Stag Brewery development moth-balled. For now
Story 232
Development of the former Stag Brewery site in Mortlake has effectively been put on hold, according to the Mortlake Brewery Community Group (MBCG).
The group reports the owner, City Developments Ltd (CDL), has taken the site off the market after previously exploring a sale or joint venture.
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MBGB says CDL has ended its relationship with development manager Dartmouth Capital after failing to receive offers that would recover the money already invested in the project.
Rising finance and construction costs, financial viability reviews linked to affordable housing, and wider economic volatility are all cited as reasons.
The Story Works continue leasing parts of the site for filming, while a temporary lease for construction storage linked to the Olympia redevelopment is due to end later this year.
As MBCG puts it,
The temporary uses on the site will continue for now, but beyond this the future of this amazing, unique site is more uncertain than ever.
.. We simply cannot allow this key site in the borough to lay idle.
Notes and thoughts
In practice, ‘mothballed’ means the project is not progressing for now. It is not a legal planning term. It does not mean planning permission has been revoked or the scheme has been cancelled. Nor does it mean another developer could not revive it in the future.
It does suggest that active development has largely paused.
The shape of the development was already under discussion following uncertainty over Department for Education funding for the proposed secondary school.
Although the site sits just outside Barnes, it will influence its future. One south-west London’s largest regeneration schemes was on its doorstep.
More than 1,000 new homes, a new riverside neighbourhood and changes to local traffic, walking and cycling will influence how people move, live and experience this part of the Thames for decades.
Barnes2050 has previously argued that another significant population cluster beside the river could even strengthen the case for restoring river bus services.
One phrase in MBCG’s update stood out:
.. requirements for financial viability reviews during development...
That strongly suggests the economics may simply no longer stack up. A scheme conceived under one set of market conditions may no longer be viable under today’s costs.
The planning permission remains. The question now is when - or whether - market conditions make the scheme viable enough to proceed.
The Terrace and Barnes High Street deserve more protection from heavy goods vehicles
The Terrace is one of the most distinctive roads in Barnes. It runs beside the river, past some of the area’s most historic buildings, and ought to feel like part of the village at its best.