From November 10, 2004

Fears were raised again over the future of Alfriston day centre after Kingston Council agreed a 100 per cent rent increase.

The Surbiton-based service, the only one in the borough which provided day facilities for the elderly seven days a week, was to be charged £9,000 a year, despite operating on a shoestring budget.

But the council insisted the Berrylands Road centre would not be allowed to close – though extra funding sources had not been found.

Councillor Martin Blakeborough, manager of Kaleidoscope, which ran the centre, said the 100 per cent increase was a worry for its future.

He said: “I have had a chat with the Liberal Democrats and they assure me they are going to go ahead with extra funding for the centre, but I would like something said publicly.

“The rent has been increased by 800 per cent in three years. It is absolutely outrageous.”

In 1999 the Surrey Comet, horrified by plans to close the centre and disperse its elderly users, launched a successful campaign to save it.

The paper played a key role in convincing Kingston Council and users to allow Kaleidoscope, best known for its work with drug users, to run the centre.

A Kingston Council spokesman said: “The rent for the building has been reassessed as part of the renegotiation of the lease for the premises.

“Agreement has already been given to continue the same level of funding, plus inflation.

“The executive has agreed to consider Kaleidoscope’s request for additional funding to cover the increased rental cost when it considers the council’s budget for next year.”

Ten years on, the centre is still open and runs a volunteer outreach service for people who are often stuck at home.

50 YEARS AGO 

November 10, 1964

A £5,210 scheme for beautifying Town End Wharf, the southern gateway to Kingston, where there is currently a motley collection of houseboats and other craft moored alongside a derelict quay, will be put in hand soon.

The plan was to have been completed by the following spring.

25 YEARS AGO

November 11, 1989

Army ambulances were on the streets of Kingston as a dispute between ambulance staff and management escalated.

But paramedics said the cover, which saw army medics answering 999 calls, was a “disgrace”.

Talks between managers and union officials had broken down earlier in the week.

10 YEARS AGO

November 10, 2004

Businesses in the borough were urged to make their services more accessible for blind and partially-sighted customers in a campaign by MP Edward Davey.

The Open Your Doors campaign was based on research revealing more than half of guide dog owners had been turned away from pubs and restaurants.