The following comprises the minutes of our All Members Meeting on the 27th August 2026.
Meeting opened at 1:30PM following 30 minutes of networking time.
Began with introductions of everyone around the room, along with basic housekeeping rules.
Notes from the Executive (Ashley Pearce and Keegan Hillier):
- Organising meetings for KDN members to discuss the Local Plan and Concessionary Travel Engagement, with further details to be shared when they are confirmed
- KDN has been attending meetings with Councillors and the Council to continue advocating for disabled residents
- KDN will be attending the Councillors – VSCE meet and greet on the 17th September – if members have anything in particular they would like to be raised, please send to info@kdn.org.uk before the 17th.
Apologies:
- Susan Beechey – Alzheimers Society Kingston and Richmond
- Colin Pike – Individual member
- Odette Battarel – KAB/KSS
- Liz Meerabeau – Individual member / on board of Kingston and Richmond Hospitals
- Karen Dempster – Healthwatch / New Dialogue
- Helen May – RBK
- Rachel Ugle – Individual member
- Jason Lamont and Joanne Stafferron – KCIL
Leeni Szalay-Winters – The Larch / Eco-Op:
- Leeni narrates the video as we have issues with sound
- Video shows positives of The Larch and socialisation support and activities
- Video can be found at Welcome to the Larch!
- Leeni has flyers – left available on desk
- The Larch is for autistic people without a Learning Disability or mental health disorder – 18+
- Is a drop-in service, so people can come and go as they please
- Leeni does follow up if people stop attending, just so that
- Encourage people to go to Autism and ADHD strategy board and can refer to things like Connected to Work, but is far more a social club rather than a referrals hub
- Is a drop-in service, so people can come and go as they please
- Eco-Op is open 9:30-3:30 – needs referrals and is paid for, usually commissioned
- Roy Smith suggests putting The Larch on the Lets Talk emails / newsletters – Alysia Hurrell will drop an email to Leeni to connect
- The Larch goes on outings once a month
- Michael Crawford-Hick (Sports photographer) to connect with Cycle for All – to be facilitated.
Financial Inclusion – Catarina Principe:
- Goes over the 3 main disability benefits – PIP (working age adults, 16-65), DLA (children under 16), and Attendance Allowance (for older people)
- Support schemes;
- Blue Badges
- Taxicard – subsidised travel for taxis
- In Kingston you get 104 swipes per year – but they don’t roll over. Follow the financial year so April to March
- Freedom pass
- Roy points out that there still are time restrictions on older persons passes (9:30AM-11:30PM) – but in Kingston, the disabled persons’ bus pass is usable 24 hours a day. Important for older disabled people to get a disabled person’s bus pass rather than an older persons one.
- In Surrey, carers can go for free on the bus when with someone with a freedom pass is travelling with them – but that is not the case in London
- Discourse over whether a disabled persons’ bus pass can be used outside of the borough it has been issued in – Roy Smith says KAB members have been unable to, but Keegan Hillier says his Hampshire disabled persons bus pass is useable by showing it to the driver, as it just does not buzz properly.
- Motability (as part of PIP)
- All except Motability include automatic entitlement criteria as well as discretionary
- Discusses the Timms Review of PIP
- Finds it relies heavily on appeals to get PIP and the system is heavily flawed
- Uses a case of a real person
- Suggested he was given ‘indefinite’ PIP – both Sophie Ugle and Keegan Hillier challenge this, as there is no such thing as indefinite PIP
- Keegan Hillier suggests that as the claimant was 65, the point where PIP and Attendance Allowance cross over, it may have been ‘indefinite’ PIP until he was moved to Attendance Allowance.
- Suggested he was given ‘indefinite’ PIP – both Sophie Ugle and Keegan Hillier challenge this, as there is no such thing as indefinite PIP
- Roy Smith asks for contact details
- Alysia Hurrell offers to share with notes
- Universal Credit changes – LCWRA has changed since April 2026 so most people will get a lower amount, but does not affect those who were already receiving benefits
- Catarina is unsure on the specifics of what counts as ‘severe’ or ‘life long’
- LCW and LCWRA are points-based
- New Style ESA is for people who have worked within the last 2-3 years, but the payments join up with UC and can be deducted from it
- Catarina’s team only supports those in Council Housing – different team to those who support those housed privately or in housing associations
- If you’re on the housing register but are not yet in any council accommodation, you’re still with the other team
- Catarina’s team goals are welfare / benefits advice, benefit reconsiderations and appeals, budgeting and debt repayments, and assistance with non-financial needs like foodbank vouchers, bus passes, freedom passes, etc.
- Referrals can be made by those who work in the social sector e.g. local authority or medical professionals. Also take self-referrals
- Referral form and email will be shared along with the slides
- Sophie Ugle raises that the system of multiple benefits systems is difficult and complex to navigate
- Also mentions Severe Disability Premium – which she had not been aware of until 4 years ago – which is part of ESA but is not well advertised. This payment doesn’t get deducted from benefits if the SDP team are the ones who had made an error
- KDN team should look into the details of this benefit
- Also mentions Severe Disability Premium – which she had not been aware of until 4 years ago – which is part of ESA but is not well advertised. This payment doesn’t get deducted from benefits if the SDP team are the ones who had made an error
- Catarina’s team don’t offer accompaniment to tribunals – has shared a list of other support services on her slides
- There’s a hearing loop but no sign language provision in the offices where Catarina’s team work
Alysia Hurrell – Engagement & the Local Plan:
- Updates on some engagement projects;
- Changing Places in Kingston – still awaiting updates but conversations are now on the table again – but requiring continuous repetition and
- Hook Library, Latchmere Park, Bentalls Centre (when open), Tesco in New Malden (when open, technically in Merton)
- There is a map now for changing places – Alysia will circulate the details
- Michael Crawford-Hick and Roy Smith suggest using the Snowball App as well which is mapping accessibility of shops and services, as rated by real people
- AccessAble can also be used and is commissioned by the Council
- Neighbourhood Committee Infrastructure Levy – expressions of interest are open for funding for local infrastructure projects across Kingston, North Kingston and Surbiton.
- Neighbourhood grants are also open.
- Local Plan is still open for a few more weeks for consultations, and looking to see if we can have a meeting that’s disability focused at this round of conversation
- Changing Places in Kingston – still awaiting updates but conversations are now on the table again – but requiring continuous repetition and
Any Other Business:
- Dysart School – did have 2 disabled parking bays, and they were removed by the Council for the implementation of the cycle lane. This was inappropriate especially due to Dysart being an SEN school, and now parents dropping their kids off don’t have anywhere to park. The two disabled bays have now been put directly into the cycle lane, which creates a major hazard. There was no consultation and it has harmed people.
- MUGA at Beverly Park – Sophie Ugle mentions that councillors were using ‘accessible for all’ as buzzwords and were not actively listening to residents with real disability experiences. Sophie wants to make sure that people within the disability network should hear things like this as they are unacceptable
- Councillors don’t listen / want to listen when disabled parents and representatives are involved
- Roy Smith says that it’s important for the council to recognise that there are more disabled people than the Council accepts or acknowledges
- The Council is a Sunflower Lanyard supporter
- Roy Smith mentions issues about lack of signage and lack of promotion of simple accessibility things
- Adult Social Care representative mentions that her team are strong supporters of accessibility for their clients
- Keegan Hillier discusses his experience with the Adult Social Care team, where they assumed he had no capacity for consent and refused to speak with him, as an example that even teams with a focus on disability care can still act in harmful or inappropriate ways
KDN – Volunteering Opportunities:
- Both Treasurer and Social Media / Communications officer posts are open and available to apply for. Brief details on both are;
- Treasurer:
- Manage the finances of the Kingston Disability Network (KDN)
- Work alongside the Executive Committee and Steering Group to apply for charitable grants and community group funding
- Social Media / Communications Officer:
- Advertise the Kingston Disability Network (KDN) to external bodies through creation of advertisement graphics, social media posts, and attendance of public events
- Promote a positive image of the Network
- Treasurer:
- Chair position is also vacant, and whilst a job description has yet to be written, if members would like to apply or hear more, they are encouraged to get in contact
- One Steering Group member slot left
The Cromwell Road Bus Station; still no radar key for the hard to find accessible bathroom. Kingston Association for the Blind were able to take a site visit with TfL representatives to express member concerns, including the difficult to access bathroom and the inconsistent signage. Unfortunately, TfL maintain the stance that, since there should be staff on site between 6:30AM to 9:30PM, they believe there is no need for a radar key. We have raised that staff are often not available, and TfL say they will continue to monitor the situation.
There are plans to remove an important bus stop due to the implementation of a cycle lane. Waters Road Stop B is currently scheduled for closure due to the new cycle lane, but we have raised the issue within the Transport Liaison Group. Cllr Nardelli has asked us for more information on the situation, which we have provided.
Berrylands station is still waiting on funds being made available to provide a step-free station. Whilst this is a frustrating situation to be in, our SWR contacts assure us that when they are next able to bid for funding they will advocate for funds to make the station accessible.
Cycle lanes are still causing concerns for disabled members of the Kingston community. Kingston Association for the Blind raised the cycle lane by the Rotunda as a prime example, explaining that a lack of distinction between cycle lane and pavement, alongside the large crowds that take up most of the pavement space by Circuit and Bonnie Rogues, can make it unsafe for people, especially those with visual impairments, to use that strip of pavement.
Funding for waiting rooms in New Malden, Tolworth, and Malden Manor train stations has been acquired. This will give people a safe and warm space to wait for trains, with some shelter from their noise. There is hopes the first of these waiting rooms will be installed in February.
We asked for Norbiton station, another highly used station, to be considered for accessible transformation once Berrylands has received their accessible upgrades. The station is now on the radar of SWR.
Hatching at the intersection of Wheatfield Way and Fairfield North, which has rubbed away in recent years, is being reviewed for repainting. As many of us have experienced, the poor visibility of this no stopping box has lead to drivers pulling into it at lights, blocking the crossing and making it difficult for pedestrians to cross. We hope the review will be quick!
Following concerns raised at a previous meeting, the taxi cab representatives have confirmed a crackdown on abuse of taxi ranks. This means it will be easier for taxi drivers to collect and drop off passengers around town.
Continuing on the theme of e-bikes, Lime have invited the KDN to their nationwide Disability Advisory Board. Following our first meeting go learn more about what this entails, we will ask members for their key hopes from this board, which we will advocate for.
Finally, there will be new crossings implemented in and near the Coombe area. This includes one outside Coombe Girls School, but also a crossing by Kingston Hospital, which will make attending hospital appointments far safer. We have asked for disability groups to be involved in site visits, to ensure that the crossings give enough time for pedestrians to cross.