Tunbridge Wells Residents And Business Owners Gather For National Emergency Briefing
More than 100 residents and business owners gathered at Tunbridge Wells Town Hall on one of the hottest evenings of the year for a community screening of the ‘People’s Emergency Briefing’ film – part of a growing national campaign to raise awareness of the climate and nature crisis.
Image DigitomTV
The event was introduced by local business leaders Pete Kenyon and Jenny Kitchen who have co-founded Amplifi, a Tunbridge Wells-based collective bringing together local businesses to collaborate on sustainability and community impact.
The Town Hall screening forms part of an initiative to raise awareness of the various consequences of climate change and to promote both awareness and action at international, national and local levels. Originally delivered to political and civic leaders in Westminster in November 2025, the briefing has now been adapted into a documentary designed for community screenings across the country.
The turnout in Royal Tunbridge Wells on one of the hottest evenings of the year, (a clear manifestation of climate change), demonstrated the strong local interest in understanding and responding to the causes and consequences of climate change. Audience members included residents, activists, business leaders, school children and community leaders. The meeting was addressed by Cllr Rob Wormington who set out the Council’s path to net zero and its Climate Strategy. The meeting was also supported by the TW Climate Action Network.
Councillor Rob Wormington, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Sustainability, has previously described climate change and biodiversity loss as a major challenge for local communities, emphasising the role councils and residents can play in responding to it. Pete and Jenny also explained how Amplifi is working across business sectors to explore practical ways to reduce carbon emissions and strengthen community resilience in the Town.
Jenny Kitchen, Co-Founder of Amplifi, and CEO of Yoyo Design commented: “This was a tough watch. Experts, scientists, economists and professors tackled different angles of the global climate crisis, including providing suggestions of what we can all do to make a difference. Sound bites from audience members’ reaction to the film were powerful, animated and honest included feelings of being ‘terrified, hopeless, angry and embarrassed’ and I include myself within that group.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: Tunbridge Wells is Blooming
Pete Kenyon, fellow Amplifi Co-Founder and Partner at Cripps LLP, added: “We were bowled over by the reaction from the audience, especially the variety of proposals and commitments to deliver individual and collective action locally. Specifically, a number of commitments were made to host screenings within schools, workplaces, communities and other settings (including WI and book clubs). We urgently recommend more community groups, businesses and town and parish councils to screen this briefing to their local community to ensure as many people as possible see it. We are also calling for people to lobby government, via their MP to commit to a prime-time televised briefing to ensure people grasp the severity of the situation. Details and advice on how to do both is available at nebriefing.org.”
#TunbridgeWellsNationalEmergencyBriefing #TunbridgeWellsNews #IndexDigital
