Housing secretary Robert Jenrick has given the go-ahead to developer Avanton for a new £250m urban village scheme in London’s Richmond
The new urban village will deliver 453 apartments and penthouses, of which 173 homes will be affordable.
Plans will also provide a linear pocket-park, retail, community and office uses, and landscaping, public and private open spaces.
Avanton acquired the Homebase site in 2018 and submitted planning for a new urban village scheme which was initially refused by Richmond Council in 2019. The Mayor of London intervened and called the scheme in, and in October 2020 planning permission was granted by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.
Existing buildings will be demolished and replaced with four buildings designed by Assael Architecture between four and 11-storeys tall. The buildings are designed around large piazzas and tree-lined boulevards and the development is complete with a linear pocket-park to the Western boundary of the scheme, car parking and cycle bays.
‘Deliver the homes Londoners need’
Commenting on the urban village, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, said: “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, commented: “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.”
The spokesperson added: “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.”
