Campaigners opposed to the building of a new house next to the remains of Richmond Palace have warned that their fight is far from over.

Last Thursday, April 16, Richmond Council’s planning committee approved a proposal to erect a new single storey two bedroom house on Old Palace Lane – in the gardens of Asgill Lodge.

The committee backed the scheme – which opponents have dubbed a “nuclear bungalow” – despite opposition from Richmond councillors, Richmond’s MP Susan Kramer, parliamentary candidate Zac Goldsmith, and historian David Starkey, who said it was a “deplorable” plan “out of keeping with its surroundings”.

The councillors on the panel instead followed the advice of officers who said the scheme would provide “a welcome new dwelling within the curtilage of a designated building of townscape merit within the conservation area, but without resulting in an unacceptable impact on the character and appearance of the setting”.

Marian Bontempo, from Asgill Lodge Action Group, said the issue was “not going away” and it was a battle between maintaining the heritage of the area and development.

“One councillor described it as the most outrageous planning decision they had ever seen,” she added. “We are looking at a variety of options to appeal, not least that the committee did not give separate permission for the conservation area.

“Neither the planner’s report nor the committee on the night addressed the impact of the house on the conservation areas.”

Mr Goldsmith, Conservative candidate for Richmond Park, said: “It is outrageous. London is losing far too many gardens to developers, partly because they are regarded as brownfield sites with the status of industrial wasteland. Until the law is changed, we need to do everything we can to put fires such as this one out.”