Plans for a new community centre and affordable homes in Teddington could soon get the green light from Richmond Council.

The Council wants to knock down the old Elleray Hall building off Broad Street and replace it with 16 affordable flats, while also building a new community centre on the North Lane car park outside Tesco Metro.

A planning application for the scheme has now been submitted and validated by the Council and you can view this HERE.

The Council will officially decide on the application in November 2021 and neighbours have been notified of the plans.

What people in Teddington are saying

Teddington residents are split on the plans for Elleray Hall.

Earlier this year, trustees of the community centre wrotein support of the plan to build a new centre though they didn't comment on the development of the old site.

Responding to the news today, Joan Barnett, chairman at Elleray Community Association, said: "After so many years of discussion and delay, it is reassuring to see our councillors and the local authority really getting behind the need to provide an excellent new community centre and developing a proposal that gives our members just about everything they need while offering so many benefits to others in our community."

And according to the Council, around 70% of over 200 people surveyed on the design for the new centre agree it would allow a greater range of users and increased utilisation of the centre.

However, there is also a group of Teddington residents who are strongly opposing the plans.

Earlier this year they launched a petition against plans to build a new centre on the North Lane car park and to develop the old site.

The petition now has over 1,000 signatures, though the wording of a leaflet advertising it was later criticised for "containing false and misleading statements."

The group's main concerns are about the impact on parking spaces and congestion.

They have also slammed the way the consultation is being run and say the drawings of the affordable housing units are inaccurate.

"From the outset, the residents most directly impacted by the proposals have been made to feel at best peripheral and, at worst, overlooked entirely," they said, in an article for Nub News last month.

"The residents' petition – which has surpassed 1,000 signatures – sends a clear message that the Council's proposals are at odds with the needs of the local community," they added in a separate piece

What Richmond Council is saying

Richmond Council said: "Elleray Hall in Teddington is home to a popular daytime Social Centre for residents across the borough.

"The current building, including the original section constructed in 1911, has reached the end of its useful life.

"As well as being beyond repair, it is too costly to maintain and heat. The vision for the proposed Community Centre secures a new facility at the heart of the local community.

"It will continue to offer a wide variety of services to older residents, but because of its flexible design, it will also be able to host events, classes and activities aimed at a wider range of groups and individuals.

"If plans get the green light, it will mean current users will be able to move from the old facility and into the new one overnight."

Councillor Michael Wilson, the lead member for communities on the Council, added: "We are one step closer to being able to provide the residents of Teddington and the surrounding areas with a fit-for-purpose community centre – a community asset that will have flexible indoor space as well as outdoor space, bringing benefits to our older residents and offering people of all ages many opportunities to become more active, engaged and motivated.  

"By moving the centre to a nearby location, as well as being able to provide much needed affordable housing we can also offer service users continuous service."

Want to learn more about the community's response to Elleray Hall?

Read the full Trustees of Elleray Hall article in Nub News on the plans.

Read the latest Teddington Residents group piece in Nub News on the plans

Do you have an alternative view on the Elleray Hall proposals which isn't represented here? Get in touch: [email protected] - we'd love to hear from you