The question of what is going to happen to the Stag Brewery site in Mortlake, near the finishing post of the Oxford-Cambridge boat race, has been rumbling on for a number of years now.

Tonight, the four South-West London candidates for the GLA from the main political parties are taking part in a pre-electoral hustings about Mortlake. These are:

- Candice Atterton (Labour)

- Andrée Frieze (Green Party)

- Gareth Roberts (Liberal Democrats)

- Nicholas Rogers (Conservatives)

Tonight's Zoom webinar is an opportunity to discuss the future of Mortlake with particular reference to the planned development of the Stag Brewery site.

Each candidate will speak for a few minutes, they will then take questions submitted earlier by residents.

Register for the event here.

It was way back in 2017 that residents first heard about the planned redevelopment for the site, and there have been numerous consultations and amendments ever since.

A final decision is due to be made by the Deputy Mayor of London, Jules Pipe, but this has been delayed until after the Mayoral and GLA elections on May 6. As yet, there is no fixed date for it.

So what is the situation now, and how did we get here? Let's take a look.

January 2020: Richmond Council approves the original planning application

In January 2020 Richmond Council approved the original application by the developers Reselton.

The application was split into three sections, focusing on the residential housing and commercial space, the secondary school, and the changes that would need to be made to the road layout to mitigate extra traffic to the site.

This plan said there would be 633 homes on the site, but only 17 per cent (138 homes) would be affordable.

There was also a plan for a 'care village' for up to 150 units, as well as a secondary school and sixth form for 1,200 pupils.

Richmond councillors approved the first two bits of the application but rejected the changes to the traffic junction at Chalker's Corner.

The Mayor takes over the application

However, the application was called in by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, because of its low level of affordable housing, which stood at just 17 per cent.

The developers increased this to 30 per cent last summer by including more homes and making the buildings taller.

The new application included up to 1,250 homes and up to three more storeys on some of the buildings.

The Mayor was due to make a decision on the amended scheme on November 26 after a consultation over the summer and a re-consultation in October, but this was delayed.

The community presents its alternative plan

The Mortlake Brewery Community Group (MBCG) has been monitoring the application and plans for the site every step of the way.

It is an umbrella group of residents which says it is not opposed to the development, but wants it to benefit all residents and visitors.

After the delays to the Mayor's decision the MBCG pushed again for the alternative community plan for a smaller development, and to prevent the start of building until Hammersmith Bridge was fully reopened.

When the Local Democracy Reporting Service spoke to the group in December 2020, co-chair and architect Peter Eaton, said: "It's just got bigger, it's got taller, it's got more dense, and by going taller, it's actually damaged a lot of the placemaking that they were trying to achieve with the open spaces.

He said the latest development proposals for the Stag Brewery site would "nearly double the population of Mortlake and force more cars and pollution onto the local road network, which doesn't have the capacity to cope".

The community plan would include a maximum of 700 flats "with ample affordable and social rent housing, blocks no taller than the old Maltings building and protection for the precious green space on the historic Watneys playing fields".

February 2021: The Mayor consults on the application yet again to look at the impact of the Hammersmith Bridge closure

In February this year, the Mayor launched yet another consultation to give residents the opportunity to give feedback on technical notes from the applicant about the impact of Hammersmith Bridge's closure on traffic.

They also included the developer's response to issues raised during previous consultations, as well as a summary of traffic modelling findings and road improvement plans.

Now: Lead up to the Mayoral Election

With the Mayoral and GLA elections coming up in May, the Stag Brewery development has been a hot topic of conversation.

A debate centered on the candidates' views on the development will be hosted by the Mortlake Brewery Community Group on April 27.

Access the event here.