Kingston Council has been accused of betraying residents' trust over its handling of plans for the borough's future. The Liberal Democrat-run council will decide on whether to proceed with the final draft of its Local Plan, which outlines where housing and infrastructure will be built up to 2043, after years of delay.
Housing Plan Details
The plan proposes the delivery of nearly 20,000 new homes in designated sites across the borough, including on green belt land, over 15 years from its expected adoption in 2028.
Residents' Concerns
Residents and opposition councillors told the place committee on June 16 that the council had not been transparent. They highlighted the publication of over 1,700 pages of planning documents just days before the meeting, and more than 1,200 pages on the day itself. A protest was staged outside Kingston's Guildhall ahead of the meeting, with calls for more time to scrutinize the documents.
Gia Borg-Darcy, chair of Kingston and Surbiton Conservatives, said the council declined her request to publish the plan before the local elections on May 7. She stated: "It was not, obviously, and it seems very clear we all know why. Now we face a threat to our green belt, plus three late documents with 1,200 pages of potential building sites which were dropped ahead of this meeting. Residents have had no opportunity to comment. This, councillors, is not democracy. This is a betrayal of the residents' trust."
Resident Caroline Shah raised concerns about the lack of evidence on environmental and infrastructure impacts. She said: "This plan has been in preparation for years, yet the legal and evidential basics have still not been met. In the meantime, large-scale development continues to be approved without the safeguards a lawful up-to-date Local Plan should provide. Approving the plan in its current form risks continuing that situation and exposes the council to legal challenge."
Delays and Legal Requirements
Kingston's current Local Plan was adopted in 2012, despite pledges to publish a new plan by late 2021 or early 2022. Councils in England must review their Local Plan every five years and update it if necessary. The delay means Kingston lacks an updated plan to meet housing needs, designate development sites, and set infrastructure and environmental protections. As a result, the borough faces a "presumption in favour of sustainable development," making it harder to refuse planning applications.
Councillor Reactions
Independent councillor James Giles criticized the short notice for reading documents as "truly dire," given the scale of development. He said: "I want genuinely affordable homes, but I can’t support this version of the Local Plan where we’re being asked to accept huge amounts of change after seven years of delay."
Lib Dem councillors argued that much information had been publicly available since the last consultation in 2023. They warned that without progress, the government could take over. Lib Dem councillor Roger Hayes said: "For whatever reasons, we are where we are. There can be no further delay. We either take this forward or we run the risk of losing everything." Lib Dem councillor Andrew Wooldridge added that the plan was the "result of many years of work, extensive evidence gathering and many rounds of public consultation," responding to major changes in national planning policy.
Next Steps
The committee voted 11-2 to recommend the final draft to full council on June 22. The council will then vote on publishing the final draft for public consultation over summer, before submitting it to the Planning Inspectorate by year-end for examination and formal approval. This would allow adoption by 2028.
