The competition is designed to provide an inspirational, high quality mixed use development, with a hotel, shops and offices being considered for the 0.54 hectare site.

Robert Cottrill, Director of Planning and Development at TWBC said, 'What we are looking for from the site is a very high quality scheme, that will link the top and bottom of the town. The site is located right in the heart of the town centre. We think that the uses we are putting forward, hotel, retail and offices will help to bring in a level of activity which will bring the two halves of the town together.'

The closing date for the competition is the 14th of February 2008 and the winner should be announced in late February 2008. Once the competition has closed the plans will be taken forward for consultation and it is hoped that once planning permission has been obtained building work will commence towards the end of 2008 with the new building ready in 2010. At present the budget for the building work is expected to be between 50 and 75 million pounds.

Roy Bullock, Helen Wren and David Swann

Helen Wren, Regional Director of RIBA said 'One of our main remits as the RIBA is to encourage a good quality of design and to raise the bar for the built environment for the whole region. That is what I am interested in. This is a really prime site, central to Tunbridge Wells physicaly, but also central in a spiritual way. It has to be a very good design, we want to see something which is very, very good, respects the existing architecture, but also to be forward looking. We want something that is twenty first century, but something that is specific to Tunbridge Wells.'