Plans for hundreds of new homes, six and seven storey buildings and restaurants in a busy part of Raynes Park have sparked fears about road safety and overdevelopment.

Businesses which currently operate from the Rainbow Industrial Estate next to Raynes Park station will have to leave and the site demolished to make way for up to 229 new homes, 130 car parking spaces and a ‘kiss and ride’ facility.

Wimbledon Times:

An artists' impression of the Rainbow Estate 

Developers promise a mini-roundabout and a pedestrian crossing at the narrow entrance to the estate next to the entrance and exit to the station onto Grand Drive.

People have until Tuesday, January 20 to comment on two separate applications submitted by Workspace 12 Ltd - one for re-development of the estate and the second to upgrade land next to the station to create a ‘kiss and ride’ picking up and dropping off point for passengers.

Wimbledon Times:

The station next to where the development will be.

Raynes Park & West Barnes Residents' Association chairman John Elvidge said it opposes the plans as it is unsuitable for housing.

He said: "The whole site needs tidying up.

"It is semi-derelict but we could make a good case for a business development but housing provides the money.

"The access is a recipe for accidents."

He said it was not the right place for homes and shops due to its proximity to the railway line and the ‘kiss and ride’ scheme had to be done properly.

Eric de Regnaucourt, of Bushey Court, Bushey Road, is among those to have objected to plans.

Mr de Regnaucourt, who has a 15month old daughter, said: "We are very close to these enormous buildings.

"The seven storey building will not only block my view but it changes the feeling of the place.

"There is an access issue - it is already a mess there with the number of cars and trucks which go in and out and people dropping friends off."

Plans include demolition of the existing buildings, and creation of six blocks of flats of five to seven storeys and a terrace of nine houses.

The developer said it will work with the businesses in an attempt to re-locate them to other sites it manages.

There will be space for businesses, restaurants and cafes as well as an energy centre and landscaping.

The application details basement parking for 126 cars, 21 motorbikes and 33 disability spaces, and 266 bicycle storage spaces.

Zane Rooney, manager of South African shop the Savanna in Approach Road, said: "We won’t be moving out, it won’t affect us.

"My only concern is the amount of traffic coming in and out and how long it will take to build."

Others have raised concerns about traffic for the estate as the exit is on an extremely busy main road which often has queues at rush hour.

Mr Elvidge said: "Traffic is always piled back from the lights - it is not an ideal place.

"The concern we have is the interaction between pedestrians and the volume of cars going in and out."

A spokesperson at Workspace Group said: "We have been through extensive consultation with local residents over a number of years to finalise the proposals for the Rainbow Industrial Estate.

"This consultation resulted in Merton Council adopting a brief for the regeneration of the site.

The current planning application complies with this adopted brief and will bring 229 homes, employment space for small local businesses, as well as access and public realm improvements to fulfill the potential of the site.

"We look forward to working with local residents and the council to deliver the regeneration."

To view the plans in detail, visit the website here. 

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