A volunteer-run membership group that exists to promote high standards of planning, conservation and design in the royal borough of Kingston upon Thames, will launch a two-week photography exhibition showcasing Kingston's suburban charms.

Sixty years ago, the Kingston Society was founded to protect and improve the borough's natural and built environment. To mark its diamond anniversary, the Society has partnered with the Malden Camera Club to capture a free photography exhibition of Kingston called Right Here Right Now.

Earlier this year, Kingston residents were invited to submit photographs taken in the previous 12 months that showcase the borough's rich urban history, natural environment and the challenges currently faced by the built environment.

Malden Camera Club helped Kingston Society's shortlist and curate the final entries, and the final gallery of images will be on display every day from Saturday 29 October until Sunday 13 November, 10am until 4pm, at All Saints Church in Kingston Market Place. The images will then be added to Kingston Society's digital archives, serving as a snapshot capsule of the borough for future generations to view.

Nature throughout Kingston will be one of the focuses of the 'Right Here Right Now' exhibition (Image: Suzanne Seyghal).

Speaking about the event, Kingston Society's Tony Lancaster said: "Over the last 60 years, Kingston Society has played a key role helping shape the look and progress of our historical market town, encouraging well-managed urban developments that add value to the community. During that period, the way we operate as a society has evolved significantly. 

"Fast-forward to now, and Kingston has recently been identified as an Opportunity Area in the Mayor's London Plan. With its footprint set to continue changing over the years to come, we hope our exhibition will help raise awareness of some of the area's lesser-known history, and the vital, proactive role Kingston residents have long played in shaping the borough we love."

With so much development and change across the borough over the last 60 years, and at a time of borough-wide regeneration, the Society will also be using the exhibition to take residents on a journey through Kingston's civic activism, helping highlight some of the heroes, victories and challenges from each decade since Kingston Society was founded in 1962.

Kingston University's Town House Building was the winner of the EU Prize for contemporary Architecture - Mies van der Rohe Award, the highest accolade in European architecture (Image:Mediha Boran).

When questioned by Nub News on the successes the society is particularly proud of, Vice Chair of the Kingston Society, Keith Payne, explained how numerous feats have been achieved over the years but two are particularly special due to the impact they have had on the society's work to date.

Mr Payne said: 'Kingston Society's first big success – thwarting the proposed ring-road which would have run along the Thames, where we now have a hugely popular Riverside walk – shows the power of working together towards a common goal, and why the actions taken now will have an important impact on future generations.

"This particular proposal – first published in 1963 - would have completely severed Kingston's town centre from the river to which it owed its birth, and reshaped the area in a way that we still believe didn't have residents' interests at its heart.

"After Kingston Society's success in proposing the opening up of the river frontage with a continuous walk rather than a divisive road, the Society went on to press for the Ancient Market Place and Clarence Street to be pedestrianised – something that is now intrinsic to our town centre's appeal, yet described as "impossible" by planners when we first suggested it!"

He continued: "I definitely think some Kingston residents would be particularly surprised to discover that in 1974 there was a plan to demolish Kingston Grammar School, a Grade II listed building, and that around the same time the houses along Mill Street – now part of the Knights Park Conservation Area – were actually earmarked for redevelopment.

"So, without Kingston Society's input, a lot of loved local landmarks would perhaps have been replaced by bland high-rise flats a long time ago."

Alongside the successes during the society's decorated history, naturally, a few challenges have also presented themselves along the way. Mr Payne admitted it was a bittersweet feeling seeing such a positive reaction to the recently opened Battersea Power Station when Kingston's very own disused power station resulted in ambitious concert hall, theatre and exhibition space plans being drawn up, only for the power station to then be dramatically dynamited in October 1994.

Kingston Society's vice chair also admitted securing a future for the former Seething Wells Filter Beds in Surbiton has been the toughest challenge yet.

(Image: Alison Fure)

Despite numerous schemes and public appeals for the 19th century waterworks that once supplied London with water from the Thames, the site has slowly been cleared of its natural habitats, and the beds have been drained.

Nevertheless Mr Payne explained the society as well as fellow community organisations such as the Seething Wells Action Group remain hopeful a positive outcome is still on the cards for the designated nature reserve.

The 60-year-old society does not operate to stop proposals, rather to encourage the best possible development for potential sites. Over the year's the Kingston Society has often had to operate as a loan voice, speaking on behalf of the borough's heritage; something the organisation feels at times is taken for granted and not appreciated until elements are taken away.

Through activities such as the society's Right Here Right Now exhibition and their upcoming Urban Room, a project in collaboration with Kingston Council, Kingston University, the North Kingston Forum and local residents, they hope to inspire more people to feel that they have a part to play in designing our town's future.

The pilot Urban Room project will start in Kingston Market House this winter and will be a space where the public can learn more about what's going on across the borough, and have the confidence to get involved. 

When Mr Payne was questioned on what he hoped people take from the upcoming Right Here Right Now exhibition, he said: "Ultimately, towns need to work for the people who live there, and we've always believed that communities have a really important role to play in helping shape the places and spaces around us.

"At a time when we see so much engagement and strong opinions expressed on social media, we hope our upcoming exhibition will highlight how effective people can be when we work together towards a shared goal."

Ted Mault's stunning shot of Kingston's riverside will be one of the photos on display in the Right Here Right Now exhibition.

To find out more about Kingston Society and the Malden Camera Club's upcoming Right Here Right Now exhibition, as well as the society's Urban Room project, visit www.kts.org.uk.