Our lethargy will support absolute power which blames us for choices we did not make
Kingston Council's consultation for the new leisure centre did not give us the facts
Kingston Council did not tell us everything we needed to know to be able to answer their questions in an informed way and yet blames failures of the leisure centre upon choices it says we made
But were the choices we were beings asked to make clear?
You decide.
Here is the first of a series of questions. This question regards the claimed sustainability of the new leisure centre
If you think that evidence undermines the council's claims, please donate now to help seek a legal opinion on whether there are ground to ask the council to reconsider its plans
Question One: Does the new leisure centre have sustainability "at its heart" as claimed by Kingston Council?
In its "engagement" exercise on the new leisure centre in December 2021, Kingston Council made an assertion about the sustainability of the proposed new leisure centre which you can see in the box above, but the council did not provide residents with information about the details of the scheme that would allow us to make an informed response to the questions it asked.
Kingston Council did NOT tell us that the new leisure centre as planned:
• does not meet policy requirements for energy efficiency, largely because there will be a football pitch on the roof . The council claims that this is what residents want. They did not tell us about the implications for energy efficiency of having a football pitch on the centre's roof.
The football pitch is too small to meet Football Association requirements for league games thus limiting possible outcomes from the site
• fails to reduce carbon dioxide emissions as required by policy or to provide reasonable justification for the failure
• fails to meet BREEAM outstanding energy efficiency levels as required by policy and without reasonable justification
• relies on future connection to a District Heat Network that does not yet exist and the environmental effects of which on the Hogsmill rare chalk stream have not yet been tested
• will gobble up nearly 1200 square metres of protected green open space in an area that has a deficit of green space and which is being heavily developed for many thousands of units of residential housing
• will emit gaseous waste from the hazardous chemical stores, toilet and kitchen extraction at rooftop level where people will be playing football or using the outdoor gym
• will waste daily pools full of water and huge amounts of energy refilling the pool as required by condition