Kingston: Hawks Road Clinic development is

Plans to turn a Kingston NHS vaccination clinic into private flats with no provision for health services have been labelled a "missed opportunity" by a group of residents living in neighbouring roads.

Hawks Road clinic in Norbiton, a GP service which closed down in 2020, re-opened in 2021 as Kingston borough's mass vaccination centre.

But last week it emerged that developers London Square plan to bulldoze the clinic and turn it into a 13-storey tower once the NHS vaccination programme has ended.

Now Tom Bucke, Chairman of the Sunflower Streets Residents' Association (SSRA) representing people living on streets near Hawks Road, has criticised the proposed development.

He said it is a "huge disappointment" for residents that the site was not bought by Kingston Council and used to provide "much-needed services" for the area, as originally planned.

The new housing block will provide 123 new flats, 50% of which will be sold at affordable prices, and its ground floor is set to be used as commercial or creative space.

But Mr Bucke said that with GP services already overstretched and a predicted population boom for the area, it is a "massive shame" that the original plans are not going ahead.

Speaking to Kingston Nub News, he said: "Whilst we're going to gauge our members' reaction more formally after the consultation begins, we have always believed that site should be bought by RBK to be part of the Cambridge Road Estate Regeneration and, most importantly, be used to boost the much-needed services Norbiton will need given the huge population boom coming its way.

"Whilst we always understood that NHS properties would sell to the highest bidder, it's a huge disappointment to all Norbiton residents that another developer placed a higher value on that site than both the Council and its joint development partner Countryside.

"That area was always ripe for improvement - ideally for services to complement the CRE's 160% increase - and it's a massive shame and a missed opportunity for it not to be a joined-up development.

"At a time when GP surgeries are already struggling to support local demand, RBK and the NHS need to be open with residents about what healthcare plans they have in place to support the massive developments proposed for Norbiton ward over the next few years."

Mr Bucke also raised concerns over the height of the building and how its construction would impact traffic in the area.

On traffic fears, he said: "What we hope to see in the Hawks Road Clinic consultation are clear plans on how all developers working on that site - RBK. Countryside and London Square - plan on working together to deal with the extra build traffic anticipated for that same junction.

"We know that the junction is already proposed as site access for the first two phases of the CRE regeneration, and there was already enormous concern about how - even with remodelling - it could impact traffic heading towards Kingston across both Hawks Road and Cambridge Road."

On the height of the buildings, he said: "In addition to the sea of mid-rise blocks, the CRE regeneration plans already include for nearly 40 buildings over 8 storeys, of which at least 25 are over 10 storeys high.

"This is in stark contrast to the current mix of low-rise and four 15-storey blocks, plus two-floor houses on the edges.

"Given our local Councillors have been vocal about their belief that the Hawks Road Clinic site provides a great opportunity to combine new health facilities alongside new housing and have also expressed concern about the extreme height planned for that slot, we hope it might encourage members of the Planning Committee to reflect on the enormous scale of overbearing high-rise buildings already proposed as part of the CRE development.

"What we are seeing with this new proposal is how the CRE's high-rise heavy development is setting a precedent for other ambitious developers, and the need to balance additional housing - including a desperate need for new social homes, which we support being incorporated into more proposals - with plans that don't risk ruining the character of residential neighbourhoods across the borough."

A survey asking residents for feedback on the Hawks Road development plans is now open until 11 November.

Have your say here.

Learn more about the Sunflower Streets Residents Association.