From October 5, 2005: Kingston Hospital’s new £4.4m cancer unit plans got the go-head with an expected completion date of November 2007.

The design stage had already begun and building work was due to begin the following August.

The news was revealed at the hospital’s annual general meeting.

Lead cancer clinician at Kingston Hospital, Robin Leach, admitted the current facilities had not been ideal at the meeting.

He said: “The new unit will mean more rapid diagnosis, reduce the need for patients to travel and provide more information for patients.”

Much of the money needed for the unit had been raised by the Kingston Can appeal set up in 2001.

But a further £800,000 was needed by the end of 2006 to meet the full costs.

Chairman of the Kingston Can Appeal, Nigel Clark, said: “Of the money raised by the appeal, 50 per cent of it came from events organised by volunteers throughout the borough.”

The unit also benefitted from a £1m cash injection from the Royal Marsden Hospital, an issue that caused controversy among hospital clinicians.

The money was set to be used for chemotherapy treatment at the hospital – irrespective of when the cancer unit was completed – and enable patient flow to align with the south-west London cancer network.

At the time 40 per cent of Kingston patients were treated at Hammersmith hospitals.

It was later announced that the unit would be named after former chairman of Kingston Hospital, Sir William Rous, who passed away from cancer in 1999.

10 YEARS AGO: October 5, 2005 Richmond Park officials warned illegal mushroom foragers they could face fines of up to £20,000. The mushroom pickers were said to be causing irreversible damage to the park’s ecosystem. The Royal Parks Agency claimed that despite the practice being illegal there was an upsurge in mushroom thieves.

25 YEARS AGO: October 5, 1990 Tiffin parents were angry about proposed changes to the prestigious Kingston school’s status. The school had announced it would be taking the 120 brightest pupils, whether or not they had grown up in Kingston. Before the changes, 110 of the places had been guaranteed to Kingston boys.

50 YEARS AGO: September 18, 1965 Tolworth Girls’ School re-opened after safety concerns forced it to close for two days. The school had just undergone a £200,000 refurbishment when cracks were spotted in the floor. Three independent safety experts deemed the school safe after inspecting the floors.