Cabinet agrees to consult on parking rises after criticism of not engaging with public
The Lib-Dem led Cabinet of the ‘Borough Partnership’ under leader Ben Chapelard, wants to increase fees for all its Council owned car parks and scrap the current free parking in Southborough and Paddock Wood. As reported in the Times last week, residents, councillors and business owners in those two towns have opposed the plans. Petitions […]
Tonbridge MP crashes out of contest to be the UK’s next PM
The Tonbridge & Malling MP had made it to the last five candidates by securing the requisite votes last week to make it through to Monday night’s ballot. But Mr Tugendhat, who was standing to replace Boris Johnson after the PM said he would step down earlier this month, received just 31 votes out of […]
Woman who posed as a good Samaritan after stabbing man in Tunbridge Wells is jailed
Chloe Glew, 23, left the 30-year-old man suffering serious injuries before lying to police that she had been trying to help him and that someone else was to blame. Glew and the victim were known to each other and on November 9 last year had visited a flat together in Brokes Way in the High […]
Festival saved as accountancy firm puts it back in the black
As reported in the Times last month, Local & Live, which sees 20,000 people descend on the town during the August bank holiday weekend, was threatened with not going ahead this year or having to be scaled right back as organisers were struggling to raise the necessary funds. The festival, which is now a registered […]
Teenagers arrested after woman rescued from London Road blaze
The blaze last Wednesday (June 29) started in a shed behind the Atman Clinic in London Road, Southborough. The fire broke out in at around 3.30pm and soon spread, setting fire to a fence before blowing out the windows of an apartment upstairs to the clinic. A woman was taken to hospital suffering from smoke […]
Aldi offers finder’s fee as it shops for second store site
Aldi, which already has more than 960 stores across the UK, is looking for a freehold town-centre or edge-of-town site that is around 1.5 acres. The site should be able to accommodate a 20,000 sq ft store with around 100 parking spaces. Ideally the location will be near a main road with good visibility and […]
Last visible signs of pandemic disappear as hospital patients and visitors unmask
In what could be seen as the removal of the last visible signs of the pandemic, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust (MTW) changed the rule at the end of last month. It means that visitors or patients arriving at the hospital no longer need to wear a face covering before they can enter, although […]
Population of Tunbridge Wells hasn’t changed in a decade census reveals
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics on Tuesday, show that when the census was taken in 2011, there were 115,048 people living in the borough. But the latest data, which was collected on March 21 last year, reveals that in the last decade, the population in the borough has grown by just 252 […]
Downhill racers raise thousands for charity as Soap Box returns to park
The race nearly had to be cancelled on its return following the Covid pandemic after insurers refused to back it, but it was saved at the eleventh hour by local brokers NFU Mutual. Around 5,000 people descended on Dunorlan Park on Saturday (June 25) to see 22 businesses and six schools race their ‘pimped-up’ go […]
Fringe festival is back after its initial success
TW Fringe, modelled on the world-famous Scottish capital’s arts festival, will see hundreds of events take place across Tunbridge Wells between July 4-17. The two-week extravaganza returns to scores of venues in the town ranging from local pubs to community halls, churches, The Forum and The Pantiles. There will be a mixture of free and […]
