A three-storey nursery, described as 'brutalist' by one disgruntled resident, has been proposed in a planning application on Udney Park Road in Teddington.  

Bluett Properties Ltd intends to redevelop the site, which currently comprises two houses and a commercial space, into a nursery as well as three other residential dwellings. 

The developers, who already own two nursery schools in Wandsworth, said they would provide a "state of the art" building that would "facilitate learning and development".  

View of the development on Udney Park Road. (Photo: Richmond Council)

Local residents, however, were less enthusiastic. 

By Bluett Properties' own admission, only 18 of 250 residents asked, responded to their plans. Of those, just two had positive views of the project.  

The 16 other residents were especially concerned the "unsightly" appearance of the proposed nursery, which they said lacked "cohesion" with the surrounds.  

One resident deplored the lack of effort to "reflect the surrounding architecture", describing it as an "overbearing 1960s buildings sitting incongruously in a street of elegant Edwardian charm". 

The inclusion of an outdoor playground in the plans have also unsettled residents. 

They complained of "potential noise impact", especially on the properties backing onto the rear of the site, where the play area is planned to be situated.  

In addition, the three residences to be built as part of the project fail outright to meet Richmond's affordable housing target of 50%.  

View of the development on the street. (Photo: Richmond Council)

Other residents were equally concerned that drop off and pick up times at the nursery would cause what is already a "parking nightmare", to become much worse. 

Parking is currently limited for people working on the nearby high street. The parking restrictions on nearby Kingston Lane have compelled commuters from Teddington station to park their cars on Udney Park Road instead. 

As one resident put it: "A nursery school would cause mayhem in the road with children being dropped-off and collected.  

"With [over a hundred] children attending, the required staffing levels would create an even more stressful situation.  

"The likelihood of all these people arriving by foot is fanciful and deluded, there being no provision for parking on-site." 

In response, the developers said it had taken the views of locals "into account" and had updated the plans to "better reflect the local character, appearance, materiality and design".  

These include proposals to lower the height of the second storey as well as plans to "lighten" the colour of the brickwork from a grey, to a light grey.  

The company also added that "careful consideration" of the design of outdoor spaces would be given to reduce "any harm to neighbouring residents due to noise". 

As for parking and traffic concerns, Bluett Properties said from its experience running nurseries previously, "staff employed use of public transport" and "the vast majority of parents" walk their children to nursery. 

Claiming to act in good faith, Blueett Properties said the modifications "demonstrate [its] commitment to stakeholder engagement, going above and beyond the requirements set out by local and national government" and its plans "will improve the townscape and environment".  

If planning permission is granted, construction is expected to begin in April 2024 and last until October 2025.