Opportunity and Concerns
What is the Opportunity?
Our local community has tolerated disruption, stress, and the ongoing impact of these developments on our daily lives. We have an opportunity to make improvements to the immediate lived environment at the hospital boundary via local funds arising from developments in our ward.
South Worple Avenue is a focus due to immediate tree loss and lack of scope to replant within the Trust's site. Greening the avenue in partnership with the Trust helps restore lost biodiversity and continue growing the presence of trees and planting in this location.
What are the Concerns?
Lines of Sight
Potential narrowing of the avenue and reduced visibility
Anti-Social Behaviour
Concerns about attracting unwanted activity
Lighting
Ensuring adequate illumination for safety
If you would like more background on how this project has come together, here is our initial working document exploring this possibility.
Please bear in mind plans shown on this document taken from the planning application were correct at time of this document’s use in September 2025. There are currently amendments to the planning application in progress (November 2025). Please visit the Barnes Hospital Full Planning application on the LBRUT Planning portal for the latest information.
Design Options: Simple to Ambitious
Simple Option
- Renewed surface
- Tree pits for mature trees on hospital wall side
- Street level sensory planting of meadow flowers and grasses
- Renewed boundary wall
Advantages: No additional water source required, clear lines of sight, minimal impact on avenue width.
Medium Option
- On the hospital wall side, renewed boundary wall creates backdrop for new planting.
- Tree pits allow for contained areas of sensory plants and meadow flowers.
- This creates a natural chicane through the route, both stimulating and calming while renewing biodiversity lost during site clearance.
- Consider different surfaces to demarcate the route from planting areas.
Extension Option
The simple and medium options address urgent concerns. An extension phase might involve:
- Collaboration with local growers to use mobile planters
- Partnership with local artists for sculptures or mosaics
- Space for neighbour summer street parties
- Garden experience for local nursery and students of the new school.
- Quiet place for dementia sufferers and carers
- Achieve a full walk-through garden experience over time
The Impact of Tree Loss
Due to site works at the former Barnes Hospital, both South Worple Avenue and Grosvenor Avenue residents have experienced significant loss of mature trees surrounding their homes.
The approved landscaping drawings for the Barnes Hospital NHS portion show new greening within the site development, but limited scope exists for replanting due to the density of development following the sale of part of the plot for residential purposes.
As a counterweight, a payment through the Barnes redevelopment programme called a Capital Asset Value for Amenity Trees (CAVAT) payment has been made to the council for new trees in the local area.
Who is working to make this happen?
Neighbouring residents are fortunate to have excellent communication with all the stakeholders involved with the ongoing development of the new South West London and St Georges NHS Trust's London River Academy and Health Hub. We continue our ongoing engagement on how we might mitigate the impact of the current works on resident's quality of life both during and when works are completed.
Together with SWLSG NHS Trust and Wilmott Dixon, the main contractor, we are also in conversation with our local Council LBRUT, Mortlake Community Association, The Beckmead Trust, Habitats and Heritage and the Royal Society of the Arts.
We are also working to include existing related voluntary groups, growers, walkers and local artists.
