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Fast-Tracking Planning Decisions
The Problem
Homeowners and small businesses making straightforward changes — a loft extension, a shopfront sign, a certificate of lawfulness — could end up waiting in the same queue as complex, contested applications, even when nothing about their case was in dispute.
What I Did
Launched the Council's Fast Track Planning Application Service, giving residents and businesses an optional expedited route for qualifying applications — householder applications, certificates of lawfulness, advertisement consent, shopfront alterations and more — with applications validated within one working day and most householder decisions issued within two working days of consultation closing, without cutting corners on statutory consultation.
The Outcome
A faster, more predictable planning service for residents and small businesses who just want a straightforward answer — while keeping full consultation rights and committee scrutiny exactly where they're needed.
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Backing High Streets Across the Borough
The Problem
Local shops, restaurants and cafés needed practical support to rebuild footfall and trade at a time when many were struggling.
What I Did
In Cabinet, I set myself the ambition of making the Council more business-friendly — and delivered. I was a driving force behind introducing outdoor dining across the borough and supported new activity spaces and bars on Sloane Square.
The Outcome
Helped revive the high street when it needed it most, and made the Council itself easier for local businesses to work with.
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A Fairer Deal for Renters and Landlords
The Problem
The Renters' Rights Act 2025 changed the rules nationally on tenancy enforcement. The Council needed a clear, fair, locally-workable approach — fast.
What I Did
As Lead Member for Housing, I led development of the borough's Housing Enforcement Policy 2026, setting out exactly how the Council applies the new tenancy reforms in practice.
The Outcome
A published policy giving both tenants and landlords clarity and consistency under the new law, reducing disputes and uncertainty.
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More Homes for Local Families
The Problem
RBKC's Local Plan requires 4,480 new homes over ten years in one of England's most pressured housing markets — while some ageing, no-longer-viable hotels sit empty.
What I Did
Proposed a new planning policy allowing hotel-to-residential conversion where a hotel is demonstrably no longer viable, with a strict 18-month marketing test and a requirement for affordable and family-sized homes.
The Outcome
A defined, evidence-based route to turn under-used buildings into genuinely needed homes — prioritising families — without weakening protection for hotels that are still viable.
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Saving the Cab Shelter, Reopening Café Pier
The Problem
A Grade II listed cabmen's shelter on Chelsea Embankment — one of only 13 surviving of the 61 built for London's taxi drivers since 1875 — had stood derelict and decaying for a decade, cut off from the cabbies it was built to serve.
What I Did
Working with the Heritage of London Trust, I restored the shelter from the ground up and reopened it as Café Pier — now serving quality coffee, sandwiches and small plates from a sun-filled terrace over the Thames, with special perks for cab licence holders.
The Outcome
A piece of London's taxi history saved from ruin, and a new community spot on the Embankment where there was none before.
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Backing Drivers, Not Lecturing Them
The Problem
Streets were clogged, air quality was poor, and parking charges didn't reflect how people actually drive — while residents across Kensington and Chelsea who'd chosen to go electric had nowhere to charge.
What I Did
I delivered EV chargers across Kensington and Chelsea, introduced emissions-based parking so charges reflect a vehicle's real impact rather than a blanket fee, priced EV permits fairly, and backed a fund for practical local environmental improvements.
The Outcome
More charging points, fairer charges, cleaner air on our high streets — delivered without new blanket taxes or telling residents what car they're allowed to drive.
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Decisive Leadership When It Mattered Most
The Problem
When COVID-19 hit, residents needed a council that could move fast and cut through red tape — not slow committee process.
What I Did
I helped lead the borough's response: overseeing a mass testing programme, backing a rapid vaccine rollout, launching the booster programme, and pushing Kensington and Chelsea to be first in the country to publish vaccination data, so residents and health teams could see exactly where the gaps were.
The Outcome
A council that moved fast when it mattered, got jabs into arms quickly, and led the country on transparent, data-driven delivery — the kind of decisive leadership I'd bring to any crisis, local or national.
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Pro-Housing, Pro-Development — and Willing to Make the Hard Calls
The Problem
Councils that say no to everything don't build the homes people need; councils that say yes to everything alienate residents.
What I Did
I backed a Local Plan that provides for the new homes Kensington and Chelsea needs, introduced Fast Track Planning to speed up decisions on straightforward applications, and worked through difficult, contested cases carefully rather than avoiding them — including negotiating a way to keep a much-loved M&S store trading on Kings Road when its future was in doubt.
The Outcome
A council that says yes to the right development, gets homes built faster, and fights to keep the businesses residents love on the high street.
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Cleaner Streets. Tougher Enforcement. A Council That Pays Its Way.
The Problem
Dirty streets and lax enforcement cost residents money and made parts of the borough feel uncared for.
What I Did
I backed a dedicated Street Enforcement Team. Drove a deep clean through Operation Singapore. Took a harder line across the board.
The Outcome
£3m in extra income from tougher enforcement. Cleaner streets across Kensington and Chelsea. A council that makes the polluters pay — not residents.
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I've Fought the System Myself. So I Fixed It.
The Problem
Long before I was a councillor, I was a resident and a business owner dealing with the council's own parking and permit system — and like everyone else, I found it slow, clunky, stuck in the past. Queuing on the phone. Filling in the same form twice. A system built for the council's convenience, not the resident's.
What I Did
I used that frustration. I pushed to bring Kensington and Chelsea's permit and enforcement systems into the modern era: a parking chatbot so residents get answers instantly, a rolling subscription permit that renews itself instead of dragging residents through the same process every year, and a fully virtual parking permit that does away with paperwork altogether.
The Outcome
A council that finally works the way a service should — because I'd lived the old way, and knew exactly what needed to change.