Twickenham riverside development

The site of Twickenham Baths has been under consideration for redevelopment for all of 20 years. Several ambitious schemes have failed, the latest being the Dawnay Day proposals for a residential development with a cinema and health club, which, following planning approval in March 2002,was called in by the Secretary of State for review. in July 2002 the new Council decided to break off negotiations with Dawnay Day. An Environmental Impact Statement was called for by the Government Office for London, but was not forthcoming, and no statement of case was provided by the developers, so in December 2002 the Inquiry was cancelled.

The Council has rejected the option of immediately selling the site for independent development.

The long term future of the site is for a high-quality, low density development that fully complies with the planning guidelines and the spirit of the Inspector's report following the 1991 Inquiry. It is intended that there should be a significant public asset, a limited amount of enabling commercial development (residential, A3 use, eg. restaurant/café, and A1 retail). There will be a piazza or square to differentiate the public open space from the commercial elements of the scheme and other public benefits, eg. a fountain or other feature for public enjoyment.There will be no design copmpetition for developers. The Council is to consider fully procurement options. The long-term scheme may take from 5-7 years.

In the short term, part of the site closest to the river will be cleared to create a public open space and a children's playground. The remainder, about 2/3 of the total will be fenced off. This scheme is intended to be complete within 1 year.

The public asset will be chosen through a competition called "The Twickenham Challenge". It is hoped that the selected scheme will attract significant sponsorship, which will ensure the quality and future of the public asset. The Environment Trust has registered an interest in entering the Challenge, proposing a River Centre incorporating boat hire, river activities and a museum of the River.The public asset will be incorporated into the long-term scheme.