Press Releases : Kingston Conservative Councillors
Kingston Conservative Councillors

Press Releases

Recent Press Releases:

6th January 2010

LGO Report Exposes AdministrationÂ’s Cover Up

Lib Dem leader admitted at last nightÂ’s Scrutiny they drastically need to improve on their handling of complaints.

Response times are a great deal longer in Kingston than most other authorities in the UK with an average response time of 78.8 days. The actual response time should be 28 days!

The Conservative led Scrutiny Panel made it clear this situation was not acceptable and people need a speedy resolution to any complaints they have made. Cllr Nick Kilby said The resources of the organisation must meet the demands put upon it.

The Local Government Ombudsman said he had no alternative but to consider certifying that the CouncilÂ’s Chief Executive is in contempt of the High Court where the significant delays amount to obstruction of his investigations.

Conservative Leader Cllr Howard Jones said The Lib Dems have never brought the OmbudsmanÂ’s report before the Executive, never mind full Council. This is yet anotherexample of an incompetent administration, incapable of efficiency. This report only came to light because of the diligence of a Conservative Cllr.

Lib Dem Leader Cllr Osbourne then performed an embarrassing u-turn as he pledged to ensure that future reports and letters from the LGO will be put before the Executive.

This move was welcomed by Conservative Cllr Kilby who added It should never have taken this long, but we are happy that these important performance indicators will become shared information in future rather than simply be buried to avoid the negative publicity.

14th December 2009

Full Steam Ahead for Station Cleaning

Local Conservative Councillor Mary Clark last week met with the South West Trains (SWT) Estate Manager, Area Manager and the London Travel Watch Liaison Officer at New Malden Station to inspect the outcome of her complaint regarding the issues of poor cleanliness and public safety at the Station.

Consequently, SWT has now stepped-up their twice-daily cleaning regime which also includes a deep-clean every three months. SWT will ensure that the edge of each step is brightly painted after Cllr Clark also raised concerns over the poor visibility on the stairways. They will also repair a leaking canopy to prevent puddles forming on the platform.

The station management team have further pledged to notify the Council when their bins in the car park area need emptying as they pose a possible fire hazard with the build-up of litter that Cllr Clark witnessed on her visit.

Cllr Clark pressed the station management on the installation of a lift to the northbound platform and she has now been assured that New Malden is included in Transport for London's Access for All Scheme and the proposal date for installation will be discussed next year.

Cllr Clark has secured a follow-up meeting in two months time where she can check on the progress of these priorities and ensure their successful completion.

8th December 2009

Kingston Council Receives a 'Red Flag' Warning for Housing Needs

Kingston Council has received a Red Flag warning for meeting Housing needs, as part of their Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) produced by the Audit Commission.

Councillor Ian George, the Conservative Housing Spokesman, said: It is very disappointing that Kingston has received a red flag for notmeeting housing needs, although not surprising. At the last full Council meeting, the Lib Dem Leader gave his assurances that there would be no red flags for Housing.

The writing has been on the wall for some time as far as the current AdministrationÂ’s management of Housing is concerned. They have failed to address problems for over 7 years now and it shows. Not only have they failed to meet Decent Homes standards, but they have failed to provide enough affordable housing and temporary accommodation to meet the needs of local residents. Consultation with residents has also been woeful, with residents not being properly informed or consulted.

Their recent press release on the Housing red flag, highlights their thinking. The Lib Dems seem intent on working with the Audit Commission to get the flag removed rather than concentrating on improving the service that they provide.

2nd December 2009

Lib Dems Late for School

At the Executive of 1 December we learnt that the Government, through the Partnership for Schools, would fund KingstonÂ’s new school in North Kingston, - in principle. Officers now need to tender for the education provider who would run the new school and, in 12 months, present Kingston completed case to the Treasury to release the funds. This is marvellous news and all credit to our Council officers who have kept up a continual dialogue with the Civil Servants, then learning this week that their work has been successful. Councillor Dennis Doe, Conservative Education spokesman, praised the officers at last nightÂ’s Executive meeting.

But he demonstrated to the Executive that the North Kingston parents and he had petitioned the Executive to tender for the education supplier of a new co-ed school in North Kingston two years ago. At the Executive of 22nd January 2008 that requested was rubbished. One reason given was “there is no local sustainable demand for additional secondary school places based on pupil numbers projections”. Now, 22 months, the Council believes it needs 15 new Forms of Entry across the Borough, not just the 4 or 6 the parent requested back in January 2008. If only the Executive had responded positively 22 months ago! We might have been a whole academic year ahead of where we are now. But we shall never know, now.

Cllr Dennis Doe also protested that the Executive agenda made no reference to Grey Court School just over the border in Richmond. One of the reasons for refusing the parents at the January 2008 Executive was “rebuilding Grey Court School as cross-border movement of pupils is key for Kingston’s future plans and provision” Cllr Doe argues that Grey Court is an important extra supplier of places for North Kingston pupils. Why was no mention made at all? Even Mrs Kramer, the Richmond Park MP, agreed that Grey Court should be considered. After last night I am convinced that our Education in Kingston is in good professional officers’ hands. But I question whether it is in safe political hands whilst the Liberal Democrats are the Administration.

2nd December 2009

Lib Dems Thwarted From Selling Another Community Asset on the Cheap!

Cllr Penny Shelton, Executive member for Housing last night attempted to sell a 25 year lease in the run down Surrey Leisure Centre for a peppercorn rent; to a company with no track record of running sport facilities; with no proof or assurances they have the money to fund the renovations (the officers report quotes six year old projections for renovations); with no legal safeguards to ensure that the asset would not be sold on for alternative uses and without assurances that that residents on the Cambridge Road Estate would have proper access to the facilities. She was thwarted by residents and opposition councillors who had only found out about the proposed sale after the official report was published late last week. Residents were supposedly invited to a meeting the day before the loss of the building was to be agreed, but many reported that they had not been invited. No other consultation was done prior to the executive meeting. The Executive finally agreed to defer the decision to next year despite the protests of, Cllr Shelton who said 'did not think that a lack of consultation was a good reason to defer the decision'.

Cllr Ian George, Conservative Housing Spokesman for said Cllr Shelton doesnÂ’t seem to understand the word 'consultation'. Here is a perfect example of how the council could have positively engaged residents on the Cambridge Road Estate. Instead she keeps its all quiet until the last moment; asking just a few residents to meet the night before the decision was to be made. It's not consultation when it's a done deal. The Lib Dems have a long history of bad consultation. The residents were just minutes away from losing a community facility for good. The Council refused to say why they didn't market the property to other companies and didn't secure proper use of the proposed facilities for local residents, it's a total disgrace.

Cllr Nick Kilby Shadow Spokesman for One Council said We need to be more transparent in how we are seeking to dispose of community assets. We would support proposals to renovate and reopen sports and social facilities on this site. But this proposal and the report presented to the executive were woeful. It failed to demonstrate that the proposal was properly funded, it showed no safeguarding for the community and the council on the undertakings being given by the proposed operators and even worse there was no consultation with the residents.

25th November 2009

Lib Dems Fail Leaseholders Yet Again

At a fractious Council meeting last night the Lib Dems had to admit they had taken no action in relation to leaseholders concerns for repairs and maintenance.

Cllrs Ian George and Paul Johnston put forward a motion calling on the Lib Dem Administration to honour its contractual obligations to leaseholders under their leases. Cllr Johnston pointed out: These are legal documents and money has changed hands inreturn for undertakings by the Council which have frequently been neglected.

Cllr. Ian George pointed out that the motion had been put because of the grave concerns voiced by Leaseholders, most recently at a meeting of the Executive. He said: Hearing their case we just couldnÂ’t stand idly by as the complacent Lib Dems have done all these years.

The Lib Dems used their majority to deflect criticism from the Conservatives by replacing the Conservative motion with one of their own, mixing leaseholders with tenants in an attempt to camouflage their lack of action.

After 8 years in power the Lib Dems accused the Conservatives of not having a policy!

Conservative policy is quite clear, said Cllr Howard Jones Leader of the Conservative Opposition: The Lib Dems have repeatedly failed to solve this problem and leaseholders continue to suffer. It is symptomatic of a poor, tired and incompetent Administration. We will honour the terms of leaseholdersÂ’ leases and we will successfully manage a stock transfer during the time of the first full Conservative Administration since 1986.

25th November 2009

Lib Dems 'Unable' to Deliver 0% Council Tax Increase - Yet Again!

At last nightÂ’s Meeting of the Full Council, Lib Dem Leader Derek Osborne announced he has no intention of trying to deliver a 0% Council Tax increase, as seen in many other London Boroughs such as Hillingdon, Wandsworth or Westminster.

The question was raised by Conservative Councillor Nick Kilby who had hoped Council officers mightÂ’ve been instructed by the Lib Dem Administration to prepare a budget for next year that would allow the Council to approve a 0% increase. In reply, Cllr Osborne retorted: No. He also admitted that he would find it very hard to do so without impacting on services, and that he was unwilling to do so simply to make a political point.

Cllr Kilby, who feels that Kingston residents deserve better after years of having to pay the highest Council Tax in London, added: If the One Council programme had been better managed by the Lib Dems, we would have already had £2 million saved to fund a 0% increase. More Lib Dem incompetence equals another lost opportunity for our residents.

18th November 2009

Lib Dems Lose £2million & 200 Posts!

The Conservative led Scrutiny Panel forced Lib Dem leader Cllr Osbourne to admit at last night’s Scrutiny of the One Council Project that £2 million savings that had been previously promised have not been achieved saying: It is down to us – we are the Administration.

In another shocking piece of news the Lib Dems announced there will be 200 fewer posts by 2013 and that any future savings will depend on the reduction of staff. The Scrutiny Panel were also told that the future savings were not in the bag and more needed to be done. Conservative portfolio holder for the One Council Project Cllr Nick Kilby expressed his grave concern and said: The Lib Dems know, like us, that the Council cannot go on as we are, and as in all their ideas, they sound good until the wheels fall off! They fail every time to give the political leadership that these projects need. Worse still they fail to make the savings the Lib Dems have promised.

Conservative Leader Cllr Howard Jones said: We are concerned that savings which were promised are still not being realised and have serious doubts about the robustness of the financial plan. Two of the projectsare at least two years behind schedule and that in spite of assurances given we are concerned that the Customer First project neither actively engages with the customer nor engages sensitively with the staff. It is a wasted opportunity to improve efficiency and make positive changes for residents. We would do it differently and do it better.

17th November 2009

New Malden Business Forum Hailed A 'Success'

Planning the way ahead...Councillors from the Conservative-led Maldens & Coombe Neighbourhood Committee met with representatives of the New Malden business community, and Council officers, to help boost local businesses in the current financial climate.

Local Councillor Ken Smith said: as a Committee, we intend to work closely with the community to advance businesses on New Malden High Street and weÂ’ve already ensured funds will be directed that way.

Maldens & Coombe Neighbourhood Committee Chairman, Cllr Patrick Codd added: we aim to provide a major new boost which will put New Malden firmly back on the map and highlight the variety of shops and services available in the area.

The area already has a wide selection of shops, including a department store and the large Korean community give it a special appeal with their shops and restaurants. Our aim is to emphasise why New Malden is a destination people will want to visit.

The Committee has already allocated £3,500 to promote businesses in the High Street, and several schemes are being worked on by Council Officers to raise the profile of the Town Centre.

3rd November 2009

RavenÂ’s Ait Sold down the River

Conservative Councillor Nick Kilby joined forces with former Lib Dem deputy Leader Cllr Barry OÂ’Mahony to try to stop the Lib Dem Executive agreeing to sell Ravens Ait, the Council owned island on the River Thames.

Cllr Kilby said I was shocked that the decision even went ahead. From the questioning in the closed session it soon became apparent that the recommendation had not been tested by the Executive members and was far from being acceptable. Although Cllr OÂ’Mahony was looking at a less commercial future use, we did for once agree that the process for disposal was wrong. Why did they rush the process? Because they are paying thousands per week for security and it is bleeding the Council dry. Why are they paying so much money in the first place? Surely the Lib Dems could have found a company that would charge less? Surely selling this important landmark for a knock down price and for a use that may not bring best the benefits possible for the residents is ridiculous.

The Island has been marketed for sale with offers invited for either a freehold or leasehold interest. The offer recommended to the Executive was neither the highest nor the most interesting use for the island and Cllr Kilby attacked the approach adopted by the Council. There has been no public engagement about what future use the island could and should have, we have not seen or encouraged bidders to provide any visual schemes to show us how they are going to make this important local landmark become a tourist beacon that will be a credit to the borough and reinforce the role of the River Thames in our community.

The closed debate had one moment of ironic humour when Councillor Rolson Davies put Cllr O’Mahony in his place for suggesting that the council could have considered moving the Albion Park Canoe & Sailing Centre to Ravens Ait and redeveloping the existing building, Cllr Davis said “I fear that with your idea we would create something that would require funding from the council for years to come and that’s not on”.

Shame he didnÂ’t think that way when they funded the theatre! - Which the Lib Dems promised would not need revenue funding! We can and should do better.

29th October 2009

Conservatives Right about Finance for KingstonÂ’s New Secondary School

Conservative Councillor Dennis Doe and local parents formally presented a petition with 2,600 signatures asking for more schools in Kingston at an Executive meeting in January 2008 and gave the Lib Dems the publicly available information that between the years 2000 and 2010 there would be 3,500 NEW units of accommodation, 60% of which were 2 bedrooms or more. That was for Kingston Town Neighbourhood alone.

The Executive threw out the request to put out for tender a new Secondary School. The Lib Dems decided that: there is no local sustainable demand for additional secondary school places based on pupil number projections and no dissatisfaction with the current pattern of provision in the area. Now, RBK suddenly is found to need 15 new Secondary classes, 8 of them in North Kingston.

Conservative Councillor Dennis Doe said ‘What a pity the Lib Dem Executive didn’t start the ball rolling back on 22nd January 2008 – nearly two years ago.’

The scheme for financing of new Secondary Schools under the Government’s Building Schools for the Future (BSF) provides 50% grant and 50% to be raised by borrowing through PFI. But an exception is possible – that is when the Government, working through its QUANGO Partnership for Schools, agrees there is a ‘BASIC NEED’. The Government has accepted that Kingston meets the criteria – OUR NEED IS SO URGENT! This is tremendously good news and our thanks go to the Director and her team who were brought in to run this huge project on behalf of Kingston and Croydon and who are negotiating on our behalf with the Government.

The Council is rushing to meet the Government deadlines. If only they had listened to the Conservatives 22 months ago!

21st October 2009

Conservatives Appeal for Community Cohesion

Conservative Councillors last night asked for more community cohesion after the Scrutiny Panel review of a grant awarded to the Kingston Tamil School by the Executive earlier this year.

Conservative Leader Cllr Howard Jones had raised a number of concerns on behalf of residents regarding the validity of the financial information submitted by the school whilst applying for a council grant and had asked for a review of the matter.

The Scrutiny Panel recommended that the Executive should review its decision based on the outcome of the Auditors report which in its conclusions said that the school had not fully disclosed financial information and did not have a business plan for 2008-2011 which specified any detail in relation to financial management.

The Independent Auditor, however, concluded that there had been no intentional wrongdoing and that we should all learn from this episode.

What did emerge was the fact that the Grants Process was now under an in depth review because of this incident and the report is eagerly awaited in order to improve the current unsatisfactory procedure implemented by the Lib Dem administration.

Councillor Howard Jones said ‘It seemed to me to be important for the Tamil Community, for whom this has been a divisive issue, to have a public forum to air allegations of impropriety in relation to the Kingston Tamil School Grant. The fact that the Scrutiny Panel made this possible made an important positive statement for democracy.’

16th September 2009

Lib Dems Agree Waste Collections are Rubbish!

At last night’s Council meeting, the Lib Dem member in charge of Recycling and Landfill, Cllr Bob Steed agreed with Conservatives that the Garden Waste collection service is not up to standard and they need to ‘do something’.

Conservative Cllr Eric Humphrey asked what steps the Council were taking to remedy deficiencies in the Green Waste Collection and this was the unsatisfactory answer given to him.

Kingston residents pay the highest Council Tax in London and expect a better service from the current Administration.

The Conservatives fully support measures to increase recycling – a service they themselves introduced many years ago – but it needs to be an efficient service and value for money – which is not what our residents are getting at the moment from the Lib Dems.

Cllr Humphrey said ‘This is typical of the Lib Dems’ complacency. There have been many complaints from residents who have to pay £22 for 10 flimsy Green Waste bags that are quite simply useless for purpose.’

16th September 2009

Concern Over Safety at Victoria Recreation Ground

After Lib Dem Cllr Liz Green admitted to the press recently that serious crime had escalated in the Victoria Recreation Ground in Surbiton, much of it late at night or after dark, and that something had to be done, Conservative Cllr Mary Clark raised the issue of locking the gates at night (for all parks in Kingston) at last nightÂ’s Council Meeting.

Cllr Clark also indicated that the admission by the Lib Dem Administration was a ‘recent change of mind’ in acknowledging the problem in the Recreation Ground after a spate of violent incidents over the summer.

Lib Dem Cllr for Environment, Bob Steed, was challenged as to whether park gates in Kingston will be locked at night, and if so, when this might commence. Cllr Steed insisted that the Administration has a ‘clear’ policy set out in its Green Spaces Strategy ‘not to lock park gates’, although Council Officers were currently looking into this possibility.

Whilst Cllr Clark welcomed this news, she also expressed her belief that this should be a borough-wide consultation encompassing all parks and green spaces in Kingston. Cllr Steed however, reiterated his feelings that as a general rule, park gates should never be locked.

Cllr Clark later added ‘Regular park users, local residents and the Safer Neighbourhood Teams should be asked for their views on this, as I’m sure they, unlike Cllr Steed, would feel that there is a justifiable reason to lock the gates at night. We will be pushing for a borough-wide consultation on night-time security at all Kingston parks, to ensure this goes through the due process. I think the Administration would be over-whelmed by the number of people who would feel safer with the gates locked after-dark.’

17th August 2009

Fears Grow for New Malden Day Centres

Two popular day centres that serve many elderly locals may be forced to relocate under council plans to create a £1M ‘poly-clinic’ on their current site in the heart of New Malden.

Both ‘Crescent’ and ‘Causeway’ resource centres, based at the Cocks Crescent site, serve local residents with learning difficulties and/or physical disabilities, and fear being moved away from their current prime town centre site after Kingston NHS announced its intention to build the polyclinic, which could save the council as much as £1.3M by relieving the pressure on Kingston Hospital, at a meeting of the PCT on 11th August.

Leader of the Opposition Cllr Howard Jones has however pledged to retain the two centres as part of a wider redevelopment programme aimed at the Blagdon Road site. He added: ‘This site needs redevelopment, not relocating. An incoming Conservative Administration would certainly seek to improve the current facilities and continue to provide civic services – the current users of Cock Crescent need their resource centres - not a polyclinic.’

17th August 2009

Councillors Open New Malden Police Station

Conservative Councillors from Old Malden and St James Ward attended the official opening of the new Police office in New Malden, Cllr Smith said this office will enable the officers to be closer on hand to attend to their duties and therefor give better service to the residents of both Wards.

Both ‘Crescent’ and ‘Causeway’ resource centres, based at the Cocks Crescent site, serve local residents with learning difficulties and/or physical disabilities, and fear being moved away from their current prime town centre site after Kingston NHS announced its intention to build the polyclinic, which could save the council as much as £1.3M by relieving the pressure on Kingston Hospital, at a meeting of the PCT on 11th August.

Leader of the Opposition Cllr Howard Jones has however pledged to retain the two centres as part of a wider redevelopment programme aimed at the Blagdon Road site. He added: ‘This site needs redevelopment, not relocating. An incoming Conservative Administration would certainly seek to improve the current facilities and continue to provide civic services – the current users of Cock Crescent need their resource centres - not a polyclinic.’

6th August 2009

Railway Station Entrance Closure Gathers Steam

Serious concerns have been raised by Conservative Councillors over SWTÂ’s plans to permanently close the South entrance to New Malden Station.

From Monday 10th August passengers will be forced to use the underpass to access the main entrance in order to leave the station, causing substantial congestion, particularly at peak-times as around 100 passengers in the tunnel attempt to leave the station, whilst those wanting to access the Southbound platform try to make their way in the opposite direction. Residents have also expressed concerns at the possible affects the closure may have on local businesses, as well as the prospect of placing the elderly, or those with disabilities, at risk.

Councillor Mary Clark, who represents St James Ward maintains that Health & Safety should carry out an immediate risk assessment and also suggests a full consultation with passengers who use the station at peak times should take place before any closure.

She said ‘I have travelledextensively by train in Europe and have yet to come across a railway station in such a disgusting condition as New Malden Station. It gives a very bad first impression of New Malden to first time visitors. 2012 Olympics will ensure an increase of visitors to the Greater London Area. If money is available to install modern technology such as ticket barriers, South West Trains should prioritise spending of funds to ensure New Malden Station is adequately refurbished, maintained and fit for purpose’.

15th July 2009

LibDems Cause Storm on Allotments

At Scrutiny this week, there was large scale confusion over the 12% increase on allotment charges, with complicated and contradictory information provided by the Council.

Conservative Councillors, together with local residents, asked the LibDem Executive to act more reasonably with the rent increase. They requested that the administration cancel the increase due to the dire financial circumstances residents find themselves in during the current economic climate.

No one was against a reasonable increase but both residents and Conservative Councillors said the 12% rise was excessive.

Conservative Councillor Dennis Doe said the council had a responsibility for communal care and should be encouraging residents to work on allotments both for the good of the individual and the overall ecologocal benefits growing food can provide for the community. Fellow Conservative Councillor Ian George was also critical of the LibDems' bullying tactics of the residents who were present at the Scrutiny. The LibDems clearly thought, and said, that the increase was insignificant.

Opposition Leader Councillor Howard Jones said he was 'amazed the council could take the decision to upset over 1,000 residents on so little information and with such a seriously defective consultation. It smacks of yet more incompetence.'

15th July 2009

Conservatives Work Together For Kingston BID

Conservative Opposition Leader Cllr Howard Jones gave a reasoned and persuasive argument to Surrey County Council at their recent Executive meeting and helped to persuade the Conservative Cabinet to unanimously support and approve the Kingston First Town Centre Renewal BID.

Cllr Jones told the Surrey members that the Business Improvement District (BID) is a superb way of improving Kingston town centre and as well as helping to increase the number of visitors to the town had also helped to make Kingston a safer town centre. It had also helped to create a cleaner and improved street environment, with standards regularly inspected by ‘The Keep Britain Tidy Group’.

The argument given by Cllr Jones was so effective and successful that Cllrs in Surrey suggested that lessons could be learnt from Kingston and maybe other Surrey towns could benefit from a similar BID.

This is a superb example of Conservatives working together promoting the Community Leadership role in local government.

Cllr Jones said ‘I am very happy to be able to work closely with colleagues on Surrey County Council in this important project for Kingston town centre. We hope to be able to work together in the future for the good of Kingston and Surrey’

Above, Leader of the Opposition Cllr Howard Jones meets Surrey County Council Leader Cllr Andrew Povey

April 22nd, 2009

Conservative Success in Securing more School Places

After two consecutive years of record high demand outstripping Reception places in Primary Schools, which caught the Lib Dem administration napping, the Executive meeting last night saw the Lib Dems table their plan to address the permanent expansion of primary school places in Kingston. The Conservative education team who have worked tirelessly to support parents in 2008 and again in 2009 welcome this move but cannot understand why it has taken two years to begin this work. A year has been wasted while the Lib Dems have been in denial of the monumental shift in population shared by 25 other London Boroughs.

The Lib Dems referred to these increases as a bulge in 2008. They failed to respond to any permanent expansion until they have been faced with unequivocal evidence that this is the beginning of a trend, a trend which cannot be solved by temporary solutions. Current projections for 2010 and beyond show we will need to permanently increase the capacity of our primary schools by a massive 25%!

Cllr Kilby, Shadow executive member, questioned the Executive member for Children and Young People Services about how the lack of surplus places could restrict parental choice, but Cllr Bamford floundered and was unable to answer. She was rescued by Patrick Leeson, Strategic Director of Learning and Childrens Services who fielded the question on her behalf. It offers little consolation and even less confidence when the Executive member cannot answer a straight forward question.

Cllr Nick Kilby said: While we welcome the Executive decision to finally act on this situation, we note with disappointment that a precious year has been lost. Time is of the essence for the council to ensure that a whole generation of our children do not endure the early years of their education in overcrowded schools. The Lib Dems have shown they are poor guardians of our schools and we will continue to monitor progress on this important work.

April 2nd, 2009

Elephant in the Room: RBK Pension Fund Disaster in Waiting

The Conservative group put forward a motion demanding immediate action over the perilous state of the RBK pension fund at the Council meeting last night, resulting in support from the Lib Dems. A significant increase in the Pension Fund deficit will have a very severe impact on Council finances.

Councillor Eric Humphrey who proposed the motion, said " this is the elephant in the room".

The lib dems have been ducking and diving behind claims of the general financial melt down, but the reality is that they have known about this for years. The deficit was a whopping £137 million in 2007. Up until now, the intention had been to restore the value of the fund over 18 years but this may now have to be extended to 30 years. Adoption of a more active investment management strategy was agreed to optimise investment risk and return. This could, however, result in council tax hikes unless additional funding can be obtained from Central Government.

The Executive were therefore asked to start urgent talks with Government in advance of the next re-valuation of the Pension Fund in March 2010.

Lib Dem support was welcomed by Conservative councillors, with Cllr Nick Kilby describing the state of the pension fund as a "a major ice berg in waiting". Conservatives demand that the administration work speedily in lobbying and engaging in immediate dialogue with government directly and through its representative bodies. They have also not let it go unnoticed that the RBK Chief Executive is sitting on a copper bottomed annual pension estimated at £102 000, in addition to a lump sum of £162 000 upon his retirement from public sector life.

23rd March 2009

Conservatives Fight to Keep Park Free to All

Kingston and Richmond Park Conservatives are once more taking up the cudgels to fight the Royal Parks quangoÂ’s plans to introduce car parking charges to one of BritainÂ’s best loved nature areas.

The Royal Park’s Authority wants to raise cash by charging all cars using the key visitor attractions of Pembroke Lodge, the Isabella Plantation and Pen Pond in Richmond Park on a sliding scale from £1 to £3.

Local Councillors have reacted angrily to the scheme which will place a heavy burden upon not only the old and disabled but young mums with children.

“This scheme is yet another body blow to people using the park and could not come at a more inappropriate time,” says Councillor David Edwards. “In the middle of the credit crunch the last thing people need is yet another tax on enjoying the unique glories of Richmond Park.”

The Royal Parks Authority has circulated a consultation document but local councillors are sceptical of the outcome.

“In the past we raised a huge petition against the closing of the Robin Hood Gate, but it made no difference and I fear that unless there is a huge backlash by everyone using the park these proposals will be pushed through,” he adds.

“We will be opposing this, not only on access grounds but because of the traffic that will be displaced into neighbouring streets, “ adds Councillor Patrick Codd, Chairman of Maldens & Coombe Neighbourhood Committee. “Parking charges will inevitably drive people into parking all over the side roads causing massive traffic problems. Richmond Park is one of London’s vital green spaces and should remain free for everyone to enjoy.”

March 4th, 2009

Conservatives Reject Lib Dem Budget

At the Budget Council meeting last night, Conservative Leader Councillor Howard Jones did not support the Budget put forward by the Lib Dems. He was joined by the Conservative group in rejecting the budget because it lacks focus, places too much emphasis on ineffectual cuts - the salami slicing approach to financial management and does not have a coherent, strategic plan.

Coming in for particular criticism was the hike in council tax. An increase of well over three percent means that a property in Band D now attracts an annual council tax of £1630. Once again the residents of Kingston will be paying the highest Council Tax in London. The unsatisfactory new waste management service, the mis-spent subsidy package to bail out the troubled RoseTheatre, and the failure to plan for additional school places were also issues that Councillor Jones used to accuse the Lib Dems of losing their way.

Summarising, Councillor Jones said: What do you get for your money in Kingston? Not value for money that is for sure. Cost effective services? Appropriate financial management no? A high level of incompetence in contract management and performance, yes.

He concluded: This is a council tax set by the Liberal Democrats who claim a new national policy of low taxes, their Leadership recently announced that they were now the Low Tax Party. We are fed up paying the highest Council tax in London, the residents are fed up with paying the highest Council tax in London we demand more for our money.

February 25th, 2009

HIGHEST COUNCIL TAX IN LONDON - AGAIN

Conservative Councillors asked for vision and direction from the Lib Dems at the Budget Scrutiny last night but received no answer because there is none, nor is there even any detail in this latest budget. Just increases and cuts. Predictably, the Lib Dems have hiked council tax again, this time going for an increase which means that a house in Band D will now pay just over £1630. It would have been much higher if Mayor Johnson had not frozen the GLA part of council tax for this year, in recognition of the tougher economic climate and his election pledge. Not this administration though because it has got to fund the Rose Theatre to the tune of £1.8m. That money has to come from somewhere and its coming from residents wallets if they like it or not. What would most people rather? Go to a publicly subsidised theatre or get value for money in their local services?

Yet again, we are the most expensive Borough in London when it comes to Council Tax. Yet we are also the est. Why is this? Quite simply the Lib Dems put the council tax up every year because they can - and because they want to throw good money after bad.

Opposition Leader, Howard Jones commented: This is not a budget as much as another excuse for mediocrity from the Lib Dems. It would be really nice to be the lead London borough for something other than high taxes. The message is clear, you live in a Lib Dem borough, you pay for an incompetent Lib Dem administration not concerned with helping residents but frittering money away.