For this week's member spotlight, we caught up with Kelly Melnikova-Rhodes, Clinic Director of Kingston Chiropractic & Wellness Centre on Castle Street. What was your experience of lockdown at Kingston Chiropractic & Wellness Centre? "When we decided to close our doors in March, we did this very reluctantly, as a... read more →
Nov
20
Nov
02
The Prime Minister’s announcement of the four week lockdown, starting on 5 November, will be another devastating blow for so many businesses and the town centre, which was starting to build back confidence after the first lockdown. I have seen and heard from so many businesses and sectors in... read more →
Oct
23
Kingston First and Kingston Council are calling on the government to extend closing time to 11pm based on feedback from local hospitality businesses who say the extra hour will make a huge difference to their economic viability. The Leader of the Council, Caroline Kerr, has said that the relaxation... read more →
Oct
15
The government has today announced further restrictions, to help reduce the spread of Covid-19, which will come into force from Saturday 17 October. From Saturday London, including Kingston, will move from the government’s Tier 1 alert (medium) system to Tier 2 (high). In summary, the new measures mean: Mixing... read more →
Oct
14
Kingston Canvas is our collaboration with Kingston School of Art to inject colourful and vibrant imagery into the town centre's vacant retail units. While footfall in Kingston has steadily increased with our town often performing better than Greater London, vacancy units around the country have continued to rise, and empty... read more →
Sep
27
Arjun Varma, CEO at Chakra We’re pleased to hear from Arjun Varma, CEO of Chakra, and long-time Kingston resident about his restaurant’s experience over the past few months. “As someone who has lived in Kingston for so many years, this is an area which I’ve always adored. It has... read more →
Sep
21
This week, we are delighted to launch our 'We Are Kingston' consumer campaign, bringing back that community spirit to Kingston and brightening up our streets. We Are Kingston aims to inspire you to shop locally in Kingston, so we've chosen to showcase just a few of the independent businesses who... read more →
Aug
05
A new round of Discretionary Grants has been opened by Kingston Council, and the application process for table and chairs licences is now open. Discretionary Grants A third round of Discretionary Grants and, thanks to Kingston First lobbying, will be open to businesses including private dentists and charities, two sectors... read more →
Jul
27
We were very pleased to have Kingston featured on BBC London News yesterday evening, profiling the town and our members. Kingston First's Chief Executive Kirsten Henly and our independent businesses, Food for Thought and The Terrace Eatery, talk about their perspectives on the introduction of face coverings and building... read more →
Jul
14
After successfully lobbying and working closely with Kingston Council we are pleased to announce that the Council's Discretionary Grants Fund Round 2 is now open. We hope this will be of particular help to independent businesses with a rateable value of over £51K and up to £100K, and businesses that... read more →