The council has a statutory duty* to lay out the SUBJECT that the Local Plan will address and to ask residents what WE THINK A LOCAL PLAN OF THAT SUBJECT SHOULD CONTAIN

Instead, the council asks us to spend a lot of time answering questions on a number of topics on which it presents unclear, inadequate and incomplete information

At the very end of the document, in Question 38, we are asked if there is anything "else" we "feel" the document should include. Surely the council must have covered everything we tell ourselves? And we pass

But this is what matters because the council has to take what we say in response to this question in to account

What do we want to see in a plan that has a statutory duty to lay out in the next draft the council's strategic policies for the development and use of land in its area for at least the next 15 years?

Strategic policies** cover subjects such as housing, employment, commercial and leisure activities, transport infrastructure, water supply and flood risk, waste management, waste water, and community facilities such as health, education and cultural infrastructure

They also cover conservation and enhancement of the natural, built and historic environment, including landscapes and green infrastructure, and planning measures to address climate change mitigation and adaptation

Whether you have responded already to the consultation or not, write to the council at localplan@gov.uk before Wednesday evening and tell them what YOU want to see in Kingston's local plan based on the subject of the plan

They will have to take any such opinions in to account under their statutory duty

* Regulation 18 of the Town & Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012
**National Planning Policy Framework 2019