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Councillor Peter Oakford, who's been the main driving force behind the Southborough Hub project, says he is now "100 %" confident that the scheme will happen, despite the fact that central government is now considering whether to set up a public inquiry. Cllr Oakford (below) was speaking to Southborough News just as the statutory body …
Continue reading Cllr Oakford 1: “Confident” of Overcoming Sport England Objection
Another dispute over basic facts has erupted between supporters and opponents of Southborough Council's Hub plans - this time over the shape of the Ridgewaye fields. The Borough's Planning officer, Lynda Middlemiss, told the planning committee on Wednesday that there was a "hill" in the centre of the northern part of the Ridgewaye fields, which …
Continue reading Is it a “Hill” or a “Slope” on the Northern Ridgewaye Fields?
Central government planners are set to decide the fate of the Southborough Hub after the planning committee of Tunbridge Wells council voted by 11 to 0 with one abstention to approve the plans. Councillors usually follow advice of planning officers who argued strongly for the scheme at Wednesday night's meeting. Speakers from the Stag theatre in …
Continue reading Hub plans win over Tunbridge Wells Planning Committee
The Southborough Environmental Action Movement (SEAM) says it has found multiple errors in the key report by Tunbridge Wells Planning Officers now being considered by councillors on the Tunbridge Wells Planning Committee, who vote on the Hub plans on Wednesday. Brian Dury (pictured below) of SEAM said: "Having read Tuesday's report from TWBC Planning Officers …
Continue reading Multiple “Errors of Fact” in Planning Officers’ Report supporting Hub, say critics
The Southborough Society says it now fully supports the Council Hub scheme and has expressed that view clearly to planners, in a reversal of its position of a year ago. The views of local amenity societies are generally given greater weight in planning reports than comments from individuals, so the stance of the Society will …
Continue reading Southborough Society Pledges Full Support for Council Hub Scheme
The current Southborough Hub plans are set to be approved at a Tunbridge Wells planning committee meeting on Wednesday 9th November amid a new warning that such a decision would signal the end of high quality theatre in town. The project team at Kent County Council and Southborough Town Council have pushed ahead with their …
Continue reading Key Planning Decision Next Week as Hub Project Team Ignore Petition
The electronic petition that was started a week ago under the title "Southborough Deserves Better" calling for the current Hub designs to be scrapped reached 1,000 supporters on Sunday, only a week after its launch. The evidence of continuing dissatisfaction with the Southborough Town Council project prompted the Priest in Charge at St Thomas's Church …
Tunbridge Wells Planning officials have agreed that the heritage value of the Royal Victoria Hall should be taken into account in the forthcoming decision on whether to demolish it - a decision likely to welcomed by groups hoping to save the building. Previously the Borough Council did not have the ability to give any weight to the …
Continue reading “Heritage Asset” Status awarded to Royal Victoria Hall – But Only Just
The Secretary of the football club that uses Southborough's Ridgewaye fields has said that the latest hub development plans for the area are "very very disappointing." Club Secretary Colin Niccolls said that trust between the soccer club and the Hub project team "has evaporated" and he has been "very frustrated" by the way the facilities …
Continue reading Soccer Club on Ridgewaye says Trust in Hub Project Team “Has Evaporated”
The long awaited verdict from the planners at Tunbridge Wells Borough Council on whether to approve the demolition of the 116 year old Royal Victoria Hall and its replacement with the new Southborough Hub appears to have been delayed again. The agenda for this month's Planning Committee (next Wednesday 19th October) doesn't include a vote …
