The plan for council taxpayers of Southborough and Tunbridge Wells to spend £108 million on a new theatre and office project has been thrown out by councillors at a meeting tonight. Two votes were taken and the current scheme was rejected by 27 votes to just 12 supporters. There were 4 abstentions. This was a …
Building of Southborough Hub Starts Soon Amid Concerns About the Cost
The contractors Baxall last week finally signed up to build the long delayed Southborough Hub but concerns remain about the future financial burden of the project on the town’s council tax payers. Southborough residents will benefit from a new medical centre, football pavilion, hall and library. The Hub (design shown below) will be built from pre-fabricated …
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Crunch Council Vote on Calverley Project Postponed
The plan by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council to spend £108 million to build a new theatre complex remains in limbo after a full council meeting was unexpectedly adjourned at 9.30pm. Having spent three hours discussing other issues, councillors decided there was insufficient time left to debate the Calverley project. The public gallery and an overflow …
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Southborough’s Hottest Bank Holiday Art
The annual August Bank Holiday Art Show in aid of the Southborough Lions charity enjoyed three days of glorious sunshine this weekend as Monday temperatures hit 29 degrees centigrade. Among the exhibitors was Lyoubov Kimble (shown below with her art) who moved to Kent in 1995 from Kiev in Ukraine. She has been at the …
New FM Radio Station Could Start Transmissions from Southborough in Two Years
A community radio station on FM for listeners in Southborough, Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells should be hitting the airwaves in the next two years. The station will be able to reach approximately 100,000 listeners, providing a new forum for debating local issues and building links within the community. The likely transmitter site is a location …
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Cancellation of £90m Calverley Project Predicted “Within Two Months”
The controversial plan by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council to take on large debts to build new council offices and a theatre stands a strong chance of being cancelled soon, despite last week’s inconclusive special council meeting. The fate of the £90million project is now in the hands of a group of ten Conservative councillors who …
Continue reading Cancellation of £90m Calverley Project Predicted “Within Two Months”
Conservatives Agree to Pause Calverley Square Theatre Plan
At a packed special meeting of the Borough Council on Monday night it was agreed to stop all new spending on the planned Tunbridge Wells council offices and theatre. There has been widespread public concern that the new civic centre would have led to the council into a heavy burden of debt. Estimated borrowing would …
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Diana Blackwell Elected to Lead Southborough Society with Renewed Focus on Younger Members
The Southborough Society has chosen Diana Blackwell as its new Chair, after she impressed members with her recent work on modernising the Society’s website and social media offerings. The Society held its Annual General Meeting last Thursday (23rd May), which ended with the election of Diana Blackwell (pictured below), who has spent the last two …
Labour’s Alain Lewis is New Mayor of Southborough
Southborough Town Council met last week for the first time following May’s local elections and installed Cllr Alain Lewis from the Labour Party as the Town’s new Mayor and Chair of the Council. Labour is now the largest single party on the Town Council, following the slump in support for the Conservatives as reported in …
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Trevor Poile is Back on Borough Council for Southborough After 12 Years Away
Liberal Democrat Trevor Poile has returned to the Tunbridge Wells Borough Council by defeating his Conservative opponent, Cllr David Elliott, in Southborough North. Cllr Poile (pictured below) previously represented the same ward for 12 years between 1994 and 2007. He told Southborough News: “This win is particularly special as I have come back as a …
Continue reading Trevor Poile is Back on Borough Council for Southborough After 12 Years Away
