Council supports call for more power in London-wide decisions
Kingston Council leader Andreas Kirsch joined leaders across London in calling for local authorities to have a stronger voice in major decisions about the capital’s future.
New blood test offers fresh hopes for quicker Alzheimer’s detection
A new blood test for earlier Alzheimer’s detection has been developed by researchers based in Washington University School of Medicine (WashU Medicine), Missour, and Lund University, Sweden.
Anti-Muslim hate crime on rise in London
Tell MAMA, an independent organisation that tackles cases of Islamophobia, has recorded the highest number of anti-Muslim hate cases in 2024 since its founding.
The highest number of Islamophobic cases reported to Tell MAMA were in Greater London, almost doubling from 1,028 in 2023 to 1,819 in 2024.
Watch: London Games Festival celebrates 10th anniversary at Trafalgar Square
The Trafalgar Takeover for the London Games Festival celebrated Black, Asian and minority industry professionals and had interactive arcade games re-imagined for families to enjoy.
The festival aimed to bring together families, gamers and those interested in the gaming industry to enjoy physical creations of famous arcade games, such as Tetris and Pacman, play new indie games in the Lounge and explore the BAME exhibition of industry figures called Ensemble.
Watch: Development that threatened community gardens rejected by council
A planning proposal that put a community garden in Kingston at risk has been rejected by Kingston Council. Plans to demolish the former care home
“It’s a tick box exercise”: Kingston pub staff on the ‘Ask for Angela’ scheme
It has been almost five years since the local council found that over half of women and girls in Kingston did not ask for help when they found themselves in danger.
Since then, more bars and pubs have adopted the ‘Ask for Angela’ scheme, which allows people to discreetly ask for help in venues using the code word ‘Angela’. Local participants included The Antelope, The Waggon and Horses and nightclub Pryzm.
Council gives go-ahead for new housing on Gloucester Road
Kingston Council’s planning committee has granted permission for the demolition of existing buildings at 22 Gloucester Road to make way for a three-storey co-living development.
The approved plans will see the site redeveloped into a 34-unit co-living accommodation with a basement, as well as additional landscaping, cycle storage, rubbish facilities and a disabled parking bay.
Review: Lucy Dacus, Forever Is A Feeling
Ahead of her live performance this summer in Kingston, we listened to the Boygenius musician’s latest solo record.
After three years since her last performance in Kingston, Lucy Dacus returns following the release of her new album, Forever is a Feeling.
Tamil New Year: Inside the local school keeping the ancient language alive
Tamil is one of the world’s oldest languages, primarily spoken in southern India and Sri Lanka. It is also one of the most spoken languages in Kingston upon Thames.
Puthandu, or Tamil New Year is marked by reflection, hope, worship and traditional dishes, such as Mango Pachadi, which combines sweet, sour, bitter and spicy flavours to reflect different life experiences.
Sexual offences spike despite being ‘safe’ borough
New data from data.police.uk show that violence and sexual crimes in Kingston are up compared other types of crime in the borough.
Meanwhile, crimes, such as bicycle theft, arson and possession of weapons, are down.
