Tunbridge Wells News
The latest Tunbridge Wells news: planning decisions, council and crime updates, business and community stories, each linked back to its official source.
Top story
Spratsbrook Farm: 125 Homes Approved 5-1 on Eridge Road
Councillors voted 5-1 for 125 homes at Spratsbrook Farm on Eridge Road, with 50 affordable and a 16ha park. What the A26 crossing row and £1.4m deal mean.
More stories
Planning
Hendy Ford Site, Mount Ephraim: 104 Homes Approved
104 homes in blocks of up to seven storeys will replace the empty Hendy Ford garage on Mount Ephraim, with 40 parking spaces and Culverden Street one-way.
Elections
Cranbrook By-Election Result: Lib Dems Win by 107 Votes
Harry Wormington took the Cranbrook, Sissinghurst and Frittenden seat with 697 votes, 107 ahead of the Conservatives. Turnout was 32.2%; full result here.
Royal Victoria Place
Royal Victoria Place Palm Court: £23.5m Revamp Goes to Vote
The council wants £23.5m more to rebuild Palm Court at Royal Victoria Place with a glass roof and a leisure space. Full Council decides on 11 November.
Cricket
Tunbridge Wells Women Are Kent League Champions by 106 Runs
Tunbridge Wells Cricket Club's women won the Kent Women's Cricket League Premiership final by 106 runs, after topping the table by 37 points and losing twice all summer.
Elections
Cranbrook By-Election: Four Standing, Polls Open Wednesday
Polls open 7am to 10pm on Wednesday 23 September in Cranbrook, Sissinghurst and Frittenden. Four candidates, photo ID needed, winner serves only to May 2027.
House prices
Tunbridge Wells House Prices Rise Again: £456,227 in July
The borough average jumped £7,593 in a month to £456,227 in July, its first annual rise since March. Semis and terraces up, flats still falling.
Business
THE PIG Buys the Tunbridge Wells Hotel, Now Closed
The Pantiles hotel shut its doors this week and Companies House dates the takeover to 16 September. THE PIG's Groombridge Place plan was withdrawn in May.
Kent County Council
Tunbridge Wells Family Hub Move: No Decision Date Set
Consultation on moving Family Hub services to The Amelia Scott closed Monday. KCC promised an autumn decision; the committee work programme omits it.
Trains
Tunbridge Wells Trains: New Express to London From 14 Dec
A weekday Hastings express will call at Tunbridge Wells from 14 December, and semi-fast trains go half-hourly all day. What changes, and what is not yet known.
Trains
Tunbridge Wells Half Term: No Trains 24 Oct to 1 Nov
No trains between Tonbridge and Wadhurst for nine days while Grove Hill Tunnel's track is renewed. Buses, other routes, and less parking at the station.
Heritage Open Days
Heritage Open Days Tunbridge Wells: 8 Free Events to 20 Sept
Eight free heritage events run in Tunbridge Wells to 20 September, four of them this Saturday. Nine more are in the borough, from Paddock Wood to Sissinghurst.
Hospice in the Weald
Hospice in the Weald Run 2026: How It Went, and the 2027 Date
The 20th Hospice in the Weald Run was on 20 September 2026; results are on Sporthive and the next run is Sunday 19 September 2027. Routes, closures, ages.
Planning
Tunbridge Wells Local Plan: 1,098 New Homes a Year
The government's figure for the borough is now 1,098 homes a year, 62% above the plan adopted in December. Land can be put forward until 28 September.
Events
Tunbridge Wells Drone Show: 26 Sept, and a Parking Ban
Space Safari lands at Dunorlan Park on Saturday 26 September. Two ticket releases have sold out, and three roads lose parking from Friday noon.
Food hygiene
Tunbridge Wells Food Hygiene: One Venue Rated 1 in July
A Silverdale Road bakery scored 1 and a Matfield pub scored 2 in July's hygiene ratings. Of the borough's 1,043 rated businesses, 867 hold a 5 and none a zero.
Knights Wood
Knights Wood developer must pay £5.4m tax on 550 homes
An Upper Tribunal has upheld a £5.4m corporation tax bill on the Isle of Man company behind Knights Wood, which returned £28.3m of profit from the 550-home estate.
Hawkhurst
Eight Bells Hawkhurst: pub company goes into liquidation
The company behind the Eight Bells at Hawkhurst passed a winding-up resolution on 18 August, ten days after the pub shut. Two liquidators from Begbies Traynor are appointed.
Planning
Tunbridge Wells Common: The Lodge approved for four flats
Four flats were approved at The Lodge on the Common on 21 August, by a route that could not weigh the objections from the Forum and the Commons Conservators.
House prices
Tunbridge Wells House Prices Fall 3%, Alone in Kent
The average Tunbridge Wells home lost £13,860 in a year, to £445,133. It is the only one of Kent's 13 areas down over 12 months, and the lowest since March 2025.
Jobs
Tunbridge Wells Under-25 Claimant Count Up 28% in a Year
295 people aged 18 to 24 here claimed unemployment-related benefits in July, up from 230 a year ago. Kent's third steepest rise, and nearly triple the UK rate.
Planning
St James Medical Centre to become a four-bedroom house
Tunbridge Wells council has approved turning the St James Medical Centre on Carlton Road into a four-bedroom house. The NHS has still to sign off the closure.
Business
Paramount Place licence bid: comments close 7 September
Paramount Place has applied for a premises licence and the public notice closes on 7 September. What the register records, and how to have your say.
Business
The Pantiles for sale for the second time in 250 years
Targetfollow has put The Pantiles, the Commons and the Lord of the Manor title up for sale. What the £936,855-a-year estate sale means for Tunbridge Wells.