Travellers descend on Kingston, cause chaos at Hawker Centre and Ham Common
#04: Help with cost of living, Travellers in Kingston, council buys 50 homes, 27% cut in Kingston’s housing target, no casinos in Kingston, 95 years old graduate, holiday vibes at Hampton lido, Banksy in Richmond, yoga with blue whale and more.
START WITH A SMILE: Stuff to cheer us up
🇩🇰 COPENHAGEN AWARDS TOURISTS IN NEW GREEN INITIATIVE: Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen has launched a new green initiative called CopenPay to promote sustainable tourism. Visitors who opt for public transport or cycling instead of using cars and taxis will receive rewards such as free coffee, museum admissions and additional free skiing time on a dry slope in the city. What’s more, no extensive proof is required to claim your rewards – tourist can simply provide photos of themselves biking or tickets for public transport. Wonderful Copenhagen indeed!
LOCAL STORIES: Stuff you need to know
💷 HELP WITH COST OF LIVING: Kingston residents have been urged to apply for help with cost of living. Earlier this year the Department of Work and Pensions made additional funding available to the council for low-income households struggling to afford energy, food and water bills. Applications for help from eligible households are open until 30th September 2024.
🚐 WHAT A CARRY ON CARAVAN: Last week we reported on the arrival of Travellers on Ham Common over the weekend of 27th July causing an uproar in the neighbourhood. Richmond Council quickly secured an eviction order which the uninvited quests complied with on Thursday 1st August. However, with what seems to be a carefully planned manoeuvre, Travellers simply drove some 500 metres across the borough boundary to settle onto playing fields at the YMCA Hawker Centre in Kingston resulting in the facility being closed indefinitely. And having spent an extended weekend there, Travellers have hopped back into Richmond but this time are camped on King George’s Field, adjacent to the National Trust’s Ham House. Local residents have expressed their anger and questioned the lack of anticipation and preparedness by the two councils as similar situations have occurred in previous years.
🏠 KINGSTON COUNCIL BUYS 50 PROPERTIES: As part of its £23m two-year plan to tackle homelessness, Kingston Council has bought 50 properties to be used as temporary accommodation. With almost 1,000 homeless households in the borough, the costs to the council are significant – in 2023/24 the bill for temporary accommodation was £9.3 million, and this is forecast to rise again this year. Portfolio Holder for Finance Councillor Richard Thorpe said the plans would save a substantial amount of money and better support vulnerable families.
🏠 CUT IN NEW HOUSING TARGET FOR KINGSTON (AND LONDON): Following government’s announcement last week to restore housebuilding targets with the aim of delivering 1.5m homes over the course of the parliament, council-by-council details for England have now been published. While most local authorities will see their target increase under the government’s proposed new method for determining the number of homes to be built in each area, London will see a reduction from 100,000 to 80,000. While this may raise eyebrows, if delivered, this would be more than double the number (35,000) completed homes in 2022-23. Kingston’s target based on the proposed new method is 1,464 homes, a reduction of 27% compared with the current method of calculation. A full council-by-council breakdown for London is here.
🦺 REDUCING RIVER THAMES FLOOD RISK: Whether it’s due to climate change or how land is deployed (or both), flooding has become a significant national and local threat. The River Thames Scheme (RTS), a collaboration between the Environment Agency and Surrey County Council focused on the stretch of river between Egham and Teddington is designed to reduce the risk of flooding to thousands of homes, businesses and vital infrastructure. While the public consultation period is now closed, RTS’s website has answers to FAQs and a contact email address for local residents and businesses that may have concerns about potential flooding in their area.
🛫 GATWICK WORSE FOR DELAYS: Kingston is perfectly situated for easy access to two of the country’s biggest airports, Heathrow and Gatwick. However, according to data by the Civil Aviation Authority, the latter was the worst performing in London last year in terms of delays and cancelled flights. But before you book your next flight from a better performing far flung airport, you may want to consider choosing an alternative airline. A detailed analysis of the data reveals huge disparities between airlines in average delay (best – 7 minutes, worst – 63 minutes) and cancellations (best – 0%, worst – 6.4%). We won’t name and shame anyone but you can check out the details here.
🎓 KINGSTON UNIVERSITY’S OLDEST GRADUATE: Nonagenarian philosophy masters student becomes Kingston University's oldest ever graduate at 95 years old. Honoured with 3,000 other students during summer graduation ceremonies at the Rose Theatre, Dr David Marjot, graduated with a Masters in Modern European Philosophy and is the oldest person to ever graduate from the university, beating a record previously held by a 93-year-old graduate from 1994. Just goes to show it’s never too late to expand your mind!
LOCAL DEMOCRACY: Stuff that affects your neighbourhood
🎰 NO CASINOS IN KINGSTON: As part of a regular review of its gambling policy Kingston Council is seeking views of the borough’s residents on its updated draft Statement of Policy and Principles 2025-2027. The council is proposing to continue the resolution of no casinos in the borough and local residents have until 1st September 2024 to share their views.
🛍️ KINGSTON’S STREET TRADING POLICY: Kingston Council oversees street trading to ensure the town is kept safe and that traders don’t cause a disturbance and affect the ability of other businesses to trade. The council is now seeking views of local residents on making some changes to the list of areas where applications for street trading can be made. You have until 1st September 2024 to share your views.
COMMUNITY, CULTURE & EVENTS: Stuff to do, experience and enjoy
🏫 SCHOOL’S OUT: It’s usually a couple of weeks into the summer holidays when boredom can really start to set in and some parents struggle to find interesting activities to keep the kids engaged. Well, relax, there is plenty going on locally for kids of all ages from under 5s to teens – see last week’s edition of ❤️ Kingston with signposts to a range of activities across the borough.
🏖️ HOLIDAY VIBES AT HAMPTON LIDO: Have you just returned from your summer break and miss the beach? Are you about to jet off somewhere to warm blue waters and want to get in holiday mood now? Or are you staycationing but still long for the Riviera vibe? Well, as a Kingston resident, you’re in luck. Just hop over the river to Hampton Pool. “As close as Hampton gets to Honolulu,” is how The Times described it. Surrounded by lush green plants and trees and relaxing sunbathing areas, it certainly feels like being on holiday.
🌻 DO GOODGYM, DO GOOD: Want to get fit and do good at the same time? The GoodGym is a national charity that runs, walks and cycles to support communities with various practical tasks. From clearing gardens, changing lightbulbs and delivering prescriptions through to making social visits to isolated older people, the GoodGym operates across the country including throughout the Borough of Kingston. To volunteer and get fit, visit their website, enter your postcode and sign up for a task to help with in your neighbourhood.
🕺 THE FULL TRACKSUIT AT PARIS OLYMPICS: It’s not just the competition on the track or pool, there’s been a flexing of sartorial muscles off the field too at the Paris Olympics. And the ubiquity of the full tracksuit has not gone unnoticed amongst sports fans and fashionistas. Whether it’s the fully decked out swimmers making their flashy entry to the starting line or winners jumping onto the podium, 80s and 90s inspired full tracksuit has certainly been centre stage over the last week in Paris. While the otherwise understated Armani has gone full block lettering for Team Italia, Lululemon went in search of the sizzle with their ‘streaky bacon’ inspired ensemble causing much rumbling amongst viewers! So, is the full trackie about to move from the aquatic centre to the shopping centre? Please, no!
🏴☠️ BEST LONDON PARKS FOR KIDS: Kingston is blessed with many parks and open green spaces (some honoured with international awards as reported in a previous issue of ❤️ Kingston). Kingston also has the luxury of easy access to many of London’s great parks. With the summer school holidays now in full swing, here are some of the capital’s best parks for a day trip with the kids. Our pick is the Diana Memorial Playground located next to the late Princess’ Kensington Palace home. Centred around a wooden pirate ship, it also includes sensory trail, teepees and a beach, all set against a lush background of plants and trees.
🧘🏽♀️ YOGA WITH BLUE WHALE: Fancy yoga under the blue whale and exclusive access to the Natural History Museum in quiet contemplation while it is closed to the public? The museum is running highly popular monthly yoga classes beneath Hintze Hall’s magnificent blue whale skeleton. But you’ll have to hurry – while slots are available for November and January, August and September sessions are all sold out.
🏃🏻♀️ PARKRUN FANS – DATE FOR YOUR DIARY: Parkrun turns 20 this year and Bushy Parkrun, Teddington, where it all began with just 13 runners back on 2nd October 2004 is approaching its 1000th parkrun. While the event now takes place every Saturday morning across many towns and cities around the world, Bushy Parkrun still remains the biggest (up to 1,500 runners every week) and a place of pilgrimage for parkrunners with many devotees travelling from every corner of the globe to Bushy Park. The big day is Saturday 31st August. With larger than usual number of runners expected, best not to aim for a PB!
SPORTS DAY: Stuff about enjoying your local teams
⚽ KINGSTONIAN FOOTBALL CLUB: Originally founded in 1885, club’s current incarnation goes back to 1919 with plenty of honours to its name. A semi-professional club, today ‘The Ks’, as they are nicknamed, play in the Isthmian League South Central, seventh tier of the English football system. Having had a great pre-season with four wins from five, they kick off their 2024/2025 season by hosting Uxbridge on Saturday 10th August. For less than the price of a ticket to a Premier League game, you can take the whole family for a great time supporting your local team.
LONDON CALLING: Stuff to do, experience and enjoy in the big smoke
🎦 OUTDOOR CINEMA: Summer’s here and so is London’s thriving outdoor cinema scene and this time you a have choice of reclining on water, sitting on terra firma or floating in the sky (well, almost). Choose from movies on the Thames, big screen against a backdrop of a National Trust house, canal side viewing or rooftop screening with panoramic views across the capital. There are plenty of old and modern classics on offer for all the family to enjoy including Barbie, Dune, Grease, La La Land, Mamma Mia, Matilda the Musical, Notting Hill and The Wizard of Oz. Just remember to bring a blanket – it is British summer after all!
WHAT ELSE? Stuff we couldn’t quite fit anywhere else but still like
🐐 BANKSY IN RICHMOND: A number of new artworks by Banksy featuring animals have appeared this week across the capital including one on Monday, 5th August, on the side of a building near Kew Bridge in Richmond. It shows a mountain goat perched on a ledge as rocks fall, signifying the animal’s perilous situation. A CCTV camera attached to the wall had been repositioned to point at the animal (presumably by the artist) but has since been repositioned to its original setting. Over two million people have already ‘liked’ the works on the artist’s Instagram account. We’re not going to try to interpret the works but you can enjoy them in person – jump on no.65 from Kingston and alight at Kew Bridge bus stop for the perching goat.