County Hall Plans Kingston Site Revamp That May Include 17-storey Tower Block

Published on: 9 Sep, 2020
Updated on: 13 Sep, 2020

Surrey County Council’s County Hall in Kingston upon Thames.

By Julie Armstrong

local democracy reporter

New plans for the Grade II-listed Surrey County Hall in Kingston include demolition of Bittoms car-park and the 1982 computer wing, replaced by several new buildings that could include a 17-storey tower. But most of the pre-1963 buildings will be retained. The council has formally abandoned last year’s plan to move to Woking.

The County Hall was opened in 1893 when Kingston was part of Surrey. But in 1965 Kingston upon Thames became part of Greater London and the Surrey headquarters have remained there since.

Kingston residents can now have their say on the proposals before a formal planning application is lodged with their council early next year.

In the virtual consultation document, produced due to pandemic restrictions on gatherings, the county council said they would be proposing a variety of heights in their plans, in accordance with new higher-density development planned for much of the town centre.

A statement said: “Those [buildings] nearer County Hall and the adjacent residential area will respond closely to the existing context and on the Bittoms site we will make efficient use of the [area] which abuts Kingston College and looks out on the roundabout.”

The deadline for initial comments is September 25. There will be a second virtual exhibition in November with more detailed plans to give local residents a chance to have their say. Kingston council’s decision is expected in the spring or summer.

To view the plans and provide feedback, visit: https://countyhallredevelopment.com/virtual-exhibition/. There will be two live chat sessions on Wednesday, September 9 from 6pm to 8pm and Thursday, September 10 from 2pm to 4pm.

Residents can visit the Virtual Exhibition page on the website at the times above and a messenger will automatically pop up and provide space to type in questions, which will be answered by the project team.

Two webinars will show presentations of the proposals on September 8, between 11am and 12pm and September 14, between 6pm and 7pm. Residents must first register for the webinar here: https://countyhallredevelopment.com/webinar-registration/