Kingston's 2024 in 12 stories and photographs
Having published over hundreds stories about Kingston in the last year, we have picked one story from each month to help summarise 2024.
The news locally this year has been dominated by council plans, community events, planning applications, crimes, and new businesses opening.
But we have tried to reduce each month to just one story and one photograph.
January
Now we had lots of stories at the start of the year, but the story you read most was about the withdrawal of Tolworth Tower Appeal.
A developer withdrew its appeal against a refusal of plans to convert Kingston's tallest building into flats and build two more tower blocks beside it leaving the future of the empty tower uncertain.
The scheme would have seen 492 flats built at the Tolworth Tower complex on Tolworth Broadway.
February
February was a quiet month, but you were all excited by the news that Kingston's The body Shop store would not be among the 75 stores forced to close in the UK.
March
In March, it was revealed that the Ancient Market Place would be managed by a single operator for a minimum of ten years.
Described as "the very heart of Kingston" by Cllr Noel Hadjimichael, the new strategy was approved unanimously by the council's corporate committee on Tuesday 19 March.
The marketplace was previously operated by external organisations through a lease renewed each year.
However, the new lease now lasts a minimum of ten years, allowing the market's next operator to create a long-term strategy along with the council according to its leader, Cllr Andreas Kirsch.
Since then, a new company to run the Market Place has been chosen.
April
In April, our biggest story was about a New Malden GP surgery being rated 'inadequate' by the health watchdog in a damning report.
The Groves Medical Centre, in New Malden, was placed in special measures and urged to make immediate improvements following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
The inspection in October and November found gaps in systems meant to keep patients safe at the practice on Clarence Avenue, including training and medicines management, along with leaders lacking effective oversight of the service.
May
In May, we were told the shocking news about a woman being hit by a bus on Eden Street.
The woman, in her 20s, was hit by a bus around 8.50am on Monday 20 May.
Her condition was not thought to be life-threatening.
A Met Police spokesperson said: "The driver was arrested for causing Injury by Careless Driving and failing to stop at the scene of an accident."
June
In June, one landlord of The Willoughby Arms in North Kingston, Rick Robinson refused to leave the pub despite it being listed for sale by real estate agents Savills.
Robinson told Nub News, locals and regulars alike had expressed concern after seeing The Willoughby Arms listed online on Rightmove by Savills.
However, while the Victorian building's freehold was on the market for offers in excess of £1,430,000, any new owners had to uphold Mr Robinson's lease, which isn't set to expire until October 2037.
The pub landlord said he felt 'neutral' about the sale by owners Tavern Propco.
July
In July, Kingston Council was set to put aside £23 million to buy properties for homeless people to slash the number of families being placed in hotels.
The homes would be used as temporary accommodation for homeless families, as the stretched authority revealed it is receiving on average 50 more housing applications every month compared to March last year.
A report by council officers said homelessness levels and demand for temporary accommodation had 'reached a point of crisis' in Kingston, with nearly 1,000 families in temporary housing. This pushed the council to put together a strategy to buy more temporary homes to cope with the rising demand on its services.
August
In August, Unilever confirmed that it would keep its UK and Ireland headquarters in Kingston after speculation that it would not.
At the time, there was much controversy speculating over whether consumer goods group Unilever's Chief Executive, Hein Schumacher, had scrapped a proposal to move the company's global headquarters to Kingston.
However, Unilever confirmed that whilst it wouldn't be moving its global headquarters from Central London to Kingston, it would keep its UK and Ireland headquarters on Eden Street and Brook Street/ St James Street.
September
In September, we were all shocked by the news of a Kingston Doctor being struck off after stealing £45,000 from the NHS during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Kifayat Ullah falsely claimed wages for hours he had not worked while he was an agency doctor, specialising in ear, nose and throat services, at Kingston Hospital.
Dr Ullah, who was contracted through recruitment agency MedicsPro, falsely claimed he had worked 658 extra hours between November 2020 and June 2021 using up to 28 forged timesheets.
October
In October, some local residents rejected to plans to open a new Brazilian restaurant on Richmond Road.
At the time, Esquina Brasil wanted to revamp an empty venue in Kingston previously plagued by rats and breathe new life into the area, according to a representative.
However, the plans were met with concern from neighbours, who begged Kingston Council's licensing committee to require the outdoor seating area of the venue, on Richmond Road, to close at 7pm.
November
In November, it was revealed that the former Wilko in Kingston town centre could become a late-night activity centre, though many of you were not happy about this.
At the time, Funbox Entertainment submitted an application to Kingston Council to turn the former Wilko on Clarence Street into an activity centre called Urban Fun.
The former Wilko closed down in August 2023.
A copy of the application was stuck to the window of the site.
December
And for this month, you were all keen to read the news about plans being submitted to build new flats in Kingston town centre.
Earlier this month, new plans to build flats in Kingston town centre were submitted, five years after proposals for the site were first put forward.
Developer Kingston Gate Properties now wants to build 265 flats in two tower blocks up to 15 storeys tall next to Kingston station, after revising proposals it first submitted in 2019.
The new flats would be split across a 15-storey tower block and 12-storey building on Canbury Place car park and Kingsgate Road, if the plans are approved by Kingston Council. The developer has not included any affordable housing in the proposals.
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