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A campus revamp
Old Richmond College buildings are set to be bulldozed for 200 new homes in a campus revamp. A council meeting in August gave approval to new plans for the development.
Planning permission to demolish the once Richmond upon Thames College structures and redevelop the site was originally given in 2016. The proposals were for a replacement college, new science centre, and two new schools. Also, there would have been a new sports centre, technical hub for Haymarket Media, and 180 homes. Back in March 2020, the college’s new state-of-the-art campus opened.
Yet, the planning committee for Richmond Council heard recently that the technical hub will no longer be built. The reason is that Haymarket Media has chosen to pull out. They did so because of the impact Covid-19 has had on their business. What the company has done instead is pay £5.7m to the council. This money will go towards affordable housing provisions.
Something else that is not going ahead from the original plans is the replacement sports centre. Instead, an alternative plan to extend the current facilities now has approval. This will take the space where the technical hub would have gone. Those in charge will build an additional, smaller sports hall as well. According to a report to the committee, both structures are going to be more compact. This is if you compare to the original designs for the two sites.
Locals can use the facilities
According to principal Jason Jones, the locals would be able to utilise these new facilities. The new scheme will also provide exactly the same advantages as the original. There just won’t be a technical hub. Students will benefit as part of the college’s continuing relationship with Haymarket.
Housing plans
Another thing that councillors did was grant permission for a separate residential scheme. This is one that got approval in 2019. There are going to be 212 homes here instead of the original 180. The quantity of houses with more than a single bedroom has been decreased. It also includes flats rather than a terrace of houses. Car parking spaces have also experienced cuts, from 160 to 110. The plan is to construct the homes in blocks that are up to five storeys tall.
The most positive thing here is the number of affordable houses is 50% now. This is instead of the original 18%. Some councillors did raise concerns though. They said the surplus affordable homes would be shared ownership instead of social housing. Here, individuals purchase part of their homes and rent what is left. These properties have gone up to 80 from 28 under the new plans. As for rental social housing, it has increased to 28 from 26. Let us know if you need help from the top company working in council leasing Richmond upon Thames has.
The senior development manager at Clarion Housing Group, Pascal French, also had comments to make. He said that they believe the new application signifies a crucial enhancement on the past approval. According to French, it offers an increase in affordable housing that is great for the area.
Councillor John Coombs had things to say as well. According to him, the real requirement as a borough was social housing. They get two more properties in this particular scheme. Thus, he believes they need to be aware of something. This is that the type of affordable housing they are acquiring from the scheme isn’t necessarily the type they need as a borough. Although, he does acknowledge that shifting from 18% to 50% is highly positive. Both applications, for the new homes and sport centres, got unanimous approval from councillors.
We have the council leasing in Richmond upon Thames you’re looking for
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