Out-Law News 1 min. read

Kingston to consult on Eden Quarter development brief SPD


The Royal Borough of Kingston-upon-Thames (RBKT) will open a public consultation in November on a draft supplementary planning document (SPD) for the eastern side of Kingston-upon-Thames town centre.

The draft Eden Quarter development brief SPD (102-page / 17 MB PDF) is intended to provide the framework for redevelopment in an area that includes the Eden Walk shopping centre, the sites of the Grade II-listed Old Post Office and former telephone exchange buildings and the area around Surrey House.

The draft SPD proposes the upgrade and redevelopment of the existing Eden Walk shopping centre, with two-storey retail units facing onto Eden Street and Eden Walk, and the potential for restaurant terraces and new homes above the retail blocks. The area's retail offer is proposed to be expanded, with a new department store at the site of Surrey House and ground floor shops, restaurants and cafes along Eden Street, Ashdown Road, Adams Walk and Wheatfield Way.

The Grade II-listed Old Post Office and former telephone exchange buildings would be refurbished to a high standard and given new uses under the draft framework. A new urban block surrounding the buildings is proposed, with convenience shops, restaurant and leisure uses to the north and west, office or residential uses to the south and east and a possible residential tower at the south west corner.

A new public square has been proposed to the south of the shopping centre, and improvements have been recommended to the existing Memorial Gardens and Fairfield Park. The SPD recommends that the Monday Market held at the Cattle Market site is moved to a new hard landscaped space in Fairfield Park, with the Cattle Market site being redeveloped for "hotel, residential or institutional use", or for "significant retail or leisure use".

The draft SPD estimates that the Eden Quarter has the "capacity for 1,200 residential dwellings" and that the new homes "will generally be delivered in apartment blocks which sit above retail units". RBKT's policy target is for 50% of new homes to be affordable.

RBKT's infrastructure, projects and contracts committee resolved last week that the draft SPD should be published for public consultation.

Consultation is due to commence on 3 November and public meetings have been scheduled at Everyman Church Hall on 13 November, 5 December and 6 December.

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