Royal Victoria Place is a British, partially covered

shopping centre A shopping center in American English, shopping centre in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences), shopping complex, shopping arcade, ...

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells (formerly, until 1909, and still commonly Tunbridge Wells) is a town in Kent, England, southeast of Central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. In 2019, it contained 99 retail units, as well as the Camden Centre, a community facility managed by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council.

History

Royal Victoria Place was opened by

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...

on 21 October 1992. Construction took 36 months and built over the railway line between

and High Brooms stations. Tunbridge Wells Borough Council owns the shopping centre freehold and is obliged to pay 10% of certain refurbishment costs. The rent it receives varies with gross rentals but as of 2019, is a minimum of £882,000 per year. The head lease from the council runs until 2192 and is currently held by BL Tunbridge Wells Ltd, a subsidiary of British Land. Hermes Investment Management bought out its fellow head

lessee A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

, Westfield Group's interest in 2012, and sold the whole to British Land for £96 million in 2018. BL Tunbridge Wells Ltd wrote off the value of its property by £15 million in 2019; £37 million in 2020, and a further £31 million in 2021.

References

External links

Official website
* {{Shopping centres in Southeast England Shopping centres in Kent Buildings and structures in Royal Tunbridge Wells