Residents in Royal Tunbridge Wells and Rusthall, Kent, are holding public meetings this week to discuss a plan to bring 256 acres of historic common land into community ownership before it is sold to a private buyer. The gatherings follow Targetfollow (Pantiles) Limited’s announcement that it is marketing the Commons for sale; the site includes well-known sandstone outcrops such as Wellington Rocks.
Targetfollow (Pantiles) Limited said it decided to market the Commons following a strategic review of its portfolio and duly notified Tunbridge Wells Borough Council on 26 September 2025, triggering the moratorium process under the Localism Act. Because the land is listed as an Asset of Community Value (ACV), local groups have until 26 March 2026 — the end of the six‑month Right to Bid moratorium — to organise a community-led offer. Campaigners estimate they will need between about £850,000 and £1,000,000 to secure the site permanently.
The public meetings at the Camden Centre (Market Square, Royal Tunbridge Wells) and a venue in Rusthall village will give residents a chance to hear from the Tunbridge Wells Commons Conservators and volunteer organisations such as the Friends of Tunbridge Wells and Rusthall Commons, who are leading fundraising and community‑ownership efforts. Those groups say that while legal protections secure public access to the Commons, community ownership would give them more control over long‑term management of wildlife and historic features.
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council is facilitating the ACV/Community Right to Bid process and has said it will work with local groups. The council provides the annual budget to support the Conservators’ work but has indicated it is unlikely to purchase the Commons itself, leaving the primary fundraising task to volunteers and campaigners.
Campaigners describe the sale as a rare opportunity to end centuries of private manorial ownership and put management of what they call the town’s ‘lungs’ in local hands. If the community cannot assemble a bid by the ACV moratorium deadline, the owner will be free to progress a sale to any buyer; the community has the moratorium time to prepare an offer but does not have a statutory right of first refusal.
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