Plans for £250m Richmond village approved after two-year battle

A London developer has announced that it has been given permission to create a new £250m urban village in Richmond.

Avanton has been given the green light by Secretary of State Robert Jenrick to create an urban village development on a former Homebase site off Manor Road.

The development will provide 453 apartments and penthouses, as well as a linear pocket-park, retail, community and office uses, and landscaping, public and private open spaces.

The plans were originally rejected by Richmond Council in 2019, but later approved by Sadiq Khan and passed on to Robert Jenrick.

Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, commented: “This site is well-connected, under-utilised, previously developed land that is exactly the kind of site we need to intensify if we are to develop in a sustainable manner, protect the green belt, and deliver the homes Londoners need.”

A spokesperson for Avanton said: “Avanton is delighted that the new urban-village in Richmond has been granted the go-ahead with the secretary of state upholding the mayor of London’s planning approval.

“Avanton purchased the Homebase site three years ago and after the initial plans to build 385 units were rejected by the local authority the Mayor of London granted consent for the 453 unit urban-village.

“Avanton’s new urban-village will create a collection of high quality private sale homes and will also have a transformative effect on access to affordable housing in Richmond, providing the same as the total number of new affordable homes that have been delivered in the entire borough over the last three years.

“The highly sustainable design blends high quality buildings with extensive landscaping and a linear pocket-park. Construction of the project will commence in summer 2021 and take 30 months.”