The Borough of Tunbridge Wells is a

local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

with borough status in

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 ...

, England. It takes its name from its main town,

Royal 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 Weald, High Weald, whose sand ...

. The borough also contains the towns of

Paddock Wood Paddock Wood is a town and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England, about southwest of Maidstone. At the 2001 Census it had a population of 8,263, falling marginally to 8,253 at the 2011 Census. Paddock Wood is a centre ...

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 Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506, situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lo ...

Tonbridge and Malling Tonbridge and Malling is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Kent, England. The council is based at Kings Hill. The borough also includes the towns of Tonbridge an ...

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

, Ashford, Rother and Wealden.

History

The town of Tunbridge Wells had been governed by

improvement commissioners Boards of improvement commissioners were ''ad hoc'' urban local government boards created during the 18th and 19th centuries in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and its predecessors the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Irel ...

from 1835. The commissioners' district was reconstituted as a

in 1860, which in turn became a

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

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 Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until Death and state funeral of Edward VII, his death in 1910. The second child ...

. The modern district was created on 1 April 1974 under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, 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) *

Municipal Borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

* 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 provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by

Kent County Council Kent County Council is a county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Kent in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes the Unitary authorities of England, unitary auth ...

. Much of the borough is also covered by

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

es, 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: (Put "Tunbridge Wells" in search box to see specific results.)

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Tunbridge Wells. Political leadership is instead provided by the

leader of the council Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

. 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

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s 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 Weald () is an area of South East England between the parallel chalk escarpments of the North and the South Downs. It crosses the counties of Hampshire, Surrey, West Sussex, East Sussex, and Kent. It has three parts, the sandstone "High W ...

, the remainder on the Weald

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

plain In geography, a plain, commonly known as flatland, is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and ...

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 An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB; , AHNE) is one of 46 areas of countryside in England, Wales, or Northern Ireland that has been designated for conservation due to its significant landscape value. Since 2023, the areas in England an ...

. The presence of sandstone outcrops and the

chalybeate Chalybeate () waters, also known as Iron oxide, ferruginous waters, are mineral spring waters containing salts of iron. Name The word ''chalybeate'' is derived from the Latin word for steel, , which follows from the Ancient Greek, Greek word ...

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

. There is a railway line across the clay plain in an almost unbroken straight line between Redhill,

Tonbridge Tonbridge ( ) (historic spelling ''Tunbridge'') is a market town in Kent, England, on the River Medway, north of Royal Tunbridge Wells, south west of Maidstone and south east of London. In the administrative borough of Tonbridge and Mall ...

and

Ashford, Kent Ashford is a town in the Borough of Ashford, Ashford district, in the county of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Great Stour at the southern or Escarpment, scarp edge of the North Downs, about by road southeast of centr ...

. The SER line to

Hastings Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...

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

Media

The

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

has its regional centre at the Great Hall on Mount Pleasant Road in

. 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 Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. Other radio stations that broadcast to the area are Heart South,

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

, 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

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tunbridge Wells, Borough of Non-metropolitan districts of Kent Politics of the Borough of Tunbridge Wells Boroughs in England