November 2009

It may seem unlikely at present, but that accolade has been awarded to the emerging plans for the remodelling of Tolworth Broadway and the Roundabout.

The Mayor for London (in the form of a professional panel) has sifted through 125 projects and identified 36 that are to be included in the The Mayor's Great Spaces scheme. This is exciting stuff!

One advantage of being in the scheme is that it draws down some funding and advice at the design stage from the London Development Agency and Design for London.

Once the project is completed then it will be judged again by the panel, and will, if all goes well, be formally recognised as one of The Mayor's Great Spaces.

Of course, the proposals for a greenway through Tolworth, extending across the roundabout to the station, are still in the early stages.

Last night, at joint meeting of the Surbiton and South of the Borough Neighbourhoods, we decided to put the plans out for a formal consulation.

Sadly, in contrast to the Conservative Mayor of London, some of the local Conservative councillors seemed lukewarm about the proposals. It will be interesting to see what line they take as the consultation progresses. I do hope they will provide the kind of positive criticism that will strengthen the project rather than attempt to undermine it.

Scores on the Doors is the neat name that Kingston is giving to the Food Hygiene Ratings for premises in the borough.

There are 859 businesses that have to be assessed - not just the obvious restaurants and pubs, but anywhere that serves food, including works canteens, schools and care homes.

When each premise is inspected it is given a star rating, from 5 stars down to none. So it is worth checking the list to see whether your favourite eating place is up to scratch. 1 star is rated as Poor and No stars is clearly very inadequate.

In Chessington North and Hook, two places have scored only 1 star - The Lucky Rover and Kingston Rugby Club. No-one has scored no stars.

The Christmas lights will be switched on in Malden Rushett, Chessington North and Hook tomorrow.

If you make your way to Malden Rushett at 4.30pm a small group of us will gather to ceremonially switch on the festoons around the lamp-posts there. Then at 5.30pm we'll have a slightly busier event around the Christmas tree on North Parade with carols from a local school.

The picture shows last year's tree on North Parade.

The Hook Parade lights will turn themselves on at about the same time without any help from us.

Finally, the Tolworth Christmas lights will be switched on with much greater excitement next Tuesday, 24th November. Gather outside Our Lady Immaculate Church from 5pm where there will be activities for children and a band.

First, though, an update on the Neighbourhood meeting yesterday.

We (the local councillors) agreed the planning application for Chessington Nurseries, and adopted the Neighbourhood Community Plan. We were not at all happy about the latest planning application for the Red Lion pub site, and listed our concerns and those of residents nearby for the Development Control Committee, who will be deciding the application next month.

Now a bit of gossip - you may have noticed activity going on in the old Woolworths store in Hook Parade. Rumour has it that a carpet firm is moving in. I'll be very pleased to see the shop in use again but I'm wondering whether a carpet shop will attract enough custom. I do hope so, and wish it well.

Update

The Managing Director of English and Oriental Carpets read my blog and got in touch to confirm that they are going to be opening the store around Christmas. They are a local firm with existing shops in Surbiton and New Malden, so you may have come across them already. They will certainly add to the healthy variety in the Parade.

South of the Borough Neighbourhood Committee on Wednesday will be in the Hook Centre at 7.30pm.

The main item from my perspective is the Neighbourhood Community Plan. That may sound a bit dry, but it is something completely new in Kingston. This is because policies for the Neighbourhood have been developed, not by councillors or council officers, but by a panel of residents. The Community Plan will replace the annual policy statement by the Committee, and the policies in it will be tracked at future meetings.

So what are the policies they have proposed? In brief:

• Provide accommodation for the Safer Neighbourhood Police teams
• More influence over planning decision on housing
• Better policing of the A3 and A243
• Investigate the possible link between road pollution on the A3 and A243, and chronic chest disease
• Reduce the impact of traffic volume
• Improve communications between local residents and, on the one hand, TfL and on the other hand, the Council's contractors
• Improve facilities for youth

If you would like to be on the Community panel, please contact Barry Allen, the Neighbourhood Manager, on barry.allen@rbk.kingston.gov.uk

There are two interesting planning applications on the agenda. The first is for a new building at Chessington Nurseries, to replace their large glasshouse behind the main retail area.

The second is for the redevelopment of the Red Lion site. This is the second application for this site, following a failed appeal at the refusal of the first one. In the agenda it is listed as an item for decision, but that has now changed, and it will be coming to us for consultation only. It will then go to Surbiton Neighbourhood and on to the central Development Control Committee in December for a decision. This has one big advantage - members of the public will be able to comment freely on the proposals at the two Neighbourhoods, which would not have been possible if it had come to us for decision.

As usual, I'm not able to comment on either of these planning applications before the meeting.

Apart from those items, we will also be responding to the petition about the Playscape in Jubilee Way, monitoring the Neighbourhood budget, and agreeing on a name for a new close off the Leatherhead Road.

One third of all MPs are in safe seats .... and they are more likely to have cheated on their expenses than those who are not in safe seats.

I've written about this before, but this short video makes the point very succinctly.

Park and Ride begins again this Saturday and operates every day until Saturday 16th January, except Christmas and Boxing Days. The bus runs every 10 minutes.

You can park for free at the north car park at Chessington World of Adventures then catch the bus to Eden Street in Kingston. The return fare is only £2, which is much less than parking all day in Kingston. Under 16s are free, but other bus passes are not valid on this route.

Although the service is mainly intended for people coming into Kingston from further afield, it can be pretty useful for Chessington residents as well.