A decision on the future of a huge development in Mortlake will be made today in a meeting with London Mayor Sadiq Khan at City Hall.

The plans to build 1,250 homes at Mortlake's 22-acre Stag Brewery site have faced fierce opposition from residents and local politicians alike.

Campaigners say the development would double the size of Mortlake and they have been fighting for a sustainable development for over 10 years, but say the proposals put forward by Reselton Properties would "destroy" the area.

Francine Bates, Co-Chair of Mortlake Brewery Community Group said: "We are not opposed to the site being developed but this is a terrible scheme that will destroy Mortlake and the surrounding area as we know it.

"We have developed our own set of plans for the site which would greatly reduce density and traffic gridlock, and retain the green space we all need in a post-pandemic world.

"We call on Sadiq to reject the plan in front of him for the sake of local Richmond residents and all Londoners who love this stretch of river and direct the developers to work with the community to come up with a better plan for Mortlake."

Michael Squire, Senior Partner at the site's architects, Squire & Partners, said the "whole aspiration" of the original planning brief by the Council "was that they should develop something that was rich in terms of mix and uses and would be able to be a genuine seamless addition to the local area rather than an isolated housing estate."

He said the development will be: "A new piece of the city which will be very valuable to all of those who live around it."

Mortlake Brewery Community Group argues the scheme will mean:

- A forest of 10 storey buildings built on the riverside and destruction of a sports field used by the 1966 England World Cup squad as a training ground.

- Increased traffic from the new homes causing gridlock in the area, already subject to serious congestion due to the long-term closure of Hammersmith Bridge.

- Deterioration in air quality causing serious harm to the health of families with young children who live on the Lower Richmond Road and Mortlake High Street.

Green London Assembly Member Sian Berry has written an open letter to Khan urging him to reject the planning application due to a lack of transparency with residents, the lack of affordable housing, and plans to exceed the tall-building limit in the Richmond Local Plan.

She says: "We believe the scheme that is being considered has serious flaws and ask you to refuse the application."

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Why I oppose the Stag Brewery plans - Sarah Olney MP

Mum's for Lungs campaign group has also written an open letter to Khan ahead of today's Planning Hearing urging him to reconsider the 500 planned car parking spaces that would come with the development.

Melissa Compton-Edwards, co-ordinator of the East Sheen group of Mums for Lungs, said: "The Mayor's decision is about more than what gets built in Mortlake. This is a test case for how other major planning applications will be determined across the capital in congested and polluted areas.

"We want a London with both genuinely affordable housing and clean air for our children to breathe and safe walking and cycling routes to school. Not developments that lock in car-dependency and add to the traffic choking our streets and damaging our lungs."

In the letter dated July 25 Compton-Edwards says the developer has "based its proposals on a private car use model which is locking in car-dependency and constitutes a health hazard in an already congested and polluted area."

She suggests: "Rather than the proposed 500 car parking spaces, a car-free development is necessary in this location, with an onsite car club, accompanied by improvements to public transport, walking and cycling infrastructure.

"...The Stag Brewery could be part of the move to build back better from the pandemic, not build back to a development from our car-dependent past."

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