Kingston Council has rejected Kingston University's proposals to build a new education building at Middle Mill.

The university's plans sought permission to build a " high specification building featuring studio-based teaching space, lecture theatre, student gallery, specialist arts and media facilities, cafeteria and enhanced technical facilities for students completing courses at Kingston School of Art to support creativity and innovation".

However, since the plans were first revealed, local residents, while not being against the university constructing a new building, have campaigned against the university's proposals, expressing concerns regarding the building's proposed height, which was set to be as tall as the Bentall Centre.

As part of their campaigning, local residents launched a petition against the proposals, which received over 1,000 signatures, and protested outside the Guildhall before the Council's Planning Committee meeting on Thursday (16 July), which saw the rejection of the proposals.

On Thursday evening, a large group of residents gathered before the meeting carrying placards declaring "Too big" and "So ugly".

Objections

The committee then heard from four registered objectors, each approaching the proposal from a different direction but arriving at essentially the same conclusion.

Speaking on behalf of the residents who signed the petition, Tom Gorrell said that the campaign against the proposals raised over £6,000 to commission independent peer reviews to challenge the application.

"Such is the depth of feeling amongst local residents," he added.

Gorrell explained that the peer reviews found that the university's light and shading surveys were found to be "technically flawed and misleading" while its ecology survey was "ineadequate".

He also criticised the proposed building's "excessive" height and mass.

Adrian Treloar expanded on the argument against the proposals, explaining that the proposed five-storey building is much higher than the three-storey building next to it due to having high ceilings.

He said: "In what Orwellian world does three times three equal five?"

Next to speak was Toby Hiscock, hair of the Kingston and North Kingston Conservation Area Advisory Committee, who concentrated on heritage and townscape.



He argued that the proposal amounted to an over-scaled civic landmark in entirely the wrong location, which would dominate neighbouring conservation areas and conflict with the borough's own heritage policies.

And Tracy Rust questioned why officers had recommended approval for what she considered to be a tall building outside any designated tall-building location, and argued that London Plan Policy D9 had not been properly applied.

Defence

Defending the proposals, Professor Steven Spier, Vice-Chancellor of Kingston University, argued that the School of Art required modern facilities if it was to retain its international reputation, and that the proposal would create a new creative quarter, provide public cultural facilities, improve biodiversity, increase employment and continue Kingston University's long tradition of architectural excellence.

He also rejected suggestions that the University had failed to engage with local people.

Professor Spier described a year-long consultation involving eleven public events, Design Review Panels and discussions with planning officers and environmental bodies.

The design, he said, had changed in response to the comments received, including reductions in height and alterations to the building's massing.

The council refused the application for three reasons, presented by Cllr Roger Hayes.

These included the excessive scale, bulk and overdevelopment on a sensitive site, its architectural form failing to respond appropriately to the surrounding low-rise neighbourhood, and the potential for the development to cause unacceptable harm to nearby conservation areas and other heritage assets.

Proud community

Speaking about the meeting outcome, one of the leading Middle Mill campaigners, Chris Park told Nub News: "The community really pulled together on this and made us proud.

"We've run several meetings, created lots of campaign posters and communicated widely. And every time there's been a massive turnout."

He explained that residents are not against the university developing a new building as "everyone wants to support the university", he just feels that the university did not engage with the community on its proposals.

Park continued: "When you see the pictures of the building they're proposing, it is absolutely awful.

"And we've also uncovered lots of problems with the planning application, which had the council reviewed that without our challenge, it would have looked much more positive than the reality.

"We agree with the university wanting a new building 100%, but it's only meant to be three floors, so with lower ceilings, they can achieve rhe same thing by just making it smaller.

"But what they're trying to do is build some sort of showcase building in the middle of a completely inappropriate area.

"And clearly the council agreed with us. So, we're really proud of everyone that got involved to support the campaign because it's a huge expense to the university - they've spent three years planning this. It was hugely embarrassing for them."

Park also praised Kingston Town Ward councillor, Nicola Nardelli, who he said "did an amazing job of representing us".

Kingston University's response

A Kingston University spokesperson told Nub News: "Despite the Council's decision, the University remains committed to constructing a much-needed building to accommodate growing demand from students at Kingston School of Art.

"Our plans, developed by internationally acclaimed Grafton Architects over the past four years, represented the highest architectural ambitions and had the potential to bring significant educational, economic, cultural and environmental benefits to the borough.

"We firmly believe in the transformative impacts exceptional buildings of this nature have on students, staff and the wider community alike, providing an environment in which creativity, collaboration and shared learning can thrive.

"Throughout this process, we have been genuinely committed to maintaining positive relationships with our neighbours.

"We have undertaken extensive consultation, hosting a series of public exhibitions as well as actively engaging with neighbouring residents, staff, students and the wider borough community in other ways.

"The feedback we received during this process led to significant modifications being made to the designs."

They continued: "While we must accept the views expressed by individual members of the Planning Committee and representatives of the local community who addressed the meeting, this does not diminish the need for us to expand facilities for students keen to experience the distinct creative character and high quality education that makes Kingston School of Art so widely sought after, both nationally and internationally.

"This has become even more of an imperative since we first submitted our application in October 2025.

"We will now consider our next steps and remain committed to providing our students with the opportunity to learn and innovate in a truly inspiring educational setting.

"We will continue to take our role supporting Kingston's creative economy, delivering improvements to the public realm and strengthening the borough's position as a centre for creative education and expertise extremely seriously."

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