Kew Gardens asks Government to intervene in row with developers

WHEN the Royal family arrived at Kew in the 1720s, King George II and Queen Caroline were attracted by a rural idyll that gave them privacy.

But that sense of isolation, which has endured at Kew Gardens for another 300 years, could now be under threat from housing developments which the Gardens say will overshadow the park.

Historic England said proposals to build 193 new homes across the river would mean visitors would struggle to understand why the Royal family loved the place when they first moved in. The Government has now been asked to intervene in a planning row over buildings which conservationists say are so harmful to the gardens that they would attract worldwide attention.

Opposing the plans, which were approved by Hounslow Council last month, Historic England said “the ability to intellectually reconstruct the atmosphere of a rural retreat is essential in understanding the appeal of this site to the Georgian court, and the setting of the gardens today is perfectly suited to reveal and enhance this layer of significance.

“The arrival of new buildings between or above the tree line causes an irreconcilable clash of character between the fundamental characteristics of a historic Arcadian landscape of exceptional value, and the intensity of rapidly changing modern London.”

The redevelopment, designed by Duggan Morris Architects, involves demolishing an arts centre and office building currently on the site and replacing them with homes and a riverside café.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, said: “As custodians of the Kew World Heritage Site, we have lodged objections to this application, and in February 2018 asked the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to review the planning application.”

Hounslow Council said permission was granted last month “subject to a number of conditions, including the referral to the Mayor of London and the Secretary of State”.

It added that harm to the gardens “must be balanced against the public benefit of the development”.