Big changes planned for riverside
Haymarket, one of the largest employers currently based in Teddington has announced some major changes this week. Employees currently based at the company’s other site in Hammersmith will be relocated to the Teddington offices this year, currently based on the Teddington Studios complex by the river. The decision on a location for a new HQ somewhere within Richmond Borough will then be made, to move to within the next few years.
Before deciding on a more permanent base for the media group, the consolidation will add another 400 staff to the area, bringing the total here to over a 1000. If the decided site is be outside of Teddington (which sounds likely), this will mean that local businesses will no longer benefit from the daytime and associated trade that the current 650-strong workforce brings to the local economy.
Part of this decision-making process is the long-rumoured plan for Pinewood to leave Teddington in 2014 and relocate their TV Studios to more modern locations within the group. At the former home of Thames Television, many classic TV shows have been filmed here over the years: The Benny Hill Show, Rainbow, This is Your Life, Men Behaving Badly, Magpie, Stig of the Dump, George & Mildred, The Sooty Show, Black Books, The IT Crowd, Parkinson, Opportunity Knocks and many more.
Haymarket currently own the Studios plot and plan to change the vacant site into housing – creating potentially the largest new development that Teddington has seen in a while – being in total approximately twice as large a site as the Somerset House development (58 dwellings, mostly houses).
Initial plans will include “a significant number of new homes, as well as creating an improved environment which opens up views through the site. Such development would also be more in keeping with the local area than an employment use and help to meet the housing needs of the Borough.”
Haymarket are welcoming the views of the local community on the initial proposed redevelopment plans before officially submitting them later this year. A public exhibition of the current plans will be at the Landmark Arts Centre on Saturday 6th July (10am-2pm) and Thursday 11th July (4-8pm). From July 5th, plans will also be available online at: teddington-riverside.co.uk.
Hundreds of well paid jobs in TV production are based in Teddington Studios, and many hundreds more in local firms that benefit from contracts. These will be lost when the studios are demolished.
There are also over 14 other firms based at the studios who will all be evicted http://www.pinewoodgroup.com/our-studios/uk/teddington-studios/lot and there would be even more if Haymarket wasnt located there hogging the space that private production companies would otherwise be occupying.
The other option is to resist change of use, which will result in the studios (& there up to date facilities) being sold to another operator & there is a shortage of TV studio place in London.
Teddington and Pinewood studios should be retained and used as studios
new build is needed but so is studio space and these historical spaces should be preserved and income generated from their use.
Please, please, please provide adequate parking for any increased number of employees. The Studios are a long way from both Teddington and Hampton Wick Stations so people use cars more and more.
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