Dear everyone

We have together raised nearly £1700 in just 4 days from the GoFundMe website and direct pledges to me to fund advice on whether I have grounds for a challenge of the London Plan. This is amazing. Thank you to everybody who has made a donation and to everyone for your ongoing support.

I am confident that we can raise £4000. We can do this together

Any donation you can make, however small, is hugely appreciated

You can make a contribution via the GoFundMe website at https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-london-now

Please keep sharing a link to the fundraiser with your neighbours, family and friends and everyone who cares about Kingston and the rich natural and historic environment in and around it

Here are answers to questions that some people have asked about the purpose of seeking legal advice and the way in which I am going about it:

1. Why am I challenging now?

There is a small window in which the London Plan and its policies can be legally challenged which starts when the plan is published. The Mayor of London has stated on his website that this will happen soon. We need to be prepared to challenge the plan and we cannot move ahead without advice that any challenge has significant "merits". The publication of the London Plan triggers the period in which a challenge of the plan is possible

2. On what will the QC base their advice?

I have sent the QC information to back-up my challenges, particularly relating to Kingston's housing targets and the designation of vast swathes of the Borough as an "opportunity area", the Mayor's assessment that development policies will NOT cause significant harm to protected habitats and species, and also on some specific policy wording challenges relating to heritage assets and sustainable growth. When I give instructions, the QC will go through this information. They will then consider changes that have been made to the final published Plan in order to come to conclusions as to whether my challenges have merits

3. Why am I advising a QC and not a solicitor and wouldn't a solicitor be cheaper?

This senior QC agreed to talk to me directly and has agreed to work directly with me to give initial advice at a highly competitive fee. This means we will get advice from someone at the top of their field for less than I have been quoted by some of the firms of solicitors. We will get the QC's opinion directly without any filtering. I believe that this is worth a huge amount and I have utmost respect for the work that this QC has done. I have spoken to three firms of solicitors and I am confident that this is the best way forward

4. Will the QC issue a pre-action letter to the Mayor of London if they believe there are merits to my challenges?

I will receive advice in a form that can easily be used as a pre-action letter if the QC finds merits in my challenges.

I hope that this clarifies anything I had not fully explained. Please keep donating and sharing the fundraising so that we can get an independent opinion of the merits of a possible challenge.

Kind regards as always

Caroline