Kingston environmental group agree lease with developers near Berrylands Station for new space

Save the World Club (STWC) is run by Des Kay, a well-known community campaigner in the borough.

The group undertake community projects in Kingston and the surrounding area, from creating artworks from rescued materials to collecting surplus food from local supermarkets and delivering by bike to night shelters and refugees.

To improve their outreach efforts, STWC have been looking for a physical space which they could call their own for a number of years without success.

That state of affairs has now changed thanks to an agreement between the group and developers, who have planned to use the land currently occupied by a warehouse near Berrylands Station.

View inside space leased by Bugler to Save The World Club

The agreement between them and STWC, as Mr Kay explained in conversation with the Comet, will be to use a one-year lease on the warehouse granted by the developers to turn it into a "circulatory" hub for green and community projects in the borough.

"I've had this idea for a few years now...for properties that are sitting empty for a number of years.

"We were very lucky because the industrial estate behind Berrylands Station is up for developers (and) one of the companies moved out and the developers offered the space to us for around a year.

"So we're moving straight into it now. It's a project to get things that would otherwise end up as landfill back into circulation," he said.

The plan is to use such material that might have been thrown away "to be repaired or 'upcycled'" — made into artistic products — or to contribute with recycling efforts elsewhere in the world"," Mr Kay added.

STWC say that they are currently working towards a plan to fill a shipping container with recyclable materials to be shipped wherever they are most needed.

Image via Save The World Club

For example, countries that don't have access to plastic manufacturing can reuse plastic recycling waste from the UK to prevent it going in landfill and therefore stop more oil being used in the production of new plastic too.

"We're hoping to get artists along to use recyclable materials for their products, to use the vast amounts of bric a brac that would otherwise end up as waste," Mr Kay said.

In that sense, STWC hope 'The Circulatory' can be a practical community recycling hub and a place for artists and other residents with creative projects in the borough.

"It's fabulous. This happened really fast and we want to try and get it set up as soon as possible," he added.

STWC are hosting an open evening with refreshments this Friday (November 1) from 5pm at The Circulatory at Berrylands Station, to announce their new plans and encourage artists and people interested in being involved to share their thoughts.

The Circulatory will be signposted from Berrylands Stations.

The developers declined to comment.