The Kensington Society

Welcome to the website of the Kensington Society.

Formed in 1953, the Kensington Society strives to ensure that our part of London retains its magnificent heritage of buildings, parks and gardens alongside the best of contemporary architecture and design.

With more than 700 members and some 30 affiliated societies, we are very active in planning issues and exert a real influence on planning decisions in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea.

Events

We also have a programme of lectures, talks, walks and visits, covering a wide range of subjects.  The events offer the chance to meet your Kensington neighbours. All upcoming society events can be found here.

Annual report

Our annual report is produced in the spring and has both an update report on the activities of the society as well as interesting and topical articles relating to Kensington. The most recent annual report can be read here, and all annual reports since 1961 can be found in the society archive.

Newsletter

Our newsletter is produced in the autumn. The most recent newsletter can be read here, and all newsletters since 2006 can be found in the society archive.

Membership

The annual membership subscription is £15 and you can join here.

The news blog (click to see all)

Why we have backed Newcombe House

Ever since the first Newcombe House application in 2015, the Kensington Society and the Ladbroke Association have supported the project, in spite of the height. At the public hearing in City Hall on Tuesday 18 September, Peter Mishcon spoke on behalf of the two organisations and explained why.
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The Commons' Grenfell hearings focus on the future

While the large Grenfell Tower Inquiry is trying to find out exactly what happened during the fire, the House of Commons' select committee for housing, communities and local government is running a parallell inquiry, focussed of finding ways to prevent another high-rise fire and improve relations between council's and their tenants. Last week the committee met Grenfell tenants, one of them was Tomassina Hessel (picture).
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Grenfell one year later

One year after the Grenfell fire new chocking revelations about the shoddy refurbishment work coincided with the local and national commemorations for the 72 who lost their life. And it was revealed that only 82 of the 209 dispossessed households have moved to their new permanent homes, while 116 are waiting for their chosen homes to be made habitable.
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Latest planning news (click to see all)

Kensington's highest building stopped - for now

After a six hour long meeting on 27 September, the council's planning committee said no to a plan which would have created the borough's highest building, 102 metres, on the site currently occupied by the Kensington Forum Hotel at 97-102 Cromwell Road. But this doesn't mean that it still can't happen: London's mayor, Sadiq Khan, may decide to overrule the council's decision, and if he doesn't, the developer may appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.
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Sadiq Khan approves Newcombe House

On Tuesday 18 September, the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, decided to approve the plans for the Newcombe House site, thereby overruling the RBKC planning committee's refusal and putting an end to a planning battle that has raged since March 2016. Khan's main reason for approving is that the plan now includes 22 genuinely affordable rented flats on site, plus a further 10 off site.
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Upcoming society events (click to see all)

Learn about the borough's new and leaner organisation

The structure of the borough's daily operations has drastically changed in the last few months, with the goal of making it more responsive and flexible. At an evening seminar in Kensington Town Hall, we will meet Sue Harris, who is the head of the largest of the new "service areas", and will get a chance to asks her questions about anything handled by the seven departments she leads.
Date: Monday 26 November 2018

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Page updated 16/11/2018