Crane Valley Development

Written by Serge Lourie and published in Online Exclusive on Wed 13th Aug 2003

Councillor Serge Lourie, Leader of the Opposition on Richmond upon Thames Council

The Tory Council has agreed the Crane Valley Masterplan in spite of the fact that the main land owners are not signed up to the proposal, and those members of the public who responded wanted something else.

The proposed changes to the Councils Unitary Development are massive and are that:

i. Both Richmond upon Thames College and the Adult and Community College plus new playing fields would be developed on the site of the Post Office Sorting Office opposite Twickenham Station;

ii. The Council Depot is relocated to the college playing field site along the A316;

iii. Residential development would occur on the Council Depot;

iv. Residential development would occur on the Mereway Allotments;

v. Residential development would occur on the Rifle Club site;

vi. Residential development would occur on the Richmond upon Thames College site together with new open space; and

vii. The Clifden site would be developed as a new secondary school.

Liberal Democrats on the Council have opposed these proposals that will produce at least 650 extra houses and flats in Twickenham on a number of grounds:

i. The Post Office Sorting Office site is too small to take replacements for Richmond upon Thames College and the Adult and Community College plus new playing fields;

ii. Any new building on the Post Office Sorting Office site will need to be very tall and will be visible from Richmond Hill;

iii. This will inevitably mean that the grounds of Heatham House will be developed;

iv. Neither Richmond upon Thames College nor the Adult and Community College has agreed to the proposals;

v. The arguments for a new Secondary School have not been established;

vi. The ecological impact of the proposals have not been properly thought through. The ecological assessment concludes that "biodiversity of both the Crane Valley and the Duke of Northumberland River is significantly enhanced by having large reservoirs of rough vegetation adjoining them."

Other proposals included in the report to Council are;

i. Enabling development on Harlequin Rugby ground and new access road from A316 to serve new residential development;

ii. Housing development on Mereway allotments;

iii. Craneford Way East and West playing fields. Removal of Metropolitan Open Land designation

All in all, these are absurd proposals and will be opposed by the Liberal democrats at the public enquiry on the Unitary Development Plan.