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 Liberal Democrat councillors have launched a campaign to protect the borough's suburban back gardens.
The threat comes from property developers purchasing properties, demolishing the houses and then using the gardens to build high density properties.
Bizarre government rules designate back gardens as brown field sites, making it easier for developers to build high density housing on them.
Cllr Simon James, Executive Member for Transport, Planning and Regeneration, has written to Yvette Cooper MP, Minister for Housing, urging her to change this designation.
Protect back gardens
"As councillors, we want to protect back gardens when this type of planning application comes up, but the government has tied our hands. Often their rules give us no choice but to grant planning permission, or refuse it and risk developers trying to claim costs from council tax payers on appeal.
"I want the minister to let us make planning decisions that are right for our neighbourhoods."
Sign the on-line petition
And Cllr Mary Reid Co-Chair of the South of the Borough Neighbourhood Committee) is urging residents to sign a petition on the council's website.
"It's easy to take our suburban back gardens for granted, but as soon as they are under threat we realise how special they are. They give special character to so many parts of the borough, and they are a wonderful green corridor for local wildlife.
"We need to wake up to this threat now, so I'm urging people to sign my petition on the website. As a community we need to send a clear message to developers that here in Kingston we value our back gardens, and we won't stand by and let them bulldoze over us."
The petition
"Suburban back gardens are currently treated as industrial brownfield sites for planning purposes.
As a result developers are purchasing houses and back gardens in the Royal Borough and then submitting plans for housing at much higher densities.
Decisions by the local Council to refuse planning permission are often overturned by the Planning Inspector in Bristol.
1. We believe that back gardens are important social and ecological green corridors that should be protected from development.
2. We support the Council's policy of opposing backland developments.
3. We will resist offers from developers to buy our homes and gardens."
You can sign the petition here.
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