Half of Kew Retail Park, which spans nearly 10 acres in Richmond, was sold to the Berkeley Group in 2021, with M&S continuing to own the other half.
Developer St George, part of Berkeley Group, put forward plans in 2022 to build up to 1,200 new homes on the site, including affordable housing, shops and improved public space.
The plans, which were published on a dedicated website, included moving M&S from its existing building to a new store at the retail park with homes above.
The developer invited residents to share their views on the proposed redevelopment of the site to create a new ‘neighbourhood’ in June 2022.
A report by architects JTP the following month said: “Many people recognised that the single-storey, single-use retail park and surface car park is an inefficient and unattractive use of this valuable site and supported redevelopment to provide much-needed new homes, including affordable housing, and create a new community hub benefitting and connecting neighbouring communities.
“Concern was expressed by some about the proposed scale of the development, whilst others recognised that the provision of apartments opens up the opportunity to provide significant publicly-accessible green space.”
The report said a planning application to redevelop the site was expected to be submitted in summer 2023 and, if it were approved, work would start by the end of 2024.
Uncertainty has grown over the future of the site ever since, however, as no further updates were provided and no planning application has been submitted to date.
The website was updated in late 2024 to confirm that St George had explored a range of options for the site and decided that, for the foreseeable future, it would ‘be retained in its current use as a retail investment’.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has contacted St George for further information, but it declined to comment. M&S has also been contacted for comment.
While the plans are on hold for the time being, St George and M&S submitted a statement to Richmond Council in June 2024 regarding their ongoing vision for the site.
The statement was put forward to help shape the Local Plan to guide developments in Richmond over the coming years, which the council is currently finalising.
The final draft of the new Local Plan allocates Kew Retail Park as suitable for major residential redevelopment ‘with a range of commercial uses, including retail, offices… and leisure’.
The draft plan says: “There is a need for housing in the borough and this site is considered to be suitable for a substantial provision of new housing units. The council expects that a policy-compliant level of affordable housing is provided.
“Whilst the site is not located within a town or local centre, it has for many years proved to be a popular retail destination.
“It is expected that commercial uses will be retained on site. The mix of uses, such as retail, cafes and offices, should be curated so that they add to the vibrancy and vitality of the new community.”
A statement by Avison Young responding to the draft Local Plan, on behalf of St George and M&S, said the landowners were preparing a masterplan for Kew Retail Park and had been speaking to the council over the past couple of years to ‘bring forward comprehensive residential and retail-led redevelopment of the site, to include a new M&S to replace the existing M&S store’.
The statement said the site could accommodate up to around 900 new homes if it was completely redeveloped, but the availability of the entire site for redevelopment depended on the owners being allowed to provide a bigger foodhall in the replacement M&S.
It confirmed dialogue between St George and M&S was ‘ongoing to agree how best to bring the site forward’.
The council is making minor changes to the draft Local Plan, which it is expected to formally adopt later this year.
