EXPLORING THE FUTURE OF THREE INDUSTRIAL SITES IN KINGSTON, LONDON

Industrial areas in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames have been under significant pressure for residential development. The study gave rise to a fresh understanding of the role of the sites and offered new and unexpected possibilities for intensification through different policy and master planning approaches.

The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames commissioned Lichfields and URBAN Silence a two-part Employment Land Review Study to support the preparation of the new Local Plan to 2041. The second part of the study, led by URBAN Silence and supported by the GLA’s Good Growth Fund, analysed what is currently provided on three key sites and explored alternative futures to maximise benefits for the borough as a whole.

The study considered a wide range of scenarios and progressed to explore in 3-dimension three alternative potential approaches: an improvement on current trends by making the most of Council land; the facilitation of pragmatic change for housing and employment; and proactive intensification of the sites for a range of employment premises. The study set out the planning policy implications of each approach, refraining from recommending a single preferable solution. This is to be determined by the Council in the context of the borough-wide Employment Land Review and through comprehensive consideration of development pressures.

The Council officers were able for the first time to access data on the current contribution of the sites, in terms of jobs and provision of valued community services and understand the implications of piecemeal development. They were also surprised to see how different approaches could lead to very significant increases in the quality and range of employment-led development and potentially transform the sites in highly valued area for the future.