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Wednesday August 2 | 2023
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SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW: Immersion Theatre perform The Wizard of Oz on Anne Boleyn’s Walk at Hever Festival over the weekend. Despite weather-induced damage at the original theatre, the show goes on.
ABC Cinema site development to go ahead By Lilly Croucher AN END to Tunbridge Wells’ most infamous eyesore is in sight, as developers have confirmed an approximate start date for construction and announced a new community artwork to smarten up the site’s hoardings. The former ABC Cinema was closed in 2000 and demolished in 2014, but after multiple failed projects, the centrally-located plot has been neglected for over 23 years. However, with the new developers, Retirement Villages Group (RVG), the site is set to become a £72million ‘extra care’ retirement facility of 160 new homes, known as ‘Thrive
Living’ after securing planning permission in November 2022. Last month, RVG submitted a planning application to Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (TWBC) to request some small adjustments ahead of their official start date.
Adjustment RVG told the Times that a ‘starton-site’ date for the site on Mount Pleasant Road is expected “in early 2024”. A spokesperson for the company said: “We have made a small adjustment to the scheme to allow for an additional apartment, which is not unusual as we prepare for a
construction start date that is on track to be in early 2024.” Also keeping an eye on developments is Cllr Hugo Pound (Labour), Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning at Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (TWBC). He told the Times: “The Council has been working closely with the [RVG] Chief Executive, Will Bax. He and I presented at a conference recently on later living, which went down very well. Confirming the statements from RVG, Cllr Pound said: “It is our understanding, too, that RVG intends to break ground very early in 2024.” Continued on page 3
INSIDE: Business clashes with RVP over vision for Ely Court – page 2
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