Kingston Council Slammed for Outdated Plan

0:00On April 2nd, Kingston Council is catching heat for sticking with a local plan from 2012, way past its prime. They promise an update by late 2021 or early 2022 to map out housing, infrastructure, and green protections, but it's not, happened yet. Without it, the borough can properly steer growth or block bad builds. This old plan triggers a legal till toward approving sustainable development, making it tough for the council to say no to developers. Those nationwide, gotta review these every five years to handle housing needs and environments right. But Kingston's lagging hard. Conservatives in Kingston and Serboton are calling it straight incompetence from the Lib Dem run council, saying it leaves green belts exposed and forces homes in spots without the roads or transit to back it up. Developers keep winning appeals on big projects like 586 homes in Motspur Park or 256 in Chessington, citing the outdated rules.

1:00The council points to wild national policy shifts, messing up their timeline, they kicked off work in 2019, ran a public consultation from November 2022 to February 2023 with hundreds of responses and now plan a final draft this summer for more input. Submission to inspectors hits by years end, aiming for adoption next year, but with local elections, May 7th, folks want that draft out quick to. Vote smart. Kingston's future hinges on nailing this blueprint before developers run the show.