Kingston upon Thames · housing and retrofit
Surbiton was begun as a planned railway town by Thomas Pooley from 1838, and several of its early streets are now conservation areas. Kingston’s Coombe area includes Victorian villas from the late 19th century, interwar housing that followed the 1927 Kingston bypass, and low-density private estates of large detached houses.
The council lists 26 conservation areas, from Surbiton and Kingston Hill to Coombe and Old Malden.
Property types
Common local property types in Kingston upon Thames
- Early Victorian villas and stucco houses
- Late Victorian villas
- Interwar semi-detached houses
- Large detached houses
- Post-war flats
Local considerations
What tends to shape retrofit here
- Early Victorian houses usually have solid walls and need moisture-aware insulation
- Large detached houses typically have high heat loss and benefit from room-by-room calculations
- Conservation areas cover parts of Surbiton, Kingston Hill and Coombe
- Interwar homes usually have cavity walls to check before filling
Conservation area rules, Article 4 directions and listed building controls are set by Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and can change. Check the current position before finalising external changes: Kingston conservation areas and Kingston retrofit planning considerations.
Making an enquiry
Making an enquiry from Kingston upon Thames
- Tell us the age and type of the house
- Mention if the property is in a conservation area
- Tell us if heating replacement is planned
Services available
Services available in Kingston upon Thames
- Retrofit Assessment – an on-site survey of how the home is built, heated, ventilated and used – the starting point for a retrofit plan.
- Heat Loss & Heat Demand – room-by-room heat loss (kW) to size a heat pump or radiators, and annual heat demand (kWh) to understand energy use.
- Retrofit Design – specifications and key details that installers can price and build, with junctions and ventilation resolved.
- Airtightness Testing – a fan pressure test that measures how much air leaks through the house, before or after works.
- All services