From October 5, 2005

Teenagers in Kingston hit out at the town centre which they described as too expensive, lacking in “hangouts” and having a shocking lack of facilities.

The views of residents under the age of 18 were sought as part of a survey by the London Assembly on leisure and recreational services in the capital.

High on their list of grievances was the prohibitive cost of activities in the borough.

These included visiting the cinema and a lack of places to relax with friends.

Youngsters said this forced them to hang around in places such as Canbury Gardens and the riverside.

Michael Joslin, 18, said: “Young people love going out and having fun, and the facilities, or lack of, provided are an absolute disgrace.

“The council should seriously think about overhauling facilities for young people.”

Teenagers suggested solutions including a gym for under-16s and free after-hours football coaching on school pitches.

There were about 12,500 people aged 13 to 19 in Kingston at the time of the survey.

Richard James, of youth charity Oxygen, which ran monthly band nights, believed part of the problem was in getting younger people to identify with the activities already on offer.

He said: “There’s a real need to engage with young people. You could open up a place for them, but whether they come or not is another question. You need to make it ‘their place’.”

Mr James had also suggested opening a late-night coffee shop which was staffed and looked after by young people themselves.

10 YEARS AGO: October 5, 2005 A planning application for a luxury riverside hotel was deferred by Kingston Council amid possibilities of a grander scheme being submitted. The 150-bedroom hotel planned for Wood Street was deferred for a third time because of rumours the applicant, NHP Leisure, were in talks with John Lewis and Bentalls over a more cohesive riverside scheme.

25 YEARS AGO: October 5, 1990 Councillors were worried Kingston’s roads could crack under the pressure of new 40-tonne juggernauts that would soon be travelling through the borough.

The huge lorries were allowed to travel on Kingston roads after new lorry weights came into force. Some councillors said Kingston was “completely unprepared for the change”.

50 YEARS AGO: October 2, 1965 The Surrey Comet published its biggest issue in 111 years at 36 broadsheet sized pages.

Mechanical limitations had previously pegged the news-paper at 32 pages, but new technology would allow the paper to reach up to 40 pages.

With the added size came a new layout and a features section.