Kingston is going places. As well as being a huge shopping destination, pulling in people from Surrey and across London, it is also drawing in a number of big name employers. Undeterred by the pandemic, Unilever submitted a planning application last autumn for its new global campus headquarters in Kingston town centre.

Like many councils, the borough has been busy reimagining the town centre and high street as it works out how to respond to the impact COVID will have on the way residents live and work. Under Liberal Democrat control since 2018, the council puts community engagement at its heart of work.