Kingston Council top in collecting council tax
#09: Sewage into Thames, food banks & warm places in Kingston, Bushy Parkrun world record, Kingston top in collecting council tax, Kingston Council WISEs up to fly tipping, save-a-life free training, phone ban in schools, free Homebuilding & Renovating Show tickets, Kingston, Surbiton & Chessington house prices, Van Gogh at The National Gallery, it’s just not cricket, and more.
START WITH A SMILE: Stuff to cheer us up
📴 GOVERNMENTS ACROSS EUROPE START TO BAN SMARTPHONES IN SCHOOLS: Netherlands is the latest European nation to ban smartphones in schools, joining a long list of countries including Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy and Greece. While other countries have taken a more individual rather than a blanket ban approach, the consensus is that while useful, smartphones are a “distraction” and reduce academic performance and social interaction. In his bestselling book, The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt argues that smartphone use is one of the leading causes of mental-health issues among young people. It looks like governments around Europe agree and are starting to take action. Here in the UK, government has been urged to implement similar ban.
LOCAL STORIES: Stuff you need to know
💷 KINGSTON COUNCIL RANKED TOP IN COLLECTING COUNCIL TAX: Londoners have racked up a staggering £500 million in unpaid council tax according to a survey of London councils carried out by Accident Claims Advice. Hackney and Ealing top the table with roughly £50 million each in uncollected council tax for the past five years. For 2023/24 alone, Hackney has failed to collect over £16 million in council tax. On the other end of the spectrum, Royal Borough of Kingston, despite having the highest bill for Band D, tops the table for least amount of accumulated debt for 2023/24 at just £2 million. Is that because Kingston Council is effective at collecting council tax or are we, the resident of the borough, simply lovely and compliant folks? We think the latter!
😠 ANGER AS GOVERNMENT APPROVES PLANS TO PUMP TREATED SEWAGE INTO RIVER THAMES: There is anger among residents of Kingston, Richmond and Teddington as government gives the go ahead to plans to release treated sewage into River Thames as part of Thames Water’s Teddington Direct River Abstraction (TDRA) project. Local residents have raised concerns about the scheme’s impact on the environment, wildlife and human health and a petition demanding it is scrapped has gained more than 31,000 signatures. Sarah Olney, MP for Richmond Park, a constituency that covers North Kingston and Richmond, expressed her opposition to the project in her weekly newsletter to residents: “While this is a blow to the campaign against the DRA, the battle against this project is far from over. There will be other opportunities to halt its development and I intend to do all I can to ensure that this misguided scheme is not built in our community.”
💙 KINGSTON CHARITABLE FOUNDATION PUBLISHES LIST OF FOOD BANKS AND WARM SPACES ACROSS THE BOROUGH: Kingston Charitable Foundation supports local charities and volunteer organisations to help tackle inequalities across the Royal Borough of Kingston. It has published an indispensable resource for Kingston’s vulnerable – a comprehensive list of places that provide a free hot drink or a meal, laundry, showers and a friendly atmosphere, every day of the week! It covers the whole of the borough including Chessington, Surbiton, New and Old Malden, Norbiton and Kingston. With 20% of Kingston’s children living in poverty, KCF provides dozens of grants to local charities and volunteer organisations. Residents and local businesses wishing to make donations to KCF can do so through their website.
🏡 CHESSINGTON AMONG CHEAPEST HOUSE PRICE HOTSPOTS IN SURREY: Of the 67 towns in Surrey, Chessington sits as the 6th cheapest place with average house price of £451,116, behind Aldershot, Bagshot, Ashford, Horley and Redhill but significantly ahead of Surbiton, sitting at 42nd position with an average house price tag of £654,436. Conversely, Surbiton is the 26th most expensive on the list. Perhaps not surprisingly, Cobham and Virginia Water top the table as two of the most expensive areas with average house price of £1,444,627 and £1,177,837 respectively. At £960,993, the average price for Kingston, part of Greater London rather than Surrey, makes it as one of the ‘less affordable’ areas within the M25. (You can have plenty of fun with this interactive house prices map of England and Wales.)
✂️ NEW MALDEN DESIGNER FIRST BRITISH CHINESE TO SHOWCASE COLLECTION AT THE MUSEUM OF HOME: Margaret Sam is believed to the first British Chinese designer to showcase her clothing at the Museum of Home in Hoxton, London. As well as taking inspiration from British and East Asian clothing styles, New Malden based designer also turned to her father’s wardrobe for ideas to produce a menswear collection as part of the museum’s Home Truths series. Ms Sam hopes her show and collection will help Asian community ‘feel seen’ and discover a new voice particularly following the rise in anti-Asian racism and hate crimes during the Covid pandemic.
🎦 FREE FILM AND TV TRAINING FOR KINGSTON RESIDENTS: Calling budding Steven Spielbergs and Ridley Scotts – Set Ready is offering free two-day training to residents of Royal Borough of Kingston interested in pursuing a career in Film and TV. Open to anyone aged 18 or over, the programme equips new entrants with the foundational knowledge, skills and confidence required to work as a Location Marshal on a large-scale film or TV production. OK, not quite the fast-track training to directing the next Marvel movie, but many directors start out as runners, helping out on film or TV sets, and work their way up. Quentin Tarantino’s first job was as an usher at an ‘adult’ cinema in Los Angeles!
LOCAL DEMOCRACY: Stuff that affects your neighbourhood
🚯 KINGSTON COUNCIL GETS WISE TO STOP FLY TIPPING: Kingston Council has appointed Waste Investigations, Support and Enforcement Ltd (WISE) to operate its Environmental Enforcement and River Mooring Management contract. A new team of uniformed and ID-carrying enforcement officers will patrol across the Royal Borough of Kingston to help keep the street and riverside clean and pleasant for residents and visitors. If officers witness any offences that pass the evidence threshold, they are authorised to issue Fixed Penalty Notices of up to £400.
🗳️ OPEN CONSULTATIONS AND SURVEYS: Local democracy works well when the council and the residents engage. To this end, there are a number of public consultations open for the residents of Royal Borough of Kingston to have their say. Covering a range of areas, the long list includes the borough’s green spaces, autism and ADHD strategy, Subiton’s parks, various public grants, improving parks and open spaces across South of the Borough (Hook, Chessington and Malden Rushett), budget planning, and more. Residents can have their say here.
COMMUNITY, CULTURE & EVENTS: Stuff to do, experience and enjoy
🍅 REVITALISING KINGSTON’S ANCIENT MARKET PLACE: Kingston residents have had their say and their feedback has been collated and analysed. Key findings reveal a strong support for better use of the Market House, enhancing the area's unique heritage and hosting a varied market. Public feedback also indicates a desire for improved maintenance, more cultural events and opportunities for local businesses as well as the need for better accessibility. Kingston Council is now putting together a brief to find and appoint an operator by end of 2024. Residents can view summary of public feedback here.
🥇 BUSHY PARKRUNNERS SET WORLD RECORD WITH 6,204 FINISHERS IN 1,000TH EVENT: Bushy Parkrun celebrated its 1,000th event on 31 August with a record breaking attendance. In fact, with 6,204 runners finishing the 5K run, the landmark event set a Guinness World Record for most attended parkrun. Approaching its 20th anniversary in October, Parkrun now takes place at over 2,000 locations across 22 countries in five continents.
💰 KINGSTON FIRST COMMUNITY FUND APPLICATIONS TO OPEN IN OCTOBER: The £30,000 fund is available to local businesses, charities and community organisations to support projects that have a positive impact on the town centre, support local businesses and promote positive community engagement. You can find out more about projects that were funded in the past and register your interest for next year’s funding pot here.
🛟 LEARN TO SAVE A LIFE IN 30 MINUTES: Tuesday 10 September was World Suicide Prevention Day and the Mayor of London is encouraging Londoners to complete Zero Suicide Alliance’s training to learn what to do if a loved one, colleague or stranger is in crisis. Delivered free and online, the short training session takes you through suicide risk factors, suicide warning signs, coached scenarios, videos from people sharing real experiences and where to find information about available support. A certificate is available to download on completion of the training session.
🎟️ FREE TICKETS TO HOMEBUILDING AND RENOVATING SHOW: Claim free tickets to UK’s biggest event for self-builders and renovators looking for help with their projects. Homebuilding & Renovating Show takes place at Excel London, 27 – 29 September, and with over 250 exhibitors, 80-plus sessions and free one-to-one advice from experts, there is everything you need to help create your dream home.
😋 TASTE OF THE CARIBBEAN IN WIMBLEDON: The mouth-watering Taste of the Caribbean Food & Drink Festival is almost here and you still have time to secure your tickets to enjoy the tastes and sounds of the Caribbean. Taking place this Saturday 14 September in Wimbledon Park, it is Europe’s largest food and drink festival dedicated to Caribbean food.
🐝 KINGSTON HIVE: If you are interested in the environment, the well-being of the planet and communities, you may want to pop along to Kingston Hive. Tucked away to the left of Kingston train station, underneath the cycle hub / park, Kingston Hive is a collective of local volunteers of all ages and background that meet to share practical skills and emotional support through a range of events including repair workshops, listening circles, film nights, music and art sessions, and more.
SPORTS DAY: Stuff about enjoying your local teams
⚽ KINGSTONIAN FC: Back-to-back losses were not a good omen when the Ks hosted Eastbourne Town in the FA Trophy on Friday 6 September. However, the memory of the two losses was wiped with a resounding 3-0 victory sending the Ks into the next round of the competition. The attention now turns back to the league this Saturday, 14 September, as Hartley Wintney visit Prince George’s Playing Fields.
⚽ CHELSEA WOMEN: Chelsea Women hosted Feyenoord Women in a friendly at Kingsmeadow last Saturday, 7 September. However, it looks like Chelsea were not very ‘friendly’ to their guests with a thumping 9-0 victory over them. In another pre-season friendly, they host PSV Women this Saturday, 14 September. We wonder what fate holds for last week’s compatriots!
LONDON CALLING: Stuff to do, experience and enjoy in the big smoke
🎨 VAN GOGH: POETS AND LOVERS: The National Gallery is hosting ‘once-in-a-century’ exhibition by bringing together most loved of Van Gogh’s paintings from across the globe. They invite us to “Walk with a pair of lovers beneath a starry night. Look up at swirling clouds and cypress trees swaying in the wind. Stay a little while in Van Gogh’s favourite park, the ‘Poet’s Garden’, or under a shady tree in Saint-Rémy.” Who are we to refuse! Taking place from 14 September 2024 through to 19 January 2025, tickets are available to book here.
WHAT ELSE? Stuff we couldn’t quite fit anywhere else but still like
🙅♂️ IT’S JUST NOT CRICKET: Cricket is deeply intertwined with British history. Over the centuries, we’ve taken it everywhere we’ve (ahem) gone. However, many of those places such South East Asia and West Indies, now play the game much better than us. And display a much more enduring and vocal passion for the gentlemanly game too. So, it is sad to see that an Italian town on the Adriatic coast has banned our beloved game! A group of Bangladeshi friends have been forced to play on the outskirts of Monfalcone as the mayor has banned them from playing in the town itself. Someone needs to tell the mayor ‘it’s just not cricket!’