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Kingswood Residents’ Association
KRA AGM 2021
The KRA held our AGM on 13th July 2021, successfully as a “virtual” meeting by Zoom. It was good to see some friendly faces as our last AGM was back in 2019. We very much hope to welcome everyone back to the Village Hall to share a glass of wine at our next AGM in March 2022.
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In my AGM Chair’s Report I covered the activities the KRA has undertaken over the past 18 months, which included support to the Kingswood Safety Net, Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal, Litter Pickers donation, Tree Planting in Waterhouse Lane and Website refresh.
Of course, much of the KRA’s effort is spent on Town Planning matters, and in September 2020, after much negotiation with Inspired Villages, we saw the successful Planning approval of the Retirement Village at the L&G Site.
We also enjoyed three very interesting presentations from guest speakers, and we extend our sincere thanks to them:• Firstly, Rachel Goddard and Nicky Browne presented The Oak Centre, in Sutton, which is under construction and due for completion in September 2022. This will greatly improve the facilities of the
Royal Marsden for cancer diagnosis and treatment. The site has also been selected for a new general hospital, which we hope to hear more about at the next AGM. • Next, Inspector Alex Maguire of Surrey
Police provided details on levels of crime, burglary in the local area, which had been low during the pandemic. He also described the restructuring of his force with increased resourcing with the intention of keeping crime levels low into the future.
He advised that footage from the many domestic CCTVs in Kingswood was proving invaluable in solving crime. For residents who are interested in improving their home security, he advised that Police Officer
Simon Evans is offering security advice to residents so please contact the KRA if you
would like to be put in touch. • Finally, Jamie Bunce, CEO of Inspired
Villages provided an update on the proposed Retirement Village development at the Legal & General site. He is very optimistic that the project will proceed and said that this temporary delay is due to the impact of the Covid pandemic. IV will advise the KRA as soon as there is news on a start date and we will notify residents.
The Kingswood Safety Net (KSN) was put into hibernation on 19 July in line with the relaxation of rules by the Government. However, the KVCA and the KRA are still here as a source of information and help if needed. The Kingswood Village website has a wealth of information and has been widely used during the pandemic with over 1 million hits since March 2020. Please continue to review the website at www.kingswoodvillage.org
Station Site proposed development. A new planning application has been made for the Station site, comprising 23 apartments and a Co-Op store. The KRA has made representations to RBBC council regarding two key points - inadequate car parking, in a village that already has a parking problem, and the competition this will bring to local shops. The KRA has met with the developer to voice these concerns and to try to find an acceptable solution.
For those of you who did not attend the KRA AGM this year but have questions or concerns, please do contact us on kravillage@gmail.com
