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
Tunbridge Wells named among UK's best places to live after 'glow-up'
Tunbridge Wells has been named among the UK's best places to live for 2027.
More stories
Schools
Paddock Wood's Second Primary School Is Finally Heading for Planning
Kent County Council wants to build a primary school for up to 420 pupils, with a nursery, off Dumbrell Drive. Comments on the plans close on 16 November.
Council
Tunbridge Wells Town Council Put on Hold by 18 Votes to 15
Borough councillors voted 18 to 15 to pause the new Royal Tunbridge Wells Town Council. It will wait until the Government decides the future of Kent's councils.
Health
Heart Stopped Seven Times: Kent Man Meets Crew Who Saved Him
A Kent man whose heart stopped seven times has met the crews who saved him. SECAmb, Tunbridge Wells' ambulance trust, had England's best survival rate in May.
House prices
Tunbridge Wells House Prices Flat at £452,845; July Rise Revised Away
The borough average was £452,845 in August, £557 down on a year earlier. July's first annual rise since March has been restated as a 0.5% fall.
Travel
Tunbridge Wells Trains: No Charing Cross on 14 and 15 November
No trains reach Charing Cross or Cannon Street on 14 and 15 November. Tunbridge Wells trains run to London Bridge on Saturday, Victoria on Sunday.
Health
Landlord's 8 Minutes of CPR Honoured at SECAmb Kent Awards
A pub landlord's 8 minutes of CPR in the rain saved a window cleaner. SECAmb, Tunbridge Wells' ambulance trust, honoured him at Kent awards marking 1,030 years.
Cost of living
Tunbridge Wells £100 Energy Payment: 65% of Homes in Line
About 34,450 Tunbridge Wells homes are in bands A to D, the ones in line for the £100 payment from January. That is 65% of the borough, against 81% for England.
Parking
St John's Road Permit Parking Survey Ruled Out by Board
No new permit parking survey for the streets around St John's Road, the transport board has decided. A permit would have cost £95 a year; the survey £5,000.
Health
Delilah, 4, Honoured at Paddock Wood Ambulance Centre
A Kent girl of four relayed a 999 call handler's questions to her mum, then knocked on three doors for help. SECAmb thanked her at its Paddock Wood centre.
Business
Gorringe's Moves Its Tunbridge Wells Office to Mount Ephraim
Gorringe's has moved its Tunbridge Wells valuation office to 16 Mount Ephraim, with free parking outside. Drop-in valuations run Tuesday afternoons and all day Thursday.
Community
This Is Us Dance Marks 10 Years of Inclusive Classes
This Is Us, the inclusive dance group for children and adults with additional needs, is ten. Classes run at Bishops Down Primary on Mondays and Tuesdays, from £9.
Jobs
Tunbridge Wells Claimant Count Hits 1,835 as Over-50s Rise 16%
1,835 people in Tunbridge Wells borough claimed unemployment-related benefits in September, the most since November 2024. Over-50s rose 16% in a year.
Community
Tunbridge Wells Girl, 12, Wins a Pride of Britain Award
Kirsty Waugh, 12, from Tunbridge Wells, is a 2026 Pride of Britain winner after raising about £250,000 while on chemotherapy for a brain tumour.
Tunbridge Wells
Tunbridge Wells High Street Assault: Witness Appeal
Police want witnesses after a man suffered serious head and facial injuries outside Aura nightclub on Tunbridge Wells High Street at 3.22am on Saturday 10 October.
What's On
Tunbridge Wells Puppetry Festival 2026: Six Days of Free Shows
Free puppet shows on The Pantiles and at Royal Victoria Place from 26 October, then two family shadow and pirate shows in Southborough. The day-by-day programme.
Community
Tunbridge Wells in Bloom Wins Gold and the Small City Title
Royal Tunbridge Wells won Gold and the Small City category at the South and South East in Bloom awards, and two of its parks won their categories too.
Water
South East Water: Council Report Says Outages May Recur
A council inquiry into the winter water outages finds 'no confidence' they will not recur. Full Council agreed its four recommendations on 14 October.
Council
Tunbridge Wells Council This Week: Permit Parking, Water
Permit parking for 2,884 homes around St John's Road is back before councillors on Monday. Wednesday: the South East Water report and new planning rules.
Food hygiene
Food Hygiene: Town Fish Bar and Southborough Thai Rated 1
A Little Mount Sion fish bar and a Southborough Thai restaurant were rated 1 in September. August's 37 ratings had none below 3. Every name and score.
Roadworks
Badsell Road, Paddock Wood, Shut 19 to 30 October
Badsell Road in Paddock Wood closes day and night from 19 to 30 October for the junction rebuild. The diversion, access to Mascalls Park, and the 209 day order behind it.
Planning
The Forum Plans Step-Free Extension on the Common
The Forum wants a step-free rear extension with a bigger accessible toilet, more women's toilets and heat pumps. Comments close 21 October; both so far support it.
Planning
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.
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 in July 2026: £456,227, Since Revised to £451,247
July was first published at £456,227, up 0.6% on the year. The August release restates it as £451,247, down 0.5%, so the annual rise reported here did not happen.
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 until Sunday 1 November while Grove Hill Tunnel is relaid. Where the buses go, other routes, and station parking.
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.