The Surbiton Neighbourhood Committee met to discuss community grants, speed reduction measures, and the proposed local implementation plan. Councillors approved two applications for neighbourhood community grants, one from Kingston Giving and one from Oxygen. They also noted a report on the 20 mph speed limit programme and approved the installation of speed indicator devices.

Community Grants Programme

The committee considered two applications for Neighbourhood Community Grants (NCGs). The agreed guidelines for the Neighbourhood Community Grants programme are attached as Annex 1 - NCG and BCG Guidelines updated May 2023.

Kingston Giving: Catalyst Grants Programme

The committee approved an application for a £3,000 neighbourhood community grant from Kingston Giving. Kingston Giving, formerly known as the Kingston Charitable Foundation, is a registered charity based in Kingston, which raises funds and awards them locally to benefit Kingston residents. Hickey Kingsbury from Kingston Giving explained that the grant would support their Catalyst Grants Programme in Surbiton, providing small, flexible grants (c.£150-£300) directly to local people on low incomes, to support personal development, mental health, and opportunities they could not otherwise afford.

Kingsbury explained the process:

So, it will be an individual who is working with an existing charity or organisation within Kingston and they will then have somebody nominated for, I don't know, I don't know whether £300 would get you to Scotland and back, to be quite honest, on the train, having just bought a ticket for £151 just to get to Newcastle. But they will then say, I'd like to go and see the family, therefore the train ticket is out of my reach. So, that person that works for the organisation slash charity in Kingston would nominate them.

Councillor Liz Green, Chair of the Health Overview Panel, praised the approach, noting that it ensures the funds reach those who genuinely need them. Councillors Jackie Davis and Councillor Anita Schaper, Portfolio Holder for Communities, Commissioning and Customer Contact and Co-Chair - Corporate and Resources Committee, also voiced their support, highlighting the significant impact even small amounts of money can have on individuals' lives.

Oxygen: Mentoring Programme

The committee approved an application for a £3,000 neighbourhood community grant from Oxygen. Oxygen is a registered charity based in Kingston which provides a range of services, support and interventions aimed at changing the lives of marginalised, disadvantaged and isolated young people. Charlie Bamford from Oxygen explained that the funding will enable Oxygen to employ and sustain both their qualified staff and volunteers so that they can respond to the growing mental health needs of marginalised, socio-economically deprived and vulnerable young people in Surbiton.

Councillor Schaper asked about trends in the needs of young people, and Bamford responded that they were seeing challenges around transition from primary to secondary school, and a huge amount of work at the moment around young people with either undiagnosed special educational needs or unmet special educational needs. Councillor Green followed up, asking if they were finding an increase in undiagnosed ADHD and autistic spectrum disorder and neurodiversities, and Bamford confirmed that about 75% of the referrals that they're receiving at the moment are either autistic or ADHD or often co-occurring. Councillor Diane White, Portfolio Holder for Children's Services (including Education) and Co-Chair - People Committee, added that the waiting list for a diagnosis is two to five years for young people.

Councillor Green stated that she would always believe that Oxygen's plans were good, because the work they do is amazing with the young people that they work with. Councillor Andrew Wooldridge agreed, stating that he had seen the benefits of the operation, and that the return on capital and return on investment was extremely good. Councillor Thay Thayalan also voiced his support, noting that he had known about this charity for many years, and that they had done a project on drop a knife with the young children as well, which was, at the time, there was lots of knife issues.

Prioritised Intervention - Speed Reduction in the Neighbourhood

The committee noted the 20mph speed limit programme and reduced speeds, and the installation of Speed Indicator Devices (SIDs) in locations set out in Table 4 of Annex 2 - Speed Survey Results.

Yunus Almaty, Principal Engineer, presented traffic data regarding average speeds on roads in the neighbourhood, and put forward a prioritised programme of measures to reduce speeds in problem areas identified as a result of the first phase of 20mph.

Almaty stated that the council implemented 20 mph speed limit initiative, which aims to improve public safety, enhanced road safety for all road users, and that prior to the implementation of the 20 mAh, there was number of roads where the average speed was about 24 miles per hour and above that. He stated that there is a reduction of speed between 1.5, 1.8 mAh per hour to 4, and that there is a reduction in collisions, and there is a reduction in the air quality as well.

Councillor Green asked how the roads that were measured were picked, and Almaty responded that when they introduced the 20 mph, before they introduced it, they did the surveys, and as a part of that surveys, there are the number of roads. The speed limit, average speed, was above 24 miles per hour. Councillor Green asked if there was a plan to measure some of the other roads that before the 20 mile now were also above higher, and Almaty responded that they purchased TomTom data, which will give them a heat map along all the roads, what the average speed is, and that the plan is, for the whole of the borough, then they cannot pick up sections where the speed is 24 and above, so they can pick up those to be for the next survey for next year.

Councillor Yogan Yoganathan raised a concern on the Cranes Park https://www.google.com/maps/search/Cranes+Park+Kingston+upon+Thames+Council/ and Cranes Park Avenue https://www.google.com/maps/search/Cranes+Park+Avenue+Kingston+upon+Thames+Council/, especially the Cranes Park, and that they have raised a similar concern on the Cranes Park and Cranes Park Avenue, especially the Cranes Park, and that they even come to Almaty because of the running, red running, and they turn left at the Cranes Park on the Villiers Avenue or Lambert Road.

Councillor Ian Manders, Portfolio Holder for Climate Action, Biodiversity and Planning Policy & Co-Chair - Place Committee, stated that at 20 miles an hour, you have a 2.5 percent chance of fatality in a collision, and he presumes that's with a pedestrian, and at 30 miles an hour, it's 20 percent chance of fatality, so even a 1 percent improvement, that's about 7 percent reduction in injury.

Councillor Peter Herlinger asked about the emergency services consultation, and Almaty responded that they were still waiting for their comments. He also asked about the further 40 roads will be surveyed, and Almaty responded that he was hoping by next month they will have better understanding which road they need to pick up, and that he will discuss with the portfolio holder how she would like him to proceed with that.

Councillor Schaper asked if the collision analysis was for pedestrian collisions or is that a mixture of vehicle and collisions, and Almaty responded that it's all collisions, and that it is possible if some members would like this information, he's happy to ask one of his engineers to work into it, and they can pass this information.

Proposed Local Implementation Plan (LIP) Programme 2026/27

The committee were asked to comment on the schemes in the relevant Neighbourhood as listed in Annex 1 - DRAFT 2026-27 and 2027-28 LIP Programme, prior to consideration by the Place Committee. They were also asked to note that, subject to approval by the Place Committee, any adjustments and prioritisation required to the proposed schemes, should funding levels be reduced by Transport for London, will be delegated to the Director Highways, Transport and Regulatory Services, in consultation with the relevant Portfolio Holder.

Almaty explained that every year, London boroughs submit an annual funding bid to Transport for London, and that the attached report outlines the project for which they are requesting funding, all of which align with the policy and the vision of Kingston Council and the local implementation plan and the Mayor for London.

Councillor Green raised the Cranes Park Junction with Beaufort, Beaufort and Lingfield Avenue, and Almaty responded that TfL sent them an email recently, and they are asking them if they have any scheme they would like to implement, which the funding is an issue, and that he did send this scheme, and he's waiting for them to come back and let him know.

Councillor Herlinger asked about the two new trial school streets will be introduced in November 2025, and Almaty responded that the purpose of the budget is they want the council to have a target, and their target is to introduce, per year, two school streets minimum in the borough, and that he would like to consider Grand Avenue https://www.google.com/maps/search/Grand+Avenue+Kingston+upon+Thames+Council/, but it is something he need to look at it because Grand Avenue is not easy to do it.

Councillor Tom Reeve, Chair - Surbiton Neighbourhood Committee, stated that he was pleased to see the implementation of the on-carriageway locations for the micro-mobility bays, and asked if this was for e-bikes on the parking spaces for e-bikes on the pavements. Almaty responded that it's not on the pavement, Councillor, it's on the carriageway, and that this scheme, micro-mobility is to take a parking bay and allocate it to the e-bike. Councillor Manders clarified that they were talking about the hireable e-bikes, which we see in the borough with forest, and that the idea is to try and get them off the pavements into these arranged parking spaces in the road.

Councillor Schaper stated that she was looking at November, and that looks quite a bit ambitious, November, because we must have taken us at least five or six months of quite extensive kind of informal discussions with residents. Almaty responded that when they say November, they are referring to the two school street, which will be now to be done, one of them in Langley and one of them in Lime Grove, and that any new scheme they need to introduce, they can't introduce it till they know Ustifal will give them money.

Work Programme

Members noted the work programme.