Good morning Tunbridge Wells! The fallout from South East Water’s latest outage is still being felt, with compensation now on the table for affected businesses, while behind the scenes a major shake-up is coming to local sports centres as a new operator prepares to take over.

On a brighter note, there’s plenty happening this week; from David Olusoga: A Gun Through Time at the Assembly Hall to live music with The Undercover Hippy.

Here’s everything you need to know.

WEATHER

Monday: 2°C 🌡️ 14°C | 🌦️

Tuesday: 9°C 🌡️ 15°C | ⛅

Wednesday: 8°C 🌡️ 15°C | ☁️

THE BRIEF

🏊‍♂️ New Operator: Fusion Lifestyle, which ran three sports centres in Cranbrook, Paddock Wood and Tunbridge Wells for the borough council, has entered administration. Kent Online From July 2026, the centres will be managed by Serco Leisure in partnership with Leisure Solutions Community Trust. The agreement will open the door to multi-million-pound investment in the facilities.

Serco Leisure and Leisure Solutions Community Trust will take over staff contracts from Fusion. Until the handover, it is business as usual at all three sites. Members who paid in full for annual memberships will have those honoured by the incoming operator. The council says it will confirm an exact handover date shortly and will update residents by email and social media. Read more here.​

🏥 Resident Doctors Strike: Resident doctors at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust hospitals took part in national industrial action from 7am on Tuesday 7 April until 7am on Monday 13 April. Staff worked to ensure plans were in place to support patient services, including urgent and emergency care. The six-day walkout followed the collapse of talks with the government over pay, with the British Medical Association rejecting a proposed 3.5% rise.

The union argued this would represent another real-terms pay cut. A&E departments remained open throughout. Patients whose appointments were postponed were contacted in advance. Those not contacted were advised to attend as normal. Read more here.​

💸 SE Water Compensation: South East Water has introduced a targeted compensation scheme for businesses affected by the supply outage in Tunbridge Wells last December. The scheme is intended to go beyond statutory requirements, recognising the scale of the disruption and its wider economic impact on local businesses — particularly in hospitality and retail.

In many cases, compensation will be paid through retailers in the non-household market, reducing the need for complex claims processes. The announcement came as the public consultation on Ofwat's proposed £22 million fine against the company closed on 13 April. The company's chief executive is due to face further questioning from the parliamentary EFRA Committee on 14 April. Read more here.​

😵 Another Water Outage: Around 6,000 homes and businesses across the Weald — from Tudeley in the north to Kilndown in the south — were left without water or facing very low pressure for up to three days from the evening of 1 April. South East Water blamed a burst on a key main from Bewl Water Treatment Works. Bottle stations were set up at Matfield Village Hall and the Tesco store in Pembury.

Bottled water was also delivered to vulnerable customers on the Priority Services Register. The company said airlocks in the system were identified as the cause and teams worked to resolve them. The incident followed two separate outages in the same week, affecting customers near Wateringbury and Teston. Read more here.​

❎ Early Voting Trial: Tunbridge Wells Borough Council is one of just four councils chosen by the government to be a pilot area for flexible voting at the local elections in May 2026. Three voter hubs will be open on Saturday 2 May, 9am–6pm, and Sunday 3 May, 10.30am–4.30pm, in Cranbrook, Paddock Wood and Royal Tunbridge Wells. Voters can go to any hub to cast their vote in person — they just need their photo ID.

Early voting is only being trialled in Tunbridge Wells for the May 2026 elections. It will not be available at future polls unless new laws allow it. The deadline to register to vote is Monday 20 April. The costs of the pilot are covered by the government. Read more here.​

TW LIFE COMMUNITY BOARD

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THIS WEEK

Adam Frost | Assembly Hall | Mon 13 Apr, 7:30pm | BBC Gardeners' World presenter shares personal garden stories | From £25.00​

NT Live: All My Sons | Trinity Theatre | Tue 14 Apr – Tue 21 Apr, times vary | Bryan Cranston stars in Arthur Miller classic filmed live | See details​

Rental Family (12A) | Trinity Theatre | Tue 14 Apr, 7:30pm | Brendan Fraser finds purpose as a rental family member in Tokyo | See details​

Trinity Encore: Silver Swans | Trinity Theatre | Tue 14 Apr, daytime | Gentle dance classes for over-55s; weekly sessions | See details​

Musical Theatre Fitness for Adults | Trinity Theatre | Tue 14 Apr, daytime | Fun fitness class combining movement and musical theatre | See details​

David Olusoga: A Gun Through Time | Assembly Hall | Tue 14 Apr, 7:30pm | Historian explores four firearms that shaped world history | From £29.25​

H is for Hawk (12A) | Trinity Theatre | Wed 15 Apr, 7:30pm | BAFTA-nominated film of grief healed through falconry | See details​

The Love Buzz | The Sussex Arms | Wed 15 Apr, 7:30pm | Live music night in the Forum Basement | From £13.00​

The Makings of a Murderer: The Undercover Detective | Assembly Hall | Wed 15 Apr, 7:30pm | Ex-Scotland Yard undercover cop reveals dangerous murder investigations | See details​

The Undercover Hippy | The Forum | Thu 16 Apr, 7:00pm | Live reggae and folk-infused music from the Undercover Hippy | See details​

Cinderella – Pissed Up Panto | Assembly Hall | Fri 17 Apr, 7:30pm | Adults-only interactive boozy panto, 5th anniversary tour | See details​

A Celebration of The Prodigy: Jilted Generation | The Forum | Fri 17 Apr, 7:30pm | Tribute to The Prodigy's iconic Jilted Generation era | See details​

Comedy Special: Sara Pascoe and Guests | Trinity Theatre | Fri 17 Apr, 7:30pm | Sara Pascoe headlines a special comedy evening with guests | See details​

Repair Cafe | Trinity Theatre | Sat 18 Apr, daytime | Community drop-in to fix broken household items for free | Free entry​

Life Through a Royal Lens | The Amelia | Mon 13 Apr – Sun 19 Apr, during opening hours | Exhibition of royal photography spanning decades of history | Free entry​

Life Through a Young Lens | The Amelia | Mon 13 Apr – Sun 19 Apr, during opening hours | Youth photography exhibition exploring local perspectives | Free entry​

National Theatre Connections Festival – Day 1 | Trinity Theatre | Sun 12 Apr (leading into week), 10:00am | Youth theatre groups perform new National Theatre-commissioned plays | See details​

The Sussex Jam Night (In The Afternoon) | The Sussex Arms | Sun 19 Apr, 4:00pm | Open jam session for musicians of all abilities | See details​

Stable: Black Gabanza | Lissamore | The Montgomerys | Ventia | The Forum | Sun 19 Apr, 6:00pm | Four-act new music showcase from the Forum's Stable series | See details​

Table Tennis | Sunnyside Hall | Mon & Sun | Play table tennis every week (1st session is free) | £4​

Badminton & Pickleball | Sunnyside Hall | Fri, 6pm | Play badminton & pickleball every week (1st session is free) | £5​

FURTHER OUT

A James Bond Concert Spectacular | Assembly Hall | Sat 18 Apr, 7:30pm | Full live orchestra performs iconic Bond film soundtracks | From £29.25​

Cars at the Castle – National Drive It Day | Chiddingstone Castle | Sun 26 Apr, from 10:00am | Classic car display in castle grounds, supporting NSPCC Childline | Free entry​

All the President's Men (1976) | Rusthall Community Cinema | Sat 25 Apr, 6:30pm | Classic Watergate thriller with Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford | See details​

FRIENDS! The Musical Parody | Assembly Hall | Tue 21 Apr – Sat 25 Apr, 7:30pm | Comedy stage show parodying the beloved TV series | See details​

Imagine the Beatles – Live at the Orangery | Chiddingstone Castle | Sun 17 May, afternoon | Beatles tribute on the Orangery lawn — bring a picnic blanket | See details​

SPORT

Results

⚽ 4 Apr Tunbridge Wells FC 3–0 Kennington SCEFL Prem [W]

⚽ 6 Apr Tunbridge Wells FC 1–2 Rusthall FC SCEFL Prem [L] / [W]

⚽ 11 Apr Chislehurst Glebe 1–2 Rusthall FC SCEFL Prem [W]

🏉 11 Apr Tunbridge Wells RFC v Old Alleynians Regional 1 South Central

Fixtures

⚽ 14 Apr Tunbridge Wells FC v Faversham Strike Force SCEFL Prem

⚽ 14 Apr Rusthall FC v Stansfeld SCEFL Prem

🏑 17 Apr TW Hockey Men's M1 v TBC Cup

🏑 18 Apr TW Hockey Women's W1 v TWHC Friendly

THANK YOU

Hope you enjoyed this week's letter!

Jamie

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