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Wednesday August 14 | 2019
WE WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED Times LOCAL NEWSPAPERS
EDITORIAL COMMENT
THIS newspaper has, along with many others, been deeply concerned over the past several months about personal attacks on social media against individuals who might be in favour of the planned Calverley Square development. Opposing the idea of a new theatre and civic complex is the sole reason for the creation of the Tunbridge Wells Alliance political party, which in May won seats on the borough council. The Alliance leader on the council is Nick Pope. The party’s chairman is Robert Chris. Both have vested interests in Calverley Square. Cllr Pope’s wife bought a nearby apartment when he knew about the planned development. Mr Chris later bought a flat in the same block. Cllr Pope is most prolific on social media, generating 67,000 tweets to date – more than President Trump at 43,000. He has also posted details of
Tory councillors he plans to target in the next elections if they vote the wrong way, ie. in favour of Calverley Square. Mr Chris hijacked a meeting of the borough council last month when he spoke seven times from the pubIic gallery and shouted comments at a member speaking in favour of Calverley Square. He also issued a press release claiming the council owned a share of the police station site. Kent Police, the Land Registry and the borough council say that’s untrue. Against this background the Times has been looking at trolling on social media and fake news. As part of that investigation Chief Reporter Richard Williams sent Mr Chris
an email with relevant questions. Instead of replying, Mr Chris handed it to one of his online activists, named in the email, who immediately posted it on social media. Within hours there had been more than 100 comments on Facebook and Twitter about Richard Williams. Not all were complimentary. One used the word ‘vile’ and suggested Richard Williams was ‘rather dim’. The National Union of Journalists told the Times: “It is simply not acceptable for a journalist to be harassed because of their job. “Politicians are supposed to be accountable to the community they serve and should therefore answer questions put to them by local journalists.”
IN ALLIANCE Cllr Nick Pope (left) and Robert Chris
When freedom of speech enables you to establish a new political party then that’s great and as it should be. But with that comes a level of responsibility that you have to accept. Passing on a media inquiry without restrictions on its use is a blatant
‘It is simply not acceptable for a journalist to be harassed because of their job’ National Union of Journalists
breach of accepted protocol by the Chair of a political party, and can only be interpreted as an attempt, by whichever route, to intimidate. Alliance supporters have also suggested that both readers and advertisers boycott this newspaper. Presumably another attempt to intimidate. This Times, though, will not be intimidated. And by the way, those questions we put to Robert Chris remain unanswered.
Continued on page 2
Watchdog fears housing plan may mean town becomes a ‘commuter dormitory’ BY Holly Stafford THE Draft Local Plan that aims to provide 13,500 new homes across the borough in the coming years could turn Tunbridge Wells into a ‘commuter dormitory’. That’s the warning this week from the Royal Tunbridge Wells Civic Society, who act as conservationists for the town’s history and architecture.
The chairman, Brian Lippard, said: “We see a basic problem in the council’s obligation to plan for large quantities of housing while their ability to decide on what and where is severely limited. “This has the effect of pushing up land prices and enabling developers to argue they can’t afford to build affordable housing. “The result is to make all housing in
Tunbridge Wells more expensive, and risk making the town a commuter dormitory.” He said the society wanted to see much more affordable and social housing being built both within the town and in the borough.” Mr Lippard also warned that the ‘long-term squeeze’ of council budgets and loss of skilled and experienced
staff from the Town Hall is making the council less democratic. He said they had recently discussed with the council difficulties in handling planning applications, and the tendency for even major applications to be decided by officers rather than the elected councillors.
See also pages 4-5