Chaos as KCC prohibits face-to-face meetings and online is ruled out
A key meeting had to be called off after County Hall banned its officers from face-to-face encounters with councillors and the Borough Council was unable to hold the meeting online. The stalemate meant a meeting planned this week of the Joint Transport Board [JTB] had to be cancelled. On Monday [July 5], councillors at TWBC […]
Cycle lane planned in last ditch attempt to keep £600,000 funding
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council [TWBC] has now made a last-ditch attempt to get the cash for a new cycle lane initiative. It all started when the Government’s Local Growth Fund was given more than a billion pounds to distribute to local authorities. Some of it was handed to the South East Local Enterprise Partnership [SELEP] […]
Council wants residents who spend a penny to pay more in local taxes
The move, if approved, could see other councils following suit, meaning that householders in areas that benefit from certain extra services – such as public toilets – will have to pay a ‘special expense’ on their annual tax bill. ‘Special expenses’ are currently used to fund things like local parks, playgrounds and allotments, but Tonbridge […]
Hospital unveils plans to attract more doctors
The campus will feature a six-storey accommodation block that will include a learning hub, private study and offices, sited next to the existing hospital in Pembury. The initiative by Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust [MTW] has been given the green light by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council [TWBC]. When completed, the campus will accommodate 145 […]
New community group vows ‘to get things done’
Our ToWn is the brainchild of a group of councillors and local business and community leaders who say they will work with organisations and volunteers ‘to get things done in Tunbridge Wells’. The initial trustees of the group include the Council’s cabinet member for Tunbridge Wells, Cllr David Scott; Women’s Equality Party campaigner Liz Orr; […]
Average house price breaks through the £500,000 barrier
House prices in Tunbridge Wells shot up by an average of £50,000, and prices in Crowborough saw a similar increase, according to data by the Office for National Statistics [ONS]. The House Price Index is based on Land Registry figures and shows between April 2020 and April 2021 house prices rose by an average 8.9 […]
Refuse contractors are still rubbish at doing their job – and that’s official
Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council [TMBC] and Tunbridge Wells Borough Council [TWBC] handed Urbaser the joint contract to empty the bins for both boroughs, worth around £3million a year from each authority, in March 2019. In January last year, Urbaser was fined by both TMBC and TWBC over its service, with the Councils telling the […]
Traders look forward to end of ‘ugly’ high street barriers
Kent County Council [KCC] erected the plastic barriers in August last year after the High Street was converted into a one-way system last August, as part of the Government’s £1.6million Active Travel scheme. KCC was allocated just over £8million by the Department for Transport to invest in schemes across the county to encourage walking and […]
Music festival takes a ‘massive’ financial hit but will bounce back
This weekend should have seen the Americana festival take place in Eridge Park after it was postponed from last year due to the pandemic. But on Monday June 14 the Government announced they were delaying their roadmap out of lockdown, prohibiting any outdoor event with more than 4,000 people in attendance, which saw it cancelled […]
Music festival falls victim to the lockdown push back
The announcement came after Prime Minister Boris Johnson pushed back the planned ending of all Covid restrictions from June 21 to July 19 on Monday [June 14]. The Americana music festival, first held in 2018, was due to run from June 25-27. Thousands of music fans were expected to descend on Eridge Park. But Covid […]
