Kent council area

Selling Land in Tonbridge and Malling

Tonbridge and Malling relies on a core strategy from 2007, has delivered 63% of the homes it needed and is 71% Green Belt. In September 2026 the government directed the council to move its new Local Plan forward, and that plan proposes thousands of homes on land that is Green Belt today.

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Tonbridge and Malling at a Glance

The council's spatial strategy paper of November 2025 describes a borough that reaches north to take in parts of Walderslade and the Kent Downs National Landscape, and south to Tonbridge, where it includes part of the High Weald National Landscape. It ranks the settlements in tiers: Tonbridge with Hilden Park, the Medway Gap and Walderslade at the top; Snodland, Borough Green, West Malling and Kings Hill next; then villages such as Hildenborough, Hadlow, East Malling, East Peckham, Wateringbury and Wouldham.

A strategy from 2007. Planning decisions still rest on the Core Strategy adopted in September 2007, with later site allocation and development management documents.
Well short on delivery. The Housing Delivery Test 2025 recorded 63% of the homes needed over three years.
Mostly Green Belt. The council's Green Belt evidence puts the figure at 71% of the borough.
A new plan to 2042. The draft Regulation 18 plan, covering 2024 to 2042, was consulted on from 10 November 2025 to 2 January 2026 and planned for 19,746 homes, 1,097 a year.

The same strategy paper counts four railway lines through the borough: London to Ashford via Maidstone East, London to Dover and Ramsgate via Tonbridge, and the Medway Valley Line, with services to Hastings and Redhill also running from Tonbridge.

Tonbridge and Malling in Figures

The government's latest figures for the council, and where its local plan stands.

Housing Delivery Test 2025
63%
Below 75%: treated as having evidenced unmet housing need under national policy S5.
Homes built against homes needed
1,570
of 2,485 needed, April 2022 to March 2025
Most recent strategic plan adopted
September 2007
More than five years old, so its housing figures are usually replaced by the government's standard method.
New plan progress
Updated
Government direction September 2026 to move the new plan to 2042 forward
Checked source

Sources: Housing Delivery Test: 2025 measurement, MHCLG, published 17 August 2026; Local plans: monitoring progress, Planning Inspectorate, August 2026. Local plans move quickly, so always check the council's own website for the latest position.

Where the Green Belt Stops

The council's Green Belt note is precise about the pattern. The boundary is drawn tightly around the whole of Tonbridge, and along at least one edge of three of the four other urban areas: the Medway Gap, Kings Hill and Snodland. The smaller rural service centres are heavily constrained by it as well. The strategy paper adds that the larger settlements are inset, meaning drawn out of the Green Belt, while many hamlets and some small villages are washed over by it. The parts of the borough beyond the outer Green Belt boundary include extensive areas of the Kent Downs.

In practice, a field just beyond the edge of Tonbridge is almost certainly Green Belt, while a field on a different side of Kings Hill, the Medway Gap or Snodland may not be. Two sites a few miles apart can therefore face entirely different tests, and the 63% result means very different things on either side of the line.

Where the land is	The likely route
Outside the Green Belt, on the edge of a settlement	The 63% score brings policy S5 into play. A field that adjoins a town or village properly has a real case, subject to landscape, access and flooding.
Inside the Green Belt	S5 does not apply. The question is whether the land is grey belt, is previously developed, or is released through the new plan.
Inside a town or a village drawn out of the Green Belt	Policy S4 applies, so a yard or a large garden in Tonbridge starts with a presumption towards approval that only substantial harm can overturn.
Inside the Kent Downs	Major development in a National Landscape needs exceptional circumstances, whatever the Green Belt position.

Knowing exactly which side of the line a field falls on, and how the council's latest Green Belt study rates it, is the first thing we check. Our grey belt guide explains how Green Belt land is assessed.

A New Local Plan Under Government Direction

KentOnline's report of the Regulation 18 draft counted 404 hectares of Green Belt released for housing, with 7,908 homes on land that is Green Belt today, chosen from around 500 sites the council assessed. The largest proposals were land north of Borough Green for 2,050 homes, the Medway Gap for 1,961, north east Tonbridge for 1,671, land north of Holborough Lakes at Snodland for 1,300 and Kings Hill for 1,220, with 683 at Aylesford village and smaller allocations at East Peckham and Branbridges (446), Hadlow (371) and East Malling (105).

The council's strategy paper puts the capacity of land north of Borough Green at around 3,000 homes, of which about 2,000 would be built within the plan period. The larger number is the site's eventual size; the smaller is what the plan relies on before 2042.

What Happened in September 2026

At a full council meeting at the start of September 2026, members declined to approve the final draft plan for its Regulation 19 consultation over unresolved water supply concerns. The council leader, Matt Boughton, said members were not willing to proceed until there was a guarantee of water supply to the homes the government expects the borough to plan for. The Housing and Planning Minister, Matthew Pennycook, then issued a statutory direction on 4 September which, as Planning Geek reports, requires the Regulation 19 consultation to begin by 11 September 2026 and the plan to be submitted for examination by 31 December 2026.

Why You Will See 19,746 and 20,106 Homes

The council's own Local Plan pages still give 19,746 homes, or 1,097 a year, while reports of the final draft give 20,106, or 1,117 a year. Both cover the same 18 years from 2024 to 2042, and the whole difference comes from the annual figure: 1,097 times 18 is 19,746, and 1,117 times 18 is 20,106. The government's standard method is recalculated as new affordability and household data are published, so the later draft has most likely picked up a newer calculation. The council's pages simply describe the earlier stage. The gap of 360 homes changes little for a landowner; the inspector will examine the later figure.

For landowners, the direction makes it much more likely that the plan reaches examination in 2027. Allocated land gains certainty. Land that is not allocated can still be raised with the inspector, and the stages still ahead are set out in call for sites and local plans.

Water Supply Is Now Part of Every Decision

The council's hesitation over the plan came from a specific local issue. In March 2026 KentOnline reported South East Water telling the council it could not accommodate growth beyond what its 2024 water resources plan assumed, a forecast of about 6,318 extra homes to 2042, roughly a third of the draft plan's total. Planning Geek reports that the company expects to publish updated demand assumptions in spring 2027, with proposed infrastructure to follow in spring 2028, well after the plan's submission deadline.

The council has responded through its planning decisions as well as its plan. Its planning pages now say that adequate water supply is a material planning consideration in deciding applications, and that applicants must show compliance with policy SQ5 by addressing whether there is adequate water infrastructure, or whether it can be provided, to meet the needs of the development. This applies to new applications and to those with a resolution to approve where water capacity has not yet been addressed.

For a landowner this is technical evidence rather than a bar: the water strategy for a scheme becomes part of the application from day one. We prepare that evidence and pay for it.

The Medway Valley, the Downs and the Weald

The River Medway and its tributaries. The strategy paper notes that an extensive area of the borough lies within flood zones,. The Leigh Barrier and the Hildenborough embankment scheme help protect communities including Hildenborough and Tonbridge. Most sites can keep homes on the drier ground. See our flood risk guide.
Two National Landscapes. The Kent Downs cover the north of the borough and part of the High Weald lies around Tonbridge in the south. Land near either is judged on its effect on the landscape and on views.
A dense road network. The strategy paper lists the M20, M25, M26, M2, A21, A25, A26, A227, A228 and A229. Good road links bring demand, but junction capacity and noise can shape where homes go on a site.
Former quarries. The same paper records extensive areas of quarrying, some still active, and others where restored mineral workings are providing space for new development, though ground conditions need investigating.

Land We Look for in Tonbridge and Malling

Land outside the Green Belt on the edges of Kings Hill, the Medway Gap and Snodland.
Green Belt land that could qualify as grey belt, especially where it is enclosed by roads, railways or existing homes.
Former yards, nurseries, depots and restored quarry land, including in the Green Belt.
Fields and plots a short walk from a station on any of the four lines through the borough.
Larger holdings on the edges of the main settlements that could contribute to growth in the new plan.

If your land is in the Kent Downs or in open Green Belt between villages, the case is harder, and we will tell you so honestly. Our how it works page explains what happens after our review.

Questions About Land in Tonbridge and Malling

Is my land inside or outside the Green Belt?

The council's policies map shows the boundary, and it matters a great deal here. Land outside it can use the unmet need route in policy S5 while the council is at 63%. Land inside it depends on grey belt policy or the new plan. We check the boundary and the council's Green Belt study for your land as part of our review.

My field near Borough Green or Tonbridge is in the draft plan. What happens next?

The plan goes to a final consultation and then to examination, where the inspector will test each allocation. Allocated land still needs a planning application with full evidence, which we prepare and pay for.

Will the water supply problem stop development?

It has not stopped the plan, which the government has directed the council to take forward. It does mean every application now has to show how the homes will be supplied, which we build into the planning work.

My land is not in the draft plan. Should I give up?

Not necessarily. The council looked at around 500 potential development sites and allocated only 51 for housing, so you are in large company. An omitted site can be argued at examination, and a field beyond the Green Belt that adjoins Kings Hill, the Medway Gap or Snodland properly can go forward by application under policy S5.

Does the council reorganisation change anything?

In July 2026 ministers decided that Tonbridge and Malling will join Sevenoaks, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells in a new west Kent council from April 2028. Until then the borough council decides applications, and a plan adopted under the direction would carry on guiding decisions after the change.

Tell Us About Your Land in Tonbridge and Malling

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Sources

We update this page when new Housing Delivery Test results or local plan milestones are published. Planning positions change quickly, so always check the council's own website before relying on it.