Tunbridge Wells Local Plan Review - Call for Sites

We are inviting residents, landowners, developers and other stakeholders to suggest sites for potential development as part of the Local Plan Review.

The Tunbridge Wells Local Plan 2020-2038 (which the Council adopted in December 2025) includes a commitment to starting a Local Plan review within six months of adoption of the Plan (this is set out within Policy STR1 The Development Strategy policy). In preparation for this Tunbridge Wells Borough Council is carrying out a ‘call for sites’ exercise. The main purpose of this is to enable land to be submitted to the Council for assessment to establish whether it could be a potential site allocation in the Local Plan Review as it progresses. Suitable sites are needed to assist in meeting the development needs (including new homes, new jobs, supporting infrastructure and other land uses) of the borough going forward.

The Local Plan review and ‘call for sites’ will enable the Council to seek ways of providing for its unmet housing need, which arose because of the changes to the development strategy in the adopted Local Plan 2020-2038 (which resulted in a 10 year rather than a 15 year housing land supply). Under the government’s revised Standard Methodology, the housing need figure for Tunbridge Wells Borough is some 1,098 dwellings per annum – a substantial uplift on the previous housing figure of 678 dwellings per annum applied to the newly adopted Local Plan.

This means that we will need to consider all available site options if we are able to accommodate this level of housing growth.

The level of other needs such as employment, education, health and other forms of infrastructure needed to support future housing growth are not yet known but will become more established as the development strategy for the Local Plan review progresses, and work on the supporting Evidence Base work is undertaken. Some of the sites submitted through the Call for Sites may be considered and allocated to provide and support these other development needs and infrastructure.

We would like you to tell us about potential development sites in the borough. This could include land for new housing, including Gypsy and Traveller and Travelling showpeople pitches and plots, and employment uses, community and leisure uses, and green open space and nature conservation, and other uses.

Sites can be submitted by anyone or any organisation whether you are a:

• resident
• business
• developer
• agent
• landowner
• other

Site submission dates

The consultation period will run for 12 weeks:

• Start: Monday 11 May 2026
• End: midnight on Tuesday 3 August 2026

How to submit a site

Submit your site

Next Steps

It is important to be aware that sites submitted to us will not automatically be allocated for development in the Local Plan or given planning permission. First, they will need to be assessed to decide whether they are suitable for development, and the likelihood of them being available and achievable for development during the Local Plan period. This will involve site visits, sustainability checks, and input from statutory consultees. All submitted sites will be incorporated into a Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (SHELAA). This is a technical document which will be used to inform the site allocations to be included in the new Local Plan going forward alongside other evidence base studies.

Details of the sites submitted, and their assessments will be published on the Council’s website in due course as work on the Local Plan review progresses.

How we will use your personal information

Information about submitted sites cannot be kept confidential because we are required to make copies of submissions publicly available on our website. Names of groups, organisations and individuals may also be published alongside the submission.  However, no personal details (such as signature, email, private addresses and phone numbers) relating to them will be published.

For details on how your data will be used, see our Privacy Notice.

By completing the Call for Sites form you confirm that you agree to this use of your information and accept responsibility for your comments.

Other ways to comment

The preferred option is to submit your site online. However, if you are unable to complete an online submission then you can contact us for a copy of the submission form at LocalPlan@tunbridgewells.gov.uk and return the form to the same email address or by printing it off and returning by post to:

A site location plan must be submitted with the application form. This should be an Ordnance Survey map, preferably at a scale of 1:1250, and must include a north arrow and a clearly defined boundary of the site proposed for development.