Kingston councillors are to urge the Royal Parks Agency to extend the public consultation on its closure plans for Richmond Park's Pen Ponds car park and Robin Hood Gate.

The cut off date for comments to be received by the RPA is September 28, but councillors argued that it was inappropriate to run the consultation over the summer holidays when many people would be away.

They are calling for the consultation to be extended until the end of October and are planning to press the RPA to carry out a door-to-door leaflet drop of more than 2,000 homes in north Kingston explaining the proposals in detail.

At a meeting of the Kingston Town neighbourhood committee on Tuesday, councillors described the RPA's consultation as being badly thought out.

Leader of the council, Roger Hayes said the fact that the RPA had not issued questionnaires to the public supported the view many people had that the RPA was high handed in its whole treatment of the matter.

Members of the Save Pen Ponds Car Park Committee and the Friends of Richmond Park attended the meeting and argued for and against the proposals.

But the council is sitting firmly on the fence and refusing to make any formal judgement on the proposals. Coun Hayes said it would be premature to take a view one way or the other without hearing residents' views.

A public meeting is to be arranged to discuss the closure plans and proposals to introduce road tolls and a 20mph park-wide speed limit.

July 12, 2002 10:01