A council has big plans for its premier shopping mall with a cinema, bars and restaurants.
Tunbridge Wells is to spend up to £68m on a major redesign of the Royal Victoria Place (RVP) shopping centre, after it considered a feasibility study carried out by consultants RivingtonHark.
The council has always owned the freehold of the centre since it opened in 1992, but in October 2023 it also purchased the leasehold from the centre operators at a cost of £8.15m.
The centre has 388,000 square feet of lettable floor space across three levels and is currently divided into 147 units.
It is supported with parking within the RVP multi-storey car park and the adjoining Meadow Road car park, which together offer 1,670 parking spaces.
Despite this, the centre has been operating with a vacancy rate of around 18%.
Councillors have now voted to proceed with plans to redevelop the centre with a boutique cinema and leisure-led uses on Ely Court, a repurposed Palm Court that will include enhanced retail space, and housing on Market Square.
The plans received the overwhelming support of councillors, with concerns expressed on only two factors.
Jacqui Green, the CEO of the Trinity Theatre, told members that there was a danger that a new cinema could affect the viability of Trinity, which gained around 25% of its revenue from cinema screenings, and said the loss of revenue could put the charity’s vital arts outreach work at risk.
Councillors expressed support for Trinity and urged that there should be collaboration with any new cinema operators to avoid any “cannibalism”.
Some members were also concerned at the type of housing that might emerge at Market Square, with Cllr David Hayward (Ind) urging “We don’t need any more retirement properties” and Cllr Hugo Pound (Lab) stating: “It should be affordable and social housing for young people.”
The development would be financed through borrowing, which led Cllr David Somers to express the concern that the council, which was due to be abolished with Local Government reorganisation in a couple of years’ time, would not be here to see through and was leaving “a ginormous level of debt” for any incoming unitary authority.
But council leader Ben Chapelard (Lib Dem) said that was deliberate. He said: “We want to leave a project that is unstoppable and irreversible for the new authority.”
Cllr Christopher Hall (Lib Dem) described the scheme as “a great opportunity with positive impacts on business, jobs and housing.”
He said: “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to think big.”
Cllr Justine Rutland (Lib Dem) said it was “the opportunity to create something fantastic: new homes, new jobs, new shops and new entertainment and leisure activities for all ages that will support our existing businesses and make Tunbridge Wells the thriving place we all wish it to be.’
There are several more design phases to go through before a planning application is submitted next March.
The council says the timeline is for construction to begin in the second half of 2027, with the project completed by the end of 2029.
The ambition has been welcomed by Mike Martin, the Liberal Democrat MP for Tunbridge Wells, who said: “The Liberal Democrats and I were elected on a promise to give Tunbridge Wells a town centre fit for the 21st century, and that’s what we’re doing.
“I’m deeply proud to be working with the Lib Dem-led Tunbridge Wells Borough Council to deliver transformative investment into our town centre – a clear message of confidence in Tunbridge Wells from businesses.”
The feasibility study shows plans to redevelop Ely Court to house a boutique cinema and brand-new units for bars and restaurants.
The old food court in Palm Court could also provide the space for an unspecified leisure facility.
Market Square will be redeveloped for housing.
The council has already committed to spending £9m on refurbishing the RVP car park.
