After Kingston University submitted a planning application for its new Middle Mill building earlier this month, local residents, particularly those who live on Middle Street where the building will be located, have began a campaign to raise their concerns.

One Middle Street resident, Chris Park, has been particularly active in the campaign and while he is not against the university constructing a new building, he is worried about how the building's proposed height, which is set to be as tall as the Bentall Centre, will impact the natural lighting of the street.

CGI of the new building's interior (Image supplied)

In a letter to the university's Vice Chancellor, Professor Spier, Park said: "Dear Professor Spier,

​"I am writing to you as a long-standing resident of Mill Street, someone who has lived beside Kingston University for many years and always believed that our neighbourhood and the University could grow together with genuine respect and sensitivity. I take no pleasure in writing this letter, but I feel compelled to share the deep concern and profound sadness that I, and so many of my neighbours, have about the proposed 30 metre redevelopment at Middle Mill.​

​"My children have grown up on Mill Street and have benefited so much from our beloved 'Mill Street Green' opposite Middle Mill. A modest, but exceptionally well-loved patch of grass, that holds the heart of our street.

Park is worried about the impact the new building will have on the Green on Mill Street (Credit: Chris Park)

"It exists only because of the determination and resilience of members of the community who, well before I moved in, stood up for what they believed was right. They were so passionate about protecting our community they fought for its officially registered 'Village Green' status.

"I've celebrated so much there with neighbours. We have annual festivals where we drink, eat sausages, celebrate the music of local musicians. We hold sparklers, hunt for easter eggs, have water fights and celebrate life events with neighbours. It is a Green that remembers cherished residents who loved what it offers and represents. I've watched my own children play freely and safely, make new friends and learn what community means. It's where our street becomes a community.

​"To see plans that would place a 30-metre wall so close to it, casting long shadows and stealing its light for hours each day, feels like losing something precious that can never be replaced. The idea that this community space could become darker, colder, less inviting, eroding what generations have created genuinely breaks my heart.

​"And it's not just The Green. Some of my neighbours, people who already live with limited sunlight, because they are already overshadowed by the existing tall university campus buildings, will suffer even further. There will be a permanent loss of sunlight caused by your new building. These too are homes with families. Think about what message you are sending them.

​"The Middle Mill also neighbours three schools, two of which my children are or have been in. The amazing King Athelstan and Forest school. Both of which directly border the Middle Mill and both of which depend and invest on their outdoor spaces.

"They rely on open sky, natural light and a connection to the outdoors. My son is one of many children who get so much from these very special and needed educational spaces. He is an outdoors kid. During the COVID years his first classroom experiences were either indoors, on a screen or in a classroom with a mask on. It has taken time, patience, and a return to natural spaces for him to rebuild his understanding of what you and I would consider normal. We feel so lucky that both schools understand individual need, and are places where he's found a connection to being outdoors and I have learnt what he loves.

Park says that Mill Street residents often host events in the neighbourhood (Credit: Chris Park)

​"To now face the prospect of years of construction noise, dust, and disruption right outside his classroom feels like a second wave of upheaval for a generation that has already endured so much.

"Imagine children learning about nature in the shadow of a 30-metre wall.

"We have walked our son to school every day along the Hogsmill. The idea of a massive building looming over that path and one of the world's rare chalk streams feels deeply wrong. Since a recent holiday he has become fascinated with fishing. We stop to spot trout or dangle a rod from the bridge, hoping to hook one. It's opened conversations about kingfishers, water voles, and even the time the fire brigade rescued our neighbour's cat from the flood pipe. This river is fragile and precious and deserves respect, not the shadow of an oversized campus building.

Park is worried about the impact the new building will have on the Hogsmill River (Credit: Chris Park)

​"Just past The Green and right on the Hogsmill is the Community Garden where, when my children were younger, they used to play and learn about growing plants. We don't have green fingers, so to be able to take them to a space where younger and older community members share a passion and showed them how to sow seeds, grow plants and take care of nature was a joy. Your new building will now cast a shadow over this much loved garden, stealing sunlight from the things that need it most.

"This is also a space where our School has taken children, and it made with think - when was the last time they went, invited by the University, to The Town House to experience a world class building and library, sadly, I couldn't recall.

​​"As I am sure you can imagine, your proposal is causing profound concern, not just on Mill Street, but across the wider KT1 community. Many of us have always seen the University as part of our local fabric. We want you to grow and thrive, we really do. But what is being proposed is a building of such scale, mass and dominance that it fundamentally alters what it means to live here. I have said so much already but I have to make you aware that you are doing this on the edge of two conservation areas. Mill Street is in one - I am not allowed to easily alter the front of my house, and nor would I want to do it if I thought it would alter the character of the neighbourhood. Not only am I worried about the impact to how the community function but what respect are you showing to conservation of views and our area.

​"This letter is not about resisting change but a responsible neighbour doesn't place a 30 metre building beside homes, beside a Green where children play, beside a community garden, beside a rare chalk stream, and beside three schools without thinking deeply about the consequences. A responsible neighbour doesn't steal sunlight from people.

​"And I am just one neighbour, in one house, on one Street. There will be hundreds of stories like mine and more community areas disturbed by your building.

​"I am writing to you as your neighbour, as a parent, and as someone who cares deeply about this community. I invite you to our community, I will take you on a tour to show you these areas and explain to you the history of the Street and the community you want to disrupt. We are not an obstacle to development, we can partner in this but we want you to change it and listen to what we have to say."

In an exclusive interview with Nub News, Park explained that while Kingston University held public consultations to discuss its proposals before submitting its planning application, he heard from several of his neighbours that they did not know about the consultations and so could not share their concerns with the university.

He added: "We have quite a good community here on Mill Street and while having the university and lots of young people walking around is something I love about the neighbourhood, the challenge of the proposals, is that, fundamentally, it's just too big.

'We have quite a good community here on Mill Street,' says Park (Credit: Chris Park)

"It will cast over 100m shadow on the street and there's already well over a dozen people that are going to be permanently deprived of light."

Park says that he does not oppose the development and that he actually thinks the university should go ahead with a development but believes "it should be smaller".

He added that he has met with residents from neighbouring streets who all cannot believe that the university "would put in something so big".

Park also says that he cannot understand how the university could invest in such a big project when it has had to cut several courses due to funding issues.

However, the university previously denied rumours that it was cutting courses to help fund the project.

Park is inviting residents to submit their feedback on the university's proposals.

You can do so here.