The Green Party in Tonbridge has endorsed the demolition of the Angel leisure centre but wants Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council to specify where replacement leisure facilities for residents should be built.

Mark Hood, who is the Green councillor for Judd ward, (pictured below) said: “We believe it is the right decision to demolish the Angel Centre because it performs poorly in terms of its environmental standards. It can’t be retrofitted to make it carbon neutral and it costs residents a huge amount of money in maintenance every year.”

Mark Hood continued: “We are particularly worried about it being relocated in the area next to the swimming pool where the miniature railway is now. We want reassurance on that matter.”

A meeting of key members of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council on 5th December decided that the Angel Centre no longer meets modern standards and it needed to be demolished, but it failed to say where replacement facilities could be.

The Angel centre was only opened in 1981. The site had previously been used for Kent county cricket matches until the Second World War and then the Tonbridge Angels soccer team used the site until they were relocated to the north of the town.

The Head of the Council Matt Boughton has already said that he can’t envisage that the miniature railway site would be used.  That’s despite the fact that the Leisure Trust which run the council’s facilities have previously said the area is their preferred option.

Mark Hood of the Green Party responded by saying he wanted the Council’s six member ruling cabinet to be “absolutely explicit that there will be no development on that site.”

You can hear more about the Green Party’s vision for development in Tonbridge by listening to the latest edition of the “West Kent Talking” free Podcast, which is available on all podcast platforms.

Or you can click on this link:

An online petition calling for the miniature railway site to be preserved on its current site attracted 2,890 signatures before being closed.

A meeting of key members of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council on 5th December decided that the town’s Angel Leisure Centre no longer meets modern standards and it needs to be demolished.

New leisure facilities will be built for residents, but no decision has been made on where that’ll be.

The Angel centre was only built in 1981.

Up to then much of the site was open space. It was used for Kent cricket matches until the Second World War, and then by the Tonbridge Angels soccer team, before they were relocated to the north of the town.

The leader of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council, the Conservative Matt Boughton (below), said the decision to demolish the Angel Centre was made by the six councillors who make up the cabinet that runs the Borough council.

Matt Boughton said he wanted “to keep all options on the table” regarding the future location and nature of the new facilities.

Unlike most of the council’s leisure buildings, the Angel Centre currently makes a loss.

Matt Boughton says the Angel Centre also has very high energy bills and carbon emissions and the council has to focus on its policies to combat climate change. The Conservatives have pledged to deliver carbon neutral leisure centres by 2027.

There’s concern from some Tonbridge residents that a replacement for the Angel Centre could be built on the area currently used by the popular Tonbridge Miniature Railway (shown below).

The miniature railway site is next to Tonbridge swimming pool. It was favoured earlier this year in a statement from the Tonbridge and Malling Leisure Trust who operate the council’s facilities under contract. That’s despite the fact that the area often floods.

An online petition has been started by people concerned at the possible loss of the miniature railway. Around two thousand people have already signed the petition, pointing out that the community asset has fostered a love for model railways and engineering among generations.

But Tonbridge and Malling Council leader Matt Boughton says he’s disappointed by the petition as the council, which owns the site, has no plans to use the miniature railway site for a new leisure building.

He said: “We all enjoy the model engineering society running the miniature railway. Many of us use it. We obviously want to make sure that it thrives. It is something that helps make Tonbridge the town that it is. So I can’t envisage a situation where the council would decide to use the railway site for leisure facilities at all.”

You can hear more of Matt Boughton’s comments on the West Kent Radio News Feature on Monday 11th December at 7.30am, repeated at 8.30am and at 12.30, 1.30, 4.30 and 6.30pm.

You can listen to West Kent Radio online, on smart speakers or on 95.5, 106.7 and 107.2 FM.  The station now broadcasts from studios in Southborough.

The rest of the coming week’s News Features are about:
TUESDAY: Victory for the “Save Capel” campaign
WEDNESDAY: Tonbridge churches continue Ukraine relief effort
THURSDAY: Tudor Christmas at Ightham Mote