Working for the residents in the South of the Borough of Kingston upon Thames
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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The two-year redevelopment of the old Tolworth Hospital is underway by South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust, working with developer McAlpine. A new five-ward hospital building with outpatient services is due to open late 2027.
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You may have been contacted by your landline provider about changing your phone line to something called VoIP – which stands for ‘Voice over Internet Protocol’. This means the old analogue copper telephone lines will soon become redundant, with all calls using your internet connection. If you are unsure what this means and how it could affect you, we have written what we hope is a user-friendly article about the switchover.
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Marking the 1100th anniversary of the crowning of King Athelstan in Kingston in 925, Kingston 2025 is a six-month festival celebrating the communities of Kingston through a programme of arts and culture events right across the borough. The festival, which launched on 3rd May and continues until November, brings together communities, schools, students and different artists.
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