Save Kingston's Kingfisher Leisure Centre

Save Kingston's Kingfisher Leisure Centre

The text below was for the initial fundraiser. £3410 of funds raised was used to pay legal and GoFundMe fees with two donations received after the legal letter had been sent donated to charities with the donors' consent.

Updates to this fundraiser clarify that new funds being sought, initially of £2222, will pay for a new Opinion from Jenny Wigley QC as to whether there are legal grounds to ask Kingston Council to reconsider the decision of the Planning Committee to approve plans for a new leisure centre in Kingston.

Any monies raised that are not used to pay for a legal opinion or lawyer's letter to Kingston Council or in other fees will be donated to Momentum as laid out at the bottom of this text

Thank you

 

On 1 September 2021, Kingston Council approved its own planning application to demolish The Kingfisher Leisure Centre with no consultation and no firm plans or funding for replacement facilities

 

On 12 October 2021, I presented a petition signed by 3,600 people to a Full Council meeting saying no to the demolition, but the council refused to listen and voted to continue with its plans

 

Having had sight of a letter that I have already sent to Ian Thomas, Chief Executive of Kingston Council, laying out the reasons why I believe the decision to approve the planning application to demolish the centre is flawed, Jenny Wigley QC of Landmark Chambers, working with Ricardo Gama of Leigh Day solicitors, has offered to give an opinion of whether there are legal grounds for a challenge of the decision at judicial review and on other statutory grounds

 

We need to raise £3,100 plus GoFundMe fees to pay for this opinion, and we need to raise it fast before the first hammer is swung to detroy The Kingfisher once and for all

 

Please donate whatever you can so we can try and stop Kingston Council now

 

Demolition of The Kingfisher will leave Kingston residents with no pool for at least five years and maybe forever, will secure the council's unsustainable high-rise growth plans, and will expose residents to the huge risks to which their plans give rise

If I do not raise sufficient funds to seek a legal opinion on Kingston Council's decision to approve the planning application to demolish the Kingfisher Leisure Centre, I will pass on all donations net of fees to local Kingston children's charity, Momentum

Momentum is a charity that supports families across South West London, Surrey and Sussex whose children are facing cancer or a life-challenging condition so that no family has to cope alone

Thank you as always for your support

 

Caroline