Local Plan Review Overview
The Tunbridge Wells Local Plan 2020-2038 (adopted by the Council 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).
The Council has begun a review of the Tunbridge Wells Borough Local Plan, setting the framework for how the borough will grow and prosper over the coming years. The Local Plan Review will cover the period 2029 - 2044 and be undertaken in accordance with the Government’s new plan-making Regulations which came into effect in March 2026.
A timetable for the review was first published on the 26 June 2026. It will be regularly updated on the Council’s website. The timetable was last updated on 30 October 2026.
The Council also published its formal ‘Notice of Intention’ to commence plan preparation on the 26 June 2026. An early Scoping Consultation took place from 14 July to 11 August 2026 and the Council has published an Engagement Strategy which sets out how the Council will involve communities and stakeholders at each stage of the Local Plan Review process, and how we will consider and report on the representations we receive.
The Council published its Gateway 1 Self‑Assessment summary on 30 October 2026. From 1 November 2026, the Council has 30 months to prepare and adopt the new local plan.
Call for Sites
As part of the Local Plan review, the Council is undertaking 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 with meeting the development needs of the borough (including new homes, new jobs and other land uses) going forward. Residents, landowners, developers, community groups and others are invited to submit potential sites across the borough for consideration for a range of development types and uses. For more information see the Call for Sites webpage.