Southborough’s Member of Parliament, Greg Clark, was at the new Arriva Bus Depot in the North Farm Industrial Estate on Friday to declare the site officially open.

Mr Clark (pictured below right) made a speech to bus workers and local councillors, telling them: “The new logo, the brightness of the new vehicles, the livery and the vehicles themselves I think gives a real sense of optimism and confidence in the company, the industry and the community that you serve.”

Mr Clark said he was grateful for the continued and expanding presence of Arriva in the area after the closure of the St John’s depot.  He predicted: “There is an incredibly bright future for buses here.”

Mr Clark also praised the approach of the Arriva management team: “In every respect, from listening to the public, getting out there to make sure the show goes on even when the weather is rough, to investing in the future in apprenticeships to making sure we have of some of the smartest vehicles anywhere in the country.”

Mr Clark is pictured (above right) shaking hands with Arriva’s Area Managing Director, Oliver Monahan. Mr Monahan told Southborough News he was “excited that the investment programme had been delivered so we now have the punch we need to deliver great services.”

When Mr Monahan took his current role, there was a real risk of Arriva being forced out of the area, as the site they had agreed to move to had been withdrawn by the developers who had opted to sell the land for housing instead.

Mr Monahan said: “When I joined in March 2017, we had to vacate St John’s Road on 1st October. We had to buy a new site, secure legal process, all the conveyancing and get planning permission and built out. That involved us living in a field for a few months.”

Mr Monahan appealed for more people who do have the option of going by car to take the bus instead, pointing out that buses remove congestion as each double decker vehicle can take 70 cars off the road, helping speed up ambulances, delivery trucks and other road users.

He continued: “When we are driving we have to focus on driving, but when you are on the bus you can listen to your headphones, read the paper, take notes or just clear your mind.” Mr Monahan also held out the prospect of cheaper promotional fares  for evening journeys to increase bus usage.

Mr Monahan said customers will notice much cleaner buses with the state of the art bus wash, which is a vast improvement on the hosing down washes in the old depot.

The new depot will be open to the public for a “Family Fun Day” on 27th May. The depot is on the 277 bus route from Tunbridge Wells further down the road next to John Lewis. A special shuttle service will run from the end of the road (Kingstanding Way) to the depot.

Mr Clark said one of the things he was most excited about was “meeting the apprentices on the site, learning their trade maintaining these fantastic vehicles.”

At the 2018 annual Town Meeting, Southborough residents were told that a contractor to build the new Hub development would sign up to the job next month.

The Town Council’s representative on the Hub project, Ian Kinghorn (above), was asked about progress on the site which currently houses a large pile of rubble from the demolished Royal Victoria Hall theatre.

Mr Kinghorn said: “The exchange of contracts is likely to take place in May with the contractor.  They will then go through an evaluation looking at the design and that could take three months, we’ll say. So certainly three months after that, they will then go ahead with actually digging and building the foundations and building the actual Hub.”

Mr Kinghorn said the building would be finished “from when they start, it’s likely to be anything from 18 months to 24 months after that”.

The man in charge of the project for Kent County Council, Jonathan White, strongly hinted that after the three month “value engineering” review by the contractor, the Hub design will end up being significantly revised.  Mr White suggested the planned curved glass design in the Library section was likely to be too costly.

Mr White said he’d seen the proposals from the various developers.  He continued: “It does depend on what you like and what you don’t like. My personal opinion is that what was presented was an improvement upon possibly what we went forward with.”

Mr White continued: “I know it is a little bit self-demeaning for me to say that about a project I led on, but in my view, what’s being proposed by the developer is an improvement. One of the improvements is – for example – red brick not cladding going forward. So I don’t see it as a degrading of the project, I see it as an improvement.”

Labour’s Cllr Nick Blackwell expressed surprise that Council discussions about options for saving costs on the Hub had not been shared with the meeting. One resident asked the councillors “to come clean…this is just not on.”

The annual town meeting was attended by around 50 residents.  But one key promoter of the Hub concept was missing: Cllr Peter Oakford – a prominent figure on the Town, Borough and Kent County Councils. Mr Oakford was attending an personal event in London.

Bus users need to look out for changes to the timetable from Monday for the services that run along the A26 from Southborough to Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells.

The bus firm says the Spring changes are aiming mainly to sort out school transport congestion. Arriva says it is still examining the service on the A26 for commuters at peak times and is looking to see how improvements could be made in the future.

The latest information suggests little overall change, although there do appear to be fewer buses for anyone arriving at Tonbridge station after 8.30pm and hoping to get back to Southborough. Some extra services do appear to have been scheduled for those travelling around 5pm back from Tonbridge.

The solid regular service every ten minutes in the middle of the day continues, although the 402 services will now stop at Sevenoaks bus station, rather than continuing onto Dunton Green. 402 times have been adjusted as a result. The 7 services continue to serve Maidstone with almost unchanged times.

Two main problems that deter bus use still seem to be in evidence:
(1) Poor Service at peak rush hour –  There is still a 25 minute gap in the morning service from Southborough to Tonbridge between 8.10am and 8.35.
(2) Scarcity of buses in early mornings and late evenings – There are only three buses now after 8.30pm from Tonbridge to Southborough at 8.59pm, 9.59 and 10.59.  Services previously at 8.45pm and 9.23pm appear to have been cancelled.

Here are the new Monday to Friday services…
m indicates the 7 to/from Maidstone; others are 402 to Sevenoaks via Hildenborough

From SOUTHBOROUGH (Sheffield Road) to Tonbridge:

School days only buses:
h indicates a 582 bus along the A26 to Hugh Christie School
k indicates a 229 Seaford bus service to Weald of Kent, which turns right up Pembury Rd
w indicates a 77B bus
x indicates a 402B bus
z indicates a 147 bus

From TONBRIDGE Quarry Hill to Southborough / Tunbridge Wells:

School days only buses:
b is 402B to Bennett Memorial School
s is 147 to Tunbridge Wells
a is 147B to Bennett Memorial School
c is 77 to Bennett Memorial School

Southborough began the month of March 2018 covered in a beautiful blanket of snow.  Five inches fell on Tuesday in what appears to be the biggest snowfall for seven years.

The picture above was taken in a sunny spell around 8am on Wednesday as I walked along the A26 from Soouthborough to Tonbridge station.

Most schools were closed and Friday’s refuse collection was abandoned.

The main routes were successfully cleared despite further snowfalls.  But – with temperatures remaining below freezing – on Friday morning, most residential roads were still covered in compacted snow and ice and therefore remained very slippery.

Below are more pictures from Wednesday morning taken in Pennington Road.

A partial bus service did restart on Wednesday, having failed to operate on Tuesday morning. The trains to London kept operating despite the freezing conditions – at least until Friday when a further snowfall caused major disruption for anyone trying to return from London.  A rapid thaw on Saturday 3 March caused all the snow to vanish – normality returned…

The Arriva bus company says its new Tunbridge Wells bus depot will start operation in January, helping to overcome problems with many bus services through Southborough in recent weeks.

Steve Leonard (pictured below), who is Arriva’s General Manager in Tunbridge Wells, spoke to Southborough News at the new depot site, which is currently being built near John Lewis on the North Farm industrial estate.

Since the closure of Arriva’s old depot in St. John’s in the autumn, many buses have had to be stored overnight in Maidstone or at a temporary site in Tonbridge, causing considerable logistical difficulties.

The new Tunbridge Wells depot (pictured below on 8th December) will be fitted out with the latest equipment, provide offices for Arriva staff from around the region and have space for any expansion of bus routes.

Mr Leonard said:  “With the new depot about to come online, work is already starting on revising the network to see what can be done to improve journeys and services. One of these issues is to see if we can reschedule services to see improvements such as more 402 services through Southborough at peak times.”

Mr Leonard said Arriva was examining ways to meet the demands of both schools and the general public at peak times. He said Arriva would consult widely before making any changes, which would take some time.  And before any changes are implemented, 56 days notice has to be given to the traffic commissioner’s office in Leeds.

The picture above shows the side of the depot which will house the Arriva staff offices, which is not expected to be finished for several weeks after the buses start to be housed in the new garage opposite (shown in top picture).

Mr Leonard said all options were being considered to improve routes, including improved ticket machines with contactless payment to speed up services that are currently slowed down by customers paying by cash.

He said “we need to rebuild trust” but he was hopeful that the opening of the new depot would be the start of significant improvements for customers and future customers.

Here are the current Monday to Friday services…
From SOUTHBOROUGH (Fountain stop by Victoria Rd) to Tonbridge:

m indicates the number 7 service to and from Maidstone

School days only buses:
h indicates a 582 bus along the A26 to Hugh Christie School
k indicates a 229 Seaford bus service to Weald of Kent, which turns right up Pembury Rd
w indicates a 77 bus only on school days
x indicates a 502 bus only on school days

Other services are 402 running from Tunbridge Wells to Sevenoaks via Hildenborough

Here is the Monday to Friday service for returning London commuters (and Tonbridge people wanting to work in Southborough or Tunbridge Wells)…
From TONBRIDGE Quarry Hill to Southborough / Tunbridge Wells:

School days only buses:
b is 502 to Bennett Memorial School
s is 147 to Tunbridge Wells
a is 147 to Bennett Memorial School
c is 77 to Bennett Memorial School

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council has approved the new Civic Centre plans by 30 votes to 13,  with 3 abstentions. The vote by the full council means every household in the borough takes on £1,600 of debt.

New council offices and a new theatre capable of hosting “West End” productions will be built on the edge of Calverley Grounds. The existing civic buildings are expected to be turned into residential flats.

The cost of servicing the £77million debt is estimated to be £60 per household per year but savings are planned to be made in waste collection contracts and cuts will be made to funding for citizens advice bureau and help for carers to offset those extra loan costs, so the council says council tax payers won’t pay any more.

Three opponents of the scheme from the public spoke at the meeting and were clapped from the public gallery. Three supporters from the public also spoke.

There was concern from several councillors that the scheme could mean the closure of the Hoopers department store. Hoopers appear not to want the scheme as it means the store loses its car park in order to provide access for the construction equipment for the new theatre.

An expensive compulsory purchase order is being considered for the Hoppers car park. This  would be funded by the council.

The two Conservative Councillors who represent voters in Southborough North continue to take different approaches to this Wednesday’s crucial Tunbridge Wells council vote on whether to take out a £77million loan to build a brand new Town Hall and Theatre.

The loan would represent £ 1,600 of new debt for every household in Tunbridge Wells and mean that the council tax would have to absorb £60 per household per year in interest payments on the loan.

One of Southborough North’s Conservative Borough Councillors, Joe Simmons, held an informal referendum in October in which 80 per cent of voters were against the scheme.

But this week, the other Conservative Councillor in the same ward, David Elliott (pictured below), told Southborough News that the local referendum in itself would not decide his vote.

Cllr Elliott, who is also Chairman of Tunbridge Wells Conservatives, told Southborough News: “I have not indicated how I am going to vote on Wednesday, so you’ll just have to wait until the meeting. I’ve heard all the arguments for and against the proposals, both from Officers of the Council and my electorate.”

Cllr Elliott continued: “Joe Simmons’ referendum was sent out too early before the electorate had had a chance to hear all the arguments both for and against. He should have done it after the public meetings and briefings had taken place and not before. We are both members of the same political party representing the same ward (Southborough North). The first I heard about his referendum was when it was posted through my letterbox. I was never consulted.”

This week Joe Simmons (pictured below) Southborough News he would stick with his plan to vote against the Civic Complex plans in line with the wishes of voters as indicated by the referendum.

Mr Simmons October referendum recorded 342 votes against the Civic Complex scheme and only 86 in favour. The turnout was 13 per cent.

You can read Tracey Moore putting her case in favour of the new Civic complex by clicking/tapping here

You can read Nicholas Pope putting the case against the scheme by clicking/tapping here

Meanwhile, the Tunbridge Wells Labour Party Chair, Hugo Pound, told Southborough News that the Party was against the scheme.  Mr Pound said: “Labour says that spending £90m plus to provide new council offices, an underground car park and a theatre is money spent on the wrong priorities. It is spending focused in Tunbridge Wells and paid for by taxpayers right across a borough that stretches from Benenden to Ashurst – where most people will never see the benefit.”

Mr Pound continued: “With Kent County Council cutting subsidies for up to 14 local bus services, and Borough Council slashing grants to local charities, and imposing new charges, this is the shape of cuts to come. It is a time when living standards continue to fall, when genuine affordable housing is out of reach, when parents are being asked for contributions to their children’s schooling, and when many roads are gridlocked and dangerously polluted. In view of this Tunbridge Wells Labour cannot support what can only be described as an out of touch and extravagant project which adds little to the lives of most ordinary voters.”

The Chairman of the Friends of Calverley Grounds, Nicholas Pope, has told Southborough News that “much better options have been ignored” in the rush to build on the edge of a listed park in the centre of Tunbridge Wells.

Nicholas Pope said: “The existing Town Hall and Assembly Hall theatre would make a wonderful renewed Town Hall and modern theatre with the right investment, and could even attract Heritage Lottery Fund support, reducing the cost to Tunbridge Wells Borough Council. In 2015 this was the plan!”

He argued: “Just take a look at what Hammersmith & Fulham Council are planning to do with their 1930s Town Hall in Hammersmith after a previous project was stopped because it was no longer financially viable. Now they are looking to revitalise their Town Hall, an iconic building from the 1930s, much like ours, and provide many different uses in the larger space they are creating.”

The proposed redevelopment in Hammersmith is illustrated below:

Mr Pope believes “there could be some major changes in the political landscape” if Tunbridge Wells councillors vote this week to proceed with the project. A new group called Tunbridge Wells Alliance says it will be standing in seats at next year’s Borough Council election “to push through change” by releasing the grip of the Conservative Party on the Council.

Mr Pope (pictured below) says: “You might think I am anti-theatre and anti-progress. I am not. A better theatre would be wonderful for Tunbridge Wells, but what type of theatre and at what cost? £90 million is excessive for the Civic Complex and the theatre is a fixed seat 19th century design that offers no flexibility for future changes in theatre that new technologies are bringing in now, and will increasingly be used in live productions.”

(Photo above by Ingrid Pope)

Mr Pope’s letter to Southborough News continues: “As chairman of the Friends of Calverley Grounds (shown below), my initial concern was, and still is, the damage to a Grade II Listed park. 5% will be dug up for the underground car park and covered over again, over 2% will be built on with an office building that will mainly be let out for commercial use, 66 trees will be removed, and the western edge of Calverley Grounds will change from a soft green boundary to an edifice of glass and concrete.

He continues: “Initially, we were told the underground car park would not change the topology of Calverley Grounds, the park would be returned to the way it was, but now the land in the north west corner will be raised and the slope on the northern side of the valley much steeper than before. This is not the original promise.”

“Additionally, if the council is going to take some land from the park, it should automatically trigger some form of investment, as compensation, in the rest of the park, and this should be included in the Civic Centre project budget. There are no plans to invest in the rest of the park, and, as an example, the bowling pavilion next to the new playground, which was due to be refurbished at the same time as the community funded Calverley Adventure Grounds was built, has not happened.”

“The tennis courts, the picnic area, the paths and much more need to be upgraded and improved. The park needs a masterplan to help decide what work should take place (e.g. re-routing of paths, review of planting, upgrading of the tired sporting facilities) and a budget put aside to undertake this work. Without a budget set aside to improve the the rest of the park and the failure to refurbish the pavilion, how can we trust the council?”

Mr Pope also cites a survey from 2015 on Tunbridge Wells Borough Council’s own website in which 55 per cent of respondents said they would NOT be prepared to pay an extra £ 10 a year on their council tax to fund “a significant project such as a theatre”.

Mr Pope argues that: “Councillor Tracy Moore’s enthusiastic stories about how much residents want the new theatre are not true. All evidence says Councillor Moore is wrong and is caught up in her own enthusiasm for the hugely expensive project and her role on Cabinet to sell the project to the residents of Tunbridge Wells.”

Mr Pope also states that: “The Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury, (shown below) which is repeatedly used as a model of what a new theatre could do for Royal Tunbridge Wells, is not as financially sound as we have all been led to believe.”

He states: “The theatre in Canterbury has required massive financial support for the last few years, averaging £1 million pounds for the last 3, significantly more than the current Assembly Hall Theatre subisidy of £250,000, or the subsidy that has been put in the budget for the new theatre, £350,000 per year. If the Marlowe Theatre is profitable, why is Canterbury Council handing it over to a charitable trust rather than using the profits to benefit residents?”

Mr Pope continues: “Not only is the subsidy likely to be much larger than expected, but also the cost of the theatre is more than £60 million when you take into account public realm work, inflation, consultancy costs, and the need to provide a new car park. £60 million is more than twice the cost of the Marlow Theatre, which cost £26 million.”

He concludes: “And we are told that is it cheaper to build a new theatre than to redevelop the existing Assembly Hall Theatre building, for this development, it is clearly not true. The Shellard Forumula has often been used to tell us how a new theatre will boost the local economy by £14 million or more, but the realistic figure is estimated at £4 million. The Shellard Formula is flawed and has been strongly criticised by the Arts Council.”

Mr Pope concludes that: “The funding of this large project would be a massive strain on the council and ultimately on residents.” He says the Borough Council’s central government funding is being cut every year and will become a “negative grant” in 2020 when TWBC will have to pay £610,000 back to central government, requiring “more service cuts and increasing costs of other services”.

He asks: “Should we really be cutting important services to help fund a project that some are calling a vanity project, and that will only be enjoyed by the few who can afford to go to the theatre?”

The Tunbridge Wells Civic Society has sent a letter to all Borough Councillors outlining its concerns about the planned new Town Hall, but the Society is staying neutral on whether the project should go ahead.

In a statement to Southborough News, RTWCS Chairman Brian Lippard, said: “The Society has long urged the Council to invest in the town centre and aim to re-establish Tunbridge Wells as a cultural destination. However, our members naturally represent a wide range of views on this very complex proposal, and we are not expressing a view specifically for or against, but pointing out factors that weigh with us as a Society.”

Mr Lippard continued: “It is for the elected members of the Tunbridge Wells Council to decide whether the positives outweigh the negatives.” The Borough Councillors vote on December 6th.

The most critical section of the letter suggests that the new Town Hall office building is “too large…and does not respond well to its sloping site”, due to the creation of an underground car park.  The Society says £20 million could be saved by not incorporating the car park.  On the other hand, the Society says: “We accept the principle of locating two substantial buildings on the edge of Calverley Grounds.”

The Tunbridge Wells Civic Society letter states:

We accept the principle of locating two substantial buildings on the edge of Calverley Grounds, but are concerned that they will transform what is now a significant green space in the town centre. The onus is on the Council to ensure that this transformation is beneficial.

The proposed remedial planting is welcome but not enough to compensate for the loss of 66 trees, among them the finest in the park. We feel strongly that, if the project proceeds in the form proposed, a plan must be drawn up for Calverley Grounds. This must cover activities and facilities, planting and land-form, together with matters such as lighting and the disposal of spoil so they are all implemented in conjunction with the development.

We also feel the office building in particular is too large and does not respond well to its sloping site. A reason for its bulk is the incorporation of parking within the building and under Calverley Grounds. This and the additional parking in Crescent Road, account for a large element of the total cost (£20m out of £72m).

The Calverley Grounds parking is accessed awkwardly from Mt Pleasant, where there are separate proposals to upgrade the urban realm with shared space. Some on-site parking may be unavoidable, but in this form it is very unsatisfactory and we question the need for so much as opposed to alternative parking (existing or new) nearby.

To sum up:

* the Society calls for the future use of the present civic buildings to be decided now together with reasons as to why the Council cannot return there after rebuilding;

* we think the Council should make every effort possible to purchase the Police Station;

* we call for a re-think about the quantity of and access to the underground car-parking associated with the new office building and theatre;

* we want to see the design of the new office building modified as it does not respond well to the sloping site;

* we think there is an urgent need for a comprehensive plan for Calverley Grounds to be implemented in parallel with the civic development.  (Letter ends)

 Above is shown the current Tunbridge Wells Council Chamber.

LISTEN to YouTube film of Cllr Tracy Moore making the case for local taxpayers taking on a £77million debt to build a new Tunbridge Wells Town Hall and Theatre:

Around 50 local people attended a presentation at Southborough Library on Saturday 4 November where Tunbridge Wells Councillors argued that the Borough’s prosperity would be secured by the Council taking on a £77million debt to build a new theatre and Town Hall.

After the event, Borough Councillor Tracy Moore (pictured below) told Southborough News: “A lot of people I have spoken to have experienced for themselves the limitations of the [current] Assembly Hall theatre and are very excited at the prospect of a “fit for purpose” 21st Century theatre that can bring better quality programming to Tunbridge Wells.”

When asked about the local Southborough referendum where 80 per cent of voters (on a 15 per cent turnout) opposed the plan, Cllr Moore said: “I think the difficulty with anything distilling it down to yes/no or black/white binary is that you are not looking at the nuance of the argument.  It is not the case of £77 million or nil.  To do nothing also has an extraordinary cost associated with it.”

The government now allows local authorities to benefit from local economic growth by retaining any increases in revenue from business rates, so Cllr Moore argued that “that growth [in business rates revenue] is what would allow us to fund discretionary and essential services to our residents”.

You can hear the full 11 minute interview with Cllr Tracy Moore making her case for the new Civic Centre (and her argument that views of Calverley Grounds will be improved) by clicking on the arrow below in the soundcloud app:

Councillors in Tunbridge Wells will vote on the Civic centre plans in December. Critics say the plans will require a half million pound annual subsidy to the new theatre and mean council tax payers having to pay £ 2.5 million every year in debt interest payments (or £30 per household per year), forcing cuts in key council services.

A petition has been launched which argues that: “Reworking and renovating the existing civic buildings would be far greater value for money than the current proposal with significantly less disruption.”

The petition link is here:
http://bit.ly/2gDRqJK