London’s only polo club loses battle for winter arena as inspector drops appeal

London’s only polo club has lost a battle to expand its arena next to a 17th-century mansion on the banks of the River Thames. The planning inspector rejected an appeal by Ham Polo Club, based next to Ham House, following Richmond Council’s earlier rejection of its plans to build an extension to the winter sports arena.

The club originally presented plans in 2021 to expand its small sand arena to accommodate winter polo, along with riding lessons and horse training, with a new 1.5m wooden fence around it. The club is within the Ham House Conservation Area and on Metropolitan Open Land (MOL), meaning development should only be approved in very special circumstances. Historically, it formed part of the Grade II* listed gardens and pleasure grounds attached to Ham House, which was built in 1610 and continues to be a popular attraction.

The council’s planning committee rejected the scheme in February last year, with a report on the decision claiming it would have a “planning impact and appear as an alien feature of the uncharacteristic and damaging landscape” to the gardens, recreational grounds and conservation area . . The application also received 213 objections from the public, with particular concerns that it would have a negative impact on the historic surroundings and block views across the land.

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Appealing the council’s decision to the planning inspectorate, the club argued in a statement that the scheme was a suitable development in the MOL that would not affect its openness or “represent an urban or extraneous feature or materially affect the tranquillity”. It said it would plant new hedges and trees to “soften the appearance” of the proposed fence.

A further statement added: “The club currently uses the existing small arena for jumping/riding lessons but uses are limited by the inadequate size of the arena. An extension to the arena as proposed in this application would be of great benefit to the club and community, safely facilitating a much wider range of uses including winter polo, riding lessons in the winter months, lunging school /dressage and jumping for non-polo.”

Planning inspector Helen O’Connor ruled in a report that the expanded arena would not be an inappropriate development in the MOL. She said the main benefits of the scheme would be the club hosting more polo and other activities, along with the creation of more jobs.

However, Ms O’Connor said the fence surrounding the expanded arena and its level surface would be “an obviously man-made incursion into the historic landscape”. She added that winter polo is fast-paced, which, along with increased activity at the arena under the proposals, would disrupt the tranquility of the Melancholy Walk, which runs next to the site.

Ms O’Connor concluded the proposals would have a negative impact on the “important green and peaceful qualities” of the gardens and leisure areas and would in turn harm the conservation area. She wrote: “Overall, given this particularly sensitive context, I am not convinced that the sum of the public benefits would outweigh the harm. Consequently, the proposal would conflict with the national policy for the protection of the historic environment”. Ham Polo Club has been contacted for comment.

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