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Borough of Tunbridge Wells
Borough and non-metropolitan district
Tunbridge Wells skyline
Tunbridge Wells shown within Kent
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 km)
• Rank	112th (of 296)
Population
• Total	116,028
• Rank	209th (of 296)
• Density	910/sq mi (350/km)
Ethnicity (2021)
• Ethnic groups	List 91.5% White 4% Asian 2.6% Mixed 1% Black 1% other
Religion (2021)
• Religion	List 49.7% Christianity 40.3% no religion 6.3% not stated 1.7% Islam 1% Hinduism 0.5% other 0.4% Buddhism 0.2% Judaism 0.1% Sikhism
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.

History

The town of Tunbridge Wells had been governed by improvement commissioners from 1835. The commissioners' district was reconstituted as a local government district in 1860, which in turn became a municipal borough in 1889. That first borough of Tunbridge Wells was renamed "Royal Tunbridge Wells" in 1909 following a petition from the borough council to Edward VII.

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:

• Cranbrook Rural District
• Tonbridge Rural District (except parishes of Hadlow and Hildenborough, which went to Tonbridge and Malling)
• Royal Tunbridge Wells Municipal Borough
• Southborough Urban District

The new district was named Tunbridge Wells after the area's largest town, but without the Royal prefix. The district was not initially granted borough status. 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.

Governance

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district
History
Founded	1 April 1974
Leadership
Mayor	Nancy Warne, Tunbridge Wells Alliance since 29 May 2024
Leader	Ben Chapelard, Liberal Democrats since 25 May 2022
Chief Executive	William Benson since 2010
Structure
Seats	39 councillors
Political groups	Administration (22)   Liberal Democrats (22) Other parties (17)   Conservative (7)   Labour (5)   TW Alliance (4)   Independent (1)
Elections
Voting system	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.tunbridgewells.gov.uk

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.

Political control

The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since the 2024 election.

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:

Leadership

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:

Composition

Following the 2024 election, the composition of the council was:

The next elections are due in 2026.

Elections

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.

In the 2016 European Union referendum, Tunbridge Wells was the only district in Kent that voted to remain in the EU (54.89%).

Premises

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.

Geography

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.

Transport

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.

Media

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. The area is served by the local newspaper, Kent and Sussex Courier.

Places of interest

Apart from Tunbridge Wells itself, places of interest in the Borough include:

• Bedgebury Pinetum
• Bewl Water reservoir near Lamberhurst for leisure water pursuits and outdoor conferences
• Sissinghurst Castle gardens: the home of Vita Sackville-West
• facilities for rock-climbing at the 'High Rocks', 2 miles west of Tunbridge Wells

See also

• List of places of worship in Tunbridge Wells (borough)

References

1. ^ UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – Tunbridge Wells Local Authority (E07000116)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
2. "Tunbridge Wells Improvement Act 1835". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
3. "No. 22401". The London Gazette. 6 July 1860. p. 2543.
4. Kelly's Directory of Kent. London. 1913. p. 712. Retrieved 3 October 2023.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
5. "Royal Tunbridge Wells". Kent and Sussex Courier. Tunbridge Wells. 10 April 1909. p. 7. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
6. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 27 September 2023
7. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 31 May 2023
8. "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 28 March 1974. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
9. "Big vote for borough go-ahead". Kent and Sussex Courier. Tunbridge Wells. 28 June 1974. p. 1. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
10. "Borough status". Kent and Sussex Courier. Tunbridge Wells. 20 December 1974. p. 3. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
11. "Chief officers". tunbridgewells.gov.uk. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
12. Smith, Alan (30 May 2024). "New Lib Dem council in Tunbridge Wells criticised for appointment of members with little experience to key roles". Kent Online. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
13. "New Council Leader elected". tunbridgewells.gov.uk. 25 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
14. Harris, Mary (3 March 2018). "A pay rise of around £15,000 will be given to the chief executive at Tunbridge Wells Borough Council". Kent Live. Retrieved 2 October 2023.
15. "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
16. ^ Esson, Daniel (3 May 2024). "Liberal Democrats take control of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council at 2024 local election". Kent Online. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
17. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
18. "Tunbridge Wells". BBC News Online. 19 April 2009. Retrieved 21 November 2010.
19. "Council minutes". Tunbridge Wells Borough Council. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
20. "Council's Tory group selects new leader". Kent Online. 26 April 2002. Retrieved 26 July 2022.
21. "The Tunbridge Wells (Electoral Changes) Order 2024", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2024/2, retrieved 7 July 2024
22. "Timeline History of Tunbridge Wells". Visitor UK. Retrieved 23 February 2021.
23. "West Kent Radio". Retrieved 16 July 2024.
24. "Kent and Sussex Courier". British Papers. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2024.

External links

• Official website

v t e Towns and villages in the Borough of Tunbridge Wells
	Ashurst Baker's Cross Beal's Green Bedgebury Cross Benenden Bidborough Brenchley Capel Colliers Green Coursehorn Cranbrook Culverden Down Curtisden Green Five Oak Green Frittenden Goudhurst Groombridge Hartley Hawkenbury Hawkhurst High Brooms Horsmonden Kilndown Lamberhurst Langton Green Matfield Paddock Wood Park Pembury Royal Tunbridge Wells Rusthall Sandhurst Southborough Speldhurst Stone Cross Sissinghurst Swattenden
List of places in Kent

v t e Ceremonial county of Kent
Kent Portal
Unitary authorities	Medway
Boroughs or districts	Ashford Canterbury Dartford Dover Folkestone and Hythe Gravesham Maidstone Sevenoaks Swale Thanet Tonbridge and Malling Tunbridge Wells
Major settlements (cities in italics)	Ashford Broadstairs Canterbury Chatham Cranbrook Dartford Deal Dover Edenbridge Faversham Folkestone Fordwich Gillingham Gravesend Hawkinge Herne Bay Hythe Lydd Maidstone Margate Minster New Romney Northfleet Paddock Wood Queenborough Rainham Ramsgate Rochester Royal Tunbridge Wells Sandwich Sevenoaks Sheerness Sittingbourne Snodland Southborough Strood Swanley Tenterden Tonbridge Walmer West Malling Westerham Westgate-on-Sea Whitstable See also: List of civil parishes in Kent
Rivers	See: Rivers of Kent
Topics	Flag Parliamentary constituencies Members of Parliament Geography Places Population of major settlements SSSIs Country houses Grade I listed buildings Grade II* listed buildings Scheduled monuments History Schools Museums Lord Lieutenants High Sheriffs People Transport Windmills Culture London Paramount

v t e Districts of South East England
Berkshire	Bracknell Forest Reading Slough West Berkshire Windsor and Maidenhead Wokingham
Buckinghamshire	Buckinghamshire Milton Keynes
East Sussex	Brighton and Hove Eastbourne Hastings Lewes Rother Wealden
Hampshire	Basingstoke and Deane East Hampshire Eastleigh Fareham Gosport Hart Havant New Forest Portsmouth Rushmoor Southampton Test Valley Winchester
Isle of Wight	Isle of Wight
Kent	Ashford Canterbury Dartford Dover Folkestone and Hythe Gravesham Maidstone Medway Sevenoaks Swale Thanet Tonbridge and Malling Tunbridge Wells
Oxfordshire	Cherwell Oxford South Oxfordshire Vale of White Horse West Oxfordshire
Surrey	Elmbridge Epsom and Ewell Guildford Mole Valley Reigate and Banstead Runnymede Spelthorne Surrey Heath Tandridge Waverley Woking
West Sussex	Adur Arun Chichester Crawley Horsham Mid Sussex Worthing

51°07′44″N 0°15′39″E / 51.12889°N 0.26083°E / 51.12889; 0.26083

• Borough of Tunbridge Wells
• Non-metropolitan districts of Kent
• Politics of the Borough of Tunbridge Wells
• Boroughs in England