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12 January 2021

A message from Kingston Council's Portfolio Holder for Housing

Councillor Emily Davey, Portfolio Holder for Housing, said:

"With the start of a new year, we are looking forward and planning for the future and we would like your views on our ambitious five-year homelessness and rough sleeping strategy. 

"Homelessness takes many forms - rough sleeping is the most evident, but it could be households facing eviction from private rented accommodation, someone living with family or friends, having to ‘sofa surf’ or living in temporary accommodation. 

"The issues faced by those at risk of homelessness or sleeping rough are often complex. Working closely with community partners, we'll be focusing on getting people the support they need, when they need it. 

"Kingston currently has over 900 households living in temporary accommodation and around 3,700 on our housing register, waiting for social housing. To tackle this, we need to build the homes we need both now and in the future."
Read the full message and have your say

Update on South Western Railway services


Due to the impact of the Omicron variant and resultant staff shortages, South Western Railway have announced that they will be publishing a new timetable from Monday 17 January 2022.  Details of the new timetable are available on the SWR website - and until the 17th, passengers are advised to check the SWR website close to their journey time to ensure their train is running.

Nominate your local heroes

Do you know someone making a positive difference in Kingston?

Nominations for the Mayor of Kingston’s Community Awards are now open, which celebrate our residents who have given up their time to help other people and the community. If you know somebody who deserves recognition for their supreme effort, strength, bravery or achievement, nominate them before 5pm on 27 January!
Come along to an event in New Malden celebrating the Tamil Harvest Festival in our borough next Saturday 22 January!

The event takes place at St Georges Square and the Methodist Church, and will include dancing, a parade along the high street, and a Tamil heritage exhibit. More details will be uploaded onto our website next week.

New year, new square, New Malden…


2022 is going to be an exciting year for New Malden. Following recent news that we have secured funding to revitalise the high-street, a new town square is set to open in Cocks Crescent as a ‘meanwhile space’ while longer term developments for the area progress. 

Residents can look forward to the square opening in the coming weeks as a new open public space to relax and socialise. Over the course of the year, it will be brought to life with a series of community-led events.

Be a part of this exciting change - contact the New Malden Town Centre Partnership to get involved. Look out for further updates on the new square on our website!

Kingston Sculpture Trail Top 10 finalist

Time & Leisure Magazine's Food and Culture Awards has selected Kingston Sculpture Trail as a finalist! We are thrilled to have such fantastic recognition for the project and would like to thank everyone who was involved.

Win A £1,000 Sainsbury's Gift Voucher!
Play Kingston Community Lottery for the chance to win a £1,000 Sainsbury’s voucher whilst helping to raise money for local good causes.

Do you know of, or are part of a local good cause? Sign up today to begin raising new funds in a fun, FREE and easy way.
Cleaner Greener Kingston

Share your thoughts on four exciting new playground plans

Trampolines, zip wires and sandpits are just some of the activities in draft plans for revamps of playgrounds in Manor Park, Cromwell Avenue Open Space, Woodview and Kingston Road Recreation Ground.

You can see the plans, take a look at our virtual drop-in sessions and share your thoughts on our online portal. 

Donate a device, change a life

Mobile Mop Up
Do you have any unwanted or old tech lying around after Christmas?

The Mayor of Kingston, Councillor Sushila Abraham, is calling for donations to raise funds for the Mayor's Charitable Trust. By donating your devices at one of our drop-off points, you will be supporting the environment, and helping the people of Kingston!

Find out more and donate now.

Wildways update

NHS. Better Health. Let's do thisWe are continuing to pilot our Wildways strategy at sites across Kingston to boost biodiversity on our roadside verges. 

Elliot Newton, Biodiversity Officer, explained what’s been going on during the colder months.
“Over the winter many plants are not in flower so not easily seen. However, as spring starts to arrive we hope we will start to see an increased abundance and diversity of wildflowers and the burst of colour this brings. Kingston University students have been monitoring changes in species and carbon storage within the soil, and as we move into the second year we expect to start to see the ecological benefits.” 

Find out more and share your feedback!

Winter Household Support Payments

Citizens Advice, Kingston Upon THames
If you know someone locally who is worried about how to manage their money this winter and may not have enough money for food or fuel, they can apply to Kingston Council for help. Let us know by calling 07516 226396 or use this email form. We will contact you to explain the process and make a referral if appropriate.
Do you feel safe out and about in Kingston?

Help us create a safer Kingston for everybody


We have recently launched a new survey to find out what community safety issues most affect your neighbourhood and hear how you think we can improve things. 

This is a chance for you to get involved and make your neighbourhood a better place to live. Read more and fill in a short survey.

Coronavirus testing changes - at a glance!

Rules around COVID-19 testing have changed this week. This is a temporary measure while cases remain high. It can be confusing, so we break it down for you here…

If you test positive on a lateral flow test, and have no symptoms, you should still self-isolate immediately. You no longer need to take a confirmatory PCR test though - the LFT result on its own is enough.

This change only affects those with no symptoms. If you do have coronavirus symptoms, you should still get a PCR test - you can get PCR tests at any of our local test sites

Full details of all the latest changes can be found here.
It is important that if you test positive on an LFT, you register the result. This is an integral step to understand the spread of the virus and break the chain of transmission.
Access rapid tests locally
An NHS worker with a faceshield and a resident with a face mask. "I save lives. You can too." Wear a face covering in crowded and enclosed spaces, unless exempt.

Get vaccinated now!

Whether it’s your first, second or booster dose - there has never been a more important time to protect yourself and those around you by getting a vaccine.

In the fortnight leading up to Christmas, over 1,500 people in Kingston turned out to have their first jab - almost double the number in the previous two weeks. This is an incredible statistic - thank you to everybody who is making their first steps on the vaccination journey as every jab counts!

Visit the South West London NHS website for the very latest walk-in vaccine clinics, or book an appointment.
 
Happy New Year! Looking to change your drinking this January? 30 Day Drink Less Programme, E-Drink-Check
Do you feel like you are drinking too much or too often?
Why not give Dry January a go and reap the benefits, including  better sleep, weight loss, and saving money! Those that successfully complete Dry January are also more likely to have healthy drinking habits and higher levels of wellbeing six months later. So get your YOU back this Dry January! Head to Kingston E-Drink-Check today and sign up for the FREE 30 day drink less programme.
NHS. Better Health. Let's do thisKickstart your health in 2022
Many of us are still feeling stress and anxiety after two difficult years - and the cold, dark Winter months can make physical activity and a balanced diet even harder.

Luckily, there are many free resources available for people who live, work and study in Kingston! If you are worried about your weight, want to get moving again, or are interested in improving your overall mental and physical wellbeing, have a look at Connected Kingston, or get in touch with us or call 020 8547 6815.
Thanks to your council tax we undertake 800,000 recycling and rubbish collections from homes each month. We couldn't do it without you.

Last chance to have your say on our budget proposals for 2022-23


Our budget survey is closing on Sunday. If you haven't already done so, please share your thoughts at kingstonletstalk.co.uk/2022-2023-budget

We need to meet increasing needs as our population grows and changes, as well as dealing with the unprecedented and ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on council services and finances. As a result we will continue to have to make some difficult choices to balance the budget for 2022-23. We look forward to hearing your views on our proposals.  

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