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Full list of Tunbridge Wells school closures after water outage hits third day

2025-12-01 12:34
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Full list of Tunbridge Wells school closures after water outage hits third day

MP Mike Martin has called the situation an 'absolute disaster'.

Full list of Tunbridge Wells school closures after water outage hits third day Daisy Outram Daisy Outram Published December 1, 2025 12:34pm Updated December 1, 2025 12:44pm Share this article via whatsappShare this article via xCopy the link to this article.Link is copiedShare this article via facebook Comment now Comments Chaos as Tunbridge Wells Water Treatment Shutdown Leaves 6,000 Homes Dry More than 6,000 Tunbridge Wells residents have been left high and dry after the Pembury water treatment works was forced to shut down due to a "bad chemical batch." Emergency Water Supplies in Place ??? No One Running Dry Despite the disruption causing major headaches, South East Water insists no emergency water stations have run out. Bottled water is being handed out and a station at Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre is open until 10pm tonight, supplying thirsty locals with up to 12 bottles per household. The company???s incident manager, Matthew Dean, apologised to affected customers and reassured: ???The water currently in supply is safe and does not require boiling.??? Police Called In as Traffic Gridlock Hits Town The water outage didn???t just cause dry taps; it also sparked traffic chaos as residents flocked to collection points. Police were called to manage the confusion and keep order at bottled water stations across the area. South East Water is working round the clock, moving water from other areas and replacing the faulty chemical batch to restore normal supply. Special Care for Vulnerable and Essential Services 1,700 vulnerable customers on the Priority Services Register have had bottled water delivered directly to their homes. Care homes have received emergency water supplies. Tunbridge Wells Hospital is supported with a water tanker to keep vital services running. MP Mike Martin, who is also affected by the outage, posted on X: ???Site moving quickly, further sites being set up in town centre.??? Meanwhile, the Black Horse pub on Camden Road has been forced to close as it has had no running water since midnight. Issue Expected to Be Fixed by 6pm South East Water expects to resolve the problem by 6pm today. Until then, residents are urged to use the bottled water stations and remain patient. Chaos in Tunbridge Wells as a treatment plant shutdown has left 6,000 homes without drinking water (Picture: UKNIP)

A town in Kent has been hit with disruption in the water supply after a treatment plant had to shut down at the weekend.

Some 24,000 people living in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, have had either no water or low pressure since the issue began late on Saturday.

People have been unable to get drinking water, flush toilets or shower.

South East Water (SEW) has apologised for the situation and said that supply should return at 2pm on Monday.

But this time has been disputed by the local MP, while many businesses and schools in the area have had to close their doors.

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Several primary schools are shut today:

  • St Peter’s Church of England Primary School
  • Claremont Primary School
  • St James’ Primary School
  • St Augustine’s Catholic Primary School
  • St. John’s Church of England Primary School
  • Skinners’ Kent Primary School
  • Skinners’ Temple Grove

This is alongside four secondary schools, which has made provisions for students to learn remotely:

  • The Skinners’ Kent Academy announced on Sunday it would not open on Monday
  • The Skinners’ School is closed to pupils
  • Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys has closed its St John’s Road campus
  • Tunbridge Wells Girls’ Grammar School is also shut but ‘confident that we will be able to return to school tomorrow’
Chaos as Tunbridge Wells Water Treatment Shutdown Leaves 6,000 Homes Dry More than 6,000 Tunbridge Wells residents have been left high and dry after the Pembury water treatment works was forced to shut down due to a "bad chemical batch." Emergency Water Supplies in Place ??? No One Running Dry Despite the disruption causing major headaches, South East Water insists no emergency water stations have run out. Bottled water is being handed out and a station at Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre is open until 10pm tonight, supplying thirsty locals with up to 12 bottles per household. The company???s incident manager, Matthew Dean, apologised to affected customers and reassured: ???The water currently in supply is safe and does not require boiling.??? Police Called In as Traffic Gridlock Hits Town The water outage didn???t just cause dry taps; it also sparked traffic chaos as residents flocked to collection points. Police were called to manage the confusion and keep order at bottled water stations across the area. South East Water is working round the clock, moving water from other areas and replacing the faulty chemical batch to restore normal supply. Special Care for Vulnerable and Essential Services 1,700 vulnerable customers on the Priority Services Register have had bottled water delivered directly to their homes. Care homes have received emergency water supplies. Tunbridge Wells Hospital is supported with a water tanker to keep vital services running. MP Mike Martin, who is also affected by the outage, posted on X: ???Site moving quickly, further sites being set up in town centre.??? Meanwhile, the Black Horse pub on Camden Road has been forced to close as it has had no running water since midnight. Issue Expected to Be Fixed by 6pm South East Water expects to resolve the problem by 6pm today. Until then, residents are urged to use the bottled water stations and remain patient. Some 11 schools have been forced to close due to the outage (Picture: UKNIP)

Mike Martin, the MP for Tunbridge Wells, has called the situation an ‘absolute disaster’. After speaking with SEW, he posted on X that he has ‘no confidence that everyone will have their water back on by 2pm’ as planned.

Instead of Monday afternoon, he said: ‘I would plan for the last house receiving water this evening.’

There are currently three stations for residents to collect bottled drinking water during the outage:

  • Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre on St John’s Road
  • RCP Parking’s Upper Pantiles car park, just off Major York’s Road
  • The Odeon cinema on Knights Way

However, Martin has added that provision at the sites has been ‘wholly insufficient for the demand’ in the town.

The St John’s Road station temporarily ran out of water on Sunday morning, prompting further anxiety from locals.

Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Ed Davey, with MP Mike Martin (right) in Grove Park, Royal Tunbridge Wells, whilst campaigning for this week's local elections. Picture date: Wednesday April 30, 2025. PA Photo. Voters will go to the polls on Thursday in 23 council areas across England and vote in six mayoral contests across devolved regions. The Runcorn and Helsby by-election will be held alongside the local elections. See PA story POLITICS Elections. Photo credit should read: James Manning/PA Wire Tunbridge Wells MP Mike Martin (right) with Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey (Picture: James Manning/PA Wire)

One X user, @EdSmith75, called the situation an ‘absolute joke’, criticising that the water collection was first set up in ‘Tonbridge not Tunbridge Wells, hello 5 miles apart’.

He added the bottle distribution had caused ‘queues of traffic in the town’ and that the ‘comms were awful’.

Another user, @kentishsal, said: ‘Brilliant that @ThreshedThought [Mike Martin MP] is putting his Army training to good use, but why is it down to him to be doing this comms? Why isn’t the CEO of @sewateruk on here (or anywhere) showing leadership, responsibility and accountability?’

On Sunday, a local wrote on Facebook: ‘My son waited at the water bottle station in Tonbridge for 2 hours this morning, along with many others.

‘The lorry full of bottled water is there with another full lorry waiting down the road. They aren’t allowed to unload the water as there has to be a rep from SE Water there! Disgusting.’

Mother-of-two Nicola Hodgson also said her husband had unsuccessfully tried to get water supplies at the sports centre.

‘We have two young children, aged five and seven, so [they] have decamped to their grandmothers for the moment, so we can get them something to drink and have working toilets’, she told the BBC.

Chaos as Tunbridge Wells Water Treatment Shutdown Leaves 6,000 Homes Dry More than 6,000 Tunbridge Wells residents have been left high and dry after the Pembury water treatment works was forced to shut down due to a "bad chemical batch." Emergency Water Supplies in Place ??? No One Running Dry Despite the disruption causing major headaches, South East Water insists no emergency water stations have run out. Bottled water is being handed out and a station at Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre is open until 10pm tonight, supplying thirsty locals with up to 12 bottles per household. The company???s incident manager, Matthew Dean, apologised to affected customers and reassured: ???The water currently in supply is safe and does not require boiling.??? Police Called In as Traffic Gridlock Hits Town The water outage didn???t just cause dry taps; it also sparked traffic chaos as residents flocked to collection points. Police were called to manage the confusion and keep order at bottled water stations across the area. South East Water is working round the clock, moving water from other areas and replacing the faulty chemical batch to restore normal supply. Special Care for Vulnerable and Essential Services 1,700 vulnerable customers on the Priority Services Register have had bottled water delivered directly to their homes. Care homes have received emergency water supplies. Tunbridge Wells Hospital is supported with a water tanker to keep vital services running. MP Mike Martin, who is also affected by the outage, posted on X: ???Site moving quickly, further sites being set up in town centre.??? Meanwhile, the Black Horse pub on Camden Road has been forced to close as it has had no running water since midnight. Issue Expected to Be Fixed by 6pm South East Water expects to resolve the problem by 6pm today. Until then, residents are urged to use the bottled water stations and remain patient. Queues have piled up at stations handing out bottled water to affected residents (Picture: UKNIP)

Local businesses have also faced disruption, as Indian takeaway Spice Fusion told its customers: ‘Please note that Spice Fusion will remain closed tonight due to a water interruption in Tunbridge Wells which makes it impossible for us to operate safely and maintain our hygiene standards.

‘We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding. We will reopen as soon as the water supply is restored.’

Eating establishments are unable to open by law without working toilets, including takeaways which must have them available for staff.

In a statement, SEW has said: ‘We’re sorry to customers in the Tunbridge Wells area who continue to have no water or low pressure. This is due to an issue at our Pembury Water Treatment Works, resulting in the site shutting down.’

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It added: ‘Our customer care team has been delivering bottles of water to all customers on our Priority Services Register who have indicated to us that they would be unable to collect water from a bottled water station.’

Martin has also explained that the problem was ‘a bad batch of coagulant chemicals’. He added: ‘A new set of chemicals have been procured and the team have been working through [Saturday] night to clean out Pembury Treatment Works.’

A SEW spokesperson said: ‘When the water supply returns, you may experience discolouration.

‘If your water looks brown in colour, please don’t worry as it is not harmful.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

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