Plans to repair the gates of Richmond Park damaged in a car crash have been refused over application blunders.
Richmond Council said The Royal Parks had failed to provide enough detail and justification in its plans to repair Ham Gate, on Ham Gate Avenue, to allow them to progress.
The gates were left damaged after a car crashed into them on August 5, 2023, which resulted in the driver being arrested and two people taken to hospital. The Met Police later said their injuries were not life-changing or life-threatening.
The Royal Parks, which manages Richmond Park, submitted plans in June to replace the damaged cast-iron gates, railings and gas lanterns in a style matching the existing ones, and to carry out any necessary repairs to bricks along the wall. The charity proposed replacing the pedestrian gates in a lighter aluminium to help people with mobility difficulties while using LED bulbs for the new lanterns.
But council officers threw out the plans after ruling they were not detailed enough. A report on the decision read: “As a matter of principle, in the first instance, efforts should be made to repair and restore what has been damaged. It is unclear from this submission how this has been considered.
“This needs to be addressed. Should like-for-like replacement be justified, this could be supported assuming it is genuine like-for-like, based on castings, material matching and paint scrape research.”
The report also said installing aluminium pedestrian gates would be ‘inauthentic’ and that ways to repair the existing gates to improve accessibility should be explored first. It added that using LED bulbs in the new laterns would ‘require signification justification’ and, unless this is provided, the original lanterns should be restored.
It continued: “Due to the lack of justification and detail, officers have been unable to make a full assessment. However, based on the current proposals, the replacement of authentic original fabric with less sympathetic replacement would fail to preserve the special architectural and historic interest and heritage significance of the Richmond Park wall.”
A Royal Parks spokesperson said: “We place huge importance on carrying out the repairs to Ham Gate to the highest standards. The Royal Parks will continue to work closely with partner organisations and Richmond Council to find the most appropriate solution to the repair of Ham Gate.”
