Success as owners of Seething Wells Filter Beds are forced to repair the railings

St Marks and Seething Wells Liberal Democrat Councillors working with Kingston Council are forcing the owners of Seething Wells Filter Beds to clean up the site and repair the railings.

Last year, Kingston Council issued a section 215 notice requiring Cascina, which owns the site, to generally tidy the site and fully repair the railings along Portsmouth Road. Cascina appealed to the magistrates court.

Kingston Council officers defended the need for these improvements, and Cllr Liz Green gave written evidence of the public's opinion as part of the action taken by the council.

The magistrates not only agreed that the tidying up and repairing the railings must be done, but also ordered that Cascina pay £12,000 towards the Council's costs.
The magistrates did modify the notice slightly, particularly the timescale for action. Cascina now has 6 months to do the majority of the work, with the reminder within the year.

“Whilst we recognise that there is much more to be done to get this site to be the wildlife haven that we and most residents want, it is a step in the right direction,” says Cllr Liz Green. “We will keep working, doing everything in our power, to stop their destruction of the site.”

“I'm delighted that the magistrates have found in favour of the Council's action in issuing the section 215 notice,” adds Cllr Diane White, local resident in the river roads. “This is the entrance to our borough, and their neglect of the railings gives a poor show of our Royal Borough.”

“I look forward to seeing the repaired and repainted railings,” added Cllr Yogan Yoganathan.

For full details of the amended notice, please see Kingston council website here.