What you can do now

June update

Updated 14th June 2021. We are still awaiting the new date of the GLA Hearing which had been postponed from November 2020. Officers are now preparing a detailed report and recommendations for the planning hearing in front of Mayor Khan following the most recent consultation on transport and traffic issues. We expect the Hearing to take place before the end of August. MBCG will be making strong representations at the Hearing which will be live-streamed.

During the last few months, MBCG has attempted to maintain a dialogue with GLA planning officers as well as encourage residents to respond to consultations and email the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor. We held an online Hustings Meeting with all the main SW London GLA candidates in April and were delighted that each of them committed to rejecting the present enlarged scheme. Nick Roger was elected as our local Assembly Member in May and has immediately challenged the Mayor and Officers concerning key aspects of the proposed development. As a result, a long awaited site meeting with Officers is now scheduled to take place with Nick, MBCG and other residents later this month.

We will let everyone know the date of the planning  hearing as soon as it is announced and be asking the community to once again come together to object to the present proposal. If lockdown restrictions are lifted by the summer, we would hope to resume meeting face to face.

People power is working!

Updated: 27th February 2021. The Brewery planning application was due to be decided by London Mayor Sadiq Khan at an online public hearing on Thursday 26 November –this has been deferred sine die. We believe our campaign is beginning to have an impact.

Thank you to everyone for sending an email to The Mayor and his team at City Hall. It really made a difference.

We need your support and active involvement to get Mortlake’s message through to the Mayor!

Email your comments more widely now!

The MBCG has created a template email (link) which you should adapt (please do not copy and paste in extenso) based on our analysis of the technical documents submitted to the GLA (link).

As well as emailing theformerstagbrewery@london.gov.uk please send your objections and comments to the following members of Sadiq’s team:

• Jules Pipe, Deputy Mayor Planning, Regeneration and Skills > jules.pipe@london.gov.uk
• Will Norman, Walking and Cycling Commissioner > will.norman@london.gov.uk
• Shirley Rodrigues, Deputy Mayor Environment and Energy > shirley.rodrigues@london.gov.uk

We would suggest your emails have in the header ‘Mortlake Brewery.’

Two mini-posters for printing out are available here and there ;  it would be great if you could attach a selfie photo with one of them to the emails you send to Sadiqi’s team.

Some additional points

Here are different paragraphs you could use in your email to the GLA and the Mayor’s team

• The plan for Mortlake Brewery would nearly double the population of Mortlake, without new health services or transport links for the area. It squeezes 1,250 homes in more than 20 blocks into a location that guidance on transport infrastructure says is only big enough for 688 homes. There is no adequate proposal for the necessary social infrastructure and the plan fails to meet the required standard for New London Plan Policy D2, Infrastructure requirements for sustainable densities. This says the density of development proposals should be proportionate to the site’s connectivity and accessibility by walking, cycling, and public transport.

• It is very important that all the London Plan policies are applied to the Mortlake Brewery development. Don’t set a precedent here that will allow more badly planned overdevelopment all over London!

• In his introduction to the new London Plan Guidance on Good Quality Homes October 2020 (currently out for consultation) the Mayor says he wants to achieve: “Good Growth – growth that is socially and economically inclusive and environmentally sustainable.” How can the developer’s plan for the Mortlake Brewery site possibly meet that vision? The safer, sustainable alternative is in the Community Plan, with fewer flats, more affordable homes, less pressure on transport links and protecting green space that would be built over.
• The plan for the Mortlake Brewery site is cramming more than 20 blocks of flats and 1250 homes onto a site with PTAL ratings of 1 and 2. The new London Plan Guidance on Good Quality Homes October 2020 (currently out for consultation) says new housing should only be encouraged on sites with PTAL ratings 3 to 6. Please explain how nearly doubling the population of Mortlake and piling more traffic onto our congested streets can be justified. The safer, sustainable alternative is in the Community Plan, with fewer flats, more affordable homes, less pressure on transport links and protecting green space that would be built over.

• The developer’s current plan for the Stag Brewery site in Mortlake is in conflict with London Plan policies on density, infrastructure and planned transport links. There are now above 50% more flats in the plan (1,250) than the original application (800+), which was already too big and would force more cars and pollution onto our congested streets. The Lower Richmond Road is regularly gridlocked and the Sheen Lane level crossing is dangerous and causes tailbacks. The Mayor’s public hearing on the brewery site should not go ahead when there is no worked out plan for dealing with the traffic the development will generate. The Mayor should support the Community Plan, with fewer flats, more affordable homes, less pressure on transport links and protecting the playing fields green space that would be built over. The Mayor should make sure that no work starts on any development until Hammersmith Bridge is fully open again.

• There is a way we can create a safe, sustainable, community-led housing development on the Stag Brewery Site in Mortlake, but it isn’t the plan the Mayor has on his desk right now. The developer’s plan is unsustainable and unsuitable for a site constrained by the river, major roads and a railway  The Mayor would be breaking his own policies if he approves the plan: the development breaks the London Plan rules on access to public transport and the local infrastructure needed to support nearly doubling the population of Mortlake. The proposed new secondary school and its all-weather sports pitch break the London Plan rules, building over the historic brewery playing fields, 5.4 acres of precious green space which would not be replaced. The Mayor should support the Community Plan, with fewer flats, more affordable homes, less pressure on transport links and protecting the green space on the playing fields.

For information on the latest planning documents go to the Mayor of London planning website.