Fire risk assessments, fire alarm systems, CCTV and access control for retailers, landlords, care providers and office occupiers across Kingston upon Thames, Norbiton and Surbiton.
KT1, KT2 and KT6 combine a medieval market town, a Victorian railway suburb and a large university. From Hayes, the A312 runs south to Hampton and crosses the A308, which passes Hampton Court Palace and crosses Kingston Bridge into the town.
IDS Global has traded since 2011 from one office at 27-37 Station Road, Hayes, and is a member of the IFSM and the FPA.
The council's July 2026 Local Plan topic paper says the London Plan designates Kingston as a Metropolitan Centre, with Surbiton a district centre alongside New Malden and Tolworth. It describes the town centre as home to major anchor stores, significant office developments, higher education institutions and an expanding leisure and evening economy. The Bentall Centre opened in November 1992 and covers 600,000 square feet, with 75 stores and 1,900 parking spaces. The planning approval for the Eden Campus covers two linked office buildings of 363,000 square feet, with a 16-storey residential tower alongside.
Kingston University has four campuses and had 18,815 students in 2024/25, with halls at Kingston Hill, beside Knights Park and on either side of Surbiton. In Norbiton, the Cambridge Road Estate is being rebuilt in phases as 2,170 homes, 974 of them for council rent. Ashton Meadows Nursing Home on Coombe Lane West and Kingston Care Home on Jemmett Close are both registered to support people with dementia.
The council's licensing page lists a current fire risk assessment among the documents an HMO licence application must include. Shared student houses, flats over shops and converted houses in Surbiton and Norbiton each need one that reflects how the building is used.
We assess the whole building, including escape routes, doors, detection and emergency lighting, and leave the responsible person a prioritised action plan.
Fire risk assessments
At 3.51am on 20 July 2026 the Brigade took the first of five calls to a hotel on Kingston Hill. Four engines and about 25 firefighters came from Kingston, Surbiton and New Malden, and a first-floor room was destroyed. The Brigade believes an e-bike battery failed.
We design and install BS 5839 systems for hotels, halls of residence, care homes and shops, with detection and sounders chosen for sleeping areas and for the narrow plots of the Old Town.
Fire alarm installation
Police.uk data for August 2025 to July 2026 shows about 974 shoplifting offences and 106 robberies inside the Kingston Town neighbourhood boundary, against about 210 shoplifting offences in St Mark's and Seething Wells.
We cover tills, entrances, service yards and car parks with cameras matched to the lighting on site, and set up recording that staff can export for the police.
CCTV installation
Office campuses, student blocks and new housing schemes all need different people to reach different floors. On the Cambridge Road Estate, the project website said that Block C received Building Safety Regulator approval in April 2026, with construction due to start in June 2026.
We fit card, fob or keypad readers on entrances, lifts, plant rooms and car parks, so a manager can cancel a lost credential without changing a lock.
Access controlKingston Old Town conservation area was designated in March 1971 and covers 334 properties. The council says the old core around All Saints Church and Market Place has the best preserved medieval street pattern of its type in outer London. Listings include Clattern Bridge and the Coronation Stone, both Grade I, Market House at Grade II* and the Guildhall at Grade II.
The Ancient Market Place hosts one of London's oldest street markets, first recorded in 1242. Between The Bridges has operated it since 1 April 2025, and its proposals include a restaurant or cafe in Market House and an outdoor seating area. Owners should check with the council before fixing anything to listed fabric.
Kingston has 26 conservation areas covering about 9.4% of the borough. Surbiton Town Centre was designated in June 1991 and covers 311 properties. The council traces it to the Surbiton "New Town" that Thomas Pooley laid out after the railway station moved in 1838, with early houses on Victoria Road and Brighton Road converted to shops by 1865.
Surbiton Station is an Art Deco landmark listed at Grade II, as are the stucco buildings at 2 to 8 Victoria Road. Houses converted into shops and offices are part of the centre's history, and a fire risk assessment for one of them has to treat the upper floors and rear exit as a single escape route.
We counted police.uk street-level crimes for August 2025 to July 2026 inside six Metropolitan Police neighbourhood boundaries, simplified for the query, so the figures are approximate. Kingston Town recorded about 4,526 crimes, including 974 shoplifting offences, 244 thefts from the person and 52 burglaries. St Mark's and Seething Wells recorded about 1,057, with 210 shoplifting offences. Surbiton Hill recorded about 791, including 93 vehicle crimes and 44 burglaries, and Norbiton about 781, with 51 vehicle crimes and 31 burglaries.
London Fire Brigade lists three stations in the borough: Kingston on Richmond Road, Surbiton on Ewell Road and New Malden on Burlington Road. The Brigade does not attend automatic alarms between 7am and 8.30pm unless a call confirms a fire, but it does attend HMOs, flats, care homes, student accommodation, hotels, schools and Grade I, II and II* listed buildings.
That means a shop in the Bentall Centre or an office on Eden Street needs a named person to dial 999 in the daytime, while halls of residence and listed Old Town buildings are on the exemption list.
The council's page, read in October 2026, says a property is an HMO when at least three people from two or more households share facilities. A licence is needed when five or more people from two or more households share. The fee is £319.40 per letting for a new licence and £250 to renew, and unlicensed operation can bring an unlimited fine. We assess fire doors and alarms before you apply.
Not unless a 999 call confirms a fire between 7am and 8.30pm. Shops and offices are not on the Brigade's exemption list, while Grade I, II and II* listed buildings, hotels and student halls are. Your procedure should name who checks the alarm panel and who calls 999, and we can build that into the fire risk assessment.
Often, with care. The Old Town includes Grade I, II* and II listed buildings, and Market Place premises have narrow plots. We survey first, choose compact housings and keep cable runs internal where possible. Check with the council before fixing anything to a listed facade, because consent may be needed even for small fixings.
The July 2026 hotel fire on Kingston Hill was believed to start with an e-bike battery. The Brigade says not to store or charge the device on an escape route such as a hallway, and to charge only with the correct charger. A fire risk assessment should cover where tenants charge, and we can add detection in communal areas.
