Stag Brewery redevelopment approved: 1,075 homes and school to be built
A new 1,075-home neighbourhood with a school, shops and offices will be built on the banks of the River Thames in south west London, despite more than 1,000 objections.
Planning inspector Glen Rollings has approved developer Reselton Properties' £1.3billion scheme for the former Stag Brewery site in Mortlake, after a 10-year battle culminating in a public inquiry at the end of last year.
In a long-awaited report published on Friday (2 May), Mr Rollings approved both applications making up the scheme – one for the new homes, and the other for the school.
He made the decision after hearing evidence from Reselton and Richmond Council in support of the scheme at the inquiry in November and December last year, along with objections from the Greater London Authority (GLA), Mortlake Brewery Community Group (MBCG) and West London River Group (WLRG).
Only 65 out of the 1,075 homes planned for the 22-acre site – the biggest development opportunity in Richmond – are set to be affordable.
The homes will be built in blocks up to nine storeys tall, along with restaurants, shops, offices, a cinema, space for a hotel and a 1,200-place secondary school with a sixth form.
The future of the site had been hanging in the balance ever since Reselton bought the former 528-year-old brewery in 2015.
Original plans for the site with 813 homes were approved by the council but called in by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, over a lack of affordable housing, in 2020.
The developer then increased the scheme to 1,250 homes, with up to 30 per cent affordable housing, but this was thrown out by the Mayor in 2021 due to concerns over its height and scale.
Reselton submitted revised plans to build 1,075 homes on the site in 2022, with 1,095 objections ultimately received across both applications on the council's website.
MBCG slammed the scheme for failing to include enough affordable homes, while raising key concerns about its density, height, impact on traffic, loss of existing open space and the need for a new secondary school.
The council approved both applications in January 2024, but it could not issue final decisions without approval from the GLA.
Reselton appealed to the Planning Inspectorate over the council's non-determination of the applications the following month, after the GLA indicated its opposition to the scheme.
A letter sent on behalf of the developer claimed the GLA had suggested the 'level of affordable housing was too low, that there would be many months of further delay and the outcome would most likely be [a] direct refusal'.
Francine Bates, Co-Chair of MBCG, previously told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) the inquiry was the 'last opportunity to reset the clock, reject these plans and sit down with the council and the developers to plan a scheme that will truly benefit the community'.
She said: "We have been campaigning for a sustainable and community-led development for the brewery site in Mortlake for many years. Our pleas for a visionary scheme restoring the heart of the historic neighbourhood of Mortlake have fallen on deaf ears."
Mr Rollings ruled in his report that although he had some concerns about the affordable housing proposals, the scheme would provide the maximum amount possible for the site and have a positive impact on local supply.
He said that while some of the proposed buildings were taller than policy directed, the design of the development would benefit the area overall.
The inspector also concluded the scheme 'would not have a significantly harmful effect on transport' due to measures proposed by the developer to ease its impact.
He said all parties made valid arguments for and against the need for a new school, but favoured the council's position that the school would be needed to add to the borough's supply of secondary school places.
The report said: "The provision of an extended community that adds to the existing character of Mortlake and provides a focus for the area with new streets, spaces and improved access to the riverside, designed and built to a generally high standard, is a substantial benefit."
It added: "The proposal would deliver housing to the area, including affordable housing, which when considered in the context of the local need, would provide public benefits.
"There would be substantial design and educational benefits and the development would also secure the optimum viable use of the site, together with other benefits of lesser importance… considered in totality, the public benefits are significant, measurable, and deliverable."
Dartmouth Capital Advisors led the scheme on behalf of Reselton, which is a subsidiary of Singapore-listed City Developments Limited (CDL).
Welcoming the inspector's decision, Guy Duckworth, Development Director of Dartmouth Capital Advisors, said the scheme will 'bring a new heart to Mortlake'.
He said: "Our client bought the site with the benefit of a planning brief from Richmond Council, the spirit of which our architects Squire & Partners have followed faithfully, and yet it has taken 10 years to obtain a planning consent."
Mr Duckworth added the development will open up the site to the public for the first time in centuries, create a new park on Lower Richmond Road and improve local pedestrian and cyclist routes.
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