Kingston Borough News
‘Right Here Right Now’ Photography Competition
2022 is our Diamond Jubilee year and in partnership with the Malden Camera Club we would like to mark the year with a very special Photography Competition
REPORT: Public Meeting 20th JULY 7.30pm – An Urban Room for Kingston?
An update on our progress to create an “urban room” - a place for conversation, where the past, present and future of that place can be inspected.
Planning application for 6 new houses + offices for car wash site Portsmouth Road
Mixed use planning application lodged for riverside development in former petrol station
PUBLIC MEETING WEDNESDAY 20th JULY 7.30pm – An Urban Room for Kingston?
Every town and city should have an “urban room” - a place for conversation, where the past, present and future of that place can be inspected. Come and here what progress we're making
‘Building Stories’ The Town House – talk and Q&A
Tuesday 12th JULY 6.00PM - Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara from Grafton Architects discuss KU's Town House, their 2021 RIBA Stirling Prize-winning building .
Cinema in Kingston – invitation to free film screening
WEDNESDAY 13th JULY 2.00PM - We would like to invite you to be the first to see the film which is being launched at The Rose Theatre, itself on the site of the former Kingston Odeon.
Swan House, High Street Kingston – our response to planning application
Our formal submission to planning, for this important riverside development
Coombe Conduit opening again June 2022
We are pleased to announce that following a very useful meeting with English Heritage, we will be opening the Conduit to the public again
Kingston Charitable Foundation Impact Report 2021
In the 12 short months since launching, Kingston Charitable Foundation have awarded 24 grants, which have benefitted 12,555 local people in our community.
Rewilding Arcadia
Reconnecting water, people and wildlife with the natural floodplain of the Arcadian Thames We have received an invitation from Thames Landscape Strategy Partnership. (TLS) We are told as Kingston are back in the Thames [...]
Swan House, High Street Kingston planning application lodged
Ahead of our formal submission to planning, our feedback to the developers consultation.
PUBLIC MEETING WEDNESDAY 15th JUNE 7.30PM – King Æthelstan the first King of England
Come and hear some inspirational ideas for a King Athelstan Centre and an innovative and unique statue of England’s first King, who was crowned in Kingston
Consultation: New care home for Kingston
Consultation on line for a new care home and 'Dementia Suite' development.
What you told us: ‘The future of The Kingston Society, are we ready for the next 60 years?
A well attended meeting and a lively debate with much to think about as we make our plans
Briefing on the Levelling Up Bill May 2022
Scarcely had the ink dried on the Queen’s Speech than Michael Gove’s Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill (LURB) hit the streets.
Our mission
The Kingston upon Thames Society exists to promote high standards of planning, conservation and design in the Royal Borough.
We are
The Kingston upon Thames Society, founded in 1962 and affiliated to the Civic Trust. We are Kingston’s major voluntary and independent organisation concerned with planning and conservation.
We do
Society representation on applications, consultations, meetings of local conservation and planning bodies
A monthly public meeting, with a guest speaker, on a topic of local interest
Co-ordination of the borough’s Heritage Open Days programme
Custodian of the Coombe Conduit ancient monument
A Newsletter for members every month
Townscape Awards for new buildings of distinction
Visits to buildings of interest, and outings to historic towns
Partnership with other groups in community projects
Leaflets and Booklets on subjects of local interest
Reviewing new planning proposals
A significant part of the Society’s activity is to review and comment on planning consultations and applications. Each week Kingston Council publishes a list of new Planning Applications, and we comment on those we think are most important, enabling us to tackle planning problems at their source.
Our Major Schemes page covers the most significant planning applications, such as Tesco Tolworth and The Old Post Office site.
Our Minor Schemes page covers other applications that are on our radar or of concern to us.
Our Other Consutations page covers non application consultations, such as the formulation of the London Plan and Local Plans.
Celebrating some of the good things in the Borough
We organise Kingston’s Heritage Open Days where free entry is offered to interesting buildings that are normally closed to the public. England Heritage Open Days 2019 was 13-22 September and Open House London 2019 took place on 21-22 September.
We recognise good local architecture and design through our Townscape Awards. These were last awarded in October 2017.
We act as guardian of one of Kingston’s most important ancient monuments, Coombe Conduit, built around 1540 as part of a system to collect fresh water from springs on Kingston Hill and channel it to Hampton Court Palace.
Monthly public meetings
The Society wants to increase and improve the debate on what the Royal Borough of Kingston is and what it could be. One way we do this is through our regular public meetings.
We are currently accepting guest speaker bookings for 2021/22 and have some interesting guests already scheduled – please contact us for further details.
Full details of our public meetings, and guest speakers and talks are on the Coming Events page
Visits and Socials
The Society organises occasional visits to explore the good and the bad of architecture and design. In 2019 our popular Summer Guided walk started opposite the Whitechapel Art Gallery, Aldgate East to explore the EAST END.
Our Society Summer Picnic, returned again in 2019 which was enjoyed by all who could make it.
Details for upcoming visits and social events will be posted on the Coming Events page.
Become a member of the Kingston Upon Thames Society
Why you should join
If you share our interest in protecting, celebrating and enhancing our Royal Borough then you can join the Society to get more involved and to have more of a say on what the Society does.
We are open to new members
How to join
You can join online for as little as £10 per year, using the link below.