The economic outlook is poor. In the USA and Europe indecisive political 'leadership' has accentuated economic and fiscal problems.
In England the riots and looting of a week ago were disquieting.
A surfeit of depressing news I thought, then I read the front page story in today's Tunbridge Wells newspaper, The Courier. More depressing news.
According to the paper, controversial plans to redevelop the Town Hall site have been shelved indefinitely. The Leader of the Council is quoted as stating: the site cannot be delivered politically.
Whatever happens regarding the civic complex will be contentious. The Aspic Brigade wishes to keep things as they are, there is the party which would demolish the whole complex and people who wish to see facades retained but are content with proposals for redevelopment. It will not be possible to appease all the groups or find common ground.
The idea of forming a panel of councillors and key community figures to have an input to a new town master plan which will set out policy on road networks and major sites is interesting. No details have been provided of potential membership of the panel, nor the timescale for its deliberations. The plan will deal with complex issues, but one would have thought the plan could be published, consulted on and approved by the council within one year. So it may be that plans have not been shelved indefinitely.
However, there is a more significant obstacle to progress. According to The Courier the civic complex site will not be considered for redevelopment until borough council chiefs solve the town centre's biggest restraint: it's traffic problems.
That should kill any redevelopment. Remember, this is the council which has given us the Longfield Road industrial and retail parks traffic congestion. I await with keen anticipation the publication of the Deputy-Leader's proposals to alleviate traffic congestion along with costings, sources of funding and timescales.
However, there may a solution to hand. We need look no further than Canterbury. The City Council has replaced a crumbling converted 1930s cinema, which acted as the city's theatre. The new 1,200-seat auditorium will be able to stage everything from conferences to West End shows and grand opera, and has a state-of-the-art studio theatre. It can also accommodate an 80-piece orchestra for concerts too. The city is to have also a new library and museum.
What Canterbury City Council can do for the poorer East Kent, surely it is not beyond the wit of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council to do the same for affluent West Kent? I haven't noted any dramatic changes to Canterbury's traffic management and the traffic problems are far worse, thoughout the day, than Tunbridge Wells. Canterbury has taken a bold approach to make a step-change to the economic, cultural, social and economic well-being of East Kent.
Such a development in Tunbridge Wells would have much less effect on traffic than an office/retail development on the civic complex site. It would boost the night-time economy and tourism.
The Deputy-Leader of the council published recently a proposal to build a theatre, a museum and an art gallery on the Odeon site. There was no mention of development being stayed until the town's master plan had been agreed and traffic congestion issues resolved. The Odeon site is a key site and the council is considering making a compulsory purchase order. Should this happen on what basis will the Odeon site be considered differently to the civic complex site? The answer might be that it is not a 'sensitive site' in that there is general agreement that it is an eyesore and should be redeveloped. It begs the questions of the remit of the panel and the need for traffic congestion issues to be resolved before key sites are developed.
See also:
http://www.yourtunbridgewells.co.uk/news/atwood_finally_outlines_plans_for_civic_complex_1_996709
and:
http://www2.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/Default.aspx?page=4536
and:
http://www2.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/pdf/For%20release%20Cllr%20Atwood%20town%20plan.pdf
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