Groucho Marx on politics

Groucho Marx quote:

Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding is everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies.

Neatly sums up the antics of the Tunbridge Wells Alliance and the associated mob of trolls.

Tunbridge Wells Proposed New Theatre

Tunbridge Wells is in decline as a shopping destination.  Walk round the shopping mall and retail based streets and you will see many empty shops.  The decline in high street shopping is not unique to Tunbridge Wells as more people use internet shopping or out-of-town retail parks.  So what can be done to prevent the town being overrun by charity shops?  There has to be a reason or reasons why people come into the town centre.

The council developed a plan for a new theatre to replace the ageing Assembly Hall, a building that is no longer suitable for purpose and will remain so even if huge sums are spent on renovations.  Start again with a new building that will attract first rate productions.   But sadly a bunch of political has-beens, local foghorns and the self-interested raised objections.  This bunch are happy to see the second-rate and second class continue quite oblivious to the need for change.  When a car wears out you change it.  The Assembly Hall is worn out, send it to the junk yard.

The old cinema site Royal Tunbridge Wells

I have lost count of the number of times this blog has complained about the lack of progress in redeveloping the former Odeon cinema site in the centre of Royal Tunbridge Wells.  Now the Courier newspaper has commenced a  campaign, the Liberal Democrats have roused themselves from their deep sleep and started campaigning and the Civic Society has joined in.  The local MP has vented his frustration at the lack of progress in redeveloping the site.

All the above parties are urging action, at the very least that the premises are demolished and used as a car park or open space (presumably with seating) until such time as building work can commence.

Past and current Leaders of the Tunbridge Wells Borough Council have raised the possibility of compulsory purchase.  The current Leader, councillor Jukes, ( currently the recipient of an ear-bashing for suggesting the Royal Victoria Hall in Southborough should be demolished and replaced by a community centre) has declared that nothing can be done regarding compulsory purchase until the summer of 2013.

The one comfort I take from all this is that those protesting about the lack of progress by the current owners includes the MP and the local press.  It is hoped their protests are heard and acted upon.  Then we might secure progress on redeveloping the civic complex.  Councillor Jukes is on record as stating that consideration of the future of the civic complex will come only after the future use of the Odeon site is determined.

More bad news for Tunbridge Wells

The Tunbridge Wells Town Plan Advisory Panel recommended that the Council should support the re-opening of the Uckfield-Lewes rail link and also the line between Eridge and Tunbridge Wells.

See: http://kentcommunityactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/tunbridge-wells-town-plan-advisory_19.html

A threat has emerged to the trackbed in Tunbridge Wells concerning which I posted the following:

http://kentcommunityactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/latest-news-from-wealden-line-campaign.html

So what has been the reaction of the Leader of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council to this threat to a through route linking West Kent with East Sussex and Brighton?

From today's Courier newspaper:

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council is not necessarily in the market for buying land adjacent to railways which have no investment value.

The leader of the Wealden Line Campaign, Brian Hart, responded:

That was  a shameful thing to say.

At the very least one might have expected Councillor Jukes to reiterate the importance of protecting the trackbed from housing development and to work with other organisations to ensure this happens.  He could have added his support for the re-opening of the line.  But no, all we hear is more negativity.

It all adds to the charge sheet against our councillors  who give the impression of being hell-bent on making Royal Tunbridge Wells a backwater: indeed a monument to political mediocrity.  No drive, no ambition, no vision, no action.

UPDATE:

http://www.bml2.co.uk/the-news/94-story-ministers-facing-questions-over-embarrassing-rail-land-sale.html

Tunbridge Wells Regeneration Company hits the buffers.

It comes as no surprise that the regeneration company is to be dissolved.

See: http://www2.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=4998

The writing was on the wall from the moment Roy Bullock was ousted as Leader of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council and  re-development of the civic centre put into deep freeze.

The Aspic Brigade will be delighted no doubt  by the news, but in the future where will the impetus for re-development come from?  One can have little confidence that the politicians running the borough  will be up to the task ahead. A recent press report quoted one retailer as stating that the town was dying.  Many town centres are facing retail problems with the expansion of out-of-town and Internet shopping. What is being done to bring other attractions to the town?

There has been talk of Royal Tunbridge Wells becoming the cultural centre for West Kent and part of East Sussex .  However, that is all it is: talk.   Where are the plans for a new theatre/ concert/conference venue along the lines of the new Marlowe Theatre in Canterbury?  The Aspic Brigade believes modifications to the Assembly Hall will do. They won't.  The museum needs a larger building and should seek to become the Museum of Kent to attract visitors.

It is no use the Council developing a 'cultural vision' without something to back it up.

Meanwhile, the Odeon cinema site, slap bang in the middle of the town, has been an eyesore for 12 years, a monument to inaction.

Major opportunities have been lost.  The former railway goods yard has been given over to blocks of flats whilst the former hospital site is to be developed for housing.  Each site could have been developed in a much more imaginative way, but then, if you elect dullards do not expect vision and action.

Royal Tunbridge Wells is becoming a monument to political mediocrity.

Tunbridge Wells dying?

According to  a retailer in Royal Tunbridge Wells the town is dying, its life blood cut off by increasing traffic congestion, made worse by the installation of traffic lights on Pembury Road.  Retailers in the retail park are concerned that gridlock on the roads within the park is having a negative effect on customer numbers.  How much easier to drive to Bluewater.

A contentious  issue is that of parking charges.  I note that Sevenoaks has decided to lift parking charges in the run up to Christmas.

  http://www.kentnews.co.uk/news/sevenoaks_cabinet_agrees_to_free_christmas_parking_1_1688506

Back in the town centre the old Odeon cinema is a bleak reminder of dither over the years and  failure of Conservative administrations to move forward the development of the town.  The 'policy' of the Council is that nothing can be done regarding the civic complex until the Odeon site issues have been resolved. Should the current owners fail to develop the site there has been talk of compulsory purchase.

At least Roy Bullock tried to break the log-jam and was thanked by being ousted as Leader of the Council and then deselected as a candidate. Neither his immediate successor, Bob Atwood, who lost his Council seat last May, nor the latest incumbent, David Jukes, seems to have any strategy worthy of the name. Meanwhile the town continues to die.

Not good enough.

Town Hall Dynamism (2)

In June 2011 I posted the item below.

http://kentcommunityactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/town-hall-dynamism.html

Sixteen months later what is there to report?  Precious little. The Tunbridge Wells Town Plan Advisory Panel's report has had little impact, the former Odeon cinema has not been demolished and the civic complex issues have been kicked into the long grass.


All music to the ears of the Aspic Brigade, a small unrepresentative clique which nevertheless has cast its dire spell over local Conservatives.

Pussyfooting around

Love the headline to this article in the Daily Telegraph

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/9477276/Boris-Johnson-tells-David-Cameron-to-stop-pussyfooting-around-and-fix-the-economy.html

Mind you, we know all about pussyfooting in Tunbridge Wells, witness the inertia of  Conservative councillors on the subject of town centre redevelopment.

Nostalgic and Narcissistic

The title is taken from Spiegel Online and prefaces an article entitled France's Obsession with the Past Hinders Reforms.

Replace the reference to France with Tunbridge Wells' Aspic Brigade and you have encapsulated the problem of town centre regeneration in Tunbridge Wells.

The Aspic Brigade is consumed by nostalgia and love for the mid 20th century, reflected in the desire to retain the civic complex.  The world has moved on but the Brigade wishes to retain buildings which are no longer fit for purpose.  Form should never be permitted to determine function: to do so condemns Tunbridge Wells to the second-rate.

Old Odeon Cinema Site

A few days ago I posted the following on this blog.

http://kentcommunityactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/old-odeon-cinema.html

Today the local newspaper has a front page story on the issue.  Apparently the developer is close to signing an agreement with a supermarket and then will submit a full planning application to Tunbridge Wells Borough Council - hopefully in October.  The line the developer is promoting is that once the supermarket has signed up other organisations (including an hotel operator) will follow suite.

Time will tell, but the Council should be working on the preparation of a compulsory purchase order and dusting down the plan, prepared at his own cost, of the Leader of the Council.

Courier publishes letter

The local newspaper in Tunbridge Wells (The Courier) published today a letter I submitted on the future of the civic complex in Tunbridge Wells.  Based on this blog post:


http://kentcommunityactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/tunbridge-wells-town-plan-advisory-panel.html


The editor decided to omit the first paragraph.


My reason for submitting the letter is to generate a debate about the future of the civic complex in particular and more generally, about the development of leisure, cultural and educational activities in Tunbridge Wells.  the Town Plan Advisory Panel's report proposes that the citizens of Tunbridge Wells should make do with inferior facilities.  The debate should be about what is needed, not what can be achieved by upgrading existing buildings.


Canterbury City Council grasped the nettle: the existing theatre was demolished and replaced by a venue of which the people of the city may be proud.   Refurbishment and alterations to the Assembly Hall in Tunbridge Wells would leave the town saddled with a building markedly inferior to the new Marlowe Theatre.


It will not meet the declared objective of the Panel to:

Position the town as the cultural heart of West Kent and East Sussex (the west Kent 

equivalent to Canterbury in the East)

I acknowledge that a case can be made for retaining the facade at the main entrance to the Town Hall and the frescos on the other buildings which make up the civic complex, but as to the rest, sweep it away, let the demolition ball do its work.

What is needed is a debate on the future use of the site of the civic complex, not a  debate limited to the merits of the buildings.  There should be a debate about the activities that should be located on the site and the premises that will be needed to fulfil the aspiration of the Panel that the town should be 'the cultural heart of West Kent and East Sussex'.

The question needs to be asked: does the local population buy in to the cultural objective?  Are there other matters which need to be considered?  Obviously there are and I noted in today's Courier an editorial berating the Council for lack of joined up thinking on homelessness and its decision to evict the Soup Bowl.

I saw little, if anything,  in the Panel's deliberations concerning the needs of the poorer sections of the Tunbridge Wells community.  What is needed in Tunbridge Wells is a proper market, not just the farmers' market.  Some of the aspic brigade would be aghast at the very idea that provision should be made in the heart of Tunbridge Wells  for a market.

So, what are the drivers for change in Tunbridge Wells and how will the Council respond?   The views of all sections of the community should be heard, only then should decisions be taken on the buildings which are necessary to enable aspirations to be fulfilled.  

The political debate one hopes will not be conducted along the lines Harold Macmillan's observation:

Political argument is rarely hindered by ignorance.

So far the aspic brigade and its fellow-traveller councillors have made the running.  I await replies to my letter, but with little confidence that there will be a genuine debate.  My fear is that the pro inertia forces are well marshaled and will prevail.  At least I have put my head above the parapet.

Tunbridge Wells Town Plan Advisory Panel (4)

http://www2.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/pdf/TWTPAP%20Report%20July%202012%20Final.pdf

The febrile frenzy within the Conservative Group leading up to the ousting of Roy Bullock as Leader of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council was followed by soporific stupor under his replacement, Bob Atwood.

The establishment of the Advisory Panel was intended to take the heat out of the civic complex debate.

One objective of the Town Plan should be to, according to the panel:

Position the town as the cultural heart of West Kent and East Sussex (the west Kent 

equivalent to Canterbury in the East)

Most laudable.  But how is this to be achieved?  In the context of the civic complex all that is proposed is to enhance the existing buildings.  In Canterbury, the Marlowe Theatre was demolished and a new theatre constructed.  All the panel could come up was refurbishment of the Assembly Hall along with a new back stage.  The phrase 'square pegs in round holes' comes to mind.

The suggestions to move the museum to the police station building and upgrade the library building again show a poverty of vision.  Recently I visited Ludlow,  a town of great character.  It has a modern library and museum resource centre.

In Tunbridge Wells, the aspic brigade is besotted with buildings.  The nettle must be grasped. Form should not dictate function.

Tunbridge Wells Town Plan Advisory Panel (3)

http://www2.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/pdf/TWTPAP%20Report%20July%202012%20Final.pdf

The transport section of the report seeks to address a multitude of issues.

The Panel is to be congratulated on supporting the re-opening of the railway line between Uckfield and Lewes and Eridge and Tunbridge Wells (presumably the latter replacing the Spa Valley Railway).  The proposal to re-open these lines can be found by following this link:  http://www.wealdenline.co.uk/

I doubt the need for a High Brooms - Tunbridge Wells shuttle rail service.  There is after all a four trains per hour service between the two stations and the 281 bus route (twelve minute frequency) passes the two stations.  Possibly this idea has its roots in the barmy ideas in circulation a few years ago for a station in the old goods yard and a station in the tunnel with escalators to Fiveways.

The need to retain fast trains to London is mentioned, but not the fact that the Tonbridge-Orpington line is almost at full capacity and there is no plan to deal with this issue.

My personal preference is for pay on exit car parking, certainly in the multi-storey car parks.

The shared space concept is one which should be considered in more detail.  I have used such space in Ashford and have had no problem with it either as a pedestrian or as a motorist.

However, I am not convinced of the proposal to close Neville Street.   Motorists will seek out rat-runs through residential streets.  The Royal Oak crossroads in very congested already and matters will be made much worse should traffic be diverted along Forest Road.  The junctions at each end of Bunny Lane are dangerous and this could only be resolved by either traffic lights or roundabouts.

Stronger emphasis should have been made on the need for park and ride.

The idea of using the 281 and 277 bus services to provide a better shopper-hopper service is one I support.  What is needed is for the buses to be easily identified and for signage at bus stops to be improved significantly.

Tunbridge Wells Town Plan Advisory Panel (2)

http://www2.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/pdf/TWTPAP%20Report%20July%202012%20Final.pdf

The Local Government Act 2000 placed a responsibility on local authorities to publish community strategies (or community plans).  Guidance indicated that the strategies had to reflect the views of communities and not simply be a regurgitation of existing statutory bodies' policy documents.

In Tunbridge Wells the document published was entitled Tunbridge Wells Borough Community Plan.  Note it was not Tunbridge Wells Borough Council's Community Plan, although the document only received formal status on been approved by the Council.

In 2003 the Council established a steering group to produce the community plan.  Membership of the group was set by the Council.  At its first meeting I was elected chairman.  The task facing us was daunting.  Tunbridge Wells was well behind other local authorities in Kent in commencing the process and we had a very short time-scale.

The group published a draft report and I addressed a meeting of the full council prior to the council agreeing the document be put out to consultation.  We received comments from 50 organisations and over 160 individuals.  Each comment was discussed by the group and this led to many alterations to the draft report.
The amended report was approved by the full council.  Our task completed, we disbanded.

The group, well aware that its membership lacked a degree of legitimacy, insisted that within 12 months the plan be reviewed.

Tunbridge Wells Town Plan Advisory Group's membership was determined by the then Leader of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council.  On his loss of his council seat he became chairman of the advisory group. The advisory group has no greater legitimacy that the community plan steering group and its report has not been subjected to public scrutiny and comment .prior to publication.  Nor has the advisory group disbanded.

It is important that the recommendations of the advisory group are not granted an enhanced status, given the background to its formation, its membership and that it is only the opinion of a consensus of a majority of the group.

Tunbridge Wells Town Plan Advisory Panel (1)

The panel has published its report and recommendations.

http://www2.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/pdf/TWTPAP%20Report%20July%202012%20Final.pdf

I shall be commenting on the document in a number of posts.  Whilst there are some recommendations I support wholeheartedly, nevertheless the report overall is a curates' egg, oozes complacency and lacks vision.  Indeed it is the manifesto of the aspic brigade.  The formation of the panel was a political cop-out and is an example of reaping what you sow.  Some of the major recommendations will, should they come to fruition in planning policy, serve the town badly: in so doing it will appease the aspic brigade.

One can only hope that political self-interest of councillors will not triumph. This report will test their resolve.

See also: http://johnhopkinsonconservative.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/testing-time.html

No vision, no ideas

Tunbridge Wells has a splendid MP in Greg Clark. He steered the localism legislation through the House of Commons and recast planning guidance.  A star performer destined for promotion.

Unfortunately he is saddled with a Conservative Group on his local council (Tunbridge Wells) lacking in vision and ideas.  The council refused to take up a grant offered by Clark's department.  Instead it hiked council tax by 3%.

Whilst the Conservative Group take some credit for the campaign to re-open Morrisons and pressing for the dualling of the A21, the driver of both is Clark.

The difference between the MP and the Conservative local worthies is illustrated starkly by the refusal of Tunbridge Wells Council to grant a licence for a greengrocery stand in the area adjoining the Millennium Clock.

Greg Clark promoted the idea for the stall under the clock stating that with the re-opening of Morrisons it was important to ensure the top end of the town is, to quote the Courier, made more attractive and vibrant.


Clark said also:

Whilst I am encouraged by borough council's commitment to try different things, it's important that there is real momentum behind this.


Quite.

The 'new' Morrisons in Tunbridge Wells.

Thanks in part to the efforts of Greg Clark, MP for Tunbridge Wells, and the Borough Council Morrisons decided to re-open its closed store located opposite the railway station.  Over the years it became one of the town's 'grot spots'.

The new forecourt and entrance is a big improvement on what was there before.  Gone is the dark covered way and in its place a pleasant open space.

One down, one to go.  When will the old cinema be demolished?

Concerns about the former Kent & Sussex Hospital are being voiced in the local press. The land could be used for a new civic centre and theatre.  Not that I am suggesting demolishing the old town hall and assembly hall in their entirety.  Keep the facade. 

Tunbridge Wells on the up?

Yesterday I had a walk round Royal Victoria Place, a shopping mall, which when it opened was a classy spot.  It had broad walkways, now encroached upon by stalls from which retail staff accost people. Cafes have proliferated where once it was possible to stroll.  The open aspect has been destroyed by building floors above the ground floor.  What struck me today was the number of empty units.

However, it is not all doom and gloom. Work is proceeding on the re-opening of Morrison's supermarket and it may be the case that at long last the former Odeon cinema will be demolished.

http://www.yourtunbridgewells.co.uk/news/cinema_demolition_could_be_in_weeks_1_1187672

Now all we need is a theatre of the quality of the Marlowe in Canterbury.

Form should follow function

It is a simple concept, but sadly lost on some people. A recent manifestation of the concept is in a report by a group of councillors in Tunbridge Wells seeking to re-home the art gallery and museum in more suitable premises.   The councillors are correct: the current premises are inadequate.  Nevertheless it has not stopped some people claiming that there should be no re-location as to do so would threaten the retention of the civic complex.

In other words, make do with inadequate buildings, as it is more important to retain the buildings than improve the functions current housed there.  To their credit, the Leader of the Liberal Democrats and a leading member of the Civic Society, expressed support for re-location.

The Assembly Hall is no longer fit for purpose, the police station lost the magistrates court function years ago and the Town Hall is under-utilised.  A good case can be made for transferring all the functions undertaken in these buildings to purpose built accommodation. 

Tunbridge Wells is stagnating, no doubt good news as far as the Aspic Brigade is concerned, but bad news for businesses and the local population.  The increase in out- of -town supermarkets and the expansion of the retail park has drawn people away from the town centre.  We must recover the vitality of the town centre.

Tunbridge Wells Town Plan Advisory Panel

Remember this?

http://www2.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=4536

Has the panel been formed, who is on it, what is the timescale for its deliberations?  Not a word on the Council's website.

The Leader of the Council published a paper which included the following:

The Panel must be set up as soon as possible to help inform and shape our emerging planning policy documentation and to make sure that evidence, opinions, challenges and ideas are understood and responded to appropriately so as to reflect the aspirations of all affected stakeholders.