Right that building denied listed status, says MP

An MP has said the government was right to reject a proposal to grant listed status to a property that could be redeveloped into a new cinema.

The Royal Tunbridge Wells Civic Society had applied for 3-7 Camden Road to be listed, potentially hindering Tunbridge Wells Borough Council plans.

The authority said on Thursday the government had rejected the application after Historic England advice. When approached by the BBC, the civic society "decided not to comment at this stage" but said "this is not the end of the story".

Meanwhile, Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin said the listing application was "disappointing" and the government was "right to reject" it.

The property, home to the Victoria Snooker Centre, is now temporarily prevented from receiving listed status.

The site is council-owned, as is the adjacent Royal Victoria Place shopping centre, which would also be partially redeveloped.

The council's plans include three cinema screens, new restaurant units and a "leisure hub", with designers proposing to maintain the facade of the Camden Road property.

The snooker club has opposed the plan, which would force it to close or relocate.

Club co-owner Graham Martin told the BBC the club was "probably putting up more of a fight than people thought" over the scheme, and that it "wasn't stopping yet".

The Royal Tunbridge Wells Together business improvement district's chief executive Alex Green said the proposal was "absolutely critical" for bringing investment and football to the town.

"Higher quality and increased variety will encourage more people to come out and I think that will impact positively the other venues around," he said.

Martin said there was "a big shift going on in town centres across the country" towards places "where you go to experience stuff" rather than retail.

"Town centres are changing and that's why what's in them has to change as well," he told BBC Radio Kent.

Tunbridge Wells council cabinet member Justine Rutland said the proposals would "help create new opportunities for leisure, dining and entertainment".

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