1:38pm Friday 19th December 2008
By Chris Wickham
The controversial plan to develop on the derelict Jolly Boatman site opposite Hampton Court Palace was given the final go-ahead, at an extraordinary full council meeting last night.
Elmbridge Council gave developer Gladedale permission to start work on the scheme, which includes a 61 bedroom hotel, 66 residential units, a new care home for the Royal Star and Garter charity and a refurbished building at Hampton Court station.
The development will also include shops, an underground car park and a new transport interchange.
Some councillors at the meeting raised concerns about the level of affordable housing and the appearance of the development, but the council eventually voted 29 to 24 in favour of the scheme, with five councillors abstaining.
Falkland’s War hero Simon Weston, who had been a strong backer of the Star and Garter move, said there was a huge sense of relief it had been approved.
He said: “There is no real delight at the moment - that would feel like gloating, and I don’t have any desire for that - but there is relief. There has been a lot of hard work - this is Gladedale's longest ever planning application.
“We are very pleased it has been approved and I did have my doubts. This makes Christmas a lot easier for me."
He said he was pleased for the home’s residents and hoped the people of East Molesey would welcome them into the community, but said he also felt for the people who had campaigned against the development.
The Royal Star and Garter, which has been based on top of Richmond Hill since its formation 92 years ago, said it expected to move to the new site in about three years.
Historic Royal Palaces (HRP), the charity responsible for Hampton Court Palace, which had urged councillors to turn the proposal down earlier this week, said it was “deeply disappointed”.
John Barnes, conservation and learning director for HRP, said: “The decision leaves a great many fundamental questions unanswered about the impact of the scheme on local infrastructure and the natural and historic environment.
“In our opinion, the council failed to give due weight to the impact the development will have on the setting of Hampton Court Palace and the Thames.”
English Heritage, the organisation which promotes and protects England’s historic environments, had also voiced concerns about the impact the development would have on the palace.
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