Stag Brewery Redevelopment Architect, London Borough of Richmond building design images, LBRuT

Stag Brewery Redevelopment Mortlake, London

post updated 17 February 2024

Design: Squire & Partners Architects

Location: former Stag Brewery site, Mortlake, Southwest London, Southeast England, UK

Revised Mixed-use Scheme On The Former Stag Brewery Site, Mortlakee

Beforee:

After:

20 July 2023

Stag Brewery Redevelopment Planning Consent

Last night (19 July 2023), the Planning Committee of the London Borough of Richmond-Upon-Thames (LBRuT) resolved to grant planning consent for the revised major mixed-use scheme on the former 22-acre Stag Brewery site in Mortlake, Southwest London. The site is adjacent to the Boat Race finishing line at Chiswick Bridge.

The revised application follows on from an earlier scheme that LBRuT approved, but following referral to the Greater London Authority (GLA) was turned down by Mayor Sadiq Khan despite a planning officer’s recommendation to approve.

The development, amongst the largest mixed-use schemes in South West London, is undertaken by Dartmouth Capital Partners on behalf of Reselton Properties, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore-listed City Developments Limited (CDL).

The scheme consented by the London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames includes:

• Over 10 acres of publicly accessible open space providing multiple access routes for pedestrians and cyclists to reach the river bank.

• 1068 new homes to be built across the site. These are a mix of 1, 2, 3 and 4 bed homes, private and affordable. The affordable housing content is approximately 8% of the residential content and is 80% social rent tenure and optimised for family use. All residential buildings will have access to underground parking.

• A mix of uses creating a traditional commercial high street for the benefit of the surrounding Mortlake community that comprises some 20 to 30 units of shops, bars and restaurants, together with a hotel, cinema and rowing club.

• Nine acres of green space with numerous squares, all with public access, provide the focus for the residential accommodation which surrounds them. A new green link connects the existing Mortlake Green with the River Thames.

• A new secondary school Academy for 1,200 pupils together with a full-sized football pitch (also available for community use), as well as an indoor multi-use gym, play and sports space, to be constructed by Central Government.

• 5,000 sq m of offices providing space for existing and new local small businesses.

• An extensive package of road junction improvements at Chalkers Corner designed to mitigate the additional trip generation of the proposed development and improve air quality for existing residents and speed up the busy local road network.

• The scheme has adopted a net gain biodiversity approach, including ecological enhancements such as providing bat and bird nesting boxes, using native tree species and biodiversity roofs.

• This latest approved scheme has an Air Quality Positive rating.

Guy Duckworth, the Dartmouth Director responsible for the Stag Brewery site, said: “This is the largest development in the London Borough of Richmond and we have worked really hard to create a scheme that the borough will be proud of, designing both a multiple range of residential homes from our award-winning architects Squire & Partners and a mix of uses that will bring life to this part of Mortlake that has been cut-off from the Thames riverside for several centuries.”

Duckworth highlights the revisions made to the original scheme that address concerns shown by Richmond Council and the GLA. These include:

The scheme’s Affordable Housing contribution

The scheme’s contribution to the affordable housing stock of Richmond is approximately 8% of its total residential floor space. This level reflects the fact that the developer has unilaterally offered to double the “maximum reasonable quantum” that the scheme should deliver as assessed formally by the Council’s valuers and viability analysts. Richmond Council’s desire for larger family-sized units and a tenure ratio of 80% social rent units within the residential content has also been met by the developer within this latest approved scheme.

Townscape

The architectural townscape of the scheme has been reduced from the earlier scheme, which was recommended by GLA officers but turned down by Mayor Khan because it was too tall in parts. That scheme included 1250 residential units, whereas the latest design approved by Richmond has a total residential content of 1068 units. The scheme has been assessed by Townscape design expert Chris Miele of Montagu Evans and is regarded as being of the highest architectural standard in both design terms and in its ability to meet the Richmond Adopted Planning Design Brief.

Environmental Credentials

The latest scheme has been redesigned to obviate the need for fossil fuel consumption to produce hot water or heating. All gas or oil-burning traditional boiler systems have been replaced within all parts of the proposed development with emission-free Air Source Electric Heat Pumps. Photovoltaic roof panels adorn the green rooftops in the whole proposed development. In addition, 40% of the car spaces in the basement carpark are designed for use by rechargeable electric vehicles and provision to extend this percentage to 100% as future demand dictates.

Flood Protection

This latest scheme provides a new flood protection barrier for Mortlake, which meets Environment Agency forecast water levels and provides an elevated public walkway beside the River Thames which can be used when the existing towpath is flooded at high tide.

Murray Levinson of Squire & Partners, the architect for the projects, said: “We are absolutely delighted with the decision. Over the last three years, we have worked closely with the London Borough of Richmond’s planning department, the GLA and local residents’ community groups to create a scheme that will be a truly valuable addition to the local community and gives full public access to a beautiful and important section of the River Thames for the first time in more than 300 years.

“As a result of its generous mix of uses, the scheme enriches the wider area rather than delivering an independent housing estate disconnected from its existing context,” adds Squire.

Because of its size, the decision will have to be approved by the GLA under its Stage Two review.

The design was developed with input from the adopted 2011 London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames development brief for the site, along with national planning policy guidance.

Previously on e-architect:

14 August 2020

Stag Brewery Redevelopment News

Design: Squire & Partners

Amended plans for Stag Brewery in Mortlake with up to 30% affordable homes lodged with the GLA

Reselton Lodges Amended Plans with the GLA for The Stag Brewery Site in Mortlake, Southwest London, UK.

14th of August 2020 – Developer Reselton Properties has submitted amended plans to the Greater London Authority (GLA) for the Stag Brewery site in Mortlake, Southwest London with increased affordable housing and less car parking. The revised scheme will deliver up to 30% of the whole residential provision as affordable housing and it removes some 186 car parking spaces from the original design.

The earlier scheme granted planning consent by the London Borough of Richmond Upon-Thames in January this year was ‘called-in’ by the GLA in May and the Mayor will now act as the planning authority for the scheme.

Following the call-in Reselton Properties has been in discussion with the GLA planning officers to improve the scheme further and ensure it is fully aligned with the Mayor’s strategic planning policies.

A spokesman for Dartmouth Capital Advisors, the development managers for Reselton, says: “While there has been an increase in the number of affordable homes to meet the GLA’s requirements a significant number of these units are smaller being aimed at younger or older buyers and have been partly absorbed into the previously proposed care village and nursing home that have been dispensed with. Because of this we have been able to significantly cut back the number of car parking spaces,” adds the spokesman.

As a result of the changes the gross external area of the scheme shows less than a 15% increase over the previous scheme.

The changes in summary include:

1. Provision of affordable housing increased to up to 30%
2. Reduction of on-site car parking, refocused towards increased public transport and accessibility
3. Increased number of homes across the scheme – this has led to an increase in height of some buildings
4. A car free travel plan for the proposed school
5. Alternative options being explored to Chalkers Corner highways works in order to mitigate highways impacts
6. Changes to the layout and form of some buildings
7. Improvements to the road and pedestrian access around the school
8. Changes to some of the town centre uses, including increase in office floorspace, minor amendments to quantum or location of flexible uses, and removal of the gym
9. Landscaping amendments, including removal of four trees on the north west corner of the Site.

The revised scheme continues to provide many community benefits, including:

• A new secondary school
• Employment for up to 500 people
• New publicly accessible, local facilities including: Cinema, hotel, offices with workplaces, community hall and rowing club, 30/40 flexible use units
• Access to the River and Towpath that will be available to the public 24/7, and new public routes throughout the development
• Over 4.36 ha of publicly accessible open space
• Large areas of play-space across the scheme
• Over two thousand cycle parking spaces
• The preservation of heritage buildings
• Up to 400 new trees across the site

Michael Squire of Squire & Partners, the architects for the projects, said: “Our enhanced scheme for Stag Brewery evolves the design in line with GLA targets on social housing and parking. The new proposals maintain the footprint of the current planning application, adding additional floors in strategically selected locations. Facades have developed to feature broader gables, a more varied palette of materials and create symmetry across the site.

“Public access to a beautiful and important section of the river for the first time in more than 300 years, generous open spaces and a variety of community uses are all retained, ensuring that this new scheme delivers much needed housing as well as creating a valuable addition to the local community in Mortlake,” added Squire.

The development is being undertaken by London-based Dartmouth Capital Advisors on behalf of Reselton Properties, a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore-listed City Developments Limited (CDL).

Squire and Partners London

Stag Brewery Redevelopment Mortlake London image / information received 140820

Location: Stag Brewery, Mortlake, London, England, UK