Former SOS nightclub in Avebury Avenue, Tonbridge, ‘set to be transformed into temporary accommodation for homeless people’

A disused nightclub should be bought by the council and turned into temporary accommodation for the homeless, it has been suggested.

KentOnline revealed last week that plans to transform the Source of Sound nightclub in Tonbridge into 23 private apartments had been abandoned after the developer went into receivership.

The Avebury Avenue site has now been placed on the market for sale by Watling Real Estate.

He announces that the property has planning permission for 12 one-bed apartments, 8 two-bed apartments and 3 three-bed apartments, plus a ground floor commercial unit, but says it has the potential to be enlarged to 34 units.

The nightclub, known locally as SOS, closed its doors seven years ago on Christmas Eve 2017. The venue is just a two-minute walk from Tonbridge High Street.

Councilor Mark Hood (Green), who represents Judd Ward on Tonbridge and Malling Council, said the site offered the borough the opportunity to expand its temporary housing stock.

He said: “Green Party councilors have been closely monitoring the situation at the abandoned River Lawn Road/Avebury Avenue development site for months.

“Given the exorbitant cost to the borough of providing temporary accommodation, I wrote to Matt Boughton, the leader of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council, and Kim Tanner, cabinet member for housing in March, to ask them to intervene after we identified that the owners were in difficulty.

“We have proposed that the borough purchase the site and develop it for temporary accommodation, as relying on the private sector to provide such accommodation threatens to drive many councils – including ours – into insolvency.

“Furthermore, the enormous mass of split iron sheets which adorn the enormous scaffolding around the building has dominated this part of Tonbridge for far too long.

“We had been repeatedly assured that construction work would resume, but residents now face even greater uncertainty as the municipality waits for a new owner to be found and possibly changes permit applications to build – perhaps for even greater development.”

But Cllr Hood’s suggestion was rejected by the council.

He said: “They told us they didn’t have the experience to undertake a development of this type.

“Frankly, if completing a half-started development of 23 units that already have building permits is beyond the municipality’s capabilities, that’s a bit concerning, especially since they’re about to embark on a major city center regeneration project around the Angel Centre. »

Cllr Hood said young people were increasingly leaving Tonbridge because they could not afford to buy a house there.

He said: “This is not the way to create and maintain cohesive communities, when only the wealthiest can afford housing.

“The council needs to create a housing corporation and fill the gap that the housing market cannot fill. »

No sales price has been listed for the property, with Watling Real Estate inviting offers.

A spokesperson for Tonbridge and Malling Council said: “Social and affordable housing in Tonbridge and Malling is provided by a combination of specialist providers and developers, rather than the council.

“We recognize the challenges many people face getting onto the property ladder and are therefore using our planning powers to require larger new developments to include 40 per cent affordable housing.

“When it comes to temporary accommodation, we have a responsibility to house homeless people.

“We currently own or rent 23 properties for this purpose and are considering adding a further 19 units in Tonbridge town center to our stock.”

We don’t think this is an appropriate site for us

“We are aware of the issues surrounding the partially built Avebury Avenue development, and while we are always willing to explore options to increase our provision of temporary accommodation, we do not believe this is a suitable site for us to do so. current time. time.”

Any developer taking ownership of the site will now have to deal with damage from weather and potential vandalism, with the site left half-finished for the past nine months.