The Victoria Snooker Centre in Tunbridge Wells says it now accepts that it only has 5 months left in its ornate Victorian home, the Friendly Societies’ Hall in Camden Road (pictured below).
But the club appears more hopeful of getting the council’s help in finding a new home in the town, with Mike Martin MP describing the snooker centre as an “important part of the community.”
The way is now clear for the council to demolish the inside of the building as part of its estimated £ 60 million project to redevelop the Royal Victoria Place Shopping Centre.
In a statement on Thursday afternoon, the Victoria Snooker Centre said: “We have accepted that we will no longer be trading at 7 Camden Road as of the 28th February 2027.”
The Snooker Centre concluded: “We are now working alongside Tunbridge Wells Borough Council and the MP of Tunbridge Wells, in which they have promised to help find us a new premises for The Victoria Snooker Centre.”
In response, Mike Martin MP posted on X (formerly Twitter): “I and Justine Rutland Deputy leader of the Council will be working hard to try and find another home for this important part of our community.”
A short video released by Southborough News on Youtube recently outlined how the club’s activities benefited a range of people in the town. Click here to watch:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/lr0QD5498Qc
In another short film after the May local election, Mike Martin MP and the Leader of the council, Ben Chapelard, explained what the RVP shopping centre development was aiming to achieve. Watch here:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/gc0v-HshKlM
The Friendly Societies’ Hall has ornate ceilings (pictured below), but the government’s historic building experts recently ruled that the quality was not good enough to put the Hall on the national list of protected buildings, so removing the final block to demolition.
The council is expected to give final approval for the demolition and the council borrowing to pay for building the 3-screen boutique cinema and new restaurants in April 2027.
The total Tunbridge Wells Borough Council debt is estimated at £ 60 million, which will lead to around £ 3 million a year in interest and repayment costs, but the council says the scheme will “pay for itself” out of new shopping centre rental income and new car parking revenue.
