What the Palm Court Redesign Actually Changes - Plus a New Committee Step

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council has set out in more detail what it wants to change inside Palm Court, at the heart of Royal Victoria Place - and added an extra committee step to the timetable this site reported back in September.

Palm Court has changed little since Royal Victoria Place opened in the 1980s, and the council says its current roof is reaching the end of its life. Alongside a visualisation this site has already shown readers, the council has now set out the detail behind it: a new roof letting in more natural light, and the removal of the existing basement opening, downward escalator and scenic lift in favour of a more open, flexible central space. Toilets would move to a new, fully accessible, family-friendly location on the Upper Mall, and the Lower Mall space is shown hosting events, activities and exhibitions rather than just shop units - part of a wider push to get people spending time in Royal Victoria Place, not just passing through it.

This site reported in September that the first formal decision on Palm Court was due at Cabinet on 22 October, ahead of a final vote at Full Council on 11 November. The council's published committee agenda now shows an earlier step: the Finance, Innovation and Transformation Cabinet Advisory Board will consider the Palm Court proposals on Monday 5 October and make its own recommendation to Cabinet, with the financial detail held in an exempt appendix not open to the public. The Cabinet and Full Council dates already reported are unaffected.

The plans already have planning permission; what's being decided now is whether the council commits the budget and delegated authority to actually build them. Source: Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, Finance, Innovation and Transformation Cabinet Advisory Board agenda, 5 October 2026