Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (TWBC) commissioned LDA Design, Knight Frank and City Science to develop a Town Centre Study to inform future work on the Royal Tunbridge Wells Town Centre Plan.
Overview
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (TWBC) commissioned LDA Design, Knight Frank and City Science to develop a Town Centre Study to inform future work on the Royal Tunbridge Wells Town Centre Plan. This study was to provide an update of the evidence base required to support the Plan development, undertake stakeholder engagement to account for the views and experiences of local groups so that they can be incorporated into the Plan, and to develop a vision for Tunbridge Wells Town Centre as a whole. City Science role was to provide specific input relating to transport, movement and decarbonisation.
Scope
Tunbridge Wells Borough has put a focus on active travel and public transport as a catalyst for social change as well as decarbonisation. The delivery of a Local Cycling & Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) underpins improvements to walking and cycling networks, while the Tunbridge Wells Borough Transport Strategy seeks to reduce congestion, improve safety and air quality, and support economic activity within the borough through the provision of high-quality transport infrastructure.
In the then emerging Local Plan (TWBC, 2021), Policy STR/RTW 2: Royal Tunbridge Wells Town Centre refers to the development of a Town Centre Area Plan which will determine a vision for the town centre as the primary retail, leisure, tourism, cultural and employment focus within the borough.
This study was to provide an update of the evidence base required to support the Plan development, undertake stakeholder engagement exercises to account for the views and experiences of local groups so that they can be incorporated into the Plan, and to develop a vision for Tunbridge Wells town centre as a whole. The Town Centre Study covers a suite of topic areas such as future redevelopment opportunities, landscape, culture and tourism and economic development.
City Science Response
- We produced a policy review including a review of relevant local studies and initiatives, including the policies listed above and the Draft Tunbridge Wells Infrastructure Delivery Plan.
- We provided a carbon emissions baseline for domestic, transport and goods emissions, with recommendations on how to reduce these.
- We developed an evidence base outlining existing transport and movement to, within and from the town centre, including focus on the physical environment, active travel, public transport, parking provision, traffic circulation, electric vehicle charging and collision reduction measures.
- We then provided proposals and interventions to further support the enhancement of each of the above transport and movement elements, as well as behaviour change initiatives.
- We collaborated in the facilitation of in-person stakeholder engagement workshops in Royal Tunbridge Wells covering transport, movement and decarbonisation, including site visit route walks.
- We supported development of an overarching future vision for the town centre and key principles relevant to transport, movement and decarbonisation for the future Town Centre Plan
Outcomes
Our Transport & Carbon Baseline Report was consolidated as part of other key evidence into a broader Town Centre Baseline Report led by LDA Design.
