Kingston Council’s Christmas and New Year opening hours 2024

Christmas opening hours

• Wednesday 25 December 
• Thursday 26 December
• Wednesday 1 January

For urgent help during this time, please call 020 8547 5056 to be redirected to the council’s emergency out of hours response team. 
 

Ukraine Support Information and Advice Centre 

CLOSED:

• 25 December 2024 to 1 January 2025

OPEN:

• 9am- 5pm on 23 and 24 December 2024

We re-open as normal (9am-5pm) from Thursday 2 January 2025
 

Children's safeguarding

Opening hours 
Monday - Thursday: 8am - 5.15pm
Friday: 8am - 5pm

Closed on the following Bank Holidays:
25 December 2024
26 December 2024
1 January 2025

If you need urgent support outside of our opening hours, please call 020 8770 5000 to speak to the Duty Social Worker (this service is provided by Sutton Council). If you think a child is in immediate danger, please call 999.
 

Adult Social Care

If you need help and it can’t wait until the next working day, please call 0208 8547 5000. If you think someone is in immediate danger, please call 999.

Housing repairs emergencies (Kingston Council tenants only) 

Please call 020 8547 5003. This service is available 24 hours a day over the Christmas and  New Year period as normal.

The Breyer Group will be operating as follows over Christmas for the delivery of repairs:

• 23rd December normal working hours
• 24th to the 26th December out of hours emergency repairs
• 27th December normal working hours
• 28th to 29th December out of hours emergency repairs
• 30th December normal working hours
• 31st December normal working until 15.30 then out of hours emergency repairs
• 1st January 2025 out of hours emergency repairs
• 2nd January onwards normal working hours.

For Gas:

• Mon 23rd Dec – 8am – 6pm
• Tues 24th Dec – 8am – 4pm
• Weds 25th Dec – Closed OOH cover only
• Thurs 26th Dec – Closed OOH cover only
• Fri 27th Dec – 8am – 6pm
• Sat 28th Dec – 9am – 5pm
• Mon 30th Dec – 8am – 6pm
• Tues 31st Dec – 8am – 4pm
• Weds 1st Jan – Closed OOH cover only
• Thurs 2nd Jan – 8am – 6pm

If you smell gas, please open doors / windows, turn off the supply, leave the property and call the National Grid on 0800 111 999 from outside of your home. 

Please don’t:

• use your mobile phone indoors 
• use any electrical switches (including doorbells)
• smoke, use matches or naked flames. 
   

Homelessness

If you are without anywhere to stay overnight, please call 020 8770 5000 and our team will assess your situation to determine if you can be provided with emergency accommodation until the next working day. 

Rough sleeping

If you are concerned about a person rough sleeping you can report this via the StreetLink website or call 0300 500 0914.
 

Villiers Road Household Reuse and Recycling Centre (HRRC)

Remember that you need to book your time slot before you visit the HRRC.

• Christmas Eve (24 December): 9am - 12pm by appointment only
• New Year's Eve (31 December): 7.30am - 4pm by appointment only

Closed

• Christmas Day
• Boxing Day
• New Year's Day

Waste and recycling collections

Waste and recycling collections will take place later than normal over the festive period - find your collection day on our website. Remember to put your bins out by 6:30am on your collection day. Collections return to normal from Wednesday 13 January 2025.

Real christmas tree collection

Real christmas tree collections will start from Monday 8 January 2025. Make sure it is out by 6:30am. It should be collected within 2 weeks. 

Remember to remove all decorations, pots and lights. Put your tree close to the front boundary of your property, visible to collection crews and so it will not block the pavement.
If you live in a flat, put your tree outside the bin store but do not block access to it.

Alternatively you can:

• take your tree to be composted at the Villiers Road Household Reuse and Recycling Centre
• leave it next to your rubbish bin on your collection day (it will not be recycled)
• chop it up to create a winter shelter for animals in your garden or add it to your compost heap

Mental health support

The holidays and festive season can be a trying, difficult time for some people and if you are living with mental health problems, some experiences during the holiday period could make your mental health worse or harder to manage.

If you feel you need some support with your mental health, help is available.

If you are already a patient or service user under the care of South West London and St George’s Mental health trust services, you may find this page helpful: Helping our patients stay well over the holidays.

• 24/7 Mental Health Crisis Line 0800 028 8000

Mental health crisis support is accessible round-the-clock, including at weekends and on bank holidays, by calling the Mental Health Crisis Line on 0800 028 8000. The team will help you or the person you care for to get help and support quickly and in the right place.

Only call 999 or go to your local A&E department if someone's life is at risk – for example they have seriously injured themselves or taken an overdose, or you do not feel you can keep yourself or someone else safe.

• Your local Recovery Café or health and wellbeing hub

If you’re struggling with how you are feeling or feel at risk of going into a mental health crisis, your local Recovery Café or health and wellbeing hub can help.

The recovery cafés and hubs are a free walk-in out of hours service where you can talk to people who will understand and help you. You don’t need a referral or an appointment to visit. You can ring ahead if you need any support getting there or would like to speak with a member of staff first.

 
Journey Recovery Hub (Kingston), Alfriston Centre, 3 Berrylands Road, KT5 8RB*  
 020 3137 9755  

Opening hours:  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday (6-10pm) and Saturday (2-10pm) including bank holidays 

*The Journey Recovery Hubs operate a drop-in service, or you can self-refer by  completing their self-referral form or contacting 020 3137 9755 / recoveryhub@rbmind.org 
 

• NHS Talking Therapies

For non-urgent mental health support and help with common mental health problems like stress, anxiety and depression, you can self-refer to Kingston Talking Therapies - Website or speak to your GP who can refer you.

Help is available in person, by video, over the phone or as an online course. 

Other mental health support

• Samaritans - online or call 116 123 free for confidential support for anyone experiencing distress or despair. They offer a listening service.
• SHOUT offers text support any time, text SHOUT to 85258
• Call NHS 111 and select the mental health option.

• Mental health crisis phone line for children and young people

If you are a child or young person, or a parent/carer concerned about a young person’s mental health, you can contact the South London Crisis Line on 0203 228 5980, Monday to Friday 5pm – 11pm, and Saturday, Sunday, and bank holidays from 9am to 11pm. 

• Out of hours please call the adult helpline on 0800 028 8000.
• If you need urgent help, text SHOUT to 85258. Shout can provide 24/7 text support. 
• You can also call Childline Call 0800 1111 for free to speak to someone about what's happening and how you're feeling.
• Tellmi is a safe, anonymous app where you can talk to people your age who get what you are going through. From anxiety to autism, dating to depression, or self-harm to self-esteem. If you need professional support, in-house counsellors are available 365 days a year. Tellmi can be downloaded for free from the Apple Store or Google Play, or the web app.
• Kooth is still here to support young people over the holidays For free, anonymous mental health support visit http://Kooth.com

Sexual health and emergency contraception

For NHS sexual health services, including emergency contraception, contraception and STI testing, check your GP surgery or specific service websites for opening times, and call before attending.
 

The Wolverton Centre at Kingston Hospital (0208 974 9331)
Opening times will change over the Christmas and New Year period.  The service is closed on all  public holidays.  The service will be open as normal from 2 January.  For more information, please visit the Wolverton Centre’s webpage, or find out their opening time and appointment booking process by listening to a pre-recorded message. 

Your Healthcare Contraception & Sexual Health Service at Hollyfield House, Surbiton (0208 339 4783). Opening times will change over the Christmas and New Year period.  The phone line is open for advice and to book appointments, click and collect available on some days, and the Young People’s walk-in service open 3.30-6.30pm on Mon 23 and 30 Dec.  The service is closed on all public holidays.  The service will operate normal hours from 2 January 2025.  For more information including phone line availability, please visit the website 

Young people (under 25) can also get emergency contraception and condoms, confidentially and free of charge, from some local pharmacies as well as GPs and sexual health clinics.  A list of these services is available on the Getting It On website. 

Free postal STI testing is available for those aged 16+ by visiting Sexual Health London or, if you’re 16-25 years old, you can also request them on the Free Test website. Bank holiday closures means there will be a delay in posting and processing test kits at laboratories.

Please visit our sexual health webpages for more information.
 

Domestic or sexual violence prevention

The VAWG & Domestic Abuse Hub is open and accessible via telephone (0208 547 6046) or email (kingstonvawg@refuge.org.uk) 

The VAWG & Domestic Abuse Hub’s usual working hours are Monday to Friday, 9:00 - 5:00pm.
The Hub will be open as normal on the working days in between Christmas and the New Year (Friday 27 Dec, Monday 30th Dec and Tuesday, 31st Dec) and our duty phone line will be open from 9:00am to 5.00pm on these days. The service will then reopen on Thursday 2 Jan 2023.

Closed
Christmas Day (Wednesday, 25 December)
Boxing Day (Thursday, 26 December)
New Year's Day (Wednesday 1 January)

For support during this time please call the National Domestic Abuse Helpline for free and in confidence - 0808 2000 247.

The final One Stop Shop session of the year took place on Monday 16 December. The service will be back on Monday 6 January 2025. 
 

To report a crime and other concerns

Call 101, the police non-emergency number, to report theft, criminal damage, drug use or dealing in your neighbourhood.

You should always call 999 when it is an emergency, such as when a crime is in progress, someone suspected of a crime is nearby, when there is danger to life or when violence is being used or threatened.
 

Kingston Register Office (births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships)

For information on opening times, visit the Kingston Register Office webpage. 

Kingston Cemetery

The cemetery is open daily, 8:30-4pm (from 10am on Bank Holidays and weekends). There will be no burials or cremations on the following dates:

Christmas Day (Monday 25 December)
Boxing Day (Tuesday 26 December)
New Year's Day (Monday 1 January)

For more information please visit our 2024 Bank Holiday Opening Hours webpage.
 

Kingston Adult Education

Term ended on Friday 13 December 2025 and restarts on Monday 6 January 2024. Learners can apply for courses here.

For more information, please visit www.kingston.gov.uk/adults-education.  

Kingston Music Service

The KMS Office is closed between Monday 23 December 2024 and Friday 3 January 2025. To contact the music service please email musicservice@kingston.gov.uk. Lessons and music centre activities resume on Saturday 11 January 2025. 

Libraries

Opening hours by library 

• Hook and Chessington Library
• Kingston Library
• New Malden Library
• Old Malden Library
• Surbiton Library
• Tolworth Library 
• Tudor Drive Library

For more information, including on our community library, please visit our libraries webpage. 

Kingston Museum & Kingston History Centre 

Kingston History Centre and Kingston Museum 

Kingston History Centre will be closed from Sunday 21 December, reopening Thursday 2 January, 10am to 5pm.

Kingston Museum will be closed from Sunday 21 December, except Saturday 28 December (10am to 5pm), and will reopen Thursday 2 January, 10am to 5pm.
 

Leisure Centre Opening Times

Town Centre car parks

Closing times vary across our Town Centre car parks. Please check signage on site. 

Christmas Day

Open

• Cattle Market (surface level)
• Bittoms (surface level)
• All other ‘on street’ car parks

Closed 

• The Rose
• Blagdon Road
• Bittoms (multi-storey section)
• Cattle Market (basement levels)

There will be no closures on New Year's Day.