Council & Community
Hot air and air con: John Cookson’s sketch from inside the Town Hall chamber on the hottest June day in history
From The Citizen's customary front-row perch on the Town Hall press bench, our faithful municipal eavesdropper John Cookson watched Kensington and Chelsea's newly elected mayor - Cllr Janet Evans (Courtfield) - preside over her first full council meeting. The...
“Park in a bay – or we’ll take it away”- RBKC Council seizes 2,600 e-bikes and wheels in £210,000 in fines
The Council has scooped a fortune in fines from e-bike operators by impounding more than 2,600 hazardously parked bicycles since launching a pioneering borough-wide enforcement operation 18 months ago. Dangerously abandoned bikes which posed immediate danger or...
RBKC officers put resident through years of hell and £10,000 bill trying to BAN wooden terrace they had already APPROVED
A homeowner was dragged through a planning nightmare by the council for two-and-a-half years and forced to spend nearly £10,000 defending a roof terrace screen — only for a government inspector to rule the council had already approved it. In a humiliating defeat for...
Leader Cllr Elizabeth Campbell’s new term – and teary – speech in FULL
Cllr Elizabeth Campbell addressed the full council meeting as she took office for the third time. During the part of her speech that referred to out-going Deputy Leader Kim Taylor-Smith, Ms Campbell became gripped by emotion. As she considered her political "anchor"...
The Royal “boro” welcomes a new madam mayor – an “extrovert” native New Yorker
From The Citizen’s customary front-row perch on the Town Hall press bench, John Cookson looks on wryly as Kensington and Chelsea’s civic grandees gather beneath fibre optic chandeliers to perform one of local government’s oldest rituals — the solemn appointment of a...
Cllr Monica Press, Leader of the Labour Group of Councilllors – FULL speech
Cllr Monica Press, Leader of the Labour Group of councillors, who represents Colville ward, addressed the full meeting of the new council. Here is her speech in full Thank you Madam Mayor and congratulations on your election. And congratulations to Cllr Nur on...
“I’m really thrilled and excited. We knocked it out of the park” – Leader Elizabeth Campbell as unbreakable blue wall remains solid
Jubilant Tories were celebrating victory today after comfortably tightening their grip on power in a landmark RBKC election. After rises in Council Tax and the controversial premium on second homes, the man or woman on the King’s Road omnibus might have expected the...
Election Special: Blue is STILL the colour. Tories romp home
The Tory Party scored a resounding victory in the local elections yesterday to return as the leading power group. The Party secured 34 out of 50 seats in an election that brought 35,344 votes, with a 37.3% turnout. The newly formed council is: 34 Conservative - 7...
The Citizen’s BIG Five Questions to the Big Five Parties*
As voters prepare to go to the polls, The Chelsea Citizen’s JOHN COOKSON cuts through the campaign noise (and all those annoying, highly shreddable letterbox leaflets) to pose FIVE sharp, no-nonsense questions to representatives from the five main parties seeking...
Two major victories for campaigners at the Council’s Planning Applications committee
Applause and cheers rang out across Kensington Town Hall last night as residents welcomed two planning decisions — both the subject of sustained coverage by The Citizen. First, councillors refused gambling operator Silvertime’s application to open a 40-machine slot...