Historic Royal Palaces, the charity responsible for Hampton Court Palace, have welcomed the opportunity to respond to proposals by Gladedale and Network Rail for the redevelopment of the Jolly Boatman and Hampton Court station areas.

Plans for the development sites, located opposite Hampton Court Palace, have always been closely followed by Historic Royal Palaces. Despite previous development proposals, change of ownership of the Jolly Boatman site and revised planning briefs by the Council, our position has remained clear and consistent for many years, as Conservation Director, John Barnes explains:

“Like many local people, we are fed up with the appalling, derelict state of the Jolly Boatman site. Arriving by train to this historic village, it is the first thing visitors see, rather than the magnificence of the River Thames and the West Front of Henry VIII’s Tudor palace. For the past three years Historic Royal Palaces have offered to clear up the site but to date the developers have refused these temporary aesthetic improvements.

“We have always advocated that the Jolly Boatman site should not be developed at all; the area should be cleared and landscaped creating a continuous rural environment from Cigarette Island to Hampton Court Bridge.”

In 2004 an independent study, commissioned by Historic Royal Palaces on how to manage the views to and from the palace, came to the conclusion that any building development on the Jolly Boatman site would have a serious, detrimental affect on the setting of the palace and the neighbouring rural area.

In response to plans for development of the Hampton Court station, unveiled by Gladedale and Network Rail over the weekend, Historic Royal Palaces believes the scheme remains too dense. The primary concerns remain:

• All four development options involve building on the Jolly Boatman site itself, a scheme which will not be supported by Historic Royal Palaces who will continue to advocate the site remain free of all development and be landscaped.
• Buildings on the Cigarette Island side of the railway tracks when seen from the palace side of the river will impact on important views looking out from Hampton Court Palace even at three or four-storeys in height, as identified in two inter-related studies* by Historic Royal Palaces.
• Although the new plans attempt to address pedestrian access and safety, the road proposals would worsen an already dreadful situation and fail to look strategically at traffic management on both sides of Hampton Court Bridge.
• The proposed development is disassociated from the village and business centre of East Molesey, rather than considered as integral to the local area.
• The proposed architectural scheme is unmistakenly urban in character more relevant to Kingston-upon-Thames than this village conservation area.

John Barnes concludes, “Historic Royal Palaces are not only responsible for conserving and maintaining the palaces that we care for, but also for protecting the environment surrounding these heritage sites. In the light of the most recent proposals, we will continue to argue that the Jolly Boatman site should remain undeveloped and be landscaped as Cigarette Island is.  However, we do believe that regeneration of the train station area is desperately needed, and we will continue talking to the local authorities and developers about appropriate planning solutions that recognise the historic significance of the area.”

*The Hampton Court Palace Views Management Plan and Historic Landscape Assessment & Landscape Development Strategy for the Hampton Court Station/Jolly Boatman Site can both be viewed at www.hrp.org.uk