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5 articles
Kingston Council has collected millions in Community Infrastructure Levy since 2020, but residents cannot easily trace the money to local projects. Kingston Press assembles a promises-versus-delivery ledger and a 2026 watchdog scorecard.
Bus cuts have hit Tolworth, Chessington and the roads between them hardest. With TfL data, council correspondence and commuter testimony, Kingston Press asks who is deciding the borough’s bus network — and who is paying for the silence.
Penalty charge notices are concentrated on a small number of Kingston streets, according to enforcement data. Kingston Press maps the hotspots and follows the money — from pay-by-phone income to the transport projects that benefit from any surplus.
Kingston Press has audited the council’s 2026 contract register, tracing the largest suppliers, the share of work that stays local, and the social value pledges that rarely appear in any public report. The findings raise plain questions for scrutiny councillors — and for residents.
Kingston's budget is debated as one bottom line, but the 2026-27 budget book contains smaller appropriations with outsized consequences. This watchdog analysis reads the appendices and asks what seven low-profile lines mean for residents, services and the council's own assumptions.