As we come to the end of the year, it’s a time to reflect on the past 12 months. I feel extremely proud of the many wonderful things that have happened in the Royal Borough of Kingston throughout 2023.

In January we celebrated Pongal, the Tamil harvest festival, a reminder of the important role all our diverse communities play. Along with our partners Creative Youth we opened FuseBox on the Riverside in Kingston. The space has already seen some fantastic exhibitions and cultural events.

Our local celebrations to mark the Coronation of King Charles highlighted the special history of our royal borough.

The second Sustainable September shone a light on the wonderful community activity going on to protect the environment and deliver a greener Kingston.

We also launched our Biodiversity Action plan and partnership to boost the work to safeguard the environment and introduced a fully-electric waste collection fleet, making us one of the first local authorities in the country to go all-electric.

Our first new council houses in a generation were completed as people moved into Arun House in Kingston. The development is part of the ‘small sites’ scheme which will see 101 new council homes built at four sites, with York Way in Chessington now also complete.

Black History Month in October was a time to celebrate Kingston’s rich black history. In November we marked International Kimchi Day, celebrating our Korean heritage, and the launch of the Kingston Disability Network to give a stronger voice to our disabled communities.

One of the initiatives that I am most proud of is Kingston’s Community Resilience Fund. The £720,000 pot launched in April to provide additional funding for community, voluntary and cultural organisations to help support residents through the costs of living crisis and to survive the challenges themselves.

We’ve just announced the second round of funding. A total of 500 more BRITE Box meals, new Growbaby locations, community furniture, befriending services, support for unpaid carers, and mental health support and skills for young people — just some of the projects awarded grants in phase 2. In the first and second rounds combined, we’ve supported more than 70 groups and organisations helping communities.

The help and support of these incredible organisations is even more important at this time of year, as the weather gets colder, bills rise and people can feel lonely and isolated. The new Winter Advice pages on our website also have information about keeping warm and healthy and staying connected, to support those who may be struggling.

Please do share the link with anyone who might find it useful “kingston.gov.uk/homepage/200/winter-advice”. The Cost of Living support pages are also helpful: “kingston.gov.uk/costoflivingsupport”.

It is the community spirit and togetherness evident in so much of the work in 2023 that is the lifeblood of our borough and a source of immense pride for many, me included.