RECENT MEETINGS

 SEPTEMBER 16TH 2009

FOCUS ON SURBITON meeting

A transient population ... too few family homes ... too many parked cars ... local apathy about the environment. These were just a few of the problems facing Surbiton listed by Jill Green, a member of the Conservation Area Advisory Committee for Surbiton, who was a guest speaker at our September meeting.

On the credit side Jill listed good shopping, good transport links and a magnificent riverside which rivals Richmond's in the extent of open land adjacent to the water. In a lively, interactive evening Jill put to the audience the challenges Surbiton faces in trying to conserve the good and combat the bad. The forum was timely, since Kingston Council's plan for a five year revamp for the centre of Surbiton had just been put out for consultation.

One of the success stories in Surbiton cited by Jill Green has been the enhancement of St Andrew's Square by restoring the lost railings. this Square, Jill claimed, is unique in our Borough and comparable to the grand squares of central London. the Clocktower has had its own restoration with a townscape award as has the front of the new Waitrose won plaudits.

Another success story was the saving of the Filter Beds from development, after a campaign in which Kingston Society stalwart Ken Peay played a major role. The future of the Beds is, however, still uncertain : though it is now protected as Metropolitan Open Land, there is still no funding to develop the site for recreational use. 

Earlier the scene for Jill Green's talk had been set by local historian and tour guide John Pink. His command of the subject enabled him to rapidly summarise the salient facts about Surbiton, starting with the coming of the railway in 1838 and the growth of housing along and between its three major turnpike roads.

The choice of topic reflected our Chairman's concern that the Kingston Society should be seen to be representing the interests of the borough as a whole and not focussing too predominantly on central Kingston. New Malden, Chessington .... your turn will come!

GATEWAY TO KINGSTON

Our meeting in October heard John Miles, Chairman of Canadian and Portland Estates, present his proposals for redevelopment of the Bishop's Palace site on the riverside to the south of Kingston Bridge.

Mr Miles explained that his was a private company formed by three London families to invest in properties to keep. It was not their intention to develop and sell on. Their portfolio so far included a prestige property in Bond Street which was being upgraded to designs by Haworth Tompkins, the architects chosen for this scheme. On the Kingston scheme he had worked closely with Kingston Council who are anxious to impprove the river frontage. they wish the design to incorporate a "gateway" to the town as set out in the K+20 plan. The John Lewis building across the road has already set the scene for this ambition and Mr Miles was encouraged by RBK to complete the project.

The building as existing is one of the better post-war developments in Kingston but it suffers from the fact that the heavy red brickwork which faces the bridge and the river is without any relief and, apart from Frere Jaques restaurant at river level, there is no outlook from within the building complex to the outstanding views across the river towards Hampton Court.

This proposal leaves the existing structure virtually complete but opens the building up to provide extensive glazing to what is intended to be restaurants at several levels. When questioned Mr Miles assured the audience that this amount of additional restaurants was commercially viable. The ground level car park is to be removed at the insistence of the council and the current service yard replaced by a landscaped access to the riverside.

Another feature is the provision of an additional small floor to the roof to form a pavilion, part of the "gateway" requirement by the Council. the majority of the audience was fully in favour of the scheme, with the exception of the pavilion which was widely criticised, most vocally by George Rome Innes. He displayed photographs which he had taken crossing the bridge. On them he had drawn what he believed to be the effect of the pavilion at various points along the bridge obscuring the view of the parish church. He also maintained that the overall development was slightly higher than at present.

He spoke of returning home to find a cherished view obscured. John Miles challenged George's conclusions and promised to put him in touch with the architects in an attempt to resolve the dispute.

John Miles had a rough ride, which he handled with grace and humour, and he was warmly applauded at the end of the evening. How refreshing to meet a developer with such concern for good design and the environment. 

At the meeting on 17th March we heard of the proposed flood relief schemes between Maidenhead and Walton and between Walton and Teddington. We are giving the address custthse@environment-agency.gov.uk of the external relations team who deal with flooding enquiries from partners and members of the public.

FOCUS ON CHESSINGTON

If anyone came to our May meeting thinking that the finger shaped extension on Kingston's southern boundary contained nothing much except the road to Leatherhead, a couple of railway stations and the world of Advebtures, they were speedily shown otherwise by two speakers who brought concern and passion to their presentation. Exploring Chessington's past, town guide and local historian Sue Sabourin enthused about an area known to have been settled since the Iron age; the site of a villa, a tile works and possibly vineyards in Roman times; and recorded in the Domesday Book as possessing 'half a mill'. In medieval times much of its land belonged to Merton Priory, whose masters hunted there, and Merton College wtill has extensive landholdings.

Buildings from the 16th century survive but chessington's historic gem is St Mary's Church with its 800-year history. A surprise to many people used to simply rushing through Chessington and aware only of a long straggle of buildings along the Leatherhead Road may have been Sue Saborin's assertion that the parish is in fact two thirds rural. 'Lets keep it that way' she concluded.

Francis Brannan, secretary of Chessinton District Resident's Association was the evening's second speaker. He deplored the overdevelopment and 'garden grabbing', which is taking place to keep pace with targets for new housing. Mr Brannan instanced five projects which alone will provide 200 new bedrooms - and schemes like these had gone ahead despite vigorous opposition, supported by barristers in all day hearings. He has a poor view of planning authorities. 'They are letting property developers restructure our community, you can't disrupt a community like this and hope it will survive'. To halt this, the Residents' Association is pressing for Consevation Area status to be granted to three areas of Chessington valued for their pleasing mixture of 20th century architectural styles: these are Green Lane, Somerset Avenue and Elmcroft Drive.

New buildings in Chessington are not all bad news. Chessington Community College. whose architect Simon Tupper addressed the Kingston Society on 'The Role of the Architect' in April and to which the Society last year awarded a townscape award, has received a new accolade: the title of Community Benefits Building of the year for the London Area, awarded by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors.

This Chessington evening was one of Chairman Jennifer Butterworth's schedule of meetings planned to throw light on parts of the borough outside the town centre.

LAWFUL DEVELOPMENTS CERTIFICATES

This was the subject of a talk given to the Society In March 2011 by Nicola Smith, the Royal Borough of Kingston's Group manager for Development Control.
After a review of earlier planning law, she explained that under the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 an applicant could sue a Local Authority to determine whether an existing operational development or an existing use of land was lawful: if so, a certificate to that effect couod be issued. In addition an appropriate certificate could be issued if a proposed operational development or use of land would be lawful. The Authority's assessment had to be a matter of fact based on the objective criteria that had been set out and there could be no enforcement action after four years for development or use relationg to a residential property, or after 10 years in relation to other uses.

The 1995 General Permitted Development Order (GPDO), removed permitted development rights in areas that would have required an Environmental Impact Assessment or which were within a Habitat Protection Zone. The 1995 GPDO covered a variety of developments and had 33 parts including alterations to a dwelling house, agricultural buildings, industrial buildings; and developpments by Local autjorities, statutory undertakers, telecommunications organisations, schools, colleges universities and hospitals. Recent changes to the GPDO, while they alter the size of extensions that are now permitted and allow for material alterations in the shape of roofs, do place restrictions on balconies, decking, size of outbuildings, creation of hard standings, as well as the size of chimneys, soil pipes and vent pipes. In relation to this, the Use Classes Order 2010 groups types of uses within certain categories and sub-categories and determines what existing uses can change to without the need for planning permission. A certificate of lawful development may be relevant to residential garden extensions, roof space developments and conversion of garages into habitable rooms. While there is currently no legal requirement to apply for one, if the criteria are met, a Local Authority is mandated to issue a certificate for a fee of £75 for a residential development.

After Nicola's talk a number of questions and points were made from the floor. Nicola faced a very difficult challenge of outlining the complicated historical background to certificates of lawful development, a topic which was largely unfamiliar to most of the large and attentive audience. She rose to this with commendable expertise and handled difficult issies raised by the audience with good humour and authority.

DICKENS AND THE THAMES  February 2011

Dr David Parker, a member of the Kingston society, gave a very interesting and well received talk on Charles Dickens and the reach of the Thames between Richmond and Hampton.
Dr Parker was recently the Curator of the Dickens Museum in London. Accordingly, he was well placed to reveal aspects of Charles Dickens writings probably unfamiliat to most of his attentive audience. His wide knowledge of the topic, deep appreciation of the works of Dickens and his enthusiasm for them, were apparent to all. In Dr. Parker's words, Richmond was a town of which Dickens was especially fond. It was a spot offering much to a writer and a Londoner, seeking both peace and stimulation. It was near to London, but far enough away from it - and small enough too in those days - to be distinctly rural. Petersham, where the great writer spent two summers in rented accommodation, played a part both in his life and in his writings and Dickens bragsabout his swimming feats in the river there.

Dickens stayed many times, and often dined, at the Star and Garter Hotel on Richmond Hill where he celebrated many wedding anniversaries before he separated from his wife Catherine. Houses on the terrace at Richmond are where farewells are said to Mr Tupman at the end of 'The Pickwick Papers' and the fields around Ham House are where Dickens set the duel between Sir Mulberry Hawk and Lord Frederick Verisopht, towards the end of 'Nicholas Nickelby'. Eel Pie Island, formally a place for recreation and entertainment, where once eel pies actually were a speciality, features in a passage in this novel.

Dr Parker was able to trace a connection, through the Berry sisters, between Horace Walpole, who lived at Strawberry Hill, and Dickens. Mary and Agnes Berry were styled as "lion hunters" and once saw Dickens as their prey. Perhaps Mrs Leo Hunter in 'Pickwick Papers', whose very name declares her aim in life, was inspired by Dickens' encounter with these ladies. During the summer of 1838, Dickens rented 4 Ailsa Park Villas in Twickenham and entertained a stream of visitors there. Memories of this stay probably informed his writing when he gave a "cottage residence" in Twickenham to the Meagles family in 'Little Dorrit".

TRADITIONAL CRAFTSMANSHIP MEETS HIGH TECHNOLOGY.       SEPTEMBER 2011
That is how Peter Huf, Chief Architect of Huf Haus, a German firm which makes individually designed pre-fabricated houses described the system at the September meeting.
The Huf house has made its presence felt in the South Of England largely due to its featuring in television's Grand Designs.
Peter's grandfather, who founded the company in 1912, and his father, were both master carpenters and built traditional timber framed houses which Peter pointed out were in the tradition of Tudor houses. He is an architect and designed the distinctive house type that is now generally recognised and despite some objections to their siting, is largely admired.

The design is not limited to individual houses but has also been used for terraced housing and offices. Success in the UK has taken the architect by surprise. Peter was warmly thanked by Jennifer for his talk.



KINGSTON: MARKET TOWN, SUBURB, OR WHAT?                        OCTOBER 2011

This was the title of a talk given by Dr Rupa Huq, her talk was based on the outcome of some on-going research, funded by the Metropolitan Police which involved analysis of structured interviews of representatives of various sections of the local community on what was considered necessary to make Kingston a better place to live. The general theme being whether the Royal Borough of Kingston could be considered to be mainly an historic market town, a suburb or something else. While perceptions varied widely within this sample, a theme emerged that RBK could be seen as a conglomeration of "villages" characterised by the type of people who chose to live , or, by economic necessity, were obliged to live in a particular section of the Borough.
There were very many questions demonstrated that it provoked a wide range of thoughts among the audience. Dr Huq is to be congratulated for her most interesting and stimulating presentation.

BUILDING ON A LEGACY                                                                       NOVEMBER 2011

Adam Fenwick the group managing director of Bentalls, now part of the Fenwicks' Group, is clearly determined that the relationship and legacy established by Bentalls should be continued by the Fenwicks, also, essentially a family firm based firstly in Newcastle. The histories of Bentalls and Fenwicks' show close similarities. They were founded within 15 years of each other. Adam made this clear all through his talk, which showed the similarity between the history of the two stores and gave us a detailed account of the present situation with a determination that the Kingston store still entitled Bentalls should continue to be the crown jewel of the Fenwicks empire.