Working for the residents in the South of the Borough of Kingston upon Thames
We had a great time at Celebrate Chessington on 29th May 2025, and we weren’t the only ones! The event was well attended with visitors enjoying the funfair, face painting, old military vehicle display, singing and dancing, stalls and refreshments. Thanks to everyone who came by the CDRA stall. We were delighted to meet the new Mayor of Kingston, Councillor Noel Hadjimichael, and welcome him and Deputy Mayor and local councillor, Sue Ansari, to our stall.
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We are looking forward to holding our 48th AGM in our 50th year. We hope you agree we have two interesting speakers: Grant Henderson of Your Healthcare CIC will talk about the services they offer, particularly those they provide for older and disabled residents in their own homes. Your Healthcare is a community interest company commissioned by the NHS to deliver NHS services. The other speaker is author and publisher of local history books, Mark Davison. Mark is speaking about ‘Chessington Past’. Refreshments afterwards. The meeting takes place at the Chessington Methodist Church Hall, Moor Lane, KT9 2DJ. Everyone welcome – you do not need to be a member of CDRA to attend.
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Do you remember the roadhouse at the Ace, or when Chessington World of Adventures was the Zoo? Perhaps you browsed through the records at Woollies on Hook Parade or remember the RAF camp? To celebrate our 50th anniversary, we want to hear your memories of Chessington past. We will share them on our website, social media and at our Annual General Meeting.
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Councillor Noel Hadjimichael, Liberal Democrat councillor for Canbury Gardens Ward, has been appointed the 191st Mayor of the Royal Borough of Kingston. Having lived in Kingston since emigrating from Australia in March 2016, Councillor Hadjimichael has been a councillor for Canbury Gardens Ward since May 2022. We are pleased that our local Councillor Sue Ansari, Liberal Democrat councillor for Hook and Chessington North Ward, has been appointed as Deputy Mayor.
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You may have noticed increased activity around the leisure centre site in Kingston recently. The enabling works for Kingston’s long-awaited new leisure centre have commenced. Carried out by the council’s construction partner, Pellikaan, early activity includes the creation of a temporary site access and pruning of trees in line with planning permission. According to Councillor Olly Wehring, chair of Kingston and North Kingston Neighbourhood: “The hoarding has been extended to include the playground (the new playground on Fairfield is now open). Construction work should start next month – just waiting on the discharge of the pre-commencement planning conditions.”
The new leisure centre is due to open in Spring 2027.
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For many south of the borough residents, Epsom Hospital is their local hospital, yet there are no regular bus services to get to the hospital. We’re campaigning for the 467 bus route to run more frequently and go to Epsom hospital every trip.
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As part of its work to keep Londoners up to date with what they are doing in local areas, the Met Police has established a new platform called Met Engage. Met Engage allows you to receive updates from your local neighbourhood officers about newsletters, crime prevention advice, updates on what they are doing, crime alerts in your area and publishing events such as crime prevention workshops, bike marking events, met engagement surveys. Please note that this is not a crime-reporting platform.
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As we celebrate and commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day, CDRA’s executive committee member Rob Robb shares some details about his family’s wartime experiences.
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Councillor Lorraine Dunstone tells us that TfL stopped issuing Penalty Charge Notices from 28th March and that they are cancelling all PCNs from 22nd February 2025 to 28th March 2025 inclusive. This does not include PCNs issued for stopping on double red lines. Ace Parade customers who have received a relevant PCN for this period will be notified of the cancellation. If you have already paid a PCN it will be refunded.
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Kingston Council has increased its parking charges in some areas by a whopping 200% from 11th April 2025. The Council says this is to cover the operating costs of the parking provision and for the safety of our road network. This increase will severely impact residents, small local businesses, and high street shops. Chessington resident, Gia Borg Darcy, has started a petition.
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