The public inquiry into the future of Twickenham Riverside scheme to create a new heart for the town on the banks of the Thames begins this week.

The inquiry will sit for three days a week through June and will be crucial in settling an often angry debate about the future of the riverside which has been running for 40 years.

Over the decades, a host of development schemes have been put forward only to fail in the face of objections and political battles with the result that much of the land remains a car park, derelict or disfigured with graffiti.

During the inquiry, the Council and its planning experts will go head-to-head with a number of local groups who obect to the latest scheme, which was the result of a design competition led by the Royal Institute of British Architects,

View from the Eel Pie Island pedestrian bridge

At the centre of the inquiry is an application by Richmond Borough Council for a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) for the Diamond Jubilee Gardens and café, which will be moved to make way for the development.

The Council insists that the gardens will be moved to a new – considerably larger – area as part of the £45 million redevelopment with a playground and space for public events.

Central to the scheme will be removing the existing car park from the banks of the Thames in favour of a new public open promenade.

The other major elements include two new buildings, which will house 45 apartments – some sold on an affordable basis – together with a pub, café, some small shops and offices.

The CPO is being opposed by the Twickenham Riverside Trust, who have responsibility for operating the Diamond Jubilee Gardens, as well as the residents and businesses on Eel Pie Island, which sits opposite the planned scheme.

The Trust argues that the new public space it is being offered is inferior to their existing gardens, while the Eel Pie Island community argue that their access for deliveries will be seriously curtailed.

View looking up towards the new family cafe with the playground to the left

Opponents of the scheme insist a more modest development, which would retain the existing gardens, remove the cars and do away with one of two apartment blocks, which is planned for Wharf Lane, would be a better option.

However, Council chiefs and planning officers warn that any attempt to reduce the scale of the scheme, removing some of the housing, will call into question its financial viability.

The Liberal Democrats, who have made the redevelopment of Twickenham Riverside a centrepiece of their policy platform, won a landslide victory at the May local elections last year.

Several of the party's councillors will be speaking in favour of the scheme at the inquiry, including Julia Neden-Watts, James Chard and Stephen O'Shea. The Twickenham MP, Munira Wilson, has also submitted a letter of support .

The one remaining Conservative member of the Council, Cllr Geoffrey Samuel, has thrown his weight behind those opposing the CPO.

The case for the scheme will be made by the Council's Director of Environment and Community Services, Paul Chadwick, who has already provided written evidence. This defends the need to include the Wharf Lane building, which will sit on what is now the Diamond Jubilee Gardens, with the homes it will offer.

In it, he states: "I consider that this Scheme would uniquely deliver a wide range of economic, social and environmental benefits to the public which fully justify the need for the redevelopment.

"This Scheme Land is uniquely placed as the only site available for development which links Twickenham Riverside with the town centre, to deliver a number of significant benefits to the local area, whilst also delivering against several Council priorities.

"It has been carefully designed, by a world-renowned architect practice, to sympathetically fit in with its surroundings whilst also offering a compelling high quality design solution that will bring life and increased football to the riverside.

"It also maximises the amount of open space in the Scheme Land and places it centrally in the Scheme with a direct and enhanced link to the river. I consider that the Scheme offers a solution that is far more advantageous that the existing tired, isolated and underused Gardens.

"The wider benefits of the Scheme and the quality of what would be delivered far outweigh the objections to the acquisition."

He adds: "Should this CPO be unsuccessful the benefits that have been detailed in this Proof of Evidence will be lost as will significant support for the scheme.

"There have been many attempts to do this in the past and they have all failed. The riverside needs a whole site solution, that is presented here, one that maximises the benefits for residents and makes the riverside a destination for all."

He insisted the inclusion of the Wharf Lane building 'would make a positive contribution to the viability of the Scheme, enabling other aspects which are not value generating to be delivered to a high quality such as the large amount of public realm'.

And he warned: "Removing this building would have a negative impact on viability, as well as unknown impacts on costs for other aspects of the Scheme when considering economies of scale."

The Twickenham Riverside Trust has submitted hundreds of pages of objections and it will be represented at the inquiry by several of its trustees and officers, including the chairman, Ted Cremin, and Celia Holman.

In his written evidence, Mr Cremin argues that the existing gardens should be retained and extended, while the plan for the Wharf Lane building should be dropped.

He said analysis by the organisation 'clearly indicates the path for an 'elegant detour' (remove the cars, remove the Wharf Lane Building) that would receive pretty much universal public approval'.

In her written evidence, Miss Holman argues the new public space being offered by the Council is inferior.

She said: "In the Trust's opinion, the Open Space, the space that is being reprovided on the Scheme does not represent the same amenity value to the public as that which is currently available."

She said the Trust supported removing the embankment parking adding this 'presents an opportunity to extend and enhance the open space that is already available and in doing so create a true "destination" that will both bring visitors to the town and promote their wellbeing, now and into the future'.

The planning inspector, Peter Rose, will open the inquiry at 10am on Tuesday, June 6, in the Clarendon Rood, at the council's York House head office in Twickenham. It is expected to run Tuesday to Thursday through June.