ESSA local conservation association

AGM 2024

ESSA Annual General Meeting 2024
This year’s AGM will be held on Wednesday 16th October at 6:30 pm. We shall be at a new venue, Riverstone Kensington*. The formal business will take place at Eliot House followed by a drinks reception in Maria G’s Brasserie.

Our guest speaker will be James Clutton, CEO and Director of Opera at Opera
Holland Park and we hope that one or more of the company’s young artistes will be there to perform for us.

*Riverstone have recently joined ESSA as both business and mansion block
members. Riverstone Kensington. The staff will be available to show interested members the extensive retirement living facilities available on site.

Riverstone is located 2-4 Warwick Lane W14 8FN

Conservation Area Guides Launched

Taking the ESSA Conservation Area to Net Zero
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is targeting Net Zero by 2040 for the whole borough, leading by example with its own estate. This means that conservation areas, which cover approximately 73% of the borough, also need to achieve Net Zero by 2040.

In 2023 ESSA decided that it would look specifically at our own area and see what could be done to help and advise its residents. With support and funding from the RBKC Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL), we were able to commission a team of expert consultants to do the analysis and produce the guides.

This study seeks to inform residents and show that it is possible for them to reduce their home’s carbon emissions ambitiously and make their homes more comfortable whilst maintaining the character of the Conservation Area.

The guides were officially launched at a special event at Kensington Town Hall on Tuesday 24th September, and we would like to extend thanks to all that supported and attended the Launch.

The guides will continue to be freely available on this website. We will also be arranging workshops on each of the guides:
5th Nov - Victorian and Modern House
26th Nov - Block of flats / Mansion Block
Please let us know if you would like to attend.

New Local Plan

The RBKC Local Plan Review (NLPR) has finally reached a conclusion (work started on this in 2020). The draft new Local Plan (the so-called Regulation 19 Plan) was examined in public by the Government’s appointed inspector over the summer of last year. Her role was to decide whether the plan was “sound” and if not, to ask for amendments to be made. She produced a list of Main Modifications which was sent out for consultation in February and March of this year.

ESSA worked with The Kensington Society to review the proposed amendments and comment where necessary. At this stage it was not possible to propose major policy changes but only
to suggest changes to the wording.

A list of objections and proposed changes was duly submitted by the closing date of 12th March. The Inspector’s Report was sent to RBKC on 5 July, and it concluded that the new local plan was “sound”, subject to a number of “Main Modifications”.

The NLPR will be considered for adoption at a Full Council meeting on 24th July. Once adopted, the plan will become the Local Plan 2024 and will be the basis for determining future planning applications.

The New Local plan can be seen at RBKC website.