Anke: Royal Tunbridge Wells

Art on the Industrial Estate

With the results from the first artistic consultation coming up very soon. We now look at the second phase of the local art installations.

Concept art proposal by Animate Arts. Image courtesy of Animate Arts.

The site selected for the new work is the entrance to the cycle path where it leaves Dowding Way at the North Farm Industrial Estate, and runs up to Barnetts Wood nature reserve.

The first of these is from a collective of artists called Animate Arts. Their proposal is to work with the Friends of Barnetts Wood nature reserve and a local primary school to make a metal "tree arch". It's a really nice piece of work and I like the fact they are getting local schoolchildren involved. My only suggestion, and one I think would mean this would win, would be to lose the current ugly Health and Safety barriers and integrate the same thing into the sculpture. As it stands with the barriers in place it just doesn't work. Get these barriers into the work somehow and this would really make a nice entranceway.

3 out of 10 with barriers.
8 out of 10 without barriers.

Joseph Hillier's concept really rocks my socks. His proposal is to make a steel figure made up from circular and triangular components. These components represent the natural and manufactured elements of life which cross over at the site.

Concept art proposal by Joseph Hillier. Image courtesy of Joseph Hillier.

The artist says that "Tunbridge Wells is famed for the production of Tunbridge Ware, a version of decorative wood marquetry." and this is his modern take on that skill.

"The Parquetry and the crafts used in putting together the Tunbridge Ware (once produced in Tunbridge Wells) is a fascinating departure point for this piece. The circular dispersing particles, which spread more the higher we rise up the figure serves to summon a sense of evaporating water and release, a joyous and poignant defiance of gravity."

Beautiful to look at, will age beautifully, a fitting and striking piece. This has to be the winner. I would go as far as to say that I would like many more of these dotted around our town centre. how about a series of them all around town, perhaps each with a special name and number so it turns into a sort of tourist trail? Can we get a bulk discount Joseph?

10 out of 10

Tony Stallard had a proposal in the last consultation and I really wasn't that impressed, and I'm afraid this new proposal, called Flowers, is nothing short of laughable. Is someone putting these in as joke or something? I mean just look at it. It looks like a vandalised lamppost.

Concept art proposal by Tony Stallard. Image courtesy of Tony Stallard.

Apparently this is supposed to be a direct reference to the natural flowers of the area particularly the ‘Broom’ flower which gives High Brooms its name. If there was about 100 of them in differing heights then you may have good pitch but to me, from a distance, this looks like a green post with a yellow carrier bag tied on top of it. I don't think even the local foxes would use it as a marker post. So ridiculously awful I can't possibly imagine anyone would vote for it.

0 out of 10 (if I only I could give minus figures)

You can let me know what you think in the comments below and also on the official consultation page.

Art on the Grassy Knoll

I love art, I love it with a passion, especially street furniture art. So I was excited to the point of goosebumps when I heard that Tunbridge Wells Borough Council were going to start installing artworks around town. Bravo TWBC!

The site selected for the first of these new works is known as the "Grassy Knoll" and is a small, grassed mound on the north side of Grosvenor bridge before the entrance to Grosvenor and Hilbert Park.

Sculpture proposal for The Grassy Knoll. Copyright: Richard Perry 2011.

Richard Perry's concept (above) seems to be the most fitting. He has looked at the surrounding area and has been inspired by the "extraordinary iron oxide colour" of the spring water in the park. His concept showed a great amount of attention has been paid to the surroundings of the sculpture and to me is the most appealing. It sits well in the space. I personally feel, at 3.5m high, it could do with another couple of metres in height to make it really powerfully stand out.

8 out of 10.

Sculpture proposal for The Grassy Knoll. Copyright: Tony Stallard 2011.

Tony Stallard's proposal (above) is aiming at being a "direct reference to the water supply for which Tunbridge Wells is famous", alas his use of a Greek Rython to hold such water shows that he has missed the mark on getting the feel of Tunbridge Wells in an art piece. As for it glowing orange at night, a bold idea which I commend him for but it still doesn't make up for it being wildly out of place in Tunbridge Wells.

5 out of 10.

Sculpture proposal for The Grassy Knoll. Copyright: We Made That 2011.

We Made That's proposal (above) looks on first appearances like a building has been demolished leaving the empty staircase which has then been graffitied. How completely un-Tunbridge Wellian is that?! Sorry, We Made That, but your "Civic Stop" would not be a "robust and characterful local stone ‘stoop’ to create opportunities for public meeting and friendly conversation", it would be an eyesore.

0 out of 10.

Wow, that was very unlike me. You can tell how passionate I am about this subject can't you! The final selection will be made by March 2012 and the Grassy Knoll, which is the first stop on the walk from the town centre to Grosvenor and Hilbert Park, will be the first installation of many. Also, there will be many posts about this walk to Grosvenor and Hilbert Park in the coming months so stay tuned for those.

But, don't listen to me. Do you usually? Use the power of your mouse by heading to the Council's website and undertaking a survey. There you can choose your favourite from the shortlist and give feedback on them all. Please, I really want you to help by taking part in this process and showing how much we want public art around town. Go now and then come back and tell me what you think.

What would I put? Well, that I will share in another post.

So, what do you think? Which one did you choose?

Town Hall Panel Meeting Update

Last night I attended my first Tunbridge Wells Town Panel meeting at the Town Hall. It was my first of any such kind of committee meeting at the Council so it was more of a listening and learning exercise than anything else.

There was lots of talk of what people wanted from future meetings, what ideas should be proposed in future, and who should help with what, and I shall go into more detail soon I promise. But, after sitting down this morning with a cup of coffee and reading the rather extensive paperwork I was handed I've noticed something within that I wish I had seen yesterday. It's just one throwaway line in a table headed "Town Centre Use Requirements" and it reads:

Museums and Art Galleries -
the current provision is sufficient

I'm sorry but the current provision is not sufficient. I cannot believe that of all the research done into what the public wants from the future of our town, every person quizzed was totally satisfied with our museum being the size it is and had no desire to see any improvement. Is the history of our town so unimportant that we are happy to have it the size it is?

A lot of talk has been that the future design of our town must somehow look to the past, well why don't we celebrate the past with improving our museum? How many of you would love to see all the exhibits stored underneath in the vaults out on display?

How many of you would love to see the museum take over the entire Civic Centre building with that grand entrance up the wide stairs pulling in every passing tourist. Think of the big rooms of the Town Hall filled with the wonderful exhibits. Imagine the room available for touring exhibitions. Imagine the space available for school parties to learn about our past. Imagine the gift shop and café that could generate income. Imagine it!

OK, breathe! Come on now Tunbridge Wells, would you really say no to having a museum to be proud of?

I shall write more about the Town Panel shortly, and in future you can always find all of the Town Panel materials by clicking "Town panel" in the categories column over on the right.

Open Plea to New Cinema Owners

It's not often I am taken to thrust my opinion onto you all but I think that this particular topic is worthy.

The Ritz Cinema site has lain empty now for over ten years. A whole decade! Then out of the blue this month David Jukes released his fantastic vision for what he wanted for the site. Mr Jukes's 6,200sqm cultural hub made from sandstone using local rock formations as inspiration was designed to include a state-of-the-art museum, art gallery and theatre together with cafés, restaurants, a sculpture garden and water features. The war memorial would be given its own remembrance garden and there would be plenty of room for a council chamber, offices and meeting rooms.

David Juke's concept drawing of the Ritz Cinema site.

I can not begin to tell you how thoroughly delighted I was when I saw Mr Jukes's drawings and plans, for this was exactly what was in my head and my dreams for the site. I especially liked his idea of moving the war memorial to a more dignified setting, after all where it sits now was never the original proposed location for it. I was full of the joys of Spring just waiting for the Council to rush in and buy the site and begin work.

Then later this month we learn that the site had been sold for the fourth time to a joint venture of The Carlyle Group and developer Bellhouse Joseph. This great announcement was followed a few days later by the dull news that they'd continue with the previous owner's predictable scheme for shops, hotel and offices.

This is not what we need. Please listen Mr Joint Venture, we want you to put Tunbridge Wells on the map, and shops, hotels and offices just aren't going to do that. A cultural hub will.

The Sold sign goes up on the Ritz Cinema.

We don't need any more hotels, this is plainly obvious with the amount we have catering for all tastes and pockets in town already.
We don't need any more shops, there is plenty enough to cater for every whim of the shopper, except the possibility of more bookshops but this would be catered for in the cultural hub.
We don't need any more offices, there is plenty of space around town and many places empty that still need to be utilised.

We want Tunbridge Wells to be known as THE place in the South East to come to experience the best of culture and the arts.

We need to attract tourists and visitors to the town centre, and as we currently stand in 2011, unless they are coming for shopping, there isn't much of a draw for your average visitor.

We want David Jukes's cultural hub.

If planners are insistent on there being another chain hotel with offices then why not make the Civic Centre into such a place? Perhaps TWBC could do a deal on swapping the Civic Centre for a few new shiny offices in the cultural hub? Then they could move the entire Art Gallery, Museum, Library and Assembly Hall out of the Civic Centre and into the new cultural hub, and then move the Police Station into the last remaining Calverley Terrace building to the right. Then all that space can be renovated for as many hotel bedrooms as you can cram in, there is plenty of parking out the back and there is the very handy small road serving it all outside for taxis to drop off and pick up easily.

An aerial view of the Ritz Cinema site.

I'm not really poo-pooing the plans of the new buyers, to be honest they haven't really set in stone what they want yet, and yes of course I want something to be done with the site but feel that the current planning application as it stood from the previous owners is just not right. I am therefore pleading to the new owners to completely forget the office/hotel/shops route and go take lunch with David Jukes and probe his brain for ideas.

This is important, this could shape Tunbridge Wells for the next several generations. We want David Jukes's cultural hub. I'll even get my hard hat and help build it!

Who's with me? p.s. normal service will resume shortly.

A Day at the Wells: Part V

I hope you have enjoyed reliving the memories of the Day at the Wells exhibition as much as I have enjoyed researching and writing about it.

The doors have long since closed but what has happened since and what will happen to the space in the future?

The current entrance to the underground exhibition space.

The site has lain dormant since March 2004 after closing due to a lack of visitors and the council citing problems of damp and limited disabled access, even a petition with 1,600 signatures couldn’t keep the place going.

As you can see in the pictures throughout this post there is nothing but an empty shell left, a very large empty shell at that. This vast space hasn’t been used in any capacity since closing. But just look at it, this is a prime piece of real estate in our biggest tourist hotspot. Why isn’t it in use? Granted it is a very complicated space to attempt to utilise but surely it can be done, the question is how though?

First of all let us think about what we need in town, and let’s not be selfish, let’s think what tourists would like in our town too, after all their pounds, pence and euros are very important. We have been entertaining visitors for over 400 years, that is how our town was founded and flourished and this is the tradition we should base our decision on.

One of the three large underground rooms.

So, what would tourists like to do on a day out that would also entertain local people day after day.

“A cinema!” I can hear you cry. Well there is a very fine arts cinema in town already so that isn’t necessary. “But we want a “blockbuster” cinema!” I can now hear you screaming. Yes that would be nice but there is one on the outskirts of town and to be honest do you go for a nice day out in a unfamiliar town and go and sit in the cinema? No, so if it’s no use to tourists then it’s no use to us. Remember, we need something that both parties can enjoy.

Retail? Not really, there is plenty in other parts of town. Let’s be a bit more cultured down this end of town.

I often hear talk of an ice rink being a popular choice, honestly is there that many people who want to pirouette about on ice every day to be able to sustain a permanent rink? No, thought not.

How about a museum, art gallery and cultural centre? A place to be able to see every object that our local museum owns. A place for school-children to sit and learn about all these wonderful items. A place to research. A place to create art, a place to see art, a place to be inspired. A place where tourists can learn how this wonderful town was founded. A place where locals can rediscover hidden treasures and learn about their own surroundings. Yes! This is more like it. Tourists always love visiting museums and galleries, and we all love to be inspired and learn more.

Question is: is there room for it? Let’s look at the photo of the room below which is the biggest in the space. It’s the room which used to house the Pantiles scene. Can you imagine this great space filled with wonderful works of art and ornate cases filled with our rarely-seen artifacts? Imagine this room packed with visitors all enjoying our history whilst a few look up overhead to a huge Tunbridge Ware blue whale hanging from the ceiling rivaling anything the Natural History Museum can manage.

The grand room, or the Anke Room as it might be so called.

The bottom floor could house our entire art collection, as it is all underground the lighting could be controlled as to not damage it. The whole building could be scattered with our entire collection of objects and antiques and amongst it all small pockets of quiet spaces where you can sit, read, explore, create and learn.

How about we open up the floor so we can see and hear the River Grom flowing below? Imagine how wonderful a soundtrack to your visit that would make, as a bonus you could sit on the edge of some wooden decking and dangle your feet into the cool waters.

No need to install a coffee shop or a gift shop as these can be placed into the vastly under-utilised Corn Exchange to help their micro-economy boom. Disable access? No problem, surely the technology in lifts and access has improved in the past seven years that we can cater for any disability.

Another of the three large underground rooms.

There were reports in the local media recently that Tunbridge Wells Borough Council have been looking at what to do with the site over the next year. Head of Economic Development David Candlin said "In response to feedback from the strategic plan consultation, we would want to engage with the landlord to explore future business opportunities for the site." This is the perfect time to get this part of town regenerated and now, Mr Candlin, you have your perfect plan.

We’ve also had some great ideas generated from our Facebook page, here are some of them:

Alun 'Slick' Elder-Brown says “Personally, I would like the a few more antique shops and bookshops on the Pantiles. The Pantiles, to the rest of world speaks eloquence and style: it promises Regency. In reality, it's far from it: too many elitist boutiques and such-like; run by the wives of bankers looking to lose money. The only shops of any note are the kitchen shop, Steve Marshalls bookshop and the Futon shop.

Philip Dhont doesn't really care what we have, he says “Just bring us back a day at the wells!!!!!!!”

Carl Lewis says “Maybe turn the area into a better museum. I know that the one the town has is good, but there is so much in storage that is never shown. A cinema is a good idea, and should be named after one of the old cinemas that used to be in town.”

James Walker says “Cinema would be good - but it has to be part of a redevelopment (again) of the whole Corn Exchange bit of the Pantiles... such a wasted, underutilised space.”

Samuel Marlow says that it would “be good just as space, for exhibitions, photo or video studios.”

Denise Rogers says “I do think the Pantiles needs something for tourists. Why did the exhibition close, did it not have enough customers to be cost effective?”

Karen Gaynard says “Indie cinema! With comfy chairs and Taywells ice-cream. Somewhere local filmmakers can showcase their stuff. And a proper tapas bar with barrels dotted about the place :) *reach for the stars*”

I would imagine that it would be a fair few more than 1,600 people now that would want any of these ideas on their Pantiles and only time will tell if Mr Candlin, the Council and Targetfollow pay attention and give us anything.

Well, that’s it, it’s been a hard but utterly fascinating five weeks of research and writing and I couldn’t have done it without help. Thank you very kindly to all those lovely people who took the time to contribute their memories and thoughts. Thank you to Carolyn Gordon and Catherine Pitt for the generous loan of their guide books to help build this article. Thank you to Ian Beavis, Rachel Heminway-Hurst and all the kind people at Tunbridge Wells Museum for their help. Thank you to Juliana Delaney of CEO Continuum Leading Attractions and Monique White of The Continuum Group Ltd, the people that built the exhibition for their generous loan of materials. Finally thank you to you for reading.

Why not take a look at some of the images from our Tunbridge Wells Project of what the inside of the space looks like now to help you dream up your own uses for the space. Let me know in the comments what you think and any ideas you might have for its future. You never know who might be reading.