The leader of the council and the Mayor were among the guests to get a sneak peek of Town House last week before it opens on Penrhyn Road in 2019.

Kingston University held a ‘one-year-to-go’ event on October 10 for its building set to open in a year’s time.

It was attended by Cllr Liz Green, leader of the council, the Mayor of Kingston Thay Thayalan, residents, staff and students.

Guests were given the chance to take tours of the building and walk up the main staircase for the first time.

Those present also sampled a Town House cake baked for the occasion and assembled a two metre-wide picture of Town House from lego pieces.

University vice-chancellor Professor Steven Spier said: “Town House will have a state-of-the-art-library but also, more unusually, performance spaces and cafés which we hope will be attractive for local residents.

“We’re partnering with the council, Kingston First and the Greater London Authority to improve Kingston’s amenities.

“Town House, which I believe will be the best structure built in the borough since the war, will be a big part of that.”

Cllr Liz Green said: “It is about that partnership because we all care deeply about Kingston, how the place looks and how it feels and we all want to continue to make Kingston better together.

“In Kingston we are no longer town and gown. We’re town with gown.”

Since building began on Town House, over 500 students have visited the site from schools, colleges and the university and nearly 900 students have been part of the construction work.