Pines and Needles, the premier Christmas Tree growers and retailers, has applied again for retrospective planning for its use of the Riverhill Yard as a Christmas tree nursery of plants and saplings, storage and distribution depot. This application has now been validated by the Local Planning Authority under reference 24/01004/FUL (click to open in a new window.)

Since Summer 2023, we have carefully considered all the issues and concerns that have been brought to us by local residents as well as Kingston Council and the neighbouring councils, and made changes as a result.

The most significant change is that we have re-routed all vehicles, including the HGV deliveries, down Worcester Park Road avoiding the residential streets of Grafton and Cromwell Roads. Vehicles will exit the site retracing this route back to the Kingston Road. As you may know, these main deliveries are for only six weeks of the year, from about mid-November to mid-December.  We have a proper management plan and tracking to ensure these large vehicles arrive at the correct time, during daytime hours only, and do not wait on the access road.

We have also pledged, as part of the planning application, to create a new public riverside path along the Hogsmill River, extending the network of accessible walking routes in the local area.

We will plant green walls on the modular office units and roofs of the storage containers, to minimise visual intrusion.  We will continue the biodiverse-rich planting on the bunds and the land outside them. We will install further security measures to stop the anti-social behaviour that was associated with the site when it was derelict.

In addition, we have:

  Undertaken flood ‘modelling’, a detailed and technical exercise recommended by the Environment Agency. This demonstrates that the proposed use, classified as ‘less vulnerable’, will not be at unacceptable risk of flooding nor will it cause greater risk of flooding elsewhere.

  Updated our Ecological Appraisal setting out more detail of the measures to be put in place to help protect wildlife including bird and bat boxes, woodpiles, kingfisher posts, hedgehog highways etc.

  Provided a proper analysis of how we are not harming the openness of the Metropolitan Open Land (MOL) by preparing a Landscape Visual Appraisal and updating a Planning, Design and Access Statement. Clearly, our use also provides jobs as well as reduces the anti-social behaviour.

We are aware that, since Pines and Needles started occupying the site at the beginning of 2023, they haven’t got everything right. What they are very keen to do is to show that they are good neighbours, who listen to feedback and act on it quickly.  We are very pleased that the general manager, David, is always happy to have a conversation with any neighbour and, if he can, will often go the extra mile to help.  I trust that you will welcome him and his colleagues in the neighbourhood as, we hope, a long-standing future tenant here.

We have now submitted a new application, and we just reviewing your comments to our recent survey.

Here were the key points from our first application, which we have again guaranteed:

  Our carefully designed Christmas tree nursery of plants and saplings, storage and distribution facility will make the most of an underused derelict site, provide jobs, safeguard trees and protect the openness of the Metropolitan Open Land.

  We have significant landscaping proposed, that will maximise Urban Greening Factor and Biodiversity Net Gain.