West Kent Talking

The people of Southborough and High Brooms are being asked to endorse several years of work that local volunteers have put into creating a framework for future development in the town. A referendum on the Southborough and High Brooms Neighbourhood Development Plan is being held on Thursday 18th June 2026. The chair of the Steering Committee, Nicholas Woollett explains why it is so important to got...

The second Climate and Nature Fair was held in Calverley Grounds in Tunbridge Wells on Sunday 3rd May 2026. Visitors to the free event saw a big collection of nature and environment groups come together to explain to the public what they are trying to achieve. 00:00 Mark McBennett, organiser of Tunbridge Wells Climate and Nature Fair 01:10 Cally Fiddimore, Manager at Kent High Weald Partnership on...

The Liberal Democrats have consolidated their control of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, winning 11 out of the 15 seats that were at stake in the election of May 2026. Neither Reform or the Green Party got any councillors elected. Lib Dems won 38% of votes. Labour lost 2 seats. Watch the leader of the council Ben Chapelard and the Lib Dem MP for Tunbridge Wells, Mike Martin, on their success, plu...

Reform UK only won 1% of the votes in the last Borough Council elections in Tunbridge Wells two years ago. But Reform support soared in the County Council elections last year when the party took control of Kent County Council. Reform has strong hopes of taking seats in the Sherwood ward in the Borough elections on Thursday 7th May 2026. Oliver Kinkade is standing for Reform UK in Sherwood. He'...

The Green Party is pouring its local resources into the seat of Sherwood in the hope of winning its first Tunbridge Wells Borough Council seat in the vote on Thursday 7th May. Labour faces an uphill struggle due to the party's poor national ratings - Labour is only standing for one of the two available seats in Sherwood. Listen to Kate Sergeant from the Green Party and Tina Kesterton from Labo...

The Borough Council Elections are coming up on 7th May in Tunbridge Wells and Conservative Daniel Dzenkowski is standing in the Pantiles ward - hoping to win the seat back from the Liberal Democrats. He says the Lib Dem plans for the RVP shopping centre in the middle of Tunbridge Wells create "a huge amount of risk" for the council. As well as the planned £68 million debt, Daniel argues...

Should Tunbridge Wells Borough Council take on a debt of £ 68 million to boost the shopping centre it owns in the town centre? The deputy leader of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, Justine Rutland of the Liberal Democrats, explains why she thinks the redevelopment plans are right for the town. She explains to Martin Webber how plans for a new "boutique" cinema will provide desperately ne...

The failure of the water supply for most residents in Tunbridge Wells in recent weeks has made national headlines. It's left people angry and frustrated that previous lessons haven't been learnt. A group "Dry Wells Action" has been set up which held a public meeting on Wednesday 21st January. Around a hundred residents turned up, but both South East Water and their regulators sai...

Yes. There’s been quite a gap since my last podcast was released to the world. But I’m back. And in the coming months I promise once more to be regularly publishing fascinating interviews on what you need to know about local issues. Firstly, the best bits from two of my in depth interviews in the past year with the Tunbridge Wells Liberal Democrat MP Mike Martin. I tackled him at length about whet...

If you want to learn more about the candidates at the General Election in Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells, then listen to them here. In Tunbridge Wells, Mike Martin of the Liberal Democrats, Hugo Pound of Labour and Neil Mahapatra of the Conservatives make their case to be elected. Next you hear the arguments of the Green Party and their candidate in Tonbridge, Anna Cope. There's a response from...

The May local elections are fast approaching. They take place on Thursday 2nd May. There are no votes this year in Tonbridge, but in Tunbridge Wells all the seats on the Borough Council are up for grabs. In most areas, you get 3 votes. Democracy is all about making an informed choice. So, do listen on to get a better idea of what the six main parties standing all want to do. Tunbridge Wells Boroug...

Listen to Kent's new captain, Daniel Bell-Drummond, explain his passion for the sport. He was inspired by his parents and their Jamaican ancestry to devote himself to cricket, joining his local team in north west Kent. Presenter Martin Webber then discusses the current structure of the game with Kent County Cricket's Chief Executive, Simon Storey. They discuss why traditional four day cric...

This episode focuses on two buildings. And maybe - just maybe - there could be some lessons to ponder for architects and planners. We will visit a local building that’s 700 years old and is more popular than ever. But we start by discussing a place that’s now about to be demolished - even though it was constructed just 40 years ago. Opened in 1981 - the Angel Leisure centre in Tonbridge has been d...

Gatwick Airport wants to double its passenger numbers from current levels. Its proposals are being considered by the planning authorities. Members of the public have until the end of Sunday 29 October 2023 to register if they want to comment. Many local residents are concerned about noise and pollution from the airport. Listen to the arguments against Gatwick's expansion from campaigner, Charl...

Hear from the people in power after the West Kent local elections of May 2023, plus be prepared for a mass cycling event and decide whether the fines are fair for motorists who entered the seemingly invisible "Bus Lane" in Tunbridge Wells. In Tonbridge and Malling, the Conservatives lost their overall majority, but the former leader of the council, the Conservative Matt Boughton, was re-...

The Conservatives currently dominate Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council. But the opposition parties believe they can change that in the May 2023 elections. In this podcast you can hear interviews with representatives of the five main parties fighting for votes. In Tonbridge & Malling all the seats are up for grabs this year - their system is having one election every 4 years. That’s a diffe...

Who do you want to vote for in the local elections on May 4th? Listen to representatives of all the 5 main parties make their pitch for your support. After 20 years of Conservative rule, a coalition between the Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Tunbridge Wells Alliance took over running the council in May 2022. Will the Conservatives return in May 2023? You can hear me (Martin Webber) challenging...

Traffic congestion continues to blight the roads of West Kent, causing delays and extra cost for local people and businesses. But nothing seems likely to change soon. There is apparently not enough money available to build the segregated cycle routes that would encourage a big switch to cycling. Meanwhile, some local bus routes are being axed despite the reduced £2 single fare initiative being ext...

South East Water has been accused of not investing enough in the area’s water supply system. The criticism has come from Mike Martin of the Liberal Democrats who’s the party’s new parliamentary candidate in Tunbridge Wells.  Mr Martin was reacting to the breakdown in the water supply system for many local residents before Christmas.   Mike Martin is hoping to overturn Greg Clark’s C...

The seventy years of devoted service given by Queen Elizabeth II are marked by three moving interviews recorded in the days after her death in September. One resident recounted how the Queen once jokingly advised him to "behave yourself". I spoke first to the Mayor of Tunbridge Wells, Godfrey Bland – it turns out he was one of the first people to see the new Queen Elizabeth in Kenya in 1952. Secon...

Topics in our half hour chat ranged from building on green belt land, climate change and the cost of living to a private members bill he’s put forward in parliament on harassment of women in public places.  Since I recorded my interview, Greg's bill won government backing. I also asked Greg Clark if he’d be standing again at the next election and what it was like to be in a cabinet meeting ch...

There’s clearly a shortage of affordable housing for young people. On the other hand once valuable farmland is concreted over for house building projects – it’s gone for good. A national planning inspector has now given his verdict on the latest housing Local Plan issued by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council – and it turns out the inspector has some big reservations about the proposals. He has sugges...

In this first podcast, you can hear 6 fascinating interviews. I’ll be talking to: Paul Ward of Mole End Farms on how he grows apples organically to help nature, Lauren Brook - one of the organisers of a walk entitled "Reclaim the Night Rusthall", Sally Bullion - a campaigner for a dedicated cycle route on the A26 to Hadlow, Glenn Osborn - a Southborough shop owner of 30 years standing who says ene...