Everything about London Borough Of Kingston Upon Thames totally explained
The
Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a
borough in south-west
London,
England. The main town in the borough is
Kingston upon Thames, but it covers a wider area also including places such as
Surbiton,
Chessington,
New Malden and
Tolworth. It is one of only two London Boroughs to be designated a "Royal Borough", the other being the
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea.
Districts in the Royal Borough
Areas included in the borough:
History
The main town in the borough,
Kingston upon Thames, has existed on the banks of the
River Thames for many hundreds, if not thousands of years. Many
Roman relics have also been found in the surrounding areas.
Kingston was famous in antiquity for being the
coronation place of seven
Anglo-Saxon monarchs, listed below:
Kingston still has a monument, the
Coronation Stone, on which the monarchs were said to have actually been crowned. A coin from the reign of each of the monarchs listed is set into the base of the stone, which now stands outside the local council offices, the Guildhall.
Sopwith Aviation Company had a factory in the Canbury Park area of Kingston, where the famous
Sopwith Camel was produced during
World War I. The
Hawker Hurricane was designed upon a site in Kingston town centre and built in the aviation factory near Ham now known as the Hawker Centre
Politics
Background
The current borough was formed in
1965 as a merger of the previous
Municipal Borough of Kingston upon Thames (which had the title of a
Royal Borough) with the
Municipal Borough of Malden and Coombe and the
Municipal Borough of Surbiton which were transferred from
Surrey to
Greater London. It contains all of the
Kingston and Surbiton Westminster Parliamentary Constituency and part of the
Richmond Park Constituency. There is also a lot of dispute as Kingston is incorrectly perceived to be
Surrey yet it's a part of
Greater London.
The Borough Council was controlled by the
Conservatve Party from 1965 until
1986, when a
SDP-Liberal Alliance minority administration briefly took control at the Guildhall. This administration was shortlived, foundering amid controversy over its attempt to abolish the Borough's Grammar School system. After a number of by-election losses, the Conservatives regained control of the Council in
1987. In
1990, there was no overall control by any party at the subsequent Borough elections. The Conservatives retained control on the casting vote of the Mayor.
In
1994 the
Liberal Democrats gained majority control of the Council for the first time and in
1997, gained both Parliamentary seats that cover the borough. With
Dr Jenny Tonge gaining
Richmond Park constituency and
Edward Davey overturned a Conservative majority estimated at well over 10,000 in Kingston and Surbiton with the slimmest of majorities at only 56 votes, after 3 recounts. Edward Davey retained his seat in the
2001 turning the majority of 56 into a massive majority of 15,676 after the Conservatives fielded the controversial David Shaw and
2005 elections with a majority of over 8,961 at the last election.
Susan Kramer, since the 2005 election, is the Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park, having a majority of 3,731.
In
1998 the Liberal Democrats lost their majority on the Council and a minority Conservative Party administration was formed. This minority administration was further reduced in 1999 by the expulsion of Tim Brown for expressing concerns about the leadership of his Conservative Association and, in 2001, by the shock resignation of Dennis de Lord and Jan Jenner as a stand against hypocrisy within the Conservative Group on the Council led by Kevin Davis. Together with Tim Brown, Dennis de Lord and Jan Jenner formed a new Independent Group of Councillors to put People Before Politics with Dennis de Lord as leader and Tim Brown as deputy leader. This being the first time in Kingston's history that four parties were represented on the council, the Mayor of Kingston Jeremy Thorn officially opened the new Independent's Group office at the Guildhall. The Independent Group didn't stand for re-election following the continuing ill-health of Dennis de Lord.
At the
2002 elections, the Liberal Democrats took control of the Council, this time with a majority of 12. They retained control at the May 2006 local elections with a reduced majority of 2. This is the first time any political party has retained control of the council since
1982. Following the loss of the Conservative Party Group leader, Kevin Davis, Howard Jones a former
Police Inspector in Kingston was elected their leader with Patrick Codd and Paul Johnston as joint deputy leader, at least one of whom didn't challenge for leader. The Liberal Democrats continued with Derek Osbourne as their leader and also leader of the council, interestingly they didn't change their deputy leader which has been a habit of recent years, the softly spoke
Irish man Barry O'Mahony continues to hold the post.
Kingston Council's political landscape continues to be fluid. In 2007 Shelia Griffin, one of the two Labour Councillors, resigned the Labour whip and became an Independent.
The reduction in the Liberal Democrats' majority gives the Conservatives a sound majority on Maldens and Coombe Neighbourhood committee. On this Neighbourhood Committee, the Lib Dem group leader (and leader of the council) is in opposition and the Conservative group leader is in control.
The Conservatives are the joint largest party with the Liberal Democrats on Kingston Town Neighbourhood committee, though the Liberal Democrats have been allowed the chair by the opposition.
The only Neighbourhood committee to see the Liberal Democrats increase their majority was in Surbiton where the Conservative Party Group lost their leader and former PPC Kevin Davis.
The only Neighbourhood committee to experience no change was the South Of Borough which continues to be dominated by Liberal Democrats, though there was a surprisingly good result for the Tories in the seat which historically has been the Liberal Democrats safest, Chessington North & Hook, which became a true photo finish.
Current council
See also: Kingston upon Thames local elections
The current state of the parties on the Council is (from 9 May 2007):
| Party |
Seats |
| Liberal Democrat |
25 |
| Conservative |
21 |
| Labour |
1 |
| Independent |
1 |
Modern Kingston
Modern day Kingston benefits from one of the best shopping areas outside of central
London, with a varied selection of high street stores, and a large number of independent boutiques and retailers.
The most famous shop in Kingston is
Bentalls, started by
Frank Bentall in
1867 in
Clarence Street, where it (or at least the completely rebuilt)
Bentalls Centre stands to this day.
Close to Kingston, and located between Kingston, Richmond and Roehampton, is
Richmond Park, one of the old Royal parks.
The Borough is home to the highest number of South Koreans outside of Korea in the world, in the town of New Malden.
Although Kingston has been within
Greater London since 1965
Surrey County Council is still based at
County Hall within the town.
Education
Primary responsibility for education in the borough lies with the local education authority.
Primary Schools
Primary schools, (N) indicates with Nursery classes. (CE) indicates Church of England, and RC indicates Roman Catholic.
| Alexandra Infant (N)
Burlington Infant (N)
Burlington Junior
Castle Hill Primary School (N)
Christ Church New Malden CE
Christ Church CE
Coombe Hill Infant
Coombe Hill Junior
Corpus Christi RC (N)
Ellingham Primary (N)
Fern Hill Primary (N)
Grand Avenue Primary (N)
|
Green Lane Primary (N)
King Athelstan Primary (N)
Knollmead Primary (N)
Latchmere School (N)
Lovelace Primary (N)
Malden Manor Primary (N)
Malden Parochial CE (N)
Maple Infant (N)
Our Lady Immaculate RC
The Mount Primary (N)
Robin Hood Primary (N)
St Agatha's RC (N)
|
St Andrew's and St Mark's CE
St John's CE (N)
St Joseph's RC (N)
St Luke's CE (N)
St Mary's CE (N)
St Mathew's CE (N)
St Paul's CE Primary
St Paul's CE Junior
Tolworth Infant (N)
Tolworth Junior
|
Secondary Schools
Independent schools
Canbury School
Kingston Grammar School
Surbiton High School
Further education
Kingston College
MaryMount international School
Higher Education
Kingston University
Transport
Kingston is one of only five London Boroughs not to have at least one London Underground station within its boundaries, although it does have a number of mainline rail stations. As well as this Kingston also benefits from its central bus station situated beside its large and thriving shopping centre. There are 64 buses currently(2008) running to and from Kingston.
Railway
When the London and Southampton Railway built the line to Southampton, the railway bypassed Kingston due to concerns that it would impact the town's coaching trade. A station was built to the southwest of the town, but later it was resited 400m west to its present site at Surbiton. Today, Surbiton is the busiest railway station in the borough.
Later, a branch was built towards Shepperton and a more centrally located station was built at Kingston, as well as another at Norbiton. The remaining stations in the borough were built on the Chessington Branch which wasn't built until the 1930s.
Railway stations in the borough:
Surbiton railway station
Kingston railway station
Norbiton railway station
New Malden railway station
Surbiton railway station
Malden Manor railway station
Tolworth railway station
Chessington North railway station
Chessington South railway station
Trivia
The Kingston coat of arms is almost identical to the coat of arms of the Swedish historical province (landskap) of Ångermanland. Both coats of arms can by the way be traced back to the 16th century.
Further Information
Get more info on 'London Borough Of Kingston Upon Thames'.
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