Developers back out of underground parking (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)

Developers back out of underground parking

2:56pm Friday 25th August 2006 in News By Hannah Farquharson

Developers are being accused of going back on their word after announcing plans to scrap an 18th century courtyard in favour of more parking.

Residents in St Margarets have lodged objections against plans by developers Octagon to change the original planning permission granted for the Brunel University site on St Margarets Road.

The developers want to amend their plans for parking, arguing that it will stop visitors parking on surrounding roads, but the residents say it totally changes the character of the scheme.

Nick Grossman, chairman of North St Margarets residents' association explained: "They said the cars would be underground and that the public would be able to walk through to get to the river. That very much won everybody over.

"Now they are saying there are going to be roadways and cars throughout, no water garden, parking, no landscaping. We feel we were tricked into accepting such effectively large housing."

Residents claim the alterations will create a significantly poorer visual amenity; will be out of keeping with the conservation area and will promote additional vehicle traffic.

In July 2003 the Richmond and Twickenham Times reported that Richmond upon Thames Council had granted permission for the development and the fact that Octagon had told the planning committee that they had: "re-established the open setting to the west of Gordon House by creating an 18th century formal courtyard incorporating a unique landscaping scheme framed by two terraces of houses'."

Development director at Octagon, John Pope, defended the company's latest application saying: "There was a garden with a piece of grass used by the university in the front. It was never visable from St Margarets Road.

"We are opening up the listed wall around the building looking through to Gordon House.

"What was planned was two small ponds that would lead up to the house. We said we would have an underground car park.

"But whilst building we realised not all houses would have access to the car park.

"We took the opportunity to rationalise that and removed the underground parking and put parking in front of the houses. Everybody will have access to their cars from their front doors.

"The car park did not have any visitors parking and so visitors would have had to have parked in the surrounding roads. The way we have done it now it will probably be possible for people to park on the drives of the houses.

"There will be access for cars around the perimeter. Down the middle there will be a green area."