Pensford Field Environmental Trust (PFET) has been told it can keep its studio on the Pensford Field site despite its lease expiring later this year.

In a letter, South London Legal Partnership (SLLP) has informed the charity that a cabin which it built during its time on Pensford Field would not have to be removed after originally being instructed to do so.

SLLP provides legal services to Richmond Council and four other boroughs (Merton, Sutton, Wandsworth and Kingston).

"We have since been instructed that our client does not require the cabin to be removed," said SLLP. "The entire structure can remain in situ after your (PFET) tenancy at will expires on 29th September 2025."

PFET reveal that on the day it received the letter from SLLP, it also received a reply to its freedom of information (FoI) request from November 2024 from Richmond Council in which the group sought communications about Pensford Field and 'terminating/granting of a new lease to Dose of Nature' (DoN) between 1 March 2024 and 20 September 2024.

Regarding the council's response to its latest FoI, the environmental charity said: "We (PFET) were then told at the end of January that the Council was considering the public interest test to withhold information so more time was needed and we got our response yesterday - 60 pages of stuff we had already seen and then the reliance on the public interest excuse for ….. we know not what.

"We can appeal -the Council has 40 days to respond before we can go to the Information Commissioner."

PFET, DoN and Richmond Council are having discussion this week on the Pensford Field lease going to DoN. PFET said it would be "happy to discuss if there is any way for both charities to co-exist."

The news of PFET being able to keeps its cabin comes as The Times newspaper visited the charity's volunteers for its report on the situation.

After 32 years of custodianship of Pensford Field nature reserve in Kew, PFET were informed on 5 September 2024 that their current 21 year lease would be terminated two and a half years early and transferred to DoN, a mental health charity, without any consultation.

The move from Richmond Council has been met with confusion from PFET, Kew residents and MP Sarah Olney.

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