WAVE OF OBJECTIONS TO TEDDINGTON BUSINESS PARK PROPOSAL
Various significant organisations, including the The Royal Parks, the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) Park Lane Stables as well as many local residents have lodged strong objections to the plans for the new proposed business park near the NPL which would replace the headquarters of the Laboratory of the Government Chemist (LGC), Teddington Town can reveal.
A Royal Parks official says on the Council website: ” Following a review of this planning application, I can confirm that The Royal Parks has concerns that the new buildings will be significantly more visible in views from within Bushy Park, notable from View 1 (Bushy Park North) but also View 2 (Cricket Club) and View 3 (Barton’s Cottage).
“TRP are also concerned by the environmental impact of this proposal. The increased building height and more dominant roofline included in the proposal will add additional lux levels which would affect the bats and other nocturnal invertebrates, as well as animals. These species rely on dark skies for their habitats, and we would not wish to see any disturbance to the dark sky of Bushy Park and its SSSI status.
“Finally, TRP are concerned by the impact on highways. The proposal will likely lead to increased traffic in this area, which is already congested at the weekends due to park visitors, particularly those attending the various sports clubs within the park. The Clapperstile car park is sited on Crown land, managed by The Royal Parks, which would come under increased capacity pressure and cause safety concerns
“In summary, The Royal Parks recognises that the site is in need of redevelopment, however we must object to the proposed development due to the visual impact on the protected landscape of Bushy Park caused by the proposed roofline, environmental impact caused by the increased light spill as well as Highways concerns as a result of the anticipated increase of traffic surrounding this site.”
The Teddington Society has also registered its objection writing: “The Teddington Society’s concern with this proposal is that it has the potential to create serious traffic issues caused by the likely HGV and LGV use in the local area.
“While welcoming the sympathetic development of this site and the opportunity to bring employment to the town, we do not consider that this is an appropriate location for logistics and delivery businesses with the volume and size of vehicles they would generate. We agree with local residents’ concerns about access to the site during unsocial hours. The major issue of traffic generation certainly needs to be properly addressed. If the Council is minded to approve the scheme, then methods of limiting the amount of B8 use (warehousing and distribution) in the development would need to be found before doing so.”
And it adds: “If this development is permitted then traffic jams must be expected throughout Teddington as Queen’s Road will not be able to handle the additional traffic, and likely the Traffic Light junction at Queen’s Road / A313 will block causing problems through Teddington. The additional traffic in Queen’s Road is likely to increase person and vehicle accidents along that stretch of road.
“The Application should be dismissed as both of there “traffic” plans are deeply flawed.”
Park Lane Stables state: “Park Lane Stables is a community-orientated Riding for the Disabled Centre on Park Lane, Teddington.
“The stables has no on-site facilities and has 7 stables, of which one is used for a therapy horse, which looks straight out onto the street and is available to everyone to meet from around 7:30 in the morning to late into the evening. Although the stables already works at full capacity, we currently have a waiting list of some 150 potential participants awaiting assessment.
“Our riding is carried out in Bushy Park and almost all sessions require us to ride – with riders with various levels of impairment – or walk-in-hand – our horses from and back to Park Lane, across Queens Road to Dora Jordan Way and to Clapperstile Gate.
“This occurs up to 9 time a day (therefore 18 movements a day), involving up to 6 horses – so potentially over 100 horse movements occurs each day past the proposed site access for both construction and operation of the site.
The Stables say the application:
- ignore that the existing restrictions on vehicle movements at either end of Queens Road will lead to significant additional movements – particularly during the construction phase – along Park Lane. Movements along Park Lane should be restricted to local access only, with movements from Park Lane to Bullard Road and reverse not permitted (i.e. turn left/right only except for cycles and equestrians);
- ignore that the route for equestrians between Park Lane Stables RDA and Bushy Park is via the Queens Road/Park Lane/Bullard Road and return – potentially used by over 100 equine movements a day by riders with disabilities;
- ignores that parking along Dora Jordan Road and the Clapperstile Car Park could be used for construction workforce and operational parking since it is uncontrolled. There are no proposals to ensure that this is not used by construction workers or operational operatives. Maintaining accessibility for Park Lane Stables volunteers who enable the stables to operate will be essential;
It adds: “There are various matters which need to be enforceable commitments including:
- vehicle and driver safety standards and training
- road sweeping during the construction phase
- the deployment of bankspersons
The NPL which is next to the proposed site and is world leader in sensitive research relating to measurement and time, writes four letters of objection and highlights issues such as acoustics, noise, vibration, air quality and highways.
“In this letter, we aim to reinforce our concerns that the proposal could have a negative impact on the operations of the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), and therefore would be contrary to Agent of Change principles, which is set out in policy, as explained below. Given the very high sensitivity of the work undertaken by NPL, there is concern that the demolition of the current buildings, construction of the Enterprise Park and then its subsequent operation may compromise NPL’s activities and our internationally important research.”
The objects adds: “The proposed development raises concerns regarding its potential impact on NPL, which is a nationally and internationally significant institution. The current noise and vibration assessment prepared by the developer’s consultants (August 2025) is inadequate, as it fails to recognise NPL as a critically sensitive receptor. The key concerns that have been identified can be summarised as follows:
– Failure to include NPL as a Sensitive Receptor. The assessment disregards NPL’s sensitivity to noise and vibration, despite its globally important research activities. Revised reporting must explicitly account for NPL during demolition, construction, operation, and potential B2 industrial use.
– Vibration Limits and Risks Standards and the 2011 NPL report indicate extremely low vibration thresholds are necessary to safeguard NPL’s work. There is significant concern that these limits cannot be maintained.
The letter says: “The application fails to demonstrate adequate mitigation measures to protect the future operations of NPL. Approving the proposal as it is currently proposed would risk undermining the established operation and could lead to its curtailment, contrary to national and local planning policy.”
Paul Hanley, Development Director for Graftongate told Teddington Town: “The former LGC site sits within a Council-designated employment area and is recognised locally for its importance in providing job opportunities and meeting business needs.
“Our proposals will deliver modern, fit-for-purpose employment space, ensuring the site continues to play a key role in supporting local jobs and businesses. We will continue to work closely with the Council to ensure our plans respond to the needs of the area.”
It is understood the developers have revised their original drawings at the request of the NPL and to amend the layout in order to improve the level of security and efficiency of their operations.
An official added: “Through further conversations with them, we have chosen to amend the plans as their proposals benefit both us and NPL and allow us to work together as good neighbours.”
The full planning application can be see on the Richmond Council planning website reference (PA25/2927)