Please see below update from Councillor Julia Neden-Watts:

"Thank you for your enquiry relating to proposals for Vine Road Recreation Ground.

The proposals for the site have been co-produced with, and informed by, the local community and users of the recreation ground. The Council has been working with Barnes Common Ltd (BCL) and, in 2020/1, a draft masterplan for the site was developed. A consultation on the draft masterplan reached over 200 people, in person or virtually, while over 2,000 people are known to have visited the website and clicked on social media posts. 240 people completed the consultation survey. Overall, the plans received support from 89% (214 replies) of respondents. Less than 3% (6 replies) were against the proposals and 8% (20 replies) were unsure. The consultation also enabled people to submit more detailed and specific comments, which further informed the development of the masterplan.

Following the consultation, the masterplan was discussed and endorsed by the Council's Environment, Sustainability, Culture and Sports Committee in June 2022. The Committee supported progression of the masterplan to a planning application. Officers continue to work with BCL to progress and implement this Committee decision.  The planning application documents are being developed, and a full application is expected to be submitted this autumn (2025). In advance of this submission, BCL proposes to carry out further non-statutory consultation to update residents and park visitors on how the plans have evolved since the previous engagement, including the addition of the climate refuge. BCL is also seeking pre-application advice from the planning department.

The Barnes Montessori Nursery is a privately operated nursery business, based in the former bowling pavilion. Previous condition surveys identified that the building has reached the end of its life. The current occupiers have been aware of the masterplan proposals for several years and they've been aware that their occupancy of the site would come to an end. As landlord, the Council has been transparent with the occupiers, enabling them to consider options for the future of their business.

Once a planning application is submitted, a statutory planning consultation will take place. The Council, as the Local Planning Authority, will consider the plans against local, regional, and national planning policies. This will include assessments of the impact on neighbour amenity, as well as consideration of conservation, heritage, landscape, open space, and all other relevant policies. The statutory planning consultation will provide a further opportunity for people to express their views, which will be fully considered by the Local Planning Authority. Anyone with concerns or observations to make on the proposals is therefore encouraged to submit their comments to the statutory consultation at that time.

Kind regards,
Julia

Cllr Julia Neden-Watts
Twickenham Riverside ward councillor (Liberal Democrats)

Joint Deputy Leader of the Council

Chair of the Environment, Sustainability, Culture & Sports Committee

London Borough of Richmond upon Thames

cllr.j.neden-watts@richmond.gov.uk"