The State of the Borough Council meeting for Kingston, held on 13 November 2018, was dedicated exclusively to a discussion on “Brexit – what will the impact be in our Borough?”

At the meeting, the new Liberal Democrat administration proposed and approved a motion in which it supported a second vote on Brexit or the revocation of Article 50 so we remain in the EU. We know that the LibDems oppose Brexit, but this is a national issue over which the Council has no influence

So, why did they not take this opportunity to debate the proposed Opportunity Area for the Borough which, if approved, will have massive implications for the future of everyone who lives here? After all, they opposed the Direction of Travel on which the Opportunity Area is based. Surely then, they should support a People’s Vote on the Opportunity Area?

Please can you:

1. Write to the Leader of the Council, Liz Green, at liz.green@kingston.gov.uk and ask her to do for Kingston what she and her party are asking should be done for the country:

• support the right of the people of Kingston to vote on whether to accept the Opportunity Area status negotiated behind closed doors by the Council with the GLA, or whether to ask the council to revoke its approval for such status so that the Opportunity Area is removed from the London Plan
• disclose all information and analysis pertaining to the proposed Opportunity Area to the people of Kingston

2. Write to Kingston's MPs, Zac Goldsmith MP at zac@zacgoldsmith.com, and Sir Edward Davey MP at edward.davey.mp@parliament.uk and ask them to support a people’s vote about the Opportunity Area in Kingston

The Council knew that the Independent Examination in Public of the draft London Plan was open for submissions about Opportunity Areas until 7th December 2018 and could have informed residents of the fact so that we could have submitted our views. Instead they said nothing.

The new administration is neither challenging the designation of Kingston as an Opportunity Area nor seeking protection for our Green Belt and Metropolitan Open Land.