The Pantiles and The Commons - TWBC Statement July 2026
The Pantiles, together with Tunbridge Wells and Rusthall Commons form an important part of the Royal Tunbridge Wells Town. Royal Tunbridge Wells Town Centre is the primary retail and leisure destination in the borough. It is a vibrant and viable centre providing a range of services, facilities, and events to serve the surrounding areas, attracting visitors not only from the borough itself but from across the region, albeit one which has been affected by structural changes to the retail economy.
As well as the diverse retail offer, it is also a significant leisure, cultural, and employment centre, with theatres, a museum and art gallery, a number of live music venues, eating and drinking establishments, and office provision. The town benefits from a rich cultural heritage of both the natural and built environment, with the Pantiles and The Commons being a significant part of this. These significant heritage assets provide a distinct role and identity for the town, which has a large conservation area covering much of the town centre, as well as numerous listed buildings, and distinct areas such as the Pantiles and the Calverley Grounds, which is a designated historic park and garden. This distinctive environment attracts shoppers and visitors to the town.
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council has a recently adopted new Local Plan, and within this, Policy STR/RTW2 Royal Tunbridge Wells Town Centre, sets out the key strategic policy against which future proposals relating to the Pantiles will be considered. The overall vision for the town centre is one that builds on its current success, setting out a flexible and adaptable approach to future uses and sites and ensuring comprehensive and sustained development of the centre.
This includes a mix of uses to provide commercial, employment, cultural and residential opportunities to sustain the town’s future vitality and viability. The vision is also to seek enhancement and creation of new public realm, which should be at the heart of any redevelopment or new development, along with improved connectivity and legibility between core areas of the town. The Pantiles is an important part of the town centre which will help
deliver this strategic vision for the town as a whole.
The Council has begun work on a Local Plan Review, which will include the Royal Tunbridge Wells Town Centre Plan – as work progresses on this, it is expected that this will include more specific aspirations for The Pantiles. The Town Centre Plan will be prepared alongside inclusive public and stakeholder engagement to determine a vision and strategy for the town to ensure its long-term prosperity and success.
Tunbridge Wells and Rusthall Commons are registered common land under their own Acts of Parliament with rights of Public Access that predates the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 (Section 15 Land) crossed by numerous recorded Public Rights of way.
On the Council’s website, there is information relating to Legal, planning and policy constraints, which people/future potential buyers should be aware of.