Plans to completely overhaul a major part of Kingston town centre have been submitted to Kingston Council with mixed reactions from residents.

Surrey Comet:

An artist impression of the plans

The Eden Walk planning application by the site’s joint owners Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) and British Land went live on the Kingston Council website on November 5 following a public consultation attended by more than 1,200 people.

The regeneration of this part of Kingston had been subject to more than a year of consultation by the land owners.

Plans include demolition of the existing Eden Walk shopping centre and its redevelopment, 385 flats, shops covering about 4,000sq m, a cinema, 579 car parking spaces, offices and restaurants covering 7,500sq m and a 16-storey tower block.

If approved, it would be the highest point in Kingston town centre after developer St George had its application for a building of the same height at the neighbouring old post office site in Ashdown Road rejected last week.

Some residents have welcomed the chance to redevelop a “rundown” part of the town centre and make Kingston a shopping district to rival the likes of Oxford Street and Westfield.

Hannah James, of Richmond Road, said: “I don’t go into Eden Street too much since H&M closed down. But if the finished buildings look as good as the drawings I welcome it.”

However, many residents have condemned the lack of affordable housing – just 20 per cent – and the density of the project.

Former Kingston resident Heather Lea Bristol said: “I have loved to sit in the Eden Walk watching things going on at the May Merrie and the thought of changing it like the proposed plans indicate fill me with horror.

“Not everyone wants these big shopping malls with several floors of shops. Please do not change it.”

David Thomas owns two small shops in Eden Walk and Crown Arcade.

He said: “From a small business owner’s point of view, relocation is not a viable option for most and many people will lose their living of the back of this.

"It is an uncompromising and brutal scheme that offers nothing of benefit to the people of Kingston.”

A spokesman for British Land and USS said they hoped that, if approved, Eden Walk will close in spring 2017 and reopen at Christmas 2019.

He said: “We asked visitors whether they supported the proposals for Eden Walk, and of the 233 responses we have had so far, 78.5 per cent said yes.”

The full application can be seen on the Kingston Council website. Comments are open until December 17 and a decision is expected on January 29 next year.