Wednesday December 4 | 2019
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A21 TAXIS
OF TONBRIDGE
DREAM COME TRUE: (L-R) Tom Swift, Michael Fenton Stevens and Verity Rae Martin of Wicked Productions practise their flying skills at Jump In trampoline park ahead of this Christmas’s pantomime Peter Pan at EM Forster theatre. See page 4
New parking charges back business with pay and display on High Street By Andy Tong andy@timesoftonbridge.co.uk A RAFT of changes has been proposed by the borough council for parking charges next year, which are designed to help local retailers and businesses. Under the plans put forward by the Street Scene and Environment Services Advisory Board, short-stay and long-stay parking charges in Tonbridge will increase by 10p per hour. But there will be no increase to the 30-minute tariff, which is set at 70p, in order to ‘support local businesses’, and car parks will continue to be free of change on Sundays and Bank Holidays. Robert Styles, the board’s Director, said the level of increase reflects ‘the desire to support the economic sustainability of the town centre’.
The new charges are set to be implemented in April 2020 if they are approved by Cabinet. The last executive meeting had to be cancelled after the debate about the proposals went on too long.
‘A one-hour stay will rise from £1.30 to £1.40, while a four-hour period will go up from £3.80 to £4.20’ A one-hour stay will rise from £1.30 to £1.40, while a four-hour period will go up from £3.80 to £4.20; all-day parking increases from £5.90 to £6.70 – compared to £7.10 in the privately operated railway station car park. One notable change could be on-street pay and display parking
introduced in 18 existing bays at the northern end of the High Street and Lyons Crescent – on the same scale as short-term car parks – ‘to encourage more regular turnover’. The Board will also look at providing additional spaces in the Lower Castle Fields car park after a study found that occupancy is running at ‘at maximum and above’. In contrast, Sovereign Way East was found to be operating at reduced capacity and the long-term future of the site will be reviewed. There could be no more free parking for visitors to Gateway at the Castle ‘based on the constant abuse’ of the facility according to its manager. The
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Photo by David Bartholomew
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West Kent College on ‘lockdown’ as man arrested for brandishing axe A MAN has been arrested after allegedly threatening a group of students with an axe outside West Kent College. The incident happened yesterday morning [Tuesday], when a man in a car was seen outside the gates of the college on Brook Street, Tonbridge, having an altercation with a group of students. The assailant is then said to have got out of the car brandishing what witnesses say was an axe. Nobody was hit or injured in the incident, which was reported to the police, and officers attended the scene. The man later handed himself in to police. A student who was at the scene told the Times: “West Kent was on lockdown this morning from around 9.45am until 11.30am. “A man had an axe on the ground. I’m not sure if it was a student or someone trying to hurt a student. She added: “Security went into panic mode, locking everyone in and not letting anyone else enter.” Police could not confirm whether the man was a student, parent or somebody else, but a spokesman said: “Kent Police was called at 9.25am on December, 3, 2019 to reports of a disturbance in a car park at West Kent College, Tonbridge. “It is alleged a man got out of a vehicle and threatened a person with a weapon, described as resembling a small axe.” He added: “Officers attended and a 31-year-old man presented himself to a police station. He was arrested on suspicion of possessing an offensive weapon and remains in custody.” West Kent issued a statement saying: “The incident was managed in accordance with the college procedures by the staff with the support of the police and no one was injured. “The matter is now being handled by the police.”