Author: Victoria Roberts

Local charities benefit from Movement for Good grants

TWO local charities are celebrating grants from a £1million fund, following public nominations and voting in the Movement for Good Awards. Over 11,000 good causes in the UK and Ireland received more than 135,000 nominations, and 150 were chosen at random for the grants, which this month included the Brains Matter Charity in Tunbridge Wells, […]

Moonlight Walk brings community together to remember loved ones

THE HOSPICE in the Weald’s Moonlight Walk took place on Saturday June 17 at Knole Park, Sevenoaks, bringing the community together to celebrate and remember loved ones. The total raised on JustGiving at the time of reporting has reached £46,669, which will be used to provide free care to patients with terminal illnesses and to […]

New campaign to tackle ‘bed poverty’ in families

A CROWBOROUGH-based children’s and families charity is hoping to raise £10,000 or more in a campaign to provide suitable beds and bedding for older children in the area. Baby2Baby was founded in 2018 to help provide for infants and small children whose families cannot afford baby clothing and essentials, and has since expanded operations to […]

Fourth Black Deer Festival rocks Eridge Park

Bedecked in everything from Stetsons and cowboy boots to cool Boho-chic, more than 10,000 fans flocked to the Black Deer Festival at Eridge Park last weekend to immerse themselves in the music, food and storytelling of Americana… Friday’s headliner, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats delivered a blistering performance on the Black Deer Stage, and […]

Holiday lets approved after changes to planning regime

A PLAN to convert a Langton Green stable building into two holiday lets with a side extension has been approved, eight-and-a-half years after it was first submitted, and an appeal rejected. The original plan to convert a redundant stable building was refused by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (TWBC) in 2014, but the owners reapplied last […]

West Kent Radio aims for better reception

COMMUNITY radio station West Kent Radio (WKR) has joined a consortium that will enable it to transmit on digital audio broadcasting (DAB) radio alongside its FM and online transmissions. Communications regulator Ofcom is currently accepting bids across the country for small-scale DAB (SS-DAB) licences. The move will increase the access of regional and community stations […]

Schoolchildren forced to relocate

MORE than 100 local schoolchildren have been moved within their school and into other local schools after structural concerns were raised by the Department for Education (DfE) last week (June 15). DfE last week informed schools that they had adopted new guidelines from the Institute of Structural Engineers regarding structural detailing of roofs and RAAC […]

Mount Ephraim home re-opens

A MOTHER and daughter have moved back to Tunbridge Wells after five years away, as the Mount Ephraim House care home re-opened last week. The home, which is part of the not-for-profit Greensleeves Care group, was built in the 1840s. It has just undergone a major, five-year renovation programme, which saw 27 residents transferred to […]

Sailing club gains Paralympic recognition for participation

A SAILING club which allows those with physical impairments to sail with non-disabled crews has been recognised by the national Paralympics board. Based at Bewl Water, near Lamberhurst, the Mariners of Bewl have their own fleet of adaptive dinghies which cater for a range of physical needs and sailing abilities. The Mariners were named ‘Club […]

Half-term hit musical raises £2,500 for stillbirth charity

AN AMATEUR production of a classic family musical packed the Assembly Hall and filled the collecting buckets for charity, thanks to the theatre company’s biggest audiences in a decade. The Tunbridge Wells Operatic and Dramatic Society’s (TWODS) production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang had standing ovations and full auditoriums during its four-day run over the […]