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.
The new Royal Tunbridge Wells Town Council has been put on hold. Borough councillors voted by 18 to 15, with two abstentions, to pause it until the Government decides what happens to Kent’s councils.
The vote was taken at Full Council on 14 October. The draft minutes, with the recorded vote, have now been published. (Full Council, 14 October 2026, item FC43/26)
Only three months earlier, in July, the same council had voted unanimously to create the town council. It was due to exist in law from 1 April 2027, with its first elections in May 2027.
What the council decided
The motion was moved by Councillor Chapelard, the Leader of the Council, and seconded by Councillor Hall. It resolved:
- to pause the July 2026 decision to create the town council
- to take no further steps until the Government gives a clear decision that local government reorganisation in Kent will go ahead, and a revised timetable for it
- that the Leader will give verbal updates to Full Council until then
- that if reorganisation goes ahead, a new report will set out the steps and timeline for “a safe, legal and operational Town Council”
(Motion on Notice from Councillor Chapelard, 14 October 2026)
The motion does not scrap the town council. Its supporters said in the debate that it pauses the creation until there is clarity on reorganisation.
Why it was paused
The town council was planned alongside the Government’s reorganisation of Kent into new unitary councils. On 16 July the Government chose an option creating four councils across Kent, with Tunbridge Wells joining Sevenoaks, Maidstone and Tonbridge and Malling as West Kent.
On 7 September the Government announced it was pausing reorganisation in Kent pending a review. The Leader told the meeting there had been no further update since. (Full Council, 14 October 2026, announcements)
Supporters of the pause argued, according to the minutes:
- it avoided an immediate extra cost to residents
- going ahead now would duplicate council services and add a layer of bureaucracy
- with no timetable for reorganisation, the town council could be an unnecessary expense
- the town council should start with residents’ support, once its value was clear
Opponents argued:
- every other part of the borough already has a parish or town council, and the town centre should too
- reorganisation should be kept separate from the town council question
- a motion was the wrong way to overturn a decision made on an officer’s report after public consultation
- the cross-party group overseeing reorganisation, the Business Improvement District, residents and the Town Forum had not been consulted on the motion
- town councils give local scrutiny of planning, which matters more after the national planning committee changes
Adrian Berendt spoke for the Town Forum. He said pausing the town council was not welcomed or supported, and that its creation should not be interrupted by the pause on reorganisation.
How councillors voted
A recorded vote was requested. The minutes list:
| Councillors | |
|---|---|
| For the pause (18) | Chapelard, Ellis, Wilkinson, Hall, R. Wormington, Keefe, Lowe, Brice, K. Johnson, J. Johnson, Kent, Munday, Obasi, Patterson, Shukla, Standing, Wallace, H. Wormington |
| Against (15) | Barrass, Davidson, Osborne, Darrah, Dawlings, Fairweather, Knight, Mobbs, Pound, Hill, Sharratt, Sankey, Neville, Hayward, Palmer |
| Abstained (2) | Brown, Birch |
You can check who represents your ward on the council’s list of borough councillors.
What the town council would have been
The July decision set out the new council in detail. It would have covered the town’s six unparished borough wards and had 17 councillors:
| Parish ward | Councillors |
|---|---|
| Culverden | 3 |
| Pantiles | 3 |
| Park | 3 |
| Sherwood | 3 |
| St James’ | 3 |
| St John’s | 2 |
(Full Council, 15 July 2026, item FC21/26)
The council’s report said the town council would be a legal body from 1 April 2027, with councillors elected in May 2027. Its first precept, the town council’s share of the council tax bill, was to be calculated by the borough’s finance officer for the council tax report in February 2027. Only the statutory minimum of allotments was to transfer to it at the start. (Community Governance Review report, July 2026)
Public response to the review was low. The first consultation, in summer 2025, drew a 2.83% response rate from the area, and 60% of those who replied backed a town council. The second, in autumn 2025, drew 341 responses, a 0.9% response rate.
What other parishes in the borough charge
Royal Tunbridge Wells is the only part of the borough without a parish or town council. Everywhere else, households pay a parish precept on top of the borough, county, police and fire shares. For a Band D home in 2026/27, that ranges from £37.57 in Frittenden to £245.35 in Paddock Wood.
| Parish or town council | 2026/27 precept | Band D charge |
|---|---|---|
| Paddock Wood | £963,711 | £245.35 |
| Capel | £198,877 | £207.59 |
| Goudhurst | £260,000 | £184.92 |
| Sandhurst | £116,300 | £182.08 |
| Southborough | £749,923 | £166.63 |
| Cranbrook and Sissinghurst | £462,159 | £154.81 |
| Bidborough | £80,000 | £142.06 |
| Pembury | £313,129 | £131.75 |
| Hawkhurst | £279,000 | £124.54 |
| Horsmonden | £136,610 | £120.73 |
| Speldhurst | £258,912 | £104.26 |
| Brenchley and Matfield | £149,000 | £93.21 |
| Lamberhurst | £68,225 | £86.04 |
| Rusthall | £138,244 | £85.10 |
| Benenden | £54,050 | £53.88 |
| Frittenden | £17,000 | £37.57 |
Source: the council’s Community Governance Review report, paragraph 7.8. The report did not estimate what a Royal Tunbridge Wells precept would be.
What it means for you
- If you live in the town’s six central wards, there is now no date for a town council or for town council elections. The town council elections planned for May 2027 will not go ahead on that timetable while the pause stands.
- Your council tax bill has no town council line today. None can be added until the town council is set up, which now waits on the Government.
- Nothing changes in the parishes. Southborough, Rusthall, Pembury and the rest keep their own councils.
- What to watch: any Government announcement on reorganisation in Kent. Under the motion, the Leader will report back to Full Council, and a new report would follow if reorganisation goes ahead.
Your current bill by band is on our council tax bands page. The next Full Council meeting, on 11 November, is an extraordinary meeting on Royal Victoria Place.
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