Tunbridge Wells Retail

When the Royal Victoria Place opened people commented favourably about the wide walkways and general airiness of the place.   Wander through shopping malls in Maidstone and Eastbourne and you are greeted by low ceilings and no natural light.  Soon the rot set in. Additional floor space was created on the first floor by covering over the space between walkways and, even worse, retail spaces created on the walkways.  The original ambiance has been lost to be replaced by a seediness as one is accosted by salespeople at the  stalls (only a few of them but a few too many).

Possibly it would not have mattered had retail habits not changed - but they have.  Over 16% of retail sales take place over the internet.  Big stores are closing nationwide at an alarming rate and RVP  has not been immune.  Woolworths and BHS have gone.  Traffic congestion and car-parking charges have not helped.

The industrial estate in Tunbridge Wells has been turned into a retail and leisure estate syphoning off trade from the town centre.

The improvements to RVP proposed by the new owners look mostly cosmetic and even where they are not are unlikely to do other than slow down the trend away from town centre shopping.

This is the quandary facing Tunbridge Wells, how to arrest the decline in footfall.  The answer in part may be to establish additional activities and facilities for entertainment and leisure.  What is needed is something new and exciting, not patching up existing second-rate facilities.

There are many issues to be tackled but so far none of our opposition councillors nor armchair critics has come up with a coherent set of specific proposals although they have been long on meaningless hand-wringing drivel.