Public toilets and a popular café in Richmond Park could be replaced under plans to improve the facilities.
The buildings and surrounding landscape near Roehampton Gate, a main entrance to the 2,500-acre park, are set for an upgrade as they are in poor condition.
The plans from Royal Parks, submitted to Richmond Council, would see Roehampton Café, two toilet blocks and a bike hire facility on the site demolished and replaced with modern buildings. The current facilities are temporary structures installed in 2004 after a fire destroyed the original buildings.
Documents submitted with the application said: “All of these are of very poor quality and require replacing in the near future. Despite the poor quality of the existing facilities the site is still very popular and long queues form for both the catering operations and the public toilets, proving that there is a strong demand for facilities at this location.”
The new café would have indoor and outdoor seating, with enough space to cope with increased visitor numbers. The surrounding landscape would be improved with more trees and plants, while a new gate for pedestrians to get into the park from the Alton Estate, in Roehampton, would be added.
Roehampton Gate Car Park would also be improved under the plans, with its entrance moved to the north end to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists. Two sections of the car park would be converted into disabled parking bays to increase the number of accessible bays from four to 14. The overall number of car parking spaces would be slashed from 245 to 225.
Application documents added: “It is proposed to replace the existing buildings with new, sustainable, modern facilities providing an enhanced visitor experience and at the same time making improvements to the road, car park and path layouts to improve safety, enhance the environment and increase the area of green space.”
Richmond Council will decide on the application in due course.
