Supporters of Queens Road Estates Richmond are coming together with allies, inlcuding Habitats & Heritage, LBRUT, L&Q, the Richmond Foundation and Richmond Park, to make the Queens Road Estates a better place for wildlife and humans to live and thrive together.
WILDLIFE CORRIDOR
Plans are underway for a Wildlife Corridor running north to south from Grove Road Gardens, Grove Road, past the Cambrian Community Centre, the back of Reynold's Place and Hobart Place, and ending at the Amenity Land behind Sayers Walk and the Lass of Richmond Hill.
RAIN GARDEN
Incorporated in the Wildlife Corridor will be our first Rain Garden on the site of disused bowl-shaped playground at the rear of Hobart Place. In the summer the Rain Garden will allieviate the urban heat island, and year round it will help prevent flooding, support wildlife and promote residents' wellbeing.
The site visit was followed, in autumn 2025, by a preliminary consultation with rain garden experts, Community Bluescapes. The confirmed the site's suitability and recommended lifting the asphalt, improving drainage and planting a mix of trees, shrubs and grasses that would tolerate pollution, drought and flooding. The re-landscaped area will also provide valuable wildlife habitat in a currently barren patch along the Wildlife Corridor as well as being an uplifting environment for residents, who have already expressed their enthusiasm for the idea.
RESTORATION OF BLUEBELL WOOD AND ORCHARD
Residents who have lived on Phase One since it was built told us that there used to be fruit trees and a bluebell wood on the Amenity Land.
Fruit trees (damson, cooking apple and pear) planted gardens of the old Victorian houses that preceded the estate, were still fruiting when first residents moved in but later died and were never replaced.
Buebells, which used to carpet the wood in spring, have struggled to compete with ground ivy and brambles, which have also encroached into the grassed area. We aim to gradually clear the ivy and brambles to allow the bluebells to flourish once more, along with the naive Cuckoo Pint that is also found here.
Daffodils and primroses growing the grass have suffered both from the encroaching ivy and brambles, but also from careless mowing carried out before the flowers are over. We hope to reduce the number of mows and to create defined areas of longer grass for a range of spring and autumn flowers (bluebells, daffodils, primroses, native geraniums, autumn crocuses).
Peter Lawrence, Deputy Manager of Richmond Park, walked the area with us and idenitified areas where we can work together, including stablising the path to Bishop's Gate, building loggeries for stag beetles, thinning the self-seeded sycamores to allow more air and light into the wood and planting a few more wild cherries for wildlife.
In the future, we will also be seeking support from a charity, the Urban Orchard Project, to help us plan and plant new fruit trees.
In October 2026, after the nesting season ends, we will start work with Habitats & Heritage and volunteers to improve the first section on the Amenity Land.
THIS SUMMER/AUTUMN
JULY-AUGUST - GUIDED WALKS
In July and August 2026, there will be two guided walks along the proposed route of the wildlife corridor. Led by a conservation speciliast with volunteers, the walks aim to show how the wildlife corridor will improve the environment and the lives of wildlife and humans alike.
Each walk will last approximately 45-60 minutes, will start at the Grove Chapel, accessed from Greville Road and Park Hill and the 371 Park Hiill bus stop. They will end at the Amenity Land, close to Richmond Park main gate and the 371 Lass of Richmond HIll bus stop.
Watch this space for dates.
SEPTEMBER - LAUNCH
In September, we will hold a launch event at the Grove Chapel where we will discuss ideas for the future. There will be a guest speaker, an art exhibition and refreshments. We hope to end the lauch with a bat walk.
Watch this space for dates.
OCTOBER - AMENITY LAND
In October, we will start working with Habitats & Heritage volunteers to clear a first section of the Amenity Land of the overgrowth of ground ivy and brambles, to allow the bluebells to flourish once more.
We also aim to re-plant the pear, plum and apple trees that used to be on the Amenity Land.
2027 AND BEYOND
Some ideas for future years.
- Our Natural Neighbours. In collaboration with Habitats & Heritage, LBRUT's Conservation and Ecology Team, and Naturalists, residents can monitor species that we once commonly saw on the Queens Road Estates, such as bats, owls or blackbirds but whose numbers are in decline.
- Sponge Streets - proposals to gradually replace hard surfacing with a mix absorbent surfaces, including permeable pavements, superdrain asphalt and plants which will absorb run off in periods of heavy rain, reduce the amount of water flowing into the drains and help prevent flooding.
- Live Chat - periodic catch ups over a tea, coffee or a glass of something to get to know each other in person and chat about how we see our future.
- Website and Social Media - friends who can help build the website and a social media presence can make a real difference to our success.
- Who Do We Think We Are? - oral histories providing first-hand, verbatim accounts of what it's like to live on the estates and their surrounding area. Contributions are also welcome from those who live close by, or remember the area before the estates were built.
- How We Got Here - a History of the land and estates from the 1700s to today.
- What We Are Made Of - original designs and lists of materials specified by the architects and approved by planners for use in the built environment. We hope that these pages will provide L&Q and their contractors a point of easy access to specifications, materials used, planning conditions, Grade 2 listing and other restrictions.
WHO PAYS?
Our initiatives will cost money. And currently, this is money we do not have. So we will have to find funding.
The first step needed if we are to raise funds is to give this group of friends a formal structure and organisation, so that we can start making funding applications. This means a constitution.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
If you want to support us, join us, volunteer, or pass on suggestions, thoughts or questions email us at friendsofqueensroadestates@gmail.com