A word from our President, Baroness Jenny Hilton

As a Society our main aim is to improve the quality of life in Teddington through avoiding planning blight and supporting local causes and charities.

We liaise closely with Richmond Borough Council to maintain the historic character of Teddington and to collaborate on projects to improve the environment.

We have several Working Groups and welcome the knowledge and experience that members may bring to these Groups.

We also organise visits to places of interest as well as social and fund-raising events such as “Teddington in Flower”, regular coffee mornings and an annual Party.

Here’s a flavour of our achievements

The Society’s achievements over its 50-plus years are many and varied, and it is not possible to be comprehensive. A glance at the Group pages will give a flavour of ways in which the Society enhances residents’ lives. Here is a taste of some of our successes.

Perhaps one of the Society’s most visible achievements are the hanging baskets which brighten the whole town. These were introduced just over a decade ago and were subsequently adopted and maintained by the Council. That has been followed by refurbishments at Elmfield gardens including the History board and the Poppy memorial. Benches have been provided and refurbished at various points in the town. Less visibly, we have helped to upgrade the children’s playground in Wades Lane, and contributed to the hydraulic stage lift at the Landmark Arts Centre.

One of our first successes came in 1977, when to commemorate the Queen’s Silver Jubilee, we raised money to establish Jubilee Gardens at the end of the High Street; and in 2002 and 2012 we restored the Jubilee fountain in Park Road (further improvements are being discussed with the Council).

Our Directory of Buildings of Townscape Merit (BTMs) and Listed Buildings is an extraordinary historical resource.

The Society applied for the Asset of Community Value status for the Udney Park Playng Fields (more than once) and this is what has prevented, so far, the loss of this community asset to commercial development.

We have also supported some residents with their fight against inappropriate development and over-development - such as adding extra storeys onto blocks of flats and houses, inappropriately sited telephone masts, ugly buildings and extensions - i.e. protecting the streetscape and retaining our original architecture and in particular protecting the conservation areas.

We have also campaigned for better shopfronts and retaining our historic shopfronts by speaking to shop owners and leafleting the main shopping areas

We engaged with the local plan through commenting on each iteration. We have drawn members and residents attention to the 'mid rise' zone in the Local Plan and prompted them to respond

We have engaged with many local consultations: Elleray Hall, old HSBC site, Police station, railway station bridge.

We have been instrumental in improving the safety of Teddington’s roads – for instance, our design for a very safe staggered zebra crossing on the railway bridge was adopted, and the ‘family friendly’ cycle routes which we identified have been included on the Borough’s cycle route maps.

Over the years members of the Environment Group, clad in their yellow tabards, have often been seen in various parts of the Town litterpicking and generally tidying up and regularly cleaning up the re-cycling sites at the Cedar Road car park, Elmfield Avenue and North Lane car park (generally, if erroneously, referred to as Tesco’s car park). The latter task is akin to painting the Forth Railway Bridge. The Group is also involved in reporting to LBRuT such matters as graffiti, fly tipping, blocked kerbside drains and dealing with the eye gouging plastic ties that are often left on lampposts when the posters, which they held in place are removed. They are known in the environment business as Lamp Post Whiskers, an apt description. Environment policy matters such as the proposed third runway at Heathrow Airport, air quality and similar matters are addressed as necessary.

The annual Village Fair is organised by the Society in conjunction with the local Rotary Club; we support the distribution of Christmas food parcels in liaison with the Hampton Wick United Charity and the Council; and, of course, we organise the regular, much loved Teddington in Flower event

We have been responsible for several spin-off organisations: the Friends of Bushy & Home Parks, for instance, began as part of the Teddington Society, as did the Teddington & Hampton Wick Voluntary Care Group. We support the initiatives of TW11, the Teddington Town website, and Totally Locally, the showcase for Teddington’s independent businesses.