Fears Voiced That Stag Brewery Scheme Will Squeeze Out Locals
Existing residents say young people and workers can't afford to live there
Cynthia Winkles, 85, in Mortlake. Picture: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon
May 14, 2025
Residents of Mortlake say young people are being squeezed out of the area, after a 1,075-home development was green-lit with a tiny proportion of affordable homes.
Planning Inspector Glen Rollings approved developer Reselton Properties’ controversial £1.3billion scheme for the former Stag Brewery site in Mortlake on May 2, after a 10-year battle culminating in a public inquiry at the end of last year.
Only 65 out of the 1,075 housing units planned for the 22-acre site – the biggest development in the borough of 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, hotel and 1,200-place secondary school.
Both planning applications making up the scheme – one for the new homes, the other for the school – drew fierce criticism, including 1,095 objections on Richmond Council’s website. Residents told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) they are disappointed with the inspector’s decision as they feel the scheme fails to meet the community’s needs.
Cynthia Winkles, 85, has lived in the area her whole life and said the development will ‘change everything’. She told the LDRS one of her daughters moved out of Mortlake as it is already too expensive, and she dreads how much the new homes will cost.
Ms Winkles said, “The young people that work around here don’t stand a chance to buy a house, not a chance, and it’s such a shame. Why should they move out when they’ve lived here all their lives?”
She added, “You expect change, don’t get me wrong, places change… but sometimes it’s not always for the best.”
The average house price in Mortlake was £1.1million over the last year, according to Rightmove, up five per cent on the previous year.
Graham Kench, 81, told the LDRS the developer is ‘squeezing a gallon into a pint pot’ as the site is constrained by the River Thames, Lower Richmond Road and Sheen Lane level crossing. He said he wants the site to be developed on a smaller scale that better suits the area, as he raised concerns about who will be able to afford to move into the new flats.
Graham Kench, 81. Picture: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon
Hilary Hughes, 52, was working at the site when the LDRS visited, as it is being used for film production while the plans are brought forward. She described the planned level of affordable housing as ‘poor’ as residents and workers are being priced out of the area.
Ms Hughes said, “There seems to be a lack of availability [of affordable homes] because people that are the builders or the sellers are looking to make as much profit as possible, instead of actually thinking about what’s needed within the area.”
She added, “I think that it’s pricing people out from working here. I come here to work, I don’t live in London, so I’m finding it hard to find affordable accommodation to actually work.
“I try and avoid coming to London if possible, but I do feel that there is a lack of basic needs – especially for people who want to stay close to their families or start on buying their own home rather than renting, and usually you find the ones that are affordable are being bought up to rent anyway. So it’s not helpful for people who want to try and get on the ladder.”
Hilary Hughes, 52. Picture: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon
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 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 about its height and scale.
The council approved Reselton’s revised plans to build 1,075 homes on the site in January 2024, but it could not issue final decisions without approval from the Greater London Authority (GLA). The developer 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 due to its low level of affordable housing.
CGI of the scheme for the former Stag Brewery viewed from across the river in Chiswick. Picture: Reselton Properties Limited/Squire and Partners
In a long-awaited report published on May 2, Mr Rollings approved both applications making up the scheme. He made the decision after hearing evidence from Reselton and the council in support of the scheme at an inquiry in November and December last year, along with objections from the GLA, Mortlake Brewery Community Group (MBCG) and West London River Group (WLRG).
Mr Rollings said the scheme will provide the maximum amount of affordable housing viable for the site, and ruled it will ‘not have a significantly harmful effect on transport’ due to planned measures to ease its impact. He added that all parties had made valid arguments for and against the new school, but favoured the council’s position that it will be needed to add to the borough’s supply of secondary school places.
Current traffic at the level crossing by Mortlake station. Picture: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon
The report said: “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.”
CGI of the scheme for the former Stag Brewery. Picture: Reselton Properties Limited/Squire and Partners
MBCG told the LDRS it is ‘extremely disappointed’ with Mr Rollings’ decision, after years of campaigning for a development that meets the community’s needs. The group said residents have ‘ended up with an over-dense development, with the loss of a historic sports field, a riverside towpath that will be put under relentless pressure, traffic chaos and increased pollution’, along with a ‘scandalously’ low level of affordable housing.
Francine Bates, co-chair of MBCG, added: “MBCG is not opposed to developing the site, even though we have been unfairly cast as NIMBYs. But this scheme has always been the wrong one for Mortlake. We support building new homes on the site but a much higher proportion of these need to be affordable and accessible to people who are currently languishing on Richmond Council’s housing waiting list.
“We need an imaginative scheme that incorporates more affordable housing and offers real benefits to the community. We urge the developers and Richmond Council to include us in all future decisions on the site.”
Dartmouth Capital Advisors is leading the scheme on behalf of Reselton, which is a subsidiary of Singapore-listed City Developments Limited (CDL).
Responding to residents’ concerns, Guy Duckworth, Development Director of Dartmouth Capital Advisors, told the LDRS the plans follow the council’s brief for the site, which it adopted in 2011 to guide development. He said experts agree the scheme proposes the highest possible number of affordable homes, with 80 per cent to be offered at social rent, while viability reviews during construction will allow more to be built if excess profit is generated.
Mr Duckworth said the scheme will deliver improvements to local roads and pedestrian and cyclist routes, with the measures supported by the council and Transport for London (TfL), and a new park on Lower Richmond Road. He added it will ‘provide a new heart for Mortlake in an iconic position on the banks of the River Thames with 100 per cent public access where, for centuries, there has been none’.
Charlotte Lilywhite - Local Democracy Reporter
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