Kingston upon Thames Society Committee: April 2013

April's Committee Meeting was quieter than usual but we still had a few useful discussions on some of the current schemes.

Vital Kingston are hoping to redevelop the Post Office as community space, a Third Place, but the site is currently owned by Hammerson and they are unlikely to let it go cheaply.

The Market Places designs look better on further investigation. Rubbish will be cleared off-site continually and this solves the problem of a lack of space behind the stalls.

The main benefit of the scheme is the opening up of the Market House but the market needs to be kept viable too. There is a concern that some stall holders may be losing their places,

The plans to restore the former Police Station and School in Ewell Road have hit problems with the amount of restoration work required proving to me greater than expected. There will be a talk on this site in June's public meeting.

12 Liverpool Road proposes to demolish the existing garage and build a two storey rear extension and a four storey side and rear extension, see application 13/14250.

John Lewis is proposing to make some changes to its entrances, see application 13/12184.

The Society is concerned that reducing the size of the entrance facing the church, the plans shown here suggest it will be less than half its current size, will deter people from leaving that way and will mean fewer discovering the church.

The Society will be running its Townscape Awards again this year and will be asking members to nominate their favourite new developments.