
Thank you for signing our Petition.
We appreciate your support for Petersham Nurseries Richmond, to help us make our dinner services a more regular and permanent feature. We received more than 6500 signatures, with more than 1300 coming from within the Borough of Richmond upon Thames. 1385 people took the time to comment.
More than 6500 Signatures to our Petition until 5th September, 2022



What our supporters say
“Petersham Nurseries in all that it does is very special and their dinners are wonderful. We need places like Petersham Nurseries Cafe. Please help them to achieve their business goal.” – Anne
“Richmond Council should be doing everything it can to help businesses flourish in these difficult times of high inflation and the challenges of recruiting staff in a post-Brexit economy. Please support Petersham Nurseries with this reasonable and fair request to extend it’s licencing hours.” – Dan
“Petersham Nurseries is a vital, and very special small business in the Richmond community and there should be no cause for concern by the planning committee or the local neighbourhood in granting a licence to operate the restaurant in the evenings. As a Richmond resident and regular patron of Petersham Nurseries, I fully support their request for an expanded licence.” – Roslyn

“Petersham Nurseries is our favourite restaurant and we want to be able to visit in the evenings too!” – Stamos
“Petersham nurseries is a beautiful gem of a restaurant and is loved and used by almost all local residents, it’s tucked away in a beautiful location where it causes no problems for anyone, it should be allowed to operate as a normal restaurant so that it can be used and enjoyed by us all more regularly.” – Sarah
“Why stifle business in these difficult times. The Council should be supporting such enterprise.” – Ross
“This is a unique location with a respectful & appreciative clientele. Please enable the business to operate at its optimum in these difficult economic times.” – Carys

“Petersham Nursery is a wonderful place which attracts both local, UK & international visitors hence benefiting the whole area. If you can licence a KFC open to all hours, why on earth would you object to PN supper club!” – Carol
“The most unique restaurant in the area deserves support. Special and memorable celebrations for my family have been held in beautiful surroundings.” – Paulette
“Please don’t let bureaucracy steal all the fun and livelihoods of those who have worked so hard to create a magical place with wonderful talent and local employees.” – Sarah
“I live in Petersham and don’t see any problem with Petersham Nurseries having a permanent dinner service. It would be very useful for the community.” – Carlos

“In a time when hospitality businesses are being hit by increased wage bills, increased cost of food, astronomical energy costs, likely increase in business rates and a likely downturn in demand due to the effect of inflation and higher interest rates on peoples discretionary income - not allowing Petersham Nursery the ability to try and offset these is simply adding to pressures that could lead to the business not being viable. Does Richmond Council really have an objective to put businesses up against the wall financially when what Petersham Nurseries is asking has no cost for the Council and at worse will increase the sales (and hence tax base) of the restaurant?”
In Press
My London, 22 Sept 2022
Richmond Council licensing committee heard on Wednesday (September 21) that Petersham Nurseries, which employs around 170 people, has operated under a restricted licence for 16 years – hosting events using temporary licences.
Neighbour George Richardson said when he last visited he “couldn’t hear a thing” while walking around the outside of the site. He said there was “virtually no disruption” from traffic because the site is managed so well. Lord John Lee also said the business “ticks every box”. He said: “My contention is that every local authority in the country would actually give their right hand to have an operation of the quality of Petersham Nurseries within its boundaries.”

Richmond Nub News, 15 Sept 2022
Renowned playwright and novelist, Michael Frayn, who lives close by, said: “We are very near neighbours of Petersham Nurseries, and were apprehensive when they started their supper clubs. However, in the ten or so years that have passed since then these have not had the slightest impact on us, in terms of noise, traffic, or anything else.”
Lady Annabel Goldsmith said: “The management team are professional and responsible operators who run their business sympathetically alongside the local community. They are mindful of their responsibilities in the local area and have continually demonstrated that they are thoughtful neighbours.”
Her son, Lord Goldsmith, the former Richmond Park MP and government environment minister, added: “Petersham Nurseries is a much-loved and highly-valued local business. It deserves support from the local council.”







Sign our Petition
Sign our petition to enable us to operate like all other restaurants.
Help us make our dinner services a more regular and permanent feature
Our Supper Clubs at Petersham Nurseries provide an enchanting and intimate occasion to dine by candlelight in the magical setting of our greenhouses. Held throughout the year for well over a decade, our Supper Clubs have always been in great demand and referred to as an ethereal and unique experience.
Sadly, after many years of working with Officers of Richmond Council, we have been unable to regularise these popular services due to protracted, frustrating and expensive planning processes. We have now applied for a new premises licence to replace our existing 5pm premises licence. This will create certainty for our business, security for our employees and continued trade for our suppliers.
Please help us to safeguard our dinner services and indeed to host them in the same permanent way as other restaurants.
Let Gareth Roberts, Leader of the Council, know that you support us by signing our Petition
- I support Petersham Nurseries to have a more regular and permanent dinner service.
- I support Petersham Nurseries in maintaining and growing their business, ensuring their staff have job security and continue to support local suppliers.
- Petersham Nurseries is a community-focused and responsible business and I support its work within the local community and for the environment.
- The management team and all staff at Petersham Nurseries are professional operators who can be trusted to provide a dinner service responsibly under a permanent premises licence, without any adverse impact on crime, disorder, public nuisance, or safety.

Watch video of our dinner service at Petersham Nurseries
To illustrate the stringent measures we have in place to manage the quiet arrival and departure of guests, plus parking controls in place for the handful of vehicles, we created a film during one of our evening services. You will also see the general serene nature of these evenings.

We employ 170 staff, 80% of whom live within a 5-mile radius

We are the proud holder of a Green Michelin Star, in recognition of our sustainable practices

We were awarded the Richmond Chamber of Commerce – Best Business Award in 2020

Supper Club evenings at Petersham Nurseries
“The success of Petersham Nurseries should be supported and promoted by the local community and especially the local authority. This is a world class establishment, encouraging visitors to our town and community from near and far. I fully support their wish to extend their licensed hours, with a view to having more regular, set, dependable evening dinner events - thus protecting the business from the external pressures everyone is facing. Lets be a community and council that rewards excellence. I lived in Petersham prior to moving to Richmond, it gave me great pride when people recognised the place I chose to live due to the reputation of the Nurseries. I cannot be alone.
This is a focused well run busiiness, it is not about to open the doors and dilute its product other than it can sustain, it also proves itself continually to respect and work with those households and residents immediately nearby [I has also led to the rather surprising success of the Fox and Duck as an 'overspill' at weekends.] In time, I hope my children to be able to apply to work with this incredible family (owners and the staff) - lets do what we can as a neighbourhood to ensure this business is there to recruit and provide opportunities in the future.”

Evening Management Plan
As suggested and agreed by Richmond Council, a thorough Evening Management Plan was put in place to ensure that there is no disturbance to our neighbours. Below are but a few of the measures that have been implemented, that you may have noticed when dining with us.
- Supper Clubs are attended only by guests with an advance reservation.
- Travel arrangements are suggested and agreed with guests in advance.
- Customers are discouraged from driving and advised of taxi drop off/ pick up location so to steer clear of neighbouring roads and limit access to Petersham Nurseries directly via Church Lane.
- Return journeys are organised with local taxi companies all of whom operate hybrid vehicles which have a much lower noise footprint than conventional diesel engine taxis.
- Guests are collected from their table once the taxi has arrived for a swift departure.
- All vehicles arriving are advised by our parking attendants to switch of vehicle lights, engines and the team assist opening and closing doors to minimise noise.
- Employee incentives are used to encourage staff to travel to work via means other than car, including a bike to work scheme, annual travel passes, and company subsidised hybrid taxis for evening shifts.
- Guests are asked to depart respectfully for the residential area no later than 11pm. This message is reiterated on menus, reservation confirmations and online.
- As an additional mitigation measure the pedestrian entrance to the restaurant for Supper Club events was relocated to a newly built gate some 20 metres east along Church Lane. This takes the pedestrian activity further from the nearest neighbouring property than was previously the case. It also moved car parking further east to some 70 metres away from the property, compared to the previous 40-metre distance.
- Upon walking through pedestrian gate, within 13m, guests are taken inside the shop towards the restaurant, in turn containing the noise of guests arriving to inside the glasshouse.
- No parking or vehicles allowed beyond (i.e. west of) the proposed new pedestrian access gate at any point during the evening.
Further to the above, our Supper Clubs have undergone rigorous independent car parking / traffic and noise surveys. The noise surveys which were carried out over multiple years, confirmed there is no adverse impact to gardens or living rooms in the nearest dwellings during the operation of the restaurant in the evening. It has also been proven that there are no adverse effects in terms of sleep disturbance to bedrooms of the nearest dwellings beyond 11pm.
The results of the multiple evening transport surveys conducted clearly demonstrate that the restaurant use generates relatively little car travel in the evening. The figures show that 27% of the total attendance come by car but that amounts to 21 people in 7 cars (equivalent to an average of three people per car). All of which can be accommodated on Church Lane and not impede in any way on neighbouring roads.
These surveys were conducted in response to requirements from Richmond Council and have been acknowledged. However, despite the great expenses that Petersham Nurseries incurred to carry these out, there has never been any outcome whatsoever.

