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.
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council is asking councillors to approve a further £23.5 million to rebuild Palm Court, the central atrium of Royal Victoria Place. Building work would start in early 2028.
The council owns the shopping centre. It bought the long leasehold in October 2023, having already owned the freehold. The plan goes to its first committee on Monday 5 October, and the final decision is due at Full Council on Wednesday 11 November.
The council published new images of the design on 25 September, with a news release and a gallery on its business portal. The detail is in the officers’ report for the Finance, Innovation and Transformation Cabinet Advisory Board.
What would change in Palm Court
The council’s gallery says Palm Court “has changed very little since Royal Victoria Place opened in the 1980s”, and that the roof is reaching the end of its life. The scheme, which already has planning permission, includes:
- a new barrel-vaulted glass roof to let in more daylight
- filling in the opening between the two levels at the lower mall
- removing the escalator down to the basement and the scenic lift
- turning the former food court into a dedicated leisure space
- larger shop units
- new toilets on the upper mall, with family-friendly and fully accessible facilities
The council says the redesigned space could host events, activities and exhibitions. No leisure operator is named yet. The design team’s executive summary says the leisure space is the “next key target for pre-letting”.
The money
The new £23.5 million sits on top of £3.3 million for design fees that Full Council approved in July 2025. The report’s cost table, from the cost consultant Gleeds, sets out:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Total development cost | £25,403,459 |
| Already funded, to October 2026 | £1,128,395 |
| Rent-free periods | £1,002,917 |
| Total borrowing | £23,272,147 |
| Yearly cost of that borrowing | £1,476,485 |
The yearly borrowing cost assumes a single loan at 6 per cent. The report says this shows “the maximum annual cost to service the debt”. The total includes £4.47 million of contingency.
Against that, officers expect £1,792,044 a year in extra income. That is mostly higher rent from the centre once the work is done. It also counts £298,000 a year in extra parking income and £104,900 in business rates growth. On those figures the council would be left £315,559 a year better off.
That surplus is sensitive. The report’s own table shows it falling to £75,713 a year if the scheme costs £2 million more and the interest rate is half a point higher. The detailed appraisal is in an exempt appendix that the public cannot see.
An economic study for the council by Amion Consulting estimates:
- 18 extra full-time jobs during the two-year build
- 141 jobs created or safeguarded once it is open
- £11.2 million of extra economic output (gross value added) once open
The cinema half, and the listing row
Palm Court is the first of two phases. The second, Ely Court, would bring a cinema and restaurants with a new link to Calverley Road. The report says two cinema operators are interested.
Ely Court was held up by an application to list 3-7 Camden Road, made by the Royal Tunbridge Wells Civic Society. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport decided on 10 September not to list the building. The report puts the cost of the delay, and of challenging the listing, at £312,000, paid from the existing design budget.
Ely Court still needs planning permission and its own vote at Full Council, planned for April 2027. If the two phases cannot be built under one contract, the report warns of a further £400,000 in costs and “additional town centre disruption” from two separate building jobs.
Plans for housing on Market Square have been dropped from the scheme for now. The report says they were not financially viable in the current housing market.
The timetable
The report’s timetable, if councillors say yes:
| Step | Date |
|---|---|
| Finance, Innovation and Transformation Cabinet Advisory Board | 5 October 2026 |
| Communities, Housing and Environment Cabinet Advisory Board | 6 October 2026 |
| Cabinet | 22 October 2026 |
| Full Council decision on Palm Court | 11 November 2026 |
| Full Council decision on Ely Court | April 2027 |
| Contractor appointed | July to September 2027 |
| Building work starts | January to March 2028 |
| Palm Court finished | April to June 2029 |
The design team’s summary says the start on site was moved from December 2027 to January 2028 “to allow for undisturbed Christmas trading”.
The report also carries a caveat about local government reorganisation. If the Government goes ahead and the borough council is abolished before the work is finished, any new council would decide how to proceed.
What it means for you
- The centre stays open. The design team’s summary says one key tenant in Palm Court has renewed its lease and intends to stay open and trading through the works.
- You can speak at Monday’s meeting. The Finance, Innovation and Transformation board meets at 6.30pm on 5 October in the Council Chamber at the Town Hall. Under the council’s speaking rules, you must register with Democratic Services by 4pm on the last working day before the meeting, which is today, Friday 2 October. Up to four people can speak on each item, for three minutes each, in person.
- You can watch instead. The meeting is livestreamed from the meeting page.
- Parking: the business case relies on £298,000 a year more parking income once the scheme is open. Our parking guide lists the town centre car parks and charges.
- The borrowing is the council’s. Your council tax does not fund it directly, but if the centre earns less than forecast, the council’s budget carries the gap.
Sources: Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, Royal Victoria Place (RVP) Development: Palm Court, report for Full Council on 11 November 2026, on the agenda for the Finance, Innovation and Transformation Cabinet Advisory Board, 5 October 2026; Appendix B, RIBA Stage 3 executive summary; council news release, 25 September 2026; council business portal, new images and documents for Palm Court.
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