Hawkenbury Hub FAQ

The Hawkenbury Hub is a proposal to expand the facilities for sport at Hawkenbury. It will be made up of the existing  sports facilities at Hawkenbury Recreation Ground (astroturf pitch, tennis courts, cricket and football pitches) plus additional football facilities with the addition of new facilities on the adjoining land.

It is a proposal that will meet the need for additional and better quality football pitches in Tunbridge Wells together with community facilities.

The Hub would be on Hawkenbury Recreation Ground and extend on to land next to the ground, currently farmland lying between the football/cricket pitch end of Hawkenbury Recreation Ground and High Woods Lane.

By using developer contributions (section 106 funds) and funds from the sale of sites the Council already owns – land at Culverden Stadium, Colebrook Sports Fields and Bayham West Sports Field.

Yes. Studies the Council completed as background work for the  Submission Local Plan concluded that many pitches and their facilities needed investment. Currently there is  a significant  under-supply of junior pitches in Tunbridge Wells.

The proposed provision combines the need to replace existing poor quality, under-invested football provision with better quality facilities, with additional junior pitches and playing capacity. 3G all-weather pitches can be used more intensively than grass pitches and their use avoids the cancelling of games due to waterlogged pitches.

The Hawkenbury Hub as a whole will continue to cater for the sports it does now, with the additional football facilities being provided to meet the growing need for more and better quality  pitches.

The Submission Local Plan allocation sets the proposal out in the revised policy wording as ‘for new and enhanced sport and recreation provision as part of a new stadium sports hub’. The Site Options report (see the 'How was Hawkenbury selected as a location for the hub' heading) states ‘A stadium sports hub will primarily be used by sports clubs and leagues for training and match play. However, it is also the intention to provide activities and programmes for the general community to increase physical activity, health and wellbeing. The intention would be to provide sport and physical activity programmes for older people, young people, parents, people with disabilities and dementia etc.’  The precise uses of all the new space at the facility has the potential for discussion during future consultation.

The concept of the hub is something that has been in development by the Council for around nine years.

In 2015, as part of the work for the Submission Local Plan, studies were commissioned to look at sport and recreation provision across the borough. One of those studies, the Playing Pitch Strategy, looked in detail at the existing provision of sports pitches, the quantity, quality, and configuration for providing for the future population, taking into account housing, population growth and demographics.

The study concluded that many pitches and their facilities needed investment, and the Submission Local Plan sought to deliver on these identified needs by allocating appropriate land for new facilities.

Since these first studies were commissioned, the demand for pitch facilities has continued to grow. New housing, the expansion of women’s and junior football and existing clubs’ aspirations all contribute to the growth in demand.

The background work for the Submission Local Plan included a detailed site options analysis to identify potential sites where the improved provision could be provided. Independent consultants were commissioned by the Council to analyse the potential sites across Tunbridge Wells town.

You can read the analysis in our document 'Site Options Analysis Tunbridge Wells Borough Council Sports Hub, 9th July 2020'.

After considering the analysis of some 20 potential sites across Tunbridge Wells a decision was taken by Full Council to include the Hawkenbury site in the Submission Local Plan as it offered the best opportunity for development.

The land was submitted as part of the Submission Local Plan call for sites and was considered as Site 53 Plot A and Plot B.

You can see the Submission Local Plan Site Assessment in our document 'Site Assessment Sheets for Royal Tunbridge Wells, January 2021'. The Hawkenbury site is on pages 45-47.

Plot A is adjacent to the existing Hawkenbury Recreation Ground south of High Woods Lane; Plot B was land to the east and north of Hawkenbury allotments. Plot B was considered not suitable as it was part of a large green belt parcel that would cause a greater degree of harm if released for development. However, Plot A was considered suitable for sport use, as its location, while in the green belt was assessed as causing only moderate harm and it is adjacent to the existing facilities in Hawkenbury Recreation Ground.

The main access to the new site will be via High Woods Lane. There would also be access from the existing Hawkenbury Recreation Ground and its recently extended car park.

Kent County Council (KCC), as the Highways Authority, has been consulted and has advised the carriageway on High Woods Lane would need to be widened in places. Assessment carried out for the Submission Local Plan Inspector shows that it would be possible to widen the road without impact on the allotments.

The detailed design and access arrangements including the review of the road network will be done by the Council at the planning application stage. There will need to be work done by consultants on behalf of TWBC on how to manage traffic in the area as the proposals are developed. These will include work on modelling traffic demand, how to mitigate that demand with alternative transport modes, and how best to ensure good traffic movement and road safety for all road users including pedestrian and cyclists with crossings, junctions and road design. There will be a requirement for the development to have in place measures to facilitate and promote use of public transport and sustainable transport. KCC as the Highways Authority will be part of this planning process as statutory consultee and will have to agree to the detailed improvements to the road network.

It is likely that floodlighting would be part of the development. The planning application will deal with which pitches would be floodlit, the exact hours they could be floodlit, and mitigation measures needed to control light pollution.

This is one of many details that would be included in any planning application for the hub.

Noise mitigation will be part of the planning application for the hub. The hours that the pitches can be used will be part of the proposals. It may be possible to locate the more heavily used pitches at the furthest end of the site, but these are some of the many details that would be included in the planning process.

As part of the proposals, the planning application will contain details of the measures proposed to protect the environment near the site, including for example the woodland.

The development will need to conform the Government’s rules on increasing Biodiversity in developments over a certain size. This is known as Biodiversity Net Gain which now has a mandatory requirement for new developments to include a minimum 10% gain in biodiversity by the end of construction.

How this would be put in place would be one of many details that would be included in the planning application for the hub.

An indicative project timeline was published in September 2022 in the Local Plan Examination Note for Inspector in response to Action Point 13 regarding Policy AL/RTW19 (Land at Hawkenbury) and AL/RTW 22 (Land at Bayham West) Part 3.

Appendix 2 sets out a chart with the then indicative timeline for delivery of the Hawkenbury Hub (see pages 64 of 77 to page 72 of 77 in the document’s footer, page 3 of 16 of the file).

It is hoped that the Local Plan will be completed in spring of 2025. There will be further public consultation on the Main Modifications to the plan, then the Inspector will need to review the Plan before giving it his approval. This should all be completed by March next year, after which the Council will then need to adopt it, although further delays are possible.

This will provide a starting point slightly over two years later than times indicated in the timeline in the document which set out a construction period ending in 2029.

The timeline remains a reasonable outline indication of how the Hawkenbury Hub project might progress, although it will need to be reviewed. There are many factors that might affect this timing, some in our control, some not, particularly the site acquisition and the possible Compulsory Purchase Order process. It is highly unlikely that these factors will significantly shorten the timing, and some may lengthen it (for example, consultation on options for the facilities could add additional time). Obviously, the dates (months/years) across the top of the chart are no longer correct but the tasks listed and the amount of time allocated to them are still an indicative guide.

Progress on the project will be subject to decisions on the Local Plan and the prioritisation of projects in Council’s Strategic Plan.

There will need to be work done by the Council so that the proposals result in traffic being managed properly. This work will be agreed by the Highways Authority (Kent County Council ) as the proposals are developed. These will include work on modelling the level of traffic expected, how to mitigate that traffic with alternative transport modes, and how best to ensure good traffic movement and road safety for all road users including pedestrian and cyclists with crossings, junctions and road design all being reviewed. There will be a requirement for the development to have environmentally friendly travel proposals in place for match days. The detail of how cycling will be managed and encouraged will be part of that work.

Looking forward, there will be further consultation on aspects of the Local Plan at what is called the Main Modifications stage – this will be late 2024, early 2025. After that, there will be opportunities to engage with and comment on proposals for how the site is developed. This most probably will first take the form of consultation and discussion on some very initial plans. Then, when these are worked on and progress to the formal planning application stage, there will be the opportunity to comment through that process. These consultations will cover all aspects of the development, and will include access and things like where the pitches lie, what and what kind of buildings are necessary, what they will be used for, how floodlighting will be managed and where the parking area will be located.

Tunbridge Wells Football Club (TWFC) currently play at the Culverden Stadium. Developing a new ground for TWFC to play at will allow improved, purpose-built facilities and playing surface to be created. The proposal to expand and improve the provision and locate it at Hawkenbury is reliant on funding from development. One of the sites identified for development is the Culverden site, which can be sold to provide valuable housing for the borough, and also the necessary financing. This means that an alternative location for TWFC’s home ground is needed.

The word stadium conjures up pictures of Premier League or international venues like Wembley or Old Trafford. The reality is much smaller. Tunbridge Wells Football Club (TWFC) currently has a stadium with a capacity for 3,750 spectators at Culverden. The typical attendance at TWFC matches at Culverden is currently approximately 250. The spectator area consists of single storey, covered area at the side of the pitch, some of which is seated, some for standing. There is also an area for standing, at one end of the pitch behind the goal, which consists of four or five shallow concrete steps.

The Hawkenbury Hub development is at an early stage, despite it having been proposed in the Local Plan several years ago, which means that the precise plans are yet to be drawn up, either in terms of the location of pitches or the size and style of facilities. The facilities at the new location could directly replicate the existing ones, or they could be changed and modernised, but they will remain similar in scale and size. These details will form part of the planning application.

The current plans do not impact the allotment land. One of the options for widening the road might involve very small sections of the hedge being removed to allow for additional parking, but that is one option that will be considered if necessary and discussed at the planning stage. The road can, according to the analysis by independent consultants, be widened to the 6.2m that Kent County Council highways department says is necessary, without affecting the hedge. Even if the hedge were impacted, the allotment land would not be.

The current plans show that circa 150 spaces can be accommodated on site and accessed via High Woods Lane. More detail on parking will be delivered prior to any planning application. In any event parking has been identified as an issue and TWBC will have to satisfy the Highways Authority (Kent County Council) that sufficient parking will be provided as part of the hub. In addition, the policy is to provide for overspill parking which will also have to be provided to the satisfaction of the Highways Authority. Residents and allotment users should not lose out.

This is the kind of thing that will be decided in the planning stages. It is likely that there will be only controlled public access to the stadium section of the hub – there is no unrestricted public access to the Culverden Stadium now. Depending on how the site facilities are managed, there should be full public access to the rest of the area. Some parts may be free to access any time, others may be available through a formal booking or rental system.  As the proposals are put forward, options for the use of the facilities will be discussed and specified at planning application stage.

Tunbridge Wells Football Club do not currently rent out their pitch or facilities or use them for anything other than playing football and training. The facilities that they would need for football do not create the kind of arena that would be suitable for large scale events such as pop concerts. However, even if the stadium could be used for non-sporting events, this would be strictly controlled by permission, both at the time of planning application and subsequently through licensing applications.  As the proposals are put forward, options for the use of the facilities will be discussed and specified at planning application stage. Non-footballing uses might be included as the plans are developed, if for example, there were to be the option of including facilities that would be used by the community.