Chairman's report 2009

CHAIRMAN’S ANNUAL REPORT 2009

The Kingswood Residents’ Association (KRA) is a non-political voluntary organisation whose stated objectives are:

“…the promotion of the welfare of the Community through the good government of the district in relation to planning, environment, safety and conservation, so as to preserve and improve the amenities of the village of Kingswood”.

The KRA should not be confused with the Kingswood Village Community Association (KVCA) and the individual road Frontagers Associations which also do other important work which contributes to our Community and also complements the work of the KRA.

The KRA works closely with Reigate and Banstead Borough Council (RBBC) through our local Councillors to consult and influence good planning practices. The KRA also works with our County Councillor on Surrey County Council matters. The support of our local Councillors is invaluable and forms an important part of the work of the Association.

The KRA works for this community as a whole and all Kingswood Residents are welcome to come to our Annual General Meeting and join our discussions. If you aren’t already a member then you are most welcome to attend and we hope that you might consider joining the Association to give us your support.

Kingswood is, in planning terms, a threatened community – from both without and within.

The threats from without are very clear – Government policy through the South East Plan is openly requiring Councils throughout the South-East of England to make available land for excessively large numbers of new houses and to increase the density. All this with inadequate investment in infrastructure. What is more, the Government is also changing local planning policy by forcing Councils to conditionally release Green Belt land and weakening the power of our local Council to be the arbiter for planning applications.

We are only separated from the edge of Greater London by a narrow strip of Green Belt, listed as agricultural land and designated as an Area of Outstanding Landscape Value located to the North of Kingswood; land which is held by offshore developers who are already pressing for the opportunity to start development. Initial proposals are subtle: e.g. a large development of houses and support facilities for a “care in the community” scheme and an eco-town, but the intent is there to exploit further. The KRA has joined forces with residents in Banstead, Tadworth and Burgh Heath to form a local group which, with guidance and help from planning specialists, our MP and local Councillors is seeking to do all in its power to legitimately challenge these plans to build on Green Belt. That is why we have written to every house in the neighbourhood asking you to add your voice. If numbers count, and we believe they must, then our collective voice must say ‘no’ in resounding tones.

However, we’re not just threatened from outside. We’re threatened from inside too, and this is more insidious – because here all of us play an active part. Flatted developments; people selling their houses for plot splits; felling trees before applying for planning permission; or extending their homes right to the edge of their boundaries. Many of us are sensitive to the so-called ‘Arcadian’ character of the neighbourhood – where houses subtly blend into a tree dominated area and where houses are characterised by being different to those around; but others, very sadly, are not. Ever so slowly - house by house, tree by tree – the character and distinctiveness of Kingswood is gradually changing from within. The KRA has continued to work to comment on planning applications and to do our very best to keep development in line with the local character and the Village Plan.

Nearly 50% of residents of Kingswood are members of the KRA. By giving your practical and moral support you help us – through our own work and through the work of the Banstead and District Federation of Residents Associations – to continue to work to keep Kingswood a special place to live. However, we need more than money and moral support, we also need people to give relatively small amounts of time, to join us on the committee and to give active support in our work. You don’t need to be an expert in planning, accountancy or IT to be able to be the person who helps to bring a KRA presence to your street; we need people who simply care about this community. If you have a desire to be a further involved then we also need people who are willing to give some of their time to learn a little, and help to comment on planning applications and to help out with some of the Association’s administrative tasks.

I am personally indebted to our President, Gary Whitney, who retired as the Association Chair this past year only to take on a more onerous and strategically significant role as he leads our delegation to the Federation of Residents Associations that I mentioned above. In concluding my remarks, I would wish to thank him publicly for his continued commitment and for all he has done as Chair over the past ten years.