The Craft Market needs to stay in the Market House

Today I bought these delightful cushions (left) from the Market House in Kingston. This historic building situated in the town's heart, Market Place, was for a long time the Borough Information Centre and is now a craft market, full of cards and cushions and pictures and other bric a brac made locally - Kingston's creative heart.

But now there is an application to turn this key building into a pizza parlour. Just what Kingston needs (not): another chain restaurant, when the place is teeming with them already, and there would be no place for the craft market. Apparently the council estimates that "three times as much rent" could be made from the Market House by moving in an "established retailer." And never mind the town's heritage or cultural identity, apparently.

More information here: Kingston Guardian

This, it seems to me, is Wrong on so many levels. Is the new Tory administration so craven that it will deprive Kingston's creatives of their key space in the town centre in the name of yet more glorified fast food?

The planning application can be found here. Otherwise you can comment by emailing development.management@kingston.gov.uk. The deadline for comments is 7 March 2016.