Fears that replacement for the Angel Centre would be in an entirely different area have been allayed
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00:00The busy and well-used Angel Centre in Tunbridge will gain its wings when it's demolished,
00:05but only after its more modern, eco-friendly replacement is finished.
00:09This announcement from the council is part of a larger, multi-million pound plan to redevelop
00:14the area.
00:15So the community will gain a new state-of-the-art carbon neutral leisure centre, which will
00:20be so much more efficient than the current building that we've got behind us.
00:24That will ensure that you've got the best quality facilities that a town like Tunbridge
00:28deserves.
00:29It will also save taxpayers an awful lot of money through simply not having to bear the
00:33costs that we currently have to bear on the Angel Centre at the moment.
00:37It also frees up a really important parcel of land right here just next door to the river
00:42for other wider redevelopment opportunities because the key thing that does there is really
00:47bring the river to life in this part of town.
00:50Really look at how we can make this as exciting as possible and something that people of Tunbridge
00:54can be really proud of.
00:56The location of the new Angel Centre has not yet been decided, however it aims to be quite
01:00close by, either in this car park or the one just further down the path.
01:04But with the addition of new homes, shops and facilities in the area, what do residents
01:10think of the change?
01:11Yeah, I know parking is an issue anyway here because we have to pay for car parks, so again
01:16if that's something that they factor in with their new location, that's going to be a benefit.
01:21Particularly in the town there's not much going on if that makes sense, so I'm quite
01:26excited for it I think, as long as it doesn't disrupt too much.
01:30It's great because I shall continue to use it and if it's more modern and up to date
01:35it will be better, yeah.
01:37I mean it would be a new addition to the town that probably needs a lot more money spent
01:41on it to bring it back into the modern day.
01:43I'm not sure if this building was originally designed for gym or something, but looks like
01:49not really.
01:50The development area compromises council-owned car parks, the Sainsbury's supermarket, a
01:55petrol station and the Angel Centre.
01:58But with many people coming in and out of the building, many of them told me and seem
02:02like they're happy with how it is now.
02:05So why fix something that's not broken?
02:08Unfortunately the Angel Centre is breaking at the moment.
02:11We see that in terms of some of the issues around its energy efficiency.
02:15In particular we know that we need to look at new boilers, new roofs, new floors and
02:19actually you can't do that amount of work and expect the facilities to be of a modern
02:24standard, particularly when you're competing against so many other modern facilities in
02:29and around our local area.
02:30The council have been saving for this project and hope that it brings more people to the
02:33area and improves the overall location.
02:36The council has also launched a public survey to give residents and businesses their say.
02:41Kristen Hawthorne for KMTV in Tunbridge.