Tunbridge Wells Borough Council

Throughout 2023/2024 the Liberal Democrats had thousands of conversations with residents across the Borough. The key message we were given is that people wanted change. 

Now that we have a majority on the Borough Council, we are in a position to deliver the change that we promised in May 2024, namely to: 

• Freeze car parking charges for 12 months while we continue to manage Council finances prudently.
• Breathe life back into the town centre and continue to improve Royal Victoria Place (RVP) with more family-friendly shops and leisure activities.
• Fight for the right infrastructure for new housing developments.
• Plant a tree for every resident in the Borough and create a new nature reserve near Paddock Wood.
• Create new youth hubs across the Borough.

Our record of delivery 

Finances

Unlike many local authorities, the Borough Council now has exemplary finances, with no external debt, a balanced budget for two years in a row, and up-to-date audited financial statements – all achieved under the sound financial stewardship of the Lib Dems while protecting key services and easing the financial burden on residents where possible. Car parking charges have been frozen since late 2023, delivering on our manifesto promise of May 2024.

Town Centre

Footfall is up across the town centre and in Royal Victoria Place year-on-year. RVP has an 86% occupancy rate, and we are investing £1m to fit its car park with solar panels to lower our energy costs. We continue to work hard to improve the street scene, attract more investment and improve traffic arrangements in the town centre. Nando’s is open and Primark is due to open in late 2025. 

Sustainable development

We’re exploring ways to deliver more affordable housing either in partnership with others or by ourselves. We continue to work hard to ensure new development proposals, such as the one being considered by Wealden District Council on the Frant Road, have the necessary infrastructure and services to support both their scale and their impact on the community.

Tree planting

Our tree planting initiative has started across Royal Tunbridge Wells with 3,000 saplings planted this winter in parks and recreation grounds in town. We are working in partnership with the Kent High Weald Partnership and Kent Plan Tree. We are also working with the Woodland Trust to plant another 12,000 trees in 2025. This is part of our promise to create a lasting legacy for our children by investing in our environment and continue to enhance the wellbeing of residents across the borough. 

Youth services

With £60,000 committed in the 2025/26 budget, we’re busy working with strategic partners and Paddock Wood Town Council to launch the first youth hub in Paddock Wood. Recruitment has started for a youth worker. We’ve also identified a number of existing youth services, run primarily by volunteers that could benefit from support from TWBC, and we are looking at how we can better connect young people to existing youth services. All of our youth programmes are replacing services cut by Conservative-controlled Kent County Council. 

Village speeding plans

We have set aside money to support rural villages with their Highway Improvements Plans (HIPs) in order to reduce speeding through villages. We are currently working with KCC on the implementation of this project.