Richmond’s combination of lively town and peaceful open spaces makes it an extraordinarily appealing place for residents and visitors alike, yet this very special and historic area can be threatened by inappropriate developments, damaging activities, or sheer neglect.
Richmond Society’s Landscaping & Riverside Committee works closely with our Planning Committee to assess planned changes to the built environment, and to oppose such changes where they are perceived as damaging to streetscape, landscape, or the environment. We also monitor Parks & Open Spaces, and liaise with owners to ensure that buildings, trees, and plantings are properly maintained, and that public areas are not misused.

Examples of projects undertaken by, or inspired by, the Landscaping & Riverside Committee:

Clearance and recording of more than 2,000 memorials in the Old Burial Ground, the earliest part of Richmond Cemetery

Roofing repairs and repainting to the Thames Water kiosk on Old Deer Park

Replacement of broken brick planters with railway sleeper planters in Waterloo Place

Restoration and re-siting of the 18th Century Coadestone River God statue in the Terrace Gardens

Provision of information boards for visitors to the Richmond Hill Terrace, Riverside and Richmond Green

Repaving and landscaping of the area at the top of Albany Passage behind St Matthias Church, including restoration of the original telephone box

Preservation of the traditional telephone boxes on The Green and at the top of Vineyard Passage

Restoration of the milestone on Kew Road at the junction with Church Road

Re-gilding the canopy of the T E Collcutt designed RSPCA ‘cattle trough’ opposite the Royal Star & Garter Home

Tree planting on Cholmondeley Walk, in Terrace Gardens, and over 100 street trees in Richmond

Our member on the Petersham Meadows Advisory Committee continues to work with the National Trust to ensure that cattle-grazing on the Meadow, so recently under threat, is secured for the foreseeable future.