Kingston residents 'deserve better' as Band D council tax hits £2,500, highest in London
#32: Wilko store to become games arcade and flats, 965 new flats on site of Tolworth pub where David Bowie once performed, Kingston Council appoints new operator to reinvigorate Kingston Ancient Market, mental health top local concern reveals What Kingston Thinks report, celebrate International Women's Day 2025 in Kingston, Global Day of Unplugging 2025, construction work starts at Eagle Brewery Wharf, dinosaurs on stage in Kingston, comedy with Jake Lambert and Simon Brodkin, life drawing workshop at Kingston’s Cass Art, London Eye turns 25, and more.
START WITH A SMILE: Stuff to cheer us up
🌳 The world got 31 new ‘wetland cities’: 31 new cities have been added to the Wetland City Accreditation scheme this year. Recognised for their outstanding efforts in conserving and sustainably managing urban wetlands, Trelew (Argentina), Mechelen (Belgium), Abbeville (France), Udaipur (India), Bandar Kiashar (Iran), Nagoya City (Japan), Mehdya (Morocco), Geneva (Switzerland) and Victoria Falls (Zimbabwe) are among the 31 cities from across the globe. By protecting, restoring and wisely using wetlands, cities can enhance their resilience to climate change and improve quality of life for their residents.
LOCAL STORIES: Stuff you need to know
💷 Kingston residents 'deserve better' as Band D council tax hits £2,500, highest in London: At its Budget Council meeting on Thursday 27 February, Kingston Council agreed £190.62m budget for 2025-26, a 6.86% increase on 2024-25. Residents will see their Band D council tax rise by almost 5% to £2,488. While the Lib Dem run council cited costs for social care, the demand for housing, impact of inflation as reasons for hike in bill, opposition councillors slammed the budget at the meeting. Conservative councillor Rowena Bass said residents 'deserve better for their high council tax', reports MyLondon. Independent councillor James Giles added: "Every year you ask residents to pay more, turn on the taps, without plugging the holes first." Watch the recording of the meeting here.
🏗️ Kingston Council approves plans for former Wilko store to become games arcade and flats: Kingston Council have given the go ahead to a planning application from FunBox Entertainment UK to convert the former Wilko store to a sports entertainment venue. Located at the junction of Clarence Street and Old London Road, the new venue will offer indoor games including skittles, pool, bowling, snooker, golf, darts, shuffleboard, batting cages, and virtual reality games. The plans also include provision for food and alcohol and late opening times until 1.00am on Fridays and Saturdays. While the new entertainment venue will occupy the ground and basement floors, as part of a separate planning application by Gemona Properties Ltd that was approved in 2023, the remainder of the four-storey building will see construction of 3 additional storeys to provide a total of 56 residential dwellings.
🏗️ Planning application to build 965 flats on site of Tolworth pub where David Bowie and Fleetwood Mac once performed: Developers have submitted plans for a massive residential development at Signal Park to add another 965 flats on land where The Toby Jug, a pub and legendary music venue, once stood, reports BBC. Where once the likes of David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, Genesis, Led Zeppelin and Thin Lizzy performed, four blocks of up to 16 storeys tall residential buildings will reshape the local skyline. The site already has 211 affordable homes and will eventually provide 1,176 homes across the whole development.
🛍️ Kingston Council appoints new market operator to reinvigorate Kingston Ancient Market: Between The Bridges, a market operator with experience managing street markets and events across the capital has been appointed by the council in an attempt to reinvigorate Kingston Ancient Market. Among others, the company currently operates the Southbank ‘Between The Bridges’ market, Clapham’s Venn Street Market and Winterville. From an original longlist, five companies were shortlisted, with Between The Bridges emerging as the council’s choice replacing the incumbent Kingston First.
🫶 Mental health top local concern reveals What Kingston Thinks report: Kingston Giving presented its highly anticipated What Kingston Thinks report to a gathering of 150 residents, local groups, charities and businesses at the Rose Theatre on 4 March. Based on over 200 interviews with local residents, the report highlights a number of key challenges facing Kingston. Almost 40% of participants indicated their mental health and wellbeing as ‘not going well/could be improved’. Nearly a third felt the same about their physical health. The report also explored residents’ thoughts on a wide range of other issues including employment, housing, homelessness and safety as well as digital access and connectivity. This outstanding report should be a must read for service providers and users including resident groups, charities and local government. You can download a copy of the report here.
LOCAL DEMOCRACY: Stuff that affects your neighbourhood
🗳️ Want to know what Kingston Council is up to? Here’s a schedule of council meetings taking place in March that should be of interest to Kingston residents. Whether you want to attend in person or online, a full list of meetings is available here. Some of the highlights include:
Kingston and North Kingston Planning Sub-Committee – 18th March
Surbiton Neighbourhood Committee – 19th March
Corporate and Resources Committee – 20th March
New and Old Malden Planning Sub-Committee – 25th March
South of the Borough Neighbourhood Committee – 25th March
🗳️ Want to keep an eye on what the Mayor of London is up to? Given Mayor of London’s influence on what happens in Kingston, residents can attend City Hall meetings in person or online. Here is the full calendar of March meetings. Some of the highlights include:
Meeting of Economy, Culture and Skills Committee – 11th March
Meeting of Police and Crime Committee – 12th March
Meeting of Budget and Performance Committee – 19th March
Meeting of London Assembly (Mayor's Question Time) – 20th March
Police and Crime Committee – 26th March
COMMUNITY, CULTURE & EVENTS: Stuff to do, experience and enjoy
🎉 Celebrate International Women's Day 2025 in Kingston: It’s International Women’s Day this Saturday 8th March and you can explore a variety of events that celebrate the important women of Kingston. Inner Wheel Talks takes place at Fusebox from 2pm to 4pm and will feature inspirational speakers Natalie O’Rourke MBE, Jeanne Vito, and Laura Smyth-Wiles MBE. Kingston Women’s Hub and Vistry Housing host Silent No More at KingsGate Church featuring Nina Aouilk, advocating against Gender-Based Violence. You can pop over to the Kingston Heritage Service to learn the history of Kingston’s well-known suffragettes. And RBK art gallery is also curating a virtual exhibition showing 100 years of Kingston as portrayed by women artists in their collection.
📵 Global Day of Unplugging 2025: Are you ready to step away from the digital world and connect with what truly matters? For a decade, Global Day of Unplugging has taken place first Saturday of March, kicking off at sundown the night before. Whether it's just one hour or a full 24 hours, this Saturday 8th March, unplug from your screens to dive into offline activities, real-life conversations, in-person connections, and meaningful moments. All we ask is you do so after you’ve read the rest of this newsletter!
👷 Construction work starts at Eagle Brewery Wharf: Following residents’ feedback to improve riverfront access and greener spaces at Eagle Brewery Wharf, the council has now commenced work to create a new play trail and accessible public seating, plant new trees and place new lighting and metal railings. The space is expected to reopen this summer.
🌷 Kew Gardens to open ‘groundbreaking’ new garden this summer inspired by climate crisis: Kew Gardens will open a ‘groundbreaking’ new garden this July highlighting the urgent need to tackle the climate crisis, reports The Standard. The Carbon Garden will show how carbon helps to sustain life on Earth, the scale of the climate crisis and how nature can be used to combat it. This permanent garden aims to inspire visitors to take actions in their everyday lives to support the planet.
🦖 Dinosaurs on stage in Kingston: Rose Theatre brings Dinosaur World Live, an Olivier Award Winner for Best Family Show 2024, to stage this April. Featuring every child’s favourite giant, the Tyrannosaurus Rex, a Triceratops, Giraffatitan, Microraptor and Segnosaurus, this interactive show for the whole family is guaranteed to be a roaring (sorry!) success.
✏️ Life drawing workshop at Kingston’s Cass Art: Looking to take up or improve your life drawings skills? Cass Art hosts weekly and monthly workshops for artists of varying skills and abilities. Guided by a professional artist and teacher Robin Rutherford, each session offers a relaxed yet stimulating environment to help you flourish and connect with other like-minded people. These are paid-for workshops and include easels, boards and materials or you can bring your own chosen media. Full list of a variety of workshops offered at Cass Art Kingston is available here.
🤣 Laugh with Jake Lambert and Simon Brodkin in Kingston and New Malden: If you missed Jake supporting Michael McIntyre on his arena tour, you can catch him at the Fighting Cocks in Kingston this Monday 10th March. And if you need a second helping of laughter to start your week, pop over to The Royal Oak in New Malden on Tuesday 11th March to catch Simon Brodkin.
SPORTS DAY: Stuff about enjoying your local teams
⚽ Chelsea Women: For the second time only this season, the Blues drop points in the WSL with a 2-2 draw away at Brighton Women last Sunday. Happily, things were back on track midweek with a 3-1 win against Leicester City Women. The Blues sit comfortably at the top with an 8-point gap over Manchester United Women although the Red Devils do have a game in hand. This Sunday 9th March, the Blues host Crystal Palace Women, currently sitting at the bottom of the table.
⚽ Kingstonian FC: The Ks have not had a great few weeks. February brought a draw, loss and a win and March has not started well either – a thumping 1-5 loss against Westfield and a 2-2 draw against Badshot Lea has made automatic promotion near impossible. Despite the league leaders Farnham Town also dropping points from their last two fixtures, the gap at the top remains hard-to-close 10 points. This Saturday 8th March the Ks aim to put things right when they visit mid-table Harrow Borough.
LONDON CALLING: Stuff to do, experience and enjoy in the big smoke
👁️ London Eye turns 25: Sunday 9th March marks 25 years of the London Eye – a structure meant to be a temporary marker of the millennium, it is now the icon of the London skyline. Watch a video celebrating this milestone. Better still, read the background story to the London Eye by one of its architects, Julia Barfield.
WHAT ELSE? Stuff we couldn’t quite fit anywhere else but still like
🎸 The best music festivals 2025: While Glastonbury lineup this year may not have created the kind of buzz Glasto crowd is accustomed to, there are plenty of other music festivals this summer that will have fans packing their tents with anticipation. Whether you’re flying solo, taking a friend or the whole family, here’s a bunch of great music festivals courtesy of City AM.
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