Nick and Paul and Janet’s husband John attended the Surbiton Remembrance service this morning. The wreath from Kingston and Surbiton Conservatives was laid by Surbiton Hill resident Group Capt. David Salusbury RAF . The ward was well represented, as usual.

The attendance of the public was very impressive also, possibly reflecting, not only the seventieth anniversary of the outbreak of World War 2, but also appreciation of the sacrifices made in more recent and current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Whatever one may think about the political rights and wrongs of our involvement in these conflicts, ceremonies like this morning’s are there to remind us of the service to our country of those who have lost their lives in them. May they rest in peace.

Friday night is party night and there is no better way to spend it than joining the RBK Youth Outreach team.  I arranged to meet Helen and Greg at the Alexandra Park.   Helen briefed me on what we would be doing during the evening and asked me to agree a phrase or comment that I could make during the evening. This phrase could mean I had seen something that may be a threat to us or that I felt threatened in a situation during our tour.  I decided what I would say as we started to walk round the park…….

Now read on by viewing the new Youth Matters page

SLE' windows boarded up

After years of requests from Councillors and residents, the Council Housing department finally replaced the glass and temporary boarding in two of the stairwells on the estate. The work is using new materials and while there is concern over the light quality this solution should prove to be durable enough to signal the end of boarded up light wells and a massive improvement to the general safety in the staircases around the estate.

At the same time work is being undertaken to repair or replace the floor coverings in the stairwells following complaints by Councillor Nick Kilby that a resident could easily be tripped up by the floor covering lifting.

Nick said: “The state of our housing is shameful and after 7 ½ years of the Lib Dems running the council nothing has improved. This work should have been done years ago and the reality is that this is the easiest and cheapest item on a growing list of repairs. And that is before anyone gets to issues that we could improve! I am pleased we have this work being done but the residents do deserve better and we will have to keep pushing until we finally resolve the financial crisis the Housing department is in.  I am grateful to the council officers for their help;  it cannot be fun having your hands tied knowing how big the need is.”

Paul Johnston, Surbiton Hill ward Councillor and Chairman of the Housing Consultative Committee said: ”This is good news but I share Nick’s disappointment about the lack of progress for resolving the Housing department’s finances. I have been working with the Residents’ Association in School Lane and elsewhere across the borough for the last three years and still we have had no clear leadership from the Lib Dems. It would be funny if it was not tragic for all those who suffer from the lack of investment.  School Lane has a strong RA and I dread to think what would happen if they, combined with Nick and me, didn’t keep fighting for every penny! ”

SLE: work in progress

Kingston Round Table and Kingston Rotary Club will once again be lighting up the sky with their spectacular community firework display.
All proceeds go to local charities. Use this link to book online. PLEASE PRINT OFF RECEIPT ONCE YOU HAVE BOUGHT TICKETS ONLINE TO ENSURE ENTRY.

Please note: – tickets can also be purchased from the Market House, Kingfisher Leisure Centre, The Malden Centre, Kingsmeadow & Tolworth Recreation Centre.

C-pod in Lovelace Gardens recently

Look out for the mobile Conservative ’surgery’ (C-pod) in Oakhill on Saturday morning from 10.30 to 1 p.m.

All three of us will be there with Helen Whately, Mavis Cracknell and others making calls around the area.

The CAB is urging parents who receive child benefit and rent their homes but who at present get no housing benefit to check their entitlement again.

• It has worked out that a single parent with two children, for example, who previously just missed out on getting any help towards paying the rent could now be entitled to housing benefit of up to £21.58 a week.

• The rule change also means some parents already receiving housing benefit will automatically see the amount they are entitled to go up, and more people will also become eligible for help in paying their council tax bills.

• The extra money will be available to help all tenants with children, whether they live in council housing, housing association property, or private rented accommodation.

• It comes about because from Monday 2 November income from child benefit will no longer be taken into account when it comes to calculating entitlement to housing benefit and council tax benefit.

• Kingston CAB Chief Executive Pippa Mackie said: “We are seeing more and more families struggling to make ends meet and finding it increasingly hard to afford to pay their essential household bills, including their rent.

• “Our calculations show that this change in the rules could make a huge difference to them. We would urge all parents in rented accommodation who are not at present getting any housing benefit to contact us or the council’s housing benefit department as soon as possible to find out if they qualify for this much-needed extra help.”

Following our street surgery in Lovelace Gardens two weeks ago we wrote to RBK Highways about pavement issues residents raised with us.

Today we had this email from them:-

Lovelace Gardens, Surbiton

Thank you for your recent e-mail to the Environmental Services department regarding the footpath in Lovelace Gardens, Surbiton.

I can confirm that the footways in Lovelace Gardens will be included in the annual planned works assessments for 2010/11.

Very sadly I have to tell you that I have received the following email from RBK Planning this afternoon.

We have received the attached appeal decision for the Cumbrae   & Oakdene planning application as follows:

08/16232/FUL    Development of registered residential care home                         ALLOWED

09/16196/CAC    Demolition of 1 Langley Avenue and Cumbrae & Oakdene, Upper

Brighton Road                                                                   ALLOWED

From RBK Highways

Location                               Cotterill Road, Surbiton

Start                                      2 November 2009 for 4 months

Work                                     Culvert strengthening

Contractor                          Cappagh Contractors on behalf of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames.

Comments                          Cotterill Road will be closed at the junction with Thornhill Road.  Local diversion route.

Traffic delays not expected.

From RBK press office

As the nights draw in and Kingston comes alive with the sound of university and college students, the next few months will be a busy time for the Safer Kingston Partnership.

The Partnership works hard to reduce crime, disorder and substance abuse in Kingston.  Made up of organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors, the Partnership is led by members of Kingston Council, Metropolitan Police, NHS Kingston, Metropolitan Police Authority and the London Fire Brigade.

Safer Kingston News

This month the Partnership will be launching a newsletter which will be delivered to all households in the borough. The newsletter provides details of the Partnership’s Crime, Disorder and Substance Misuse Reduction Strategy 2008/2011, a review of the crime figures for 2008/2009 and a survey designed to give residents an opportunity to comment and influence future strategies.

The survey can be completed online at www.kingston.gov.uk/reducing_crime or for a hard copy please contact the Safer Kingston Partnership on 020 8547 5033. The closing date for responses is 15th November 2009.

Stay Safe in Kingston

Campaigns such as the Stay Safe in Kingston posters are just one of the initiatives that the Safer Kingston Partnership has created to reinforce the importance of keeping yourself and each other safe within the Royal Borough.

The brightly coloured posters, which feature a ‘touch screen’ mobile phone, have been up in the town centre over the last month and focus on the following safety tips:

*    Don’t become a victim of burglary
*    Keep a close watch on valuables-
*    Stick with a friend when out at night
*    Keep unnecessary noise to a minimum

Kingston University have also featured the posters in the university buses and if you would like to see a copy visit the Safer Kingston Partnership website www.kingston.gov.uk/safer_kingston_partnership.  A festive version of the poster will appear in “Scene” magazine which is next distributed in December across west London.

Feel free to contact thesewebpages for more info:-

www.kingston.gov.uk/safer_kingston_partnership

www.kingston.gov.uk/reducing_crime

www.kingston.gov.uk/mayors_charity