Tunbridge Wells (borough)

Tunbridge Wells District
—  Non-metropolitan district  —
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
• Leadership	Leader & Cabinet (Conservative)
• MPs	Greg Clark
Area
• Total	127.9 sq mi (331.3 km2)
Area rank	131st (of 326)
Population (2010 est.)
• Total	108,200
• Rank	209th (of 326)
• Density	845.9/sq mi (326.6/km2)
• Ethnicity	95.1% White 1.4% S.Asian 1.1% Black 1.3% Mixed Race 1.0% Chinese or other
Time zone	GMT (UTC0)
• Summer (DST)	BST (UTC+1)
ONS code	29UQ
OS grid reference	TQ5817739112
Website	www.tunbridgewells.gov.uk

Tunbridge Wells is a local government district and borough in Kent, England. It takes its name from its main town, Royal Tunbridge Wells.

The district was formed on 1 April 1974, by the merger of the municipal borough of Royal Tunbridge Wells along with Southborough urban district, Cranbrook Rural District and most of Tonbridge Rural District.

Description of borough

Location

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.

The North Weald area

The restricted area immediately to the north and west of Tunbridge Wells lies within the Weald. The presence of sandstone outcrops here, and the chalybeate springs, together with old workings, point to ancient iron manufacturing.

Weald Clay plain

This plain is 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.

Communications

• Roads 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.
• Railways The line of the former South Eastern Railway (SER) main line crosses the clay plain in an almost unbroken straight line between Redhill 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.

Borough organisation

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council is composed of 48 councillors representing 20 wards across the borough. Eight wards are within Royal Tunbridge Wells itself including Broadwater, Culverden; Pantiles & St Marks; Park; Rusthall; Sherwood & St John's and St. James. The remainder are rural wards covering the other main towns and villages.

Each of the latter also have their own form of local government in the form of a civil parish. They are as follows, paired where two villages are served by one councillor:

• Benenden & Cranbrook
• Bidborough
• Brenchley & Horsmonden
• Capel
• Frittenden & Sissinghurst
• Goudhurst & Lamberhurst
• Hawkhurst & Sandhurst
• Paddock Wood: two wards, East and West
• Pembury
• Southborough: two wards, Southborough & High Brooms; and Southborough North
• Speldhurst & Bidborough

Politics

See also: Tunbridge Wells local elections

Tunbridge Wells is and has almost always been from inception, a Conservative Westminster constituency, though some of the council wards are strongly Liberal Democrat^{[citation needed]}. As of the elections in May 2011 the present political composition of the Council is:

• Conservatives 39
• Liberal Democrats 6
• Labour 1
• UKIP 1
• Independent 1

Places of interest

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

• Bewl Water reservoir near Lamberhurst for leisure water pursuits and outdoor conferences
• Sissinghurst Castle gardens: the home of Vita Sackville-West
• http://www.ksclimbing.co.uk

- and there are facilities for rock-climbing at the 'High Rocks', 2 miles west of Tunbridge Wells

External links

• The Borough website