A leafy south London borough is set to transform a field that hasn’t been used in a decade into a park along with a mini forest.
Richmond is already well known for being one of London’s most green and leafy areas, after it was rated as one of London’s best places to live by The Times partly on account of it.
Indeed, Richmond is already home to 22 Green Flag parks, with half of the borough known for being open space.
But it’s set to add yet another park to its belt, as Richmond Council recently announced plans to add a park and “micro forest” to the field to the south of St Mary’s School Hampton in Sunbury Road.
Following a decision made by the council’s Environment, Sustainability and Community Services Committee on January 7, the conversion of this space will turn the field into a new Nature Conservation Site.
The new site, which is currently being named Oldfield Road Meadow, will offer walking spaces as well as a children’s play area and opportunities for education.
A report by Richmond Council outlined plans to plant a Miyawaki microforest on part of the site, which could be used for educational purposes.
The eastern quarter of the site will be kept free of footpaths so that it can remain an area of low intervention as natural habitats for wildlife.
A new play area will also be installed with play equipment for children and a new footpath will be implemented under plans to allow visitors to walk around the park.
New areas for pedestrians and vehicle access will also be added to allow the public to access the site, including a 5m crossover and dropped kerb.
Currently Richmond’s Parks Team is working towards an application to implement the new vehicle access area, with access gate and crossover, which is required for the site.
According to a survey by Richmond Council, the field has remained unused for over a decade and is currently closed to the public.
These plans are part of Richmond Council’s wider aims to create a greener borough through enhancing the space to be a place of nature conservational interest.
So far, the plans have received an optimistic response from the public, following a consultation by the Parks Team in July 2023, with 97 percent of the 33 respondents in favour of the proposals.
A report from Richmond Council read: “The site in its current state is not open to the public but there have been instances of unauthorised access through a hole that was made in the chainlink fence.
“By opening the site to the public and encouraging it to be regularly used by the local community in a positive way, the project will discourage crime and antisocial behaviour.
“The proposals will align with the key aims of the corporate plan creating a greener borough through enhancements to the nature conservation interest to the site, a safer borough by discouraging crime and antisocial behaviour in the area and a fairer borough by improving access to public open green space for the local residents.”