A former campaigner for the protection of Barn Elms has said that if the proposed super sewer could not be stopped residents should try to turn it to their advantage.

Nicole Pound, 39, formerly of Barnes Vision – a group that fought Richmond Council’s plans to sell the playing fields for private development in 2005 – said if a new development was inevitable it may not be a bad thing.

She said: “Absolutely this proposal is a concern... it’s going to be bad for someone but if we are fated to bear the brunt of it, we need to set the bar high for what we intend to get out of it [in exchange].”

However, Sian Baxter, of protest group Stop the Shaft said it was important the focus remained on finding alternate sites to Barn Elms for an entrance to Thames Water’s proposed super sewer.

She said: “We feel we should not be compromising at the moment, given there are some viable alternatives to put this drive shaft on a brownfield site instead.

“I think it is too early to talk about this as it is a long time before work would start – if it comes to that, which is very unlikely, we will have plenty of time to say ‘As part of this development you must deliver x, y, z’.”

Richmond Park MP Zac Goldsmith said: “The first priority has to be ensuring that Thames Water looks at all the options rigorously and objectively before making a decision. There are various schemes that could dramatically reduce the impact on Barn Elms.”

But he added that if Barn Elms was genuinely the only viable site, then residents would need to get commitments from Thames Water to invest in it, leaving it in better shape than it found it.

Under current proposals the water company listed Barn Elms as the preferred site for the entrance shaft to London’s 20-mile Thames Tunnel.

But residents raised concerns it was a greenfield site and that disruption from building work, which is estimated to go on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for up to three-and-a-half years.

Mrs Pound, of Ferry Road, Barnes, said she would prefer Thames Water did not build on Barn Elms but if it was proved it was the only option then it should be seen as an opportunity.

She said: “I am not saying we should roll over by any means. Thames Water has to show us why Barn Elms is the only viable location.

“[But] it is about looking at this practically in this economy. We are missing a massive trick here. We have an opportunity because this is a company that can invest massively in the area.”

Suggestions for what the community could ask Thames Water for include additional security for the site, new changing rooms, and improvements for the fishing area.