Save Richmond College from Demolition

Statement

We urge the Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council to reconsider the scheme currently submitted under the ref. 21/3136/FUL (also 18/4157/RES and 15/3038/OUT) which involves the demolition of the historic building of Richmond College which was built in 1937 by the architects department of the Middlesex County Council (MCC) and was known as Twickenham Technical College. Historic England has expressed its view stating: "It is clear that the Twickenham Technical College is a building of some architectural merit." This clearly suggests that the building, despite not being statutory listed, is of high significance to merit local listing. The building of Richmond College is of high historic, architectural and social significance - it was one of seven new colleges built by MCC between 1928 and 1939 in response to population increases and rapid industrial development. It was revolutionary in design terms, employing curtain walling construction inspired by contemporaneous Dutch and Scandinavian civic buildings, particularly the work of W. M. Dudok. The bold ‘Dudokian’ massing of the composition, with the horizontal emphasis of the classroom wings juxtaposed with the verticality of the staircase tower are certainly striking. The townscape quality of the building is that of a local landmark. Twickenham Technical College was acknowledged as a building of national importance in the years after its completion, being published in the journal Architecture Illustrated in 1938 and in Building To-Day by Martin Shaw Briggs in 1948. In addition to the building's distinct architectural qualities we would like to highlight the impact of the demolition on climate and sustainability agenda. In 2019 the Government amended the Climate Change Act to commit the UK to achieving net zero by 2050. To meet the government’s target of being carbon neutral by 2050, we must recycle, reuse and responsibly adapt our existing historic buildings, according to Heritage Counts 2019 report published in February 2020. Many local authorities have revised their policies and the new Local Plans contain policies which prevent unnecessary demolition. We would like Richmond Council to review the submitted plans and prevent the demolition of Richmond College, in accordance with the UK-wide climate emergency agenda.

Details

"Recycling plastic bottles is a normal part of our daily lives, but reusing our existing historic buildings would be a much more powerful way to improve our environmental impact. Despite this, reusable buildings are demolished every year and new buildings, which require a huge amount of carbon to build, replace them. Investigations need to continue, but the results from this year’s Heritage Counts report show that reusing and responsibly upgrading historic buildings is good for the environment and essential to meet our ambitious carbon targets." Duncan Wilson, Historic England’s Chief Executive

Started by: Khrystyna McPeake