West Kent Talking: Recent Episodes
Martin Webber
Fascinating interviews with people in the area of Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells in Kent on the big topics of the moment. They are recorded by former BBC World Service journalist, Martin Webber, who delights in tracking down people passionate about improving their local community. Issues include who's running the council, safety on the streets, producing organic apples locally, cycle routes and help for electric car drivers. All the interviews were first broadcast on West Kent Radio - the volunteer OFCOM authorised community radio station on 95.5, 106.7 and 107.2 FM.
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 Borough council is currently a coalition led by the Liberal Democrats. The Lib Dems run things with the votes of the Tunbridge Wells Alliance Party, Labour and one independent, Rodney Atkins.
There are several recurring issues in the interviews ahead. One is the council’s decision to persist with fining motorists for driving through a section of road opposite the Town Hall. A staggering £ 1.5 million has been raised so far - that’s a staggering sum given that council tax revenues are £ 9 million a year.
The fact that tens of thousands of motorists have been fined suggests most drivers are simply confused. Some visitors to the town who received a 70 pound fine - have said they won’t be back.
Also still controversial is the Local Plan for housebuilding and the recent increase in charges in council car parks.
This is a pretty unpredictable election as there are new ward boundaries and the total number of councillors is being cut from 48 to 39.
Listen to:
Nick Pope of the Tunbridge Wells Alliance Party,
David Hayward of the Independents for Tunbridge Wells Party,
Tom Dawlings who is leader of the Conservatives on TWBC,
Hugo Pound who is leader of Labour on TWBC,
Geoff Mason who is Chair of Tunbridge Wells Green Party and Ben Chapelard, leader of the Liberal Democrats on TWBC
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 cricket played in whites with a red ball is almost all played at the extreme start and end of the season. Is it being neglected? Plus we find out about the issues preventing the Kent men's team from returning to playing at the picturesque Tunbridge Wells Nevill Ground.
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 deemed to be “no longer fit for purpose”.
A meeting of key members of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council on 5th December decided the current building should be flattened.
There will be new leisure facilities in the town, but no decision has been made so far on exactly where that’ll be.
Listen to interviews with the leader of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council, the Conservative Matt Boughton, and Mark Hood - a councillor for the Green Party.
The 700 year old building that’s still thriving and much loved is Ightham Mote. It's run by the National Trust.
I caught up with Lisa Oxborough of the Trust and Bernadette Gillow who is the Trust's general manager at Ightham. I asked about Ightham Mote’s preparations for Christmas and plans to restore the walled garden - until recently a car park.
There had been fears that Tonbridge could lose a valued independent bookshop. The owner of the Mr Books store in the High Street was selling up earlier this year - and it wasn’t clear that anyone would want to take on the shop.
But good news - The bookshop is still open- under new management and with a new name Teppa Books.
Our reporter Marion Westram spoke to the latest owner of the shop - he’s Paul Marchant of Sworde-Teppa charity, which focusses on work in Tajikistan.
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, Charles Lloyd. Plus hear from Gatwick's Head of Noise and Airspace Strategy, Andy Sinclair, on why he thinks the plans are compatible with net zero climate commitments and why night flights won't increase.
We also return to the organic orchards of Mole End Farms to hear about their summer growing season and why their apples are the largest they've ever had. We hear from apple pickers - some have come from as far away as Central Asia for the seasonal work.
Cyclists have continued to campaign for better cycle routes in West Kent - we'll hear how their convoys on the A26 were received. Then we talk to the Pembury Councillor David Hayward who left the "Tunbridge Wells Alliance" Party and formed a new "Independents for Tunbridge Wells" Party in the summer. He explains why.
Finally, we focus on cricket, after Kent sucessfully avoided relegation from Division One of the County Championship on the final day of the season. We speak to Kent's new captain Daniel Bell-Drummond about how his parents inspired him to take up the game. And we hear from Kent Cricket's Chief Executive Simon Storey on the chances of county cricket returning to the Neville Ground in Tunbridge Wells next season. To end, Fred Atkins explains his role as the Kent reporter for the ECB network and he runs through the highs and lows of Kent's 2023 season.
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-elected as leader for another four year term. He tells us how he stayed in power. Then the Green Party councillor, Anna Cope, talks about the election outcome and her fears over the use of chemicals on the Borough's streets to kill weeds.
The state of the parties in Tonbridge and Malling now looks like this: Of the 44 seats, Conservatives have 20, Liberal Democrats 11, Greens 8, Labour 3 and Independent Alliance Kent have 2.
Friday 9th June is the date for a so-called mass cycle ride starting simultaneously in both Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells - and converging on Southborough Common. The aim is to get a safe dedicated cycle path along the route of the A26. We speak to Paul Mason of Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells Bicycle Users Group, known as TTWBUG on why he thinks car drivers get an unfair slice of UK transport spending.
On Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, the local election results did little to affect the balance of power. The Liberal Democrats stayed out in front - going up from 15 to 17 seats. The Conservatives dropped from 12 to 11, as the Tunbridge Wells Alliance went up from 9 to 11. Meanwhile, Labour rose from 7 to 8 seats and there’s now one independent.
The Tunbridge Wells Alliance Party was formed five years ago - to oppose £100 million of borrowing planned by the then Conservative administration to fund the building of a new theatre, council offices and car park in Calverley Grounds. That scheme was eventually dropped after the Conservatives lost seats in successive elections - and more and more of their own councillors rebelled against the plans.
The 2023 elections seem to have proved that the Tunbridge Wells Alliance Party remains relevant even though the issue which created it is no longer around. The party’s Chairman, Nick Pope, has now been elected deputy mayor. By tradition, this means he becomes THE mayor next year with a casting vote in the council that could become crucial. We replay the local restaurant owner Matthew Sankey's tribute in the council chamber to the work of Nick Pope.
Finally, we hear from the Liberal Democrat, Ben Chapelard, who was re-elected as leader of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council. One issue that had come up in the campaign was the daytime ban on cars driving past the War Memorial outside the Town Hall. Thousands of motorists have apparently accidentally missed the complex signage and been handed a £35 fine. Lots of drivers were pretty unhappy. 600 people have signed a petition on the Kent County Council website that argues that the fines should be refunded and the scheme suspended - a stance also backed by the local MP, Greg Clark. I challenged Ben Chapelard about that scheme but first heard about a successful 2023 election for his party.
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 different arrangement from Tunbridge Wells where the votes are staggered and we have elections most years.
In this year’s Tonbridge vote, in some wards Greens or Lib Dems aren’t standing - which may well boost the chances of the Conservative being defeated.
Another complication is that there have been changes to the boundaries and a cut in the total number of councillors which has made predicting anything almost impossible.
So have a listen to decide who you trust the most. First Anna Cope from Greens, then the Conservative current leader of the council, Matt Boughton, responds to some of her points. Then we hear from Frani Hoskens of the Liberal Democrats who are currently the second biggest party with 9 seats. And after that a new young candidate hoping to be elected for Labour, Callum Lake. And finally a member of the Independent Alliance Kent, Sue Butterfill - her party is trying to edge out of its Borough Green stronghold into neighbouring villages.
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 the politicians on their policies on finances, car parks and local transport. Plus, do they think the controversial plan to build a new town on green belt farmland between Capel and Tudeley should be dropped.
You will hear 4 minute interviews with:
Tom Dawlings, Leader of Conservative Group;
Ben Chapelard of the Liberal Democrats who is Leader of the Council;
Hugo Pound, Leader of the Labour Group (also in charge of housing policy);
Lucy Willis of the Tunbridge Wells Alliance Party; and
Geoff Mason, Chair of the Tunbridge Wells Green Party
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 extended to the end of June. Also on the podcast what happened when the scheme to impose 20 mph limits on traffic speeds in Tonbridge got a mixed response from the public.
In this podcast, Martin Webber discusses the big local transport issues with the man responsible for the area's roads, David Brazier of the Conservatives who's Kent County Council's cabinet member for Highways and Transport. David Brazier tells us why he thinks a cycle route within the existing A26 road width would be unsafe, while the idea of a new cycle route parallel to the A26 (on the fringes of farmland between Southborough and Tonbridge) would be unaffordable.
Plus you will hear from the Liberal Democrat's Peter Lidstone, who is the cycling and walking champion in Tunbridge Wells. And finally listen to the ideas of Adrian Berendt, who works for the national group Campaign for Better Transport and who's also vice-Chair of the Tunbridge Wells Town Forum. Adrian Berendt believes a new A26 segregated cycle lane is possible and would benefit the 7,000 children who attend schools along the A26 in the St. John's area.
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 Conservative majority in Tunbridge Wells when the next general election is held sometime in the next two years.
Mike Martin is a former British army officer, who now writes about the causes of conflict.
One of my earlier podcast episodes was an interview with the current Tunbridge Wells MP, the Conservative Greg Clark, who confirmed he would be standing again.
This episode is a half-hour interview with Mike Martin and we talked about climate change policies, Brexit, Afghanistan, Ukraine and public sector strikes, as well as the failings of water privatisation.
In a statement, South East Water’s chief financial officer, Andrew Farmer told us that between 2020 and 2025 the company is investing more than £480 million in upgrading infrastructure which includes the water treatment works and pipeline network. And Mr Farmer also said that South East Water is resident in the UK for tax purposes.
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. Secondly, I heard from the Mayor of Southborough, Dianne Hill, who talks about how the Queen helped lift women's status in British society.
Finally, Peter Blackwell recalled for me his conversation with the Queen after being invited to Buckingham Palace. Peter Blackwell was born in Tunbridge Wells in 1944 and worked as a local telephone engineer, before becoming a magistrate in Tunbridge Wells in 1971. He then gave decades of service on the bench, which led him meeting the Queen in 2006.
You can also listen back to my recording of the official public reading of the Proclamation for the new King, read by the Mayor of Tunbridge Wells outside the Town Hall on Sunday 11th September 2022.
Picture of Queen from her 90th birthday courtesy of PRESS ASSOCIATION / Danny Lawson
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 chaired by Boris Johnson.
But I started with why he wanted to go into politics.
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 suggested the Council considers the option of cancelling of a central part of that Local Plan, which involves building a new settlement of almost 3,000 homes on farmland near Capel. The settlement is to be called “Tudeley Garden Village” and it is strongly opposed by many local people. They’ve formed a campaign group called “Save Capel”. The neighbouring council, Tonbridge and Malling are also against the settlement as it would increase traffic in nearby Tonbridge town centre .
So I spoke to Hugo Pound who is Tunbridge Wells Borough Council’s cabinet member in charge of housing and planning. Then I got reaction from the Chairman of Save Capel, Stewart Gledhill. Plus the landowner Hadlow Estates states why the scheme would create a "beautiful" community.
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 energy bills threaten his future,
Cllr Dianne Hill who says local democracy is at risk from proposed boundary changes in Tunbridge Wells and
Cllr Robin Betts on how the local council in Tonbridge is helping drivers of electric cars.