of 1,085.

Interestingly, the application has not yet put a figure on how many of the properties would be listed as 'affordable', which has been a major sticking point in deciding the previous schemes.

The developers are even suggesting that including affordable homes in the scheme has been made more difficult by delays in getting planning permission because construction costs have risen sharply in the last two years.

Development of the site has faced strong opposition from local residents amid concerns the local roads and public services will unable to cope.

There has been particular controversy over the inclusion of a new 1,200 pupil secondary school with the associated movements of pupils - and the loss of a field used by locals for sport and recreation.

The Council has insisted that a school must form part of the scheme to meet demand from families in the borough, not least because of the extra housing that is due to be built over the next 10 years.

However, critics question the need for another school against the background of a falling birth rate.

Planning documents submitted by the developers to Richmond Borough Council state: "The scheme seeks to deliver a mixed-use development which will deliver a new village heart for Mortlake by providing a range of uses and creating permeability through the site, linking Mortlake to the Thames riverside.

"World-renowned architects, Squire & Partners, have worked alongside a range of technical specialists to develop a masterplan which takes a comprehensive design approach across the whole Site.

"The masterplan respects and responds to the surrounding local context, the riverside location and the Site's unique history.

"A key component of the masterplan is to open the previously closed site to the public, and provide new, attractive and open public spaces throughout.

"Award winning landscape architects Gillespies LLP have worked closely with the project team and relevant stakeholders throughout the design process to achieve this aim."

Guy Duckworth, director of Dartmouth Capital Advisors, who are undertaking the scheme on behalf of Reselton Properties, said: "We have listened to the views of the Mayor on the height and massing of the buildings and have reduced those accordingly.

"At the same time we have listened to the views of the local community, the Richmond Design Review Panel and the Richmond Council planning and design officers and we have sought views from the GLA."

He added: "We believe that the latest scheme reflects a balance of views of the interested stakeholders.

"We attempted to meet as near as possible the Mayor of London's targets for affordable housing and were very disappointed when he rejected the scheme.

"In the interval since then building costs have gone up by 20 to 25 per cent as a result of Covid and Brexit and this will have a knock-on effect on the amount of affordable housing we are able to provide."

The Mortlake Brewery Community Group has yet to give its verdict on the proposals. In March, it said: "The revised proposals will still have a significant impact on Mortlake and surrounding areas unless significant changes are made to the density, height of buildings and retention of green space – most notably scrap the Council's requirement for a redundant secondary school on the brewery sports field."