Free news coverage of Southborough and Tunbridge Wells in Kent in England – 100,000 page views since 2016!
Lloyds Bank will go ahead with the closure of its Southborough branch at the end of July, despite a week of public concern about the decision. Many customers have already sent letters of protest about the loss of the town's last bank branch, but a spokesman for Lloyds Bank told this blog on Friday that …
Continue reading Lloyds Bank Southborough: Closure Seems Inevitable
The annual Southborough Town Meeting on Tuesday was told of new efforts to stop future housing development on the Ridgewaye Fields after the Hub is complete. A key figure in promoting the Hub project, Peter Oakford, a Conservative who sits on the Town, Borough and County Councils, said: “The lawyers have been instructed to develop …
Continue reading Town Council says its “Intention” is to Preserve Remaining Ridgewaye Fields
The annual Town Meeting - that's for the people of Southborough to let our council know what they think - is coming up in the next 24 hours. It is on Tuesday at 7 pm at the Crundwell Road Community Centre, TN4 0LL. I have received a statement reacting to Glenn Lester’s interview from Martin …
Continue reading Labour Supporters Ask for More Protection for Remaining Ridgewaye Fields
After publishing my interview with the Mayor of Southborough, Glenn Lester, I’ve obtained a response from one person who was active in last year's campaign to persuade the Council not to demolish the hundred year old theatre, the Royal Victoria Hall. He's Ken Hampton, who is a professional production sound engineer for theatres in the …
Continue reading Refurbishing the Existing Theatre is Cheaper Option, Insists “Save RVH” Campaign
Below you will find the full transcript of our 20 minute interview with the Mayor of Southborough, Glenn Lester. Has he reassured you that the new buildings will not look ugly, the library will have as many books and staff as now, and that the windfall cash from selling part of the Ridgewaye fields is …
Interview with Glenn Lester, Mayor of Southborough, recorded on Friday 8th April 2016 Q: And a lot of people – maybe not so interested in the Royal Victoria Hall – will have agreed with all those aspirations – but wondered why the design (obviously we don’t know the final design because that will be in …
Interview with Glenn Lester, Mayor of Southborough, recorded on Friday 8th April 2016 Q: Now a lot of strong feeling was evident about the Royal Victoria Hall because it is the first municipally funded theatre. It is more than 100 years old. There are lots of old pictures which connect us to the past about …
Continue reading Glenn 3: Demolishing the Royal Victoria Hall
Interview with Glenn Lester, Mayor of Southborough, recorded on Friday 8th April 2016 Q: For many years, there was a concern that the price of this big development would be that Southborough would be losing a big chunk of its playing fields. Is a big proportion of what people use at the moment for football …
Interview recorded on Friday 8th April 2016 My name is Glenn Lester. I am the Mayor and Chairman of Southborough Town Council. I have been a member of Southborough Town Council for 5 years. I have been the mayor for the last 12 months. I come up for re-election as mayor in a month’s time. …
By Anya Heilpern and Martin Webber For democracy to work, voters need information. Information seems to us to be in pretty scarce supply when it comes to the future of Southborough. Brief local newspaper articles or posts on Facebook sites clearly don't do the job. That's the reason we decided to start this blog. Southborough …
