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Wednesday, September 21, 2016
IS
OF TUNBRIDGE WELLS
RACE AGAINST TIME Charity founder Jo Ambrose with Suffolk mare Celandine
Hub project criticised INSIDE by renowned architect BUSINESS BOOST
Town top for knowledge-based businesses. Pages 8-9
‘Plastic cladding is hardly better than UPVC weatherboard’ By Adam Hignett
PHOTO: Ella Proctor
adam@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk
Horses under threat after charity is forced to find a new home Full story on page 5
ONE of The Queen’s favourite architects has attacked the proposed Southborough Hub project as being ‘poor’ and out of character. It comes days before the end of the period for public comment to be submitted on the project, which is costing around £30million. Ptolemy Dean is well known for hosting the BBC television series Restoration, which ran for six years until 2009. He also fronted the BBC’s The Perfect Village. He criticised the decision not to incorporate any of the original Royal Victoria Hall theatre, which will be demolished to make way for the new community hub. The architect made the comments on Saturday to the hyperlocal website Southborough News. Mr Dean said: “I think it is a shame that the replacement scheme is so poor when something more thoughtful and careful might have been created that incorporated the existing building, which would have still satisfied the council’s brief, but enabled something of the old character to survive.” The town has a ‘rich architectural tradition’ which would have been enhanced by the retention of the existing historic building he explained, adding the proposed design may as well be ‘anywhere’. He was particularly critical of proposals by Pick Everard – the architectural firm behind the hub – to clad the parts of the
building above the ground floor in a lightweight translucent polycarbonate material and create a ‘civic town square environment’. Mr Dean said: “Plastic cladding is hardly much better than UPVC weatherboard, albeit a different colour. “The proposed redevelopment plan seems to create a large amount of empty public space where the present building is located – part of which I see is labelled ‘Town Square’.
TIME FOR TALENT
What happened when auditions for BGT came along. Page 7
‘The design is meant for the future rather than the past’ “In reality, this won’t be a town square in any real sense as the buildings contained in it are too fragmented, incoherent and insufficient to enclose the space from the constant drone of passing traffic along the A26. “It would be better to keep and refurbish the old building and to create a better and more meaningful public space on its southern side, with some screening of the A26.” His intervention comes during the last week for public comments on the planning application for the development, which were submitted at the end of August. It will also give a significant boost to the numerous opposition groups which have sprung up since the scheme was first mooted. Southborough and High Brooms Labour Party, which said it would be submitting
RESTORATION MAN Architect Ptolemy Dean
Continued on page 4
ROWING CHALLENGE Childhood friends team up to take on Atlantic. Page 10
FOOD & DRINK
Why local markets are the places to be shopping. Pages 76-77