Please ask the Council Leader, Councillor Liz Green, to explain the evidence that exists to support the designation of Kingston as a "nascent Opportunity Area" in the London Plan

You can write to Cllr Green at liz.green@kingston.gov.uk

Yesterday, I asked for the following question to be asked at the Strategic Housing and Planning Committee meeting of the Council:

"Please note that I am deeply concerned by the Budget being proposed and whether the council has the ability to manage the risks that it faces from its existing activities whilst simultaneously embarking on a major redevelopment of the Borough and a significant commercial property investment strategy.

I note that the council supports the proposed designation of Kingston as an Opportunity Area in the London Plan. I have also noted the GLA's remark at the Examination in Public on Opportunity Areas last week that the growth target for Kingston of 30,008 homes, of which a minimum 9000 are to be delivered in the "Kingston Opportunity Area", are NOT linked to whether the Borough gets CrossRail 2.

My question is therefore: "What evidence is there to support the designation of Kingston as a "nascent Opportunity Area" in the London Plan?"

The question was not asked at committee but I received a written reply today in which the question remains unanswered:

"RBK do not object to the principle of the OA, but we have highlighted concerns about the impacts on the borough and the proposed policy approach which has implications for the Green Belt. We have therefore asked that the Mayor clarify the relationship between the borough housing targets, the housing and jobs targets for each OA and the figures associated with Crossrail 2. We've also asked for disaggregated figures of housing need with and without Crossrail 2."