Full Council will be asked on 20 October to build the new Angel Centre only once a funding gap is closed. Cabinet also approved removing the living wall.
Councillors will be asked on Tuesday 20 October to go ahead with building the new Angel Centre, but only “subject to the funding gap being closed”. That condition is in the council’s own record of a private Cabinet decision taken on 6 October.
The size of the gap has not been published. Cabinet took the item in private, under the rule for “information relating to the financial or business affairs” of a person or of the council itself. (Record of decision D260101CAB)
What Cabinet decided
The report came from the Tonbridge Town Centre Programme Board, which met on 4 and 18 September. Cabinet approved:
- the RIBA stage 4 end stage report, the finished technical design for the building
- the removal of the living wall, subject to feasibility work being carried out by Alliance Leisure
The board also made two recommendations, which go to Full Council for a decision:
- that the council approves the management agreement with the Leisure Trust
- that the council moves to RIBA stage 5, construction, “subject to the funding gap being closed”
Cllr Adem Mehmet, the Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Tonbridge Regeneration, proposed the decision. Cllr Keers seconded it. (Record of decision D260101CAB)
Stage 4 and stage 5 are steps in the Royal Institute of British Architects’ Plan of Work, the standard sequence most UK building projects follow. Stage 5 is when the building is made and built.
The living wall
The living wall was part of the design councillors gave planning permission to in July. The planning officer’s report described “panels of living wall on the south and east elevations”. It said the green walls and grey rain screening would “help to break up the mass of the building” on the Avenue du Puy side. The walls were also listed among the on-site wildlife measures, alongside new trees and a wildflower meadow. (Officer report, 14 July 2026)
The decision record does not say why the wall is being removed. It also does not say whether the change will need a fresh planning decision.
The timetable
The council’s decision page gives Friday 16 October as the call-in deadline. That is the window in which councillors can ask for a Cabinet decision to be looked at again.
At the Tonbridge Community Forum on 21 September, Cllr Mehmet said that if Full Council approves the project, construction is expected to start in November 2026 and finish in spring 2028. (Forum minutes, 21 September 2026)
Specialist teams are on the Sovereign Way Mid car park on Monday 12 and Tuesday 13 October for archaeological surveys and ground investigations. The council says this is “not the start of construction”. (Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council)
The council has put the investment at £20 million. (Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council)
What we could not see
The agenda for 20 October was not yet published on 12 October. The council’s meeting page says it will appear in the week before. All 17 documents behind the Cabinet decision are marked “restricted enclosure”. So we do not know:
- how big the funding gap is
- how the council plans to close it
- what the management agreement with the Leisure Trust says
In July, Cllr Mehmet said the agreement is commercially sensitive and will not be published, but that every councillor will see it before 20 October. We covered that in our report on the planning decision.
What it means for you
- If you use the Angel Centre: nothing changes yet. The existing centre stays open until the new one is running.
- If you park at Sovereign Way Mid: its 112 spaces go once construction starts. On the council’s timetable, that could be November.
- If you want to have your say: the meeting is at 7.30pm on Tuesday 20 October in the Council Chamber, Gibson Drive, Kings Hill. Public questions must be sent in advance under the council’s rules. Your borough councillor will also see the private papers.
- If you watch from home: the council streams full council meetings on its YouTube channel.
Parking alternatives in the town centre are on our parking page. We will report the outcome after the meeting.
Have your say