Wadhurst named best place to live in the UK
Wadhurst has beaten 71 other locations in the country to top the ‘Sunday Times Best Places to Live’ list for 2023. The judges praised the small market town for its good schools and ‘stunning scenery’, and said it offered ‘pretty much everything needed for modern life in miniature’. The town of less than 5,000 people […]
Dunorlan parking battle ‘may be lost’
ALTHOUGH no formal decision has yet been made on whether or not to introduce parking charges at Dunorlan Park, in the heart of Tunbridge Wells, the Chairman of the Friends of Dunorlan Park group fears says the ‘battle may already be lost’. Chairman Peter Russell, who has been at the forefront of raising concerns over […]
CEO of town’s largest employer steps down
THE CEO of Tunbridge Wells’ largest employer has stepped down with almost immediate effect, staff learned last week. Tracy Garrad of AXA Health announced her resignation to staff last week, and will be stepping down at the end of the month. AXA Health said: “After four successful years as the Chief Executive of AXA Health, […]
Local & Live safe for another year
THE FUTURE of Local & Live, the town’s biggest annual event, has been secured for another year. Last year, the future of the four-day music festival was left in doubt owing to a deficit of £20,000. That’s when Maxipay Accounting Services stepped in as the headline sponsor. Now the local accountancy firm has reaffirmed its […]
Most local renters pay nearly half their income
NEW research has found that those who rent property in Tunbridge Wells spend as much as 43% of their monthly income on rent. This is higher than the Kent average of 40.4% − the second highest only to London at 53.6%. Alan Boswell Landlord Building Insurance experts used official government statistics to investigate which UK […]
Demand for good schools pushes more Tunbridge Wells homes over £1m mark
THE NUMBER of homes in Tunbridge Wells worth over £1million has increased by more than 43 per cent over the past three years, estate agent Savills has reported. Tunbridge Wells saw 539 sales over the £1million mark in 2021 and 2022, compared to 378 sales in the previous two years. The absolute number of homes […]
Students receive valuable lessons about their future career pathways
Earlier this month, The Skinners’ Kent Academy in Tunbridge Wells hosted a special week-long event for students in order to mark National Careers Week. The Times discovers more about the event and how it benefited the pupils… National Careers Week (NCW) offers students around the UK the opportunity to obtain free careers guidance and […]
More hospital public parking but less allocated to the staff
IN RESPONSE to increasing demand, Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury is to allocate more parking spaces to patients and visitors, although apparently at the expense of staff parking. In last week’s Times poll held on Facebook and Instagram, 86.82 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement: ‘I often struggle to find a space’ with […]
Daffodil appeal overtakes former fundraising targets
THIS year’s Marie Curie Great Daffodil Appeal amassed a record number of donations in collections from Crowborough, despite the cost-of-living crisis. Volunteer collectors at Morrisons in Crowborough have raised £1,093.17 for the charity, which provides nursing and hospice care for those with a terminal illness, as well as a telephone line and other support. Acknowledging […]
Going the extra hundreds of miles
A WOMAN who set out to raise money for cancer research, after her friend’s life was devastated by both her own cancer diagnoses and those of her family, has raised more than four times her original fundraising goal. Jane Stubbings met Denise Lyons when they were both training to be nurses 40 years ago. Over […]
