It is proposed that 21-storey and 16-storey tower blocks are to be built on the old post office site in Ashdown Road.
Many people are strongly against the building of high rise tower blocks in the centre of Kingston.
This is an historic market town that has developed into a profitable shopping centre, and part of its attractive character is that it has maintained its scale.
The developers, St George, have commissioned a document – Townscape, Visual Impact and Built Heritage Assessment (TVIBHA) – to show the public what the development will look like.
It is fully illustrated and throughout the document the terms “beneficial” and “neutral” are liberally scattered, used in a way peculiar to developers and planners. Beneficial to whom? Neutral in whose opinion?
In the TVIBHA document, images are true, but thoroughly misleading.
There have been a series of public consultations where various pictures have been shown.
In one image, the sun is shining from the north, giving the public spaces around the old post office an unrealistic aspect.
Some images are taken from positions where a conveniently positioned building or even a nearby traffic light obstructs the view of the development.
Some images are heavily cropped, so do not tell the full story – this is misleading to anyone except an expert.
As such, the public has been duped, and these consultations, with true but misleading images, cannot be valid.
The council very bravely opposed the building of the monstrous 16-storey Kingston Riverside, which looms over Canbury Gardens, do not let this behemoth be a reason for further high rise buildings.
There is a great danger that if these 21-storey and 16-storey blocks are built, it will set a precedent and developers will use it as an excuse to build higher and higher in Kingston.
The building of tower blocks above eight storeys anywhere near the centre of the town would destroy the fabric of Kingston forever.
This must not happen.
If you too feel the same, please write to your councilors or the development control department at Guildhall before it is too late.
The document is difficult to find for those not au fait with the relevant websites.
GEORGE ROME INNES
Kingston
- Send your letters to: letters@surreycomet.co.uk
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