Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council has backed plans in principle to replace the ageing Angel Centre with a new riverside leisure facility on the Sovereign Way Mid car park site, with construction targeted to begin later in 2026 and the doors open by 2028, subject to formal ratification and planning approval.

Residents in Tonbridge will get a new gym, sports hall, soft play area, café and wellbeing suite — but they’ll lose a central car park to get it. Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council confirmed the decision after councillors voted to approve plans for the replacement Angel Centre, to be built alongside the River Medway on the site currently used as Sovereign Way Mid car park.

The existing Angel Centre, which has been running for more than 40 years, will stay open until the new building is finished, then be demolished as part of the wider town centre redevelopment. Council officers concluded that refurbishing the old centre — estimated at between £8.6m and £14.6m — was less attractive on financial, operational and carbon grounds than building fresh, which is estimated to cost around £23m once fees, equipment, contingency and build inflation are included. The council projects the new, more efficient building could save between £250,000 and £675,000 a year in running costs.

Cllr Adem Mehmet, Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Tonbridge Regeneration, is leading the scheme and has been its most prominent advocate. According to the council, the new facility will be operated by tmactive, Tonbridge & Malling’s existing leisure partner, and is designed to serve a broad range of users — from families using the soft play and party spaces to older residents and those with mobility issues who will have access to a dedicated active wellbeing suite with power-assisted exercise equipment.

But not everyone is convinced. The loss of Sovereign Way Mid car park is the sharpest practical concern for many in central Tonbridge, with fears that parking pressure will spill into surrounding streets. The project’s upper cost estimate of around £23m — against a headline figure of £20m posted by the council on social media — may also draw scrutiny, particularly given wider pressures on council budgets. It’s worth asking: the £20m figure tweeted by the council falls within the range set out in formal capital planning documents, but those documents make clear the final sum has not been fixed.

Some residents and observers have questioned whether demolishing a building is truly greener than refurbishing it, despite the council’s argument that a new low-carbon design will outperform a patched-up old one over the long term. Planning and design professionals generally back the idea of reconnecting Tonbridge town centre with the River Medway — and the new centre is intended to do exactly that, with improved riverside public realm, better walking and cycling links, and a landmark building on the waterfront. Managing flood risk on a riverside site will be among the issues examined during the planning process.

The new Angel Centre sits within a much larger regeneration ambition for Tonbridge town centre, which also envisages new shops, a town square, medical facilities, housing and improved river access. A Sainsbury’s expansion into the former Beales department store unit at the existing Angel Centre site signals that commercial investment in the area is already moving. Once the old centre is demolished, that site too will be available for redevelopment.

The council’s timetable points to a planning application being submitted around March 2026, with formal member ratification to follow before construction gets under way. Completion is targeted by 2028, though both dates remain subject to planning approval.

Key information

  • Public exhibitions on the Angel Centre design have already been held at the existing Angel Centre — check Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council’s website for details of any further events before the planning application is submitted around March 2026
  • Planning objections or comments can be submitted once a formal application is registered with Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council’s planning department
  • Car park users at Sovereign Way Mid should monitor council communications for updates on alternative parking arrangements as the project progresses
  • Residents in central Tonbridge wards — including Castle and Judd — who want to influence design, operating hours or community use should engage with the consultation process before planning submission