Residents challenging the 'over-development' of the Mortlake Brewery site with more than 1,000 homes and a secondary school are to hold a public meeting.

The scheme, which has been at the centre of more than 10 years of wrangling, has been pushed back into the planning system following last minute design changes.

Changes to building regulations means the revised scheme will have 14 fewer homes as the result of removing a storey from one of the apartment blocks, bringing the total down to 1,071.

As well as these homes, there are plans for offices, shops, a cinema and a secondary school, which is the most contentious element of the scheme.

Other changes include reducing the height of the cinema, changing the design of the cinema and office entrances in one of the buildings and less space for offices.

The fire, lighting, drainage and waste strategies have been changed while the landscaping and wheelchair accessibility plans have been updated.

Residents have long argued that the proposals represent an over-development of the site. They complain it will generate a massive increase in traffic, so exacerbating existing road jams and adding to air pollution.

They argue that this scheme, together with others for Kew Retail Park, the Homebase land in north Sheen and Barnes Hospital site, will put impossible pressure on the area's infrastructure.

The Mortlake Community Association is hosting a meeting for concerned residents on Monday, October 17. The intention is to provide an update and, residents hope, give new impetus to their campaign for a slimmed down scheme.

Specifically, they suggest plans for the secondary school with 1,100 pupils should be replaced by a smaller primary school. It argues moving the Thomson House school from Sheen Lane would be the best option.

The Association also points out that an original proposal for the site would have allowed no more than 600 homes. It argues this sort of number, possibly higher if there was a greater number of affordable homes, would be a better fit.

Co-chair, Francine Bates, said the group is not against development of the site, but rather they want a scheme that better fits the sensitive riverside location.

"We will be urging people to use the consultation on the changes to the plans as another opportunity to reinforce our major concerns,' she said.

"It seems to us that the developers, and indeed the council, want to put too much on to a 22 acre site. That is primarily because of the council's desire to put a large purpose built secondary school on the site.

"That creates less space for affordable housing, but creates more density, along with extra traffic and harming air quality."

The group is particularly keen to protect a green area sports field, which would largely be swallowed up by the proposed school.

"There are not enough kids to go to a secondary school from the local community," she said.

"Our own community plans suggests there should not be a secondary school, but rather we can see the sense of a primary school.

"We are not anti-development, we are anti-overdevelopment."

The group has welcomed the fact that their concerns are being taken up by Green party councillor, Niki Crookdake, who won her seat at the May Council elections.

Cllr Crookdake has agreed to ask for a review of the need for new secondary school given a falling birth rate in the borough.

She has also asked for the scheme's transport and air quality impact to be re-valuated in the context of the other major housing schemes planned in the area.

Miss Bates said: "For the first time we have a councillor willing to challenge the need for the school, which we are very positive about.

"She is also challenging the transport plans for the area given the other developments that are planned. They will all have a very significant impact."

* Public meeting at St. Mary's Church, Mortlake High St on Monday , October 17, 7pm.