Borough of Tunbridge Wells | |
---|---|
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Constituent country | England |
Region | South East England |
Non-metropolitan county | Kent |
Status | Non-metropolitan district |
Admin HQ | Royal Tunbridge Wells |
Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
Government | |
• Type | Non-metropolitan district council |
• Body | Tunbridge Wells Borough Council |
• MPs | Mike Martin Helen Grant |
Area | |
• Total | 127.9 sq mi (331.3 km2) |
• Rank | 112th (of 296) |
Population (2022) | |
• Total | 116,028 |
• Rank | 209th (of 296) |
• Density | 910/sq mi (350/km2) |
Ethnicity (2021) | |
• Ethnic groups | |
Religion (2021) | |
• Religion | List
|
Time zone | UTC0 (GMT) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
ONS code | 29UQ |
GSS code | E07000116 |
OS grid reference | TQ5817739112 |
The Borough of Tunbridge Wells is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. It takes its name from its main town, Royal Tunbridge Wells. The borough also contains the towns of Paddock Wood and Southborough, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. Large parts of the borough fall within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
The neighbouring districts are Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Malling, Maidstone, Ashford, Rother and Wealden.
The town of Tunbridge Wells had been governed by improvement commissioners from 1835. [2] The commissioners' district was reconstituted as a local government district in 1860, which in turn became a municipal borough in 1889. [3] [4] That first borough of Tunbridge Wells was renamed "Royal Tunbridge Wells" in 1909 following a petition from the borough council to Edward VII. [5]
The modern district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the whole area of three former districts and parts of a fourth, which were all abolished at the same time: [6]
The new district was named Tunbridge Wells after the area's largest town, but without the Royal prefix. [7] The district was not initially granted borough status. [8] The council resolved to petition for it in June 1974 and a borough charter was received on 20 December 1974, allowing the chair of the council to take the title mayor. [9] [10]
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
History | |
Founded | 1 April 1974 |
Leadership | |
Structure | |
Seats | 39 councillors |
Political groups |
|
Elections | |
First past the post | |
Last election | 2 May 2024 |
Next election | 7 May 2026 |
Meeting place | |
Town Hall, Mount Pleasant Road, Royal Tunbridge Wells, TN1 1RS | |
Website | |
www |
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Kent County Council. Much of the borough is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government. [15]
The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since the 2024 election. [16]
The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: [17] [18]
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
Conservative | 1974–1994 | |
No overall control | 1994–1996 | |
Liberal Democrats | 1996–1998 | |
Conservative | 1998–2021 | |
No overall control | 2021–2024 | |
Liberal Democrats | 2024–present |
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Tunbridge Wells. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1998 have been: [19]
Councillor | Party | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|---|
James Scholes [20] | Conservative | 1998 | 21 May 2002 | |
Len Horwood | Conservative | 21 May 2002 | 30 Jun 2004 | |
Melvyn Howell | Conservative | 30 Jun 2004 | 23 May 2007 | |
Roy Bullock | Conservative | 23 May 2007 | 19 Jan 2011 | |
Bob Atwood | Conservative | 19 Jan 2011 | 6 May 2012 | |
David Jukes | Conservative | 23 May 2012 | 5 May 2019 | |
Alan McDermott | Conservative | 22 May 2019 | 26 May 2021 | |
Tom Dawlings | Conservative | 26 May 2021 | 25 May 2022 | |
Ben Chapelard | Liberal Democrats | 25 May 2022 |
Following the 2024 election, the composition of the council was: [16]
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | 22 | |
Conservative | 7 | |
Labour | 5 | |
Tunbridge Wells Alliance | 4 | |
Independent | 1 | |
Total | 39 |
The next elections are due in 2026.
Since the last boundary changes in 2024 the council has comprised 39 councillors representing 14 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council being elected each time for a four year term of office. Kent County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections. [21]
In the 2016 European Union referendum, Tunbridge Wells was the only district in Kent that voted to remain in the EU (54.89%).
The council is based at Tunbridge Wells Town Hall on Mount Pleasant Road, which had been completed in 1941 for the old Royal Tunbridge Wells Borough Council. [22]
The borough of Tunbridge Wells lies along the south western border of Kent, partly on the northern edge of the Weald, the remainder on the Weald Clay plain in the upper reaches of the rivers Teise and Beult.
Much of the borough lies within the High Weald, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The presence of sandstone outcrops and the chalybeate springs, together with old workings, point to ancient iron manufacturing in the area.
The Weald Clay plain along the northern edge of the borough forms part of the so-called Garden of England, named for its extensive orchards and former hop farms, sheep and cattle. A string of villages lies across this plain, from Brenchley and Horsmonden to Benenden and Headcorn.
The main roads through the borough are the A21 London to Hastings road and in the east, the A229, which runs from the A21 at Hurst Green through Cranbrook to Maidstone.
There is a railway line across the clay plain in an almost unbroken straight line between Redhill, Tonbridge and Ashford, Kent. The SER line to Hastings passes through Tunbridge Wells; here there was once a further branch connection south-eastwards to Groombridge, and at Paddock Wood is the southern terminus of the Medway Valley Line to Maidstone.
The BBC has its regional centre at the Great Hall on Mount Pleasant Road in Royal Tunbridge Wells. It is the base of BBC Radio Kent and for BBC South East regional programmes, the complex contains studios and offices. ITV Meridian also covers the area but broadcast from its studios in Whiteley in Hampshire. Other radio stations that broadcast to the area are Heart South, Gold, and community based radio stations: KMFM West Kent and West Kent Radio. [23] The area is served by the local newspaper, Kent and Sussex Courier. [24]
Apart from Tunbridge Wells itself, places of interest in the Borough include:
Tonbridge is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, 4 miles (6 km) north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, 12 miles (19 km) south west of Maidstone and 29 miles (47 km) south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Malling, it had an estimated population of 41,293 in 2019.
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, 30 miles southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. The town was a spa in the Restoration and a fashionable resort in the mid-1700s under Beau Nash when the Pantiles, and its chalybeate spring, attracted visitors who wished to take the waters. Though its popularity as a spa town waned with the advent of sea bathing, the town still derives much of its income from tourism.
Paddock Wood is a town and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England, about 8 miles (13 km) southwest of Maidstone. At the 2001 Census it had a population of 8,263, falling marginally to 8,253 at the 2011 Census. Paddock Wood is a centre for hop growing.
Wealden is a local government district in East Sussex, England. Its council is based in Hailsham, the district's second largest town. The district also includes the towns of Crowborough, Polegate and Uckfield, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. The district's name comes from the Weald, the landscape and ancient woodland which occupies much of the centre and north of the area.
Tonbridge and Malling is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. The council is based at Kings Hill. The borough also includes the towns of Tonbridge and Snodland along with numerous villages including Aylesford, West Malling and surrounding rural areas.
Gravesham is a local government district with borough status in north-west Kent, England. The council is based in its largest town of Gravesend. The borough is indirectly named after Gravesend, using the form of the town's name as it appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086. The district also contains Northfleet and a number of villages and surrounding rural areas.
Rother is a local government district in East Sussex, England. Its council is based in Bexhill-on-Sea. The district is named after the River Rother which flows within its boundaries.
The Borough of Maidstone is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. Its administrative centre is Maidstone, the county town of Kent.
Sevenoaks is a local government district in west Kent, England. Its council is based in the town of Sevenoaks.
The Borough of Ashford is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. It is named after its largest town, Ashford, where the council is based. The borough also includes the town of Tenterden and an extensive surrounding rural area including numerous villages; with an area of 580 square kilometres (220 sq mi), it is the largest district in Kent. Parts of the borough lie within the designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty of High Weald and the Kent Downs.
Kent County Council is a county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Kent in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes the unitary authority of Medway. Kent County Council is the upper tier of elected local government, below which are 12 district councils, and around 300 town and parish councils. The county council has 81 elected councillors. It is one of the largest local authorities in England in terms of population served and the largest local authority of its type. The council is based at County Hall in Maidstone. It has been under Conservative majority control since 1997.
Ashford is a constituency in Kent created in 1885 and represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Sojan Joseph of the Labour Party.
Maidstone and The Weald was a constituency in Kent represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. From the 2010 general election it was represented by Helen Grant of the Conservative Party. She succeeded fellow party member Ann Widdecombe, who had held the seat since it was created for the 1997 general election.
Tunbridge Wells is a constituency in Kent represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Mike Martin, a Liberal Democrat.
Southborough is a town and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. It lies immediately to the north of the town of Tunbridge Wells and includes the district of High Brooms, with the A26 road passing through it. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 11,124. The town is within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Tonbridge is a parliamentary constituency in Kent, centred on the town of Tonbridge. It returns one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
One third of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council in Kent, England, is elected each year, followed by one year without election. Since the last boundary changes in 2002, 48 councillors have been elected from 20 wards.
The Kent County Council election, 2013 was an election to all 84 seats on Kent County Council held on Thursday 2 May as part of the 2013 United Kingdom local elections. 84 councillors were elected from 72 electoral divisions, which returned either one or two county councillors each by first-past-the-post voting for a four-year term of office. The electoral divisions were the same as those used at the previous election in 2009. No elections were held in Medway, which is a unitary authority outside the area covered by the County Council. The election saw the Conservative Party narrowly retain overall control of the council.
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