Tunbridge Wells Borough Council has formally adopted its Local Plan
The role of the Local Plan, which covers the period 2020–2038, is to set out the spatial vision and strategic objectives for the borough as well as the development strategy needed to meet those objectives.
This means the Council has a plan that takes a forward look at development for homes and economic growth and identifies the sites where this building should take place. Importantly it ensures the provision of the necessary infrastructure to support this, such as education and health.
Adopting the plan is a significant milestone for the Council in shaping the future of the borough. It details overarching place-shaping policies for each parish and settlement within the borough as well as identifying specific sites to deliver the strategy. The site allocations in the plan provide a 10-year housing supply.
The plan includes the policies that will be used to decide the suitability of development proposals across the borough addressing such things as design standards and biodiversity while aiming to safeguard the borough’s important natural and historic environments.
The process
Preparing the Local Plan has been a long and complex process. Landowners were asked to submit details of sites they thought were suitable for development; and those sites in the Local Plan were thoroughly assessed. Numerous studies were undertaken to provide the evidence to support the proposals in the plan. Residents, businesses and other interested parties were asked for their views on the proposals on a number of occasions and councillors spent many hours in working groups considering the detail of the plan.
Finally the Local Plan was independently examined by a government appointed Inspector who held a number of public hearings as well as reviewing all the written documents. The examination required additional evidence at certain points in the process as well as additional hearing sessions. This included detailed work that needed to be undertaken by the Council in order to fully and robustly consider and respond to the Inspector’s Initial Findings, which took around a year to respond to. When the Inspector was satisfied with the changes the Council made to the plan he advised the Council it was sound. This meant the Local Plan had reached the final stage – the consideration by Full Council at their meeting on 10 December 2025, where councillors voted to adopt it.
Fending off unsuitable speculative development
Councillor Matt Lowe, Cabinet Member for Planning said:
I am very pleased that members of the Council have formally adopted the Local Plan.
It establishes a vision and strategic objectives for our borough, so that it can grow and evolve, and be a place where people want to live, work, have fun and thrive.
Practically, the Local Plan puts the Council in a much stronger position to set where development takes place, which means the housing and employment growth the borough needs can go where we want it to. Importantly the Plan helps us to make sure the supporting infrastructure is provided in the way it is needed.
And it also helps us to fend off unsuitable speculative development.’
Next steps
The Local Plan has been adopted but the work continues, the plan period is 2020 – 2038 and the site allocations in the plan provide a 10-year housing supply, therefore within six months of adoption the Council will begin work on a Local Plan Review. A timetable for the review will be published in due course.
The adoption of the plan is now subject to a six-week judicial review period.
