News & Views from Kingston and Surrounds Current residents of the Cambridge Road estate have been re-housed whilst it is subject to a multi-year redevelopment programme. this has left those from outside the estate who are also looking to be re-housed squeezed out Sara Fenwick lives in Kingston and has been waiting to downsize her home for around three years She said that the redevelopment left her struggling to secure a property despite there being suitable options available because housing stock had been reserved for residents of the estate whilst the work takes place “Even though 23 houses were available to move into none of them got onto the bidding system at Kingston Council because they were pre-allocated to families based on the Cambridge Road Estate,” she added.  Kingston Council’s housing bidding system normally allows locals to register their interest in a property online Original plans to knock down the estate and replace it with 2,170 homes were approved in 2021 and proposals are currently due to be submitted for phase two of the redevelopment this winter However, the five-stage project is expected to last up to 15 years said she was concerned about how long the rebuild would take as housing is already scarce with long waiting lists “I’ve been in my current one-bed property for seven years since I had my first-born child and have received no help with getting moved to a bigger property,” she said “I now have a second child in the property and also have my parents The council do not and will not help them get housed as they don’t meet the criteria.” Applicants for housing allocations must meet certain eligibility requirements which can include those living in overcrowded housing conditions individual needs must be considered within the scope of very limited available housing resources Additional concerns have been raised over the lack of affordable housing being set aside in the redevelopment who stood as a parliamentary candidate in nearby Wimbledon in this year’s General Election attacked the development as prioritising “private profit over public good” “Over half the homes built on public land will be sold off at market rates The private developer stands to make an estimated £680 million from these developments That is money made off of land that should have been reserved for affordable housing,” he said “They [the council] are not thinking about future generations and what they are going to have How much more property and land does the council have to sell?” he added The current planned redevelopment has set aside 871 new council homes to be built in total, 218 more than were originally included on the previous estate However, this only amounts to 40.1% of the total number of dwellings, despite the Kingston Council’s 2013 housing policy stating that all developments would require at least 50% affordable housing The criticism comes as the government has revealed plans to build 1.5m new homes in England over the next five years the proposals will likely involve more private developments with local authorities across the country being told to adopt new targets for privately-built housing projects Kingston Council have been approached regarding residents’ concerns and the lack of planned affordable homebuilding but at the time of publication had not responded to a request for comment Please get in touch if you have any local stories or political issues you wish to share that might be of interest You must be logged in to post a comment Email us!  Speaking at the Royal Aeronautical Society ‘The Future Aerospace Engineer’ conference earlier this year AEROSPACE catches up with the UK’s Minister for Aviation the decline of general aviation airfields and getting more women into the UK aerospace industry AEROSPACE: You took over as Aviation Minister in April Baroness Vere of Norbiton: My biggest priority in the medium term is to carry on the excellent work that’s already started on the Aviation Strategy It is really important that we take a long-term view of where the industry is going to be because they’re going to be some quite significant changes and some quite interesting decisions that need to be made now that will impact the industry going forward within the Aviation 2050 consultation we had there was issues around airspace and modernisation issues around climate change and how we deal with other environmental elements Baroness Vere speaking at the RAeS ‘The Future Aerospace Engineer’ conference AEROSPACE: How important is it to encourage women and more diversity into aerospace and aviation I think the point is that if we don’t get more women into the sector we’re only really fishing from half the pond We are leaving a lot of people who are hugely talented and could be huge assets to the industry to one side I think that it’s absolutely key to get in early you’ve got to go back to them again and again and talk to them in slightly different language as they get older I think the other key thing now is what engineering has tended to have done in the past is It is cool but the next question is – why do you do it I think children and youngsters in the future are going to be asking themselves It’s really cool because it’s going to deliver food and medicine in an area where there’s been a natural disaster’ I think youngsters will want to see that their impact on society is a positive one It may be that you might have people who want to get into airframe design Because they want to improve the efficiency of airframes in the future to improve fuel burn As you go through talking to youngsters as they get older It’s also the why you will enjoy this career I have two teenagers and that’s the way they tend to think now telling them that they can make a difference because that’s what youngsters are being taught nowadays Or is it a case of diminishing returns in that you’re never going to get full equality What you do need to do is make sure that there are no barriers What you’ve got to do is make sure that everybody who is qualified and has the ambition to do something doesn’t experience the barriers to entry that would stop them from doing it AEROSPACE: How concerned should the UK be about the future engineering ‘skills gap’ in this country the methods that have been put in place by industry recognises this committing hundreds of millions of pounds of additional funding to encourage people to take STEM subjects I don’t think that this concern has gone away and I think it’s something that can be fixed with collaboration and sort of a medium-term outlook It is not something that can be done at once the Year of Engineering in 2018 was great but it’s about building on that legacy now Now we have to look at how do we take that and what did we learn from it the UK is still on course for Brexit of one sort or the other how do you see the aviation landscape in the UK Should we still be planning for a no-deal exit and getting all the agreements in place BVN: My Brexit crystal ball is probably about as good as yours it’s very difficult to know exactly what the outcome will be I believe that an orderly exit with a deal is still completely possible the positive thing for the aviation industry in particular is that much of the work around no deal has already been done I’m very confident of the work that’s been done and we will obviously work together with our partners in Europe to make sure that where there’s time limitations on any of the agreements that we’ve reached Aviation has the advantage in that it is necessarily a global industry it suits nobody for there not to be the continued movement of aircraft between our countries and the continued movement of goods and freight I don’t see that this will be a particular concern It’ll just mean that we have to move the agreements that have already been made just make sure that the extensions are achieved AEROSPACE: Outside the EU – what opportunities do you see for UK aviation an opportunity to revoke EU 261 passenger compensation – which some airlines would argue imposes unfair costs for delays out of their control BVN: We have absolutely no plans at all to roll back on any of our consumer protections as a result of leaving the European Union What is the case – is that we all know that the EU body of law has been transferred to the UK and it only has been amended to the extent to make it operable To the extent that any changes will be made in the future will be exactly the same as any other changes to legislation It will require the normal political processes This Government is committed that we will not roll back consumer protections AEROSPACE: We have seen the collapse of Monarch Are you concerned about the state of the British airline sector BVN: I’m not concerned about the state of the British airlines industry I am aware that it is a very competitive sector and that has huge benefits for the consumer and also for choice It is because we have such a competitive sector that we actually have the third biggest network in the world AEROSPACE: What about the UK’s struggling GA sector We’ve got airfields being closed or sold-off for housing Is enough being done to support that particular part of aviation Especially given this is the sector where many people start off their careers in aviation or get inspired about flight I hear a lot from the GA sector and its input is always very very welcome to understand exactly the challenges that they face There is a section in the Aviation 2050 document which speaks specifically about GA and what we can do is they will have responded to that consultation We will look at their responses and take those forward where they’re appropriate Campaigning for fairer maternity pay for pilots with BALPA AEROSPACE: The world is facing a massive pilot shortage – can more be done by the UK Government to encourage pilots into the industry so that self-funded trainee pilots can claim tax relief or scrapping VAT on flight training BVN: It’s certainly an idea that I have heard before I think in general the aviation sector is a privately funded sector and has been for a very long time We would look to industry but also individuals to look at how they can work together to fund that training AEROSPACE: Another hot topic is the growth in UAVs Can drones and piloted aircraft co-exist safely Could the Government be doing more on this and taking the initiative – for example BVN: The issue of drones is a huge concern to me We have already introduced the registration system which is being put in place at the moment This registration system covers all unmanned aircraft It’s very clear to me that we cannot highlight one type of aircraft over another It is essential that people register their drones or register their aircraft it is one level of protection that we have against them doing that The second thing that we need to do is we need to tighten up police powers There is an unmanned aircraft bill which we’ll be putting in front of Parliament when parliamentary time allows if they suspect that somebody has done something malicious with their UAV go into their home to look for a specific registered drone that they know is around Baroness Vere of Norbiton is shown aviation security at Heathrow Airport AEROSPACE: The UK has ambitious plans for drones urban air mobility and spaceports – yet it still hasn’t been able to build a third runway at Heathrow What would you say to someone who argued that planning and infrastructure are the UK’s weak points in aviation I think we can make progress on all different elements of this This is potentially why the work around unmanned aircraft is so important as that our low airspace has the potential to become a lot more congested We’ve got to make sure that work on UAVs is good that’s a big project that hasn’t been done for 50 years It has got to be a fair balance between the needs of the airport and the needs of the local community There are huge benefits and some challenges to airports changing their runways or increasing their capacity It is important that it’s done in a very considered way While you may say ‘they’ve managed to build 20 airports in China in the past however many years’ but at what cost and what cost to our communities Our communities are often very close to airports because they have expanded over time already It is making sure that you bring communities with you rather than just riding roughshod over their views AEROSPACE: Do you think that more needs to be done in boosting the appeal and value of regional airports I’m thinking here of things like hybrid-electric aviation offering point-to-point travel BVN: I think there’s huge potential for regional airports I recently attended a board meeting of the AOA (Airports Operators Association) Just hearing the views from people around the table they do see that with the Government’s policy of making better use of additional runway capacity and of supporting local infrastructure through the logistics hubs for the building of Heathrow making sure that there are Heathrow slots available for regional airports What I’m seeing from regional airports when I go and visit them is they are picking up the challenge and getting point-to-point from all sorts of carriers They’re serving their local communities with the sorts of routes that those local communities want and can be sustainable in the longer term I have lots of respect for our regional airports and I always enjoy going to see them because they’re all so different AEROSPACE: Potentially the next British prime minister has said in the past he would lay down in front of bulldozers to prevent expansion at Heathrow Does that mean that Boris Island could be back in the running again BVN: I haven’t heard that Boris Island is back in the running again you will know that there was a very long and very detailed and very carefully considered parliamentary process around the passing of the Airports National Policy Statement That has been passed with a substantial majority I believe that Boris’s views may have tempered a little but I’m certainly not going to speak for him because I think that the point is that Parliament has already done that This is what we want to happen for our country.’ To overturn that would mean overturning an ANPS which would require some interesting voting AEROSPACE: Post 737 MAX – will the UK CAA be happy to accept any FAA rulings that return the aircraft to flight Or will the CAA be seeking extra assurances along with EASA BVN: I can’t second guess what the CAA will do or indeed what the FAA or EASA will do but I certainly do know that CAA but will make their own decision in terms of returning it to flight A Submission of Written Evidence from the Royal Aeronautical Society in response to the Department of Transport’s consultation document Aviation 2050 is available to view on the RAeS website Katherine Bennett CBE FRAeS looks at how The Women in Aviation and Aerospace Charter has progressed over the past year with securing gender balance within the aviation industry UK experts imagine the future of passenger flight – a hybrid bio-inspired green airliner for sustainable aviation that could cut fuel burn by up to 50% TIM ROBINSON reports on the Airbus ‘Bird of Prey’ Speaking at the RAeS Annual Dinner on 16 May Brexit and the role of the UK in the European aviation industry Passengers at Norbiton station are benefiting from better access after work was completed to reduce a gap between trains and the platform edge The Network Rail / South West Trains Alliance and its contractor Osborne realigned the platforms at the station in just seven weeks significantly reducing the stepping distance to trains Resurfacing and alterations to the platforms have also helped to create more space for passengers at the station The work has been delivered as part of ongoing investment by the Network Rail / South West Trains Alliance to transform stations improve safety and increase the reliability of rail infrastructure across the Wessex route chief executive of the Network Rail / South West Trains Alliance said: “We hope everyone who uses Norbiton station will feel the benefit of this investment and it’s great to see the end of the ‘Norbiton gap’ Our alliance is investing hundreds of millions of pounds to increase the capacity of our network and make life easier for our passengers from the start of their journey to the end.” said: "The gap at Norbiton station was a significant concern especially with the proximity of Kingston Hospital and it's great that the work has been completed so quickly "I’d like to thank all the local people and groups who’ve helped work with us to get this improvement implemented.” The Alliance was formed on 29 April 2012 with the aim of delivering an improved service for passengers with faster It is also a step towards delivering a more efficient and cost effective railway for the long term to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years Rev Susan van Beuren,Mayor and Mayoress of the Royal Borough of Kingston and James Berry MP Fr Julius Otoaye a member of the Missionary Society of St Paul of Nigeria was inducted as parish priest of St Pius X church in Norbiton in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames on 6 February Fr Julius served for a year in South Africa before being assigned assistant priest at St John the Evangelist in Gravesend He is one of ten MSP priests working in the Archdiocese of Southwark The Missionary Society was founded in Nigeria 1997 by Cardinal Ekendem and is now established in 15 countries The order came to the UK in 2000 and their Mission Secretary Fr.Vitalis Kondo,MSP from Portsmouth Diocese was amongst concelebrating clergy at the Mass officiated at by Bishop Paul Hendricks Fr Peter Edwards read the letter of appointment from the Archbishop is a prominent figure in Nigerian Politics He was Deputy 'Governor of Edo Region in Southern Nigeria for eight years before becoming Chief of Staff to the former President He and his family flew in to attend the Induction a new statue of Our Lady of Lourdes was blessed and the church's first parish hall officially opened by the Bishop The project had taken over ten years under three parish priests to come to fruition Fr Julius said that he hoped the hall would be a resource beneficial to the wider community There is a strong Filipino community in the area many working at nearby Kingston Hospital and their National Chaplain Fr Cirino Potrido CM was present Fr Julius is Roman Catholic Chaplain to the busy hospital The Mayor and Mayoress of the Royal Borough of Kingston the Anglican chaplain to Kingston Hospital Rev Susan van Beuren and the Rev Peter Holmes Vicar of St Peter's Anglican Church Norbiton were amongst invited guests attending the packed church and reception afterwards Tags: Amanda C Dickie, Fr Julius Otoaye, Norbiton Exhibition: Jose Maria Velasco - A View of Mexico Parmigianino's restored masterpiece: The Madonna and Child with Saints Jesuit parishes to host open conversations this spring We offer publicity space for Catholic groups/organisations. See our advertising page if you would like more information ICN aims to provide speedy and accurate news coverage of all subjects of interest to Catholics and the wider Christian community As our audience increases - so do our costs You can support our journalism by advertising with us or donating to ICN News | London A sandwich shop owner is embroiled in a “bizarre” plagiarism row with a cafe nearly 5,000 miles away in India Lester Beckett, 48, has run Norbiton Sandwich Shop from a parade near the train station in the south-west London suburb for five years This week he checked his reviews online to find Norbiton Sandwich Shops have been established around Chennai Mr Beckett was shocked to see they have near-identical signs and accused his Indian counterpart Mr Kumar has opened three Norbiton Sandwich Shops within the last seven months He told the Standard he had trademarked the name in India registered a company as Norbitons Private Ltd and was constructing a website for his brand under the purchased domain name www.norbitons.com Mr Kumar offers plates of sandwiches alongside traditional Indian dishes and a meal for two people costs 350 rupees The Norbiton Sandwich Shop in London offers sandwiches for £3.90 and toasties for £4.20 Mr Beckett claimed his brand had been “completely plagiarised” and he had not ruled out legal action “If it were a guy pinching an idea off the internet and having one sandwich shop but if they are doing this on a large scale it is different “I’m just going to get swamped by it — I’ll lose the whole brand And it is a very particular name as we are in Norbiton near Kingston where he also owns a restaurant and delivery service Mr Kumar said the situation was “not a big deal” “A friend was living in Norbiton so she was talking about it a couple of years ago I have no idea if my friend saw the cafe,” he said I didn’t even know that something [the same] existed in London .. I have no idea if they saw the Norbiton Sandwich Shop sign.” creative director of graphic designer Beaucroft said he did not authorise the use of his work “We were surprised at the bare-faced cheekiness of it,” he said “We produced that work and I guess they found the graphics online It is down to Lester if he wants to pursue it.” VE Day 2025 fashion: best looks from the day VE Day 2025 fashion: Princess of Wales to Lady Victoria Starmer Prince Louis steals the show at VE Day parade as he keeps dad William looking sharp and mimics brother George Prince Louis steals show with sweet antics at VE parade David Beckham extends olive branch to son Brooklyn amid 'family feud' Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in major blow for Putin ahead of Victory Day celebrations Ukraine 'launches stunning Kursk offensive' in blow for Putin Pregnant Jesy Nelson reveals plans for future in message from her hospital bed after surgery Pregnant Jesy Nelson reveals plans for future in message from hospital Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the department of Transport spoke to Mike Lightfoot at the media event for the opening of the Elizabeth Line in Woolwich She spoke about the importance of financial probity for TfL in relation to funding Crossrail 2 She also answered a question on other routes referring to the treasury process for agreeing to future infrastructure projects © London West (powered by ukpropertyforums.com) Sign up to receive your free bi-weekly London West journal here and website in this browser for the next time I comment Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" UK Property Forums enable forums and events in the property sector which help to create business development opportunities Office Address:UK Property Forums Ltd is located in Reading 0203 478 7340info@ukpropertyforums.com We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings we will not be able to save your preferences This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again News | Health A vicar who was a “dedicated campaigner” for vulnerable people has died after almost a month battling Covid-19 in hospital The Reverend Peter Holmes, 65, had led St Peter’s church in Norbiton, near Kingston upon Thames since 1993 and was due to retire later this year he began self-isolating in mid-March and was taken to hospital with breathing difficulties at the beginning of April he was moved to intensive care and placed on a ventilator His final text message to his wife Carol and four children before being put under sedation was: “Love each other PM in 'new lockdown plan' as highest weekly death toll recorded-LATEST the vicar converted part of the old church hall into a night shelter for up to 14 people He was a founder of the Joel Community Project and helped set up Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness one of the charities that forms the Homeless Collective being supported by the Evening Standard’s Homeless Fund charity appeal operational director at Kingston Churches Action on Homelessness described him as “an amazing man with the biggest heart.” He added: “He did so much for people who were vulnerable and helped so many get back on their feet He was a dedicated campaigner and will be truly missed I feel blessed to have been able to call him my friend.” Michael Robinson dead: Souness pays emotional tribute to 'big pal' Restaurants to bring in radical measures to help keep diners safe Peppy app is connecting anxious new parents with specialist help In an emotional video appeal for prayers shortly before his father’s death at this time of year would usually be leading Easter services then hosting the family for celebrations with a roast meal and an egg hunt in the garden This year he’s on a ventilator on intensive care He added: “He doesn’t face death with fear as he’s confident of where he’s going My dad has done thousands of funerals over the years and reassured many people that this isn’t the end.” A double-decker bus has crashed into a railway bridge in Norbiton The roof of the out-of-service 131 bus sheared off after the crash in Coombe Road A double-decker bus has crashed into a railway bridge in Norbiton. The roof of the out-of-service 131 bus sheared off after the crash in Coombe Road, according to the Surrey Comet. Girls’ schools chief ‘sacked’ weeks after being awarded a peerage The executive director of the Girls’ Schools Association has been asked to leave her role with immediate effect Baroness Vere of Norbiton (Charlotte Vere) left the organisation on Saturday Her departure comes two months after she was nominated for the life peerage by David Cameron in his resignation honours list The GSA represents the most prestigious private girls’ schools across the country including Cheltenham Ladies’ College and Roedean School Baroness Vere has been at the GSA since December 2012. According to the GSA’s website, she was responsible for “the leadership, vision and strategic direction of the association, for directing the work of the secretariat, all external relations with key stakeholders and for representing, communicating and promoting the values of GSA and its members” She also served as executive director of the “Conservatives In” campaign supporting a remain vote in the European Union referendum She stood for the Conservative Party in the 2010 General Election in Brighton and is engaged to the party’s head of fundraising which was announced in an advertisement in The Daily Telegraph on 20 September Baroness Vere also temporarily fulfilled the role of acting general secretary of the Independent Schools Council for seven months from October 2014 to April 2015 She is a trustee of the the Fatherhood Institute and the National Youth Arts Trust is a member of the development board of the mindfulness centre at Oxford University and is a governor of a large state primary school she set up a campaign group called “Women On...” to highlight issues facing women in the workplace and in public life She was previously the finance director of the “No to AV” campaign for the referendum on an alternative vote electoral system she headed an online mental health therapies provider and was the finance director of a digital recruitment company A GSA spokeswoman neither confirmed nor denied that Baroness Vere had left the association or been sacked or that this was related to her Conservative Party peerage She said: “This is an internal matter that has not yet been concluded and we’re unable to say any more at this stage.” Baroness Vere declined to comment on the story Want to keep up with the latest education news and opinion? Follow TES on Twitter and like TES on Facebook Register with Tes and you can read two free articles every month plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters. ‘I’m not entirely sure why we could ask the national taxpayer to pay for free travel for my 16-year-old,’ said Baroness Vere I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice “I’m spending money like water at the moment,” a transport minister has told an online conference Addressing an event organised by the passenger watchdog Transport Focus, Baroness Vere said: “It’s grim But it’s good because it’s got to be done.” The junior transport minister told delegates that the taxpayer would end up supporting bus services by around £1bn because of the coronavirus pandemic “It’s an incredible amount of money,” she said Baroness Vere also said that the government had had “some very interesting conversations” with the mayor of London over funding for public transport in the capital “We’ve actually had to provide Transport for London [TfL] with £3bn to keep their show on the road for this financial year which is an extraordinary amount," she said “I have to be honest: as a condition of that £3bn the mayor has to pay for free transport for the under-18s “I’m not entirely sure why we could ask the national taxpayer to pay for free travel for my 16-year-old A spokesperson for the mayor of London said: “The only reason TfL requires financial support is because almost all our fares income has dried up since March as Londoners have done the right thing – and every other transport provider in the country is in the same situation "Sadiq makes no apologies for standing up for young Londoners and protecting their free travel by funding the cost ourselves Scrapping free travel for under-18s would have been hugely damaging and hit the poorest hardest.” rail companies “have been hardest hit in terms of the fall of passenger numbers” She said: “People still ride the buses somewhat As The Independent revealed, Avanti West Coast is cutting services between Manchester, Birmingham and London by one-third from this weekend Most trains in England are running almost empty during the second lockdown Other train operators are trimming their schedules by 15 to 20 per cent Mary Hewitt, strategy and policy director at Arriva UK Trains, said: “Public transport is part of the solution, but at the moment it’s seen as part of the problem.” The cabinet member for transport and environment at Birmingham City Council, Waseem Zaffar, said: “There’s lower concern among younger people, but higher concerns among ethnic communities.” Anthony Smith, chief executive of Transport Focus, said: “Rail travel may well be different in future. Less commuting, more leisure travel and an overriding need for train interiors to feel spacious may dominate new more flexible train designs. “The days of five seats abreast on some trains may be long gone. A good thing as no one liked the middle seat anyway. “What’s important is that passengers are consulted on what they want – be that bigger seats or more room for their luggage.” Baroness Vere also revealed that when “robust” enforcement of wearing face coverings is carried out on public transport, only 1 per cent of users claim exemption.” Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies A London bus after it crashed into a bridge near Norbiton station. A double-decker bus crashed into a railway bridge, almost slicing off its roof, after the driver took a wrong turn. The accident happened in Norbiton, south-west London, as the bus was travelling from Kingston to Tooting Broadway, Transport for London (TfL) said. No passengers were on board at the time and the bridge was not damaged, meaning rail services were not affected. A TfL spokesman said the accident was due to "human error" and that while the driver was not injured, he was "a bit shaken up". Mike Weston, TfL's director of buses, said: " At around 13:00 an out-of-service route 131 double-decker bus, operated by London United, hit a rail bridge on Coombe Road near Norbiton station after taking a wrong turn. "The bridge was not damaged and rail services are unaffected. There were no injuries and the incident will be fully investigated." Receive today's headlines directly to your inbox every morning and evening Please check your inbox to verify your details Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. Mike Weston, TfL's director of buses, said: "At around 13:00 an out-of-service route 131 double-decker bus, operated by London United, hit a rail bridge on Coombe Road near Norbiton station after taking a wrong turn.