Kingston Borough News
Our mission
The Kingston upon Thames Society exists to promote high standards of planning, conservation and design in the Royal Borough.
Who we are
The Kingston upon Thames Society, founded in 1962 and affiliated to the Civic Voice (formerly the Civic Trust). We are Kingston’s major voluntary and independent organisation concerned with planning and conservation.
What we do
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 help organise Kingston’s Heritage Open Days where free entry is offered to interesting buildings that are normally closed to the public.
We recognise good local architecture and design through our Townscape Awards. The 2023 Awards are under way and will be presented later in the year.
We organised a week long Urban Room festival in the Market House Kingston in February 2023 to examine the issues facing the borough in the next 25 years.
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 2024/24 and have some interesting guests already scheduled.
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. Our popular Summer Guided walk started opposite the Whitechapel Art Gallery, Aldgate East to explore the East End.
Our Society Summer Picnic, returned in 2019 which is 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.
Join us now
Together we can help make Kingston better for all