Examination of the Local Plan and latest news

The additional hearing session(s) on Thursday 14 November 2024 (with a reserve day scheduled for Friday 15 November) was held in the Council Chamber at the Town Hall, Royal Tunbridge Wells.

The Town Hall address is as follows:

All access, including the disabled access, was via the entrance at Monson Way.

Parking: If you are driving to the Town Hall to attend the hearing sessions, please use the Crescent Road Car Park.

For details about the past hearing sessions undertaken in June and July 2024, including the schedule (dates/times), relevant Matters, Issues and Questions (MIQs) for Stage 3, participation and other information, please refer to the links below.

Please note that Stage 3 Hearing Statements for Matters 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 and 8 (Week 1 Hearings 18^th to 20^th June 2024) and Hearing Statements for Matters 4, 6 and 9 (Week 2 Hearings 16^th to 19^th July 2024) can be found in the drop-down lists in the Contents section further down the webpage.

• Please note that in Version 10, the hearing session previously scheduled in the Hearing Programme dated 04 July 2024 (Version 9) for Wednesday 24 July covering Matter 8 Issues 1-3 (housing requirement, meeting housing needs and five-year housing land supply, continuation of hearing session held on 20 June 2024) has been amended to a ‘reserve’ session. Further details of previous versions of the Hearing Programme are available below.

• The Hearing Programme, Version 9 dated 04 July 2024 includes the addition of a morning hearing session on 24 July 2024. This hearing session will be a continuation of the discussion on Matter 8 Issues 1-3 (housing requirement, meeting housing needs and five-year housing land supply) which took place on 20 June 2024.

• The Hearing Programme, Version 8 dated 16 June 2024 includes the addition of Issue 8 to the hearing session on Paddock Wood (16th July), and an additional hearing session for Submission Local Plan allocation policy AL/RTW16, to take place on the 18th July.

• The Stage 3 Matters, Issues and Questions have been updated to include an additional Issue and Question at Matter 4 – The Strategy for Paddock Wood. This new Issue and Question is Issue 8 Question 1 relating to Green Belt Exceptional Circumstances.

Matthew Birkinshaw BA(Hons) Msc MRTPI has been appointed by the Secretary of State as the Planning Inspector for the examination of the Tunbridge Wells Borough Local Plan 2020 - 2038.

The Inspector's task is to consider the soundness of the submitted Plan. The Inspector will also consider whether the Local Plan meets the requisite legal and procedural requirements. In order to do so, the Inspector will assess the Local Plan, the evidence base on which it was created, as well as all of the representations submitted during the public consultations.

The Programme Officer undertakes the administration of the examination under the direction of the Planning Inspector and all communications are handled by the Programme Officer.

The Programme Officer is Charlotte Glancy.

Contact details

Postal address

Publication of Inspector’s Letter in relation to the Housing Requirement and Trajectory

The Inspector has issued a letter dated 11 December 2024 relating to the Council’s housing requirement figure and trajectory.

Publication of Secretary of State’s Decision in relation to a ‘Call In’ Public Inquiry for proposed development at Land adjacent to Turnden, Hartley Road, Cranbrook

The Secretary of State has issued the decision dated 22 November 2024 relating to proposed development on the site, Policy AL/CRS 3 in the Submission Local Plan.

13 November 2024 update

The Inspector has issued an updated hearing programme for the 14 November hearing session. This may be viewed below under document ID-023 (version 3).

Hearing Programme and Agenda for Additional Stage 3 Hearing Session November 2024

The Inspector has issued documents ID-023 Examination Hearing Programme for Stage 3 - Additional Sessions November 2024 and ID-024 Agenda for Additional Stage 3 Examination Hearing Sessions November 2024 for publication. These documents set out the hearing programme and agenda for the additional hearing session on 14 November 2024 and the reserve session on 15 November 2024. Please see the ‘Watching the Local Plan hearing sessions’ section on this webpage for details on how to observe the hearing sessions.

Examination Guidance Note Stage 3 Additional Session September 2024

Publication of the Inspector’s Examination Guidance Note for the additional Hearing Session(s) to be held on Thursday 14 November 2024, with a Reserve day on Friday the 15 November.

Inspector’s Letter - July 2024

The letter follows the Stage 3 hearing sessions held in June and July 2024. It concerns the Council’s additional evidence, including its new Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs Assessment and the need to carry out a Public Consultation on these documents, with a further hearing session to follow.

Publication of Inspector’s Agenda for Matter 4: The Strategy for Paddock Wood – Hearing Session to be held Tuesday 16 July 2024

The Inspector has issued an agenda for the Matter 4 Paddock Wood Hearing Session (see document ID-020).

Publication of the Council’s Introduction to the Local Plan Examination Stage 3 Hearing Sessions 18 June 2024

The council gave an opening speech to the Stage 3 Hearing Sessions, on 18 June 2024 (see document TWLP_147 below).

Publication of Inspector’s Response to Greg Clark, MP Letter Dated 26 April 2024 – Document ID-019

This letter provides a reply to Greg Clark, MP following receipt of Letter dated 26 April 2024 relating to Policy AL/RTW19 (Land at Hawkenbury).

Letter from Greg Clark, MP – April 2024

Publication of letter sent to the Inspector by Greg Clark, MP dated 26 April 2024 regarding Policy AL/RTW19 (Land at Hawkenbury) - Document REP-1457-002

Councils' response to the Initial Findings – March 2024

The Council formally responded to the Inspectors Initial Findings on 28 March 2024 (see document TWLP_115 below).

Council Next Steps Update – March 2024

Inspector's Letter – February 2024

The letter is a response to the Council’s update letter dated 11.01.24 (TWLP_113), which set out, amongst other matters, how the Council intends to deal with the recent change in the Government’s Planning policy for traveller sites (‘PPTS’). More specifically, the change in definition of gypsies and travellers contained in Annex 1. The Inspector’s letter advises that a new GTAA will be required as part of this examination. The Inspector is not seeking any representations or correspondence on this specific issue at this stage.

Council Next Steps Update – January 2024

The council provided a Next Steps update to the Inspector on 11 January 2024 (see document TWLP_113 below). Full Council approved the Council’s response to the Inspector’s Initial Findings Letter (received November 2022 – see document ID -012 below) at its meeting on 13 December 2023 and that the response (which includes a revised development strategy to that proposed in the Submission Local Plan) shall proceed to a six week public consultation, to begin January 2024. The update to the Inspector sets out that the consultation will begin Monday 15 January and run until midnight on Monday 26 February 2024. It also updates the Inspector on other matters, including Gypsy and Traveller accommodation provision and changes to the National Planning Policy Framework published on 19 December 2023.

Council Next Steps Update – November 2023

The council provided a Next Steps update to the Inspector on 26 September 2023 (see document TWLP_112 below). The Planning & Transportation Cabinet Advisory Board (P&T Cab) Report has now been published in advance of the meeting on the 13 November 2023. Following this meeting, the Report will proceed to Cabinet on 7 December 2023, and Full Council on 13 December 2023.

An updated Core Documents list is available – this includes links to the Evidence Base documents supporting the Report.

Council next steps update to the Inspector

Turnden, Cranbrook - Decision by Secretary of State and Council's Response - May 2023

Publication of Secretary of State’s decision following a ‘Call in’ Public Inquiry held in respect of planning application reference 20/00815/FULL (submission version Local Plan Site Allocation Policy AL/CRS 3 - document TWLP_108).

The Council has written to the Inspector concerning land at Turnden Farm, Cranbrook (submission version Local Plan Policy AL/CRS3). The letter and decision are available to view from the examination library (examination documents TWLP_108 and TWLP_109). At this stage, the Inspector is not seeking any representations from interested parties on either the Council’s latest position or the decision made by the Secretary of State. However, opportunities will be provided for participants to make any comments on this, and other aspects of the Plan, in due course in accordance with the published timescales.

Publication of Inspector’s Response to Greg Clark, MP Letter Dated 27 February 2023 – Document ID-014

This letter provides a reply to Greg Clark, MP following receipt of Letter dated 27 February 2023 relating to Kipping's Cross roundabout.

Letter from Greg Clark, MP – February 2023

Publication of letter sent to the Inspector by Greg Clark, MP dated 27 February 2023 regarding Kippings Cross roundabout – Document REP-14570-001.

The letter relates to highways mitigation proposals for Kippings Cross submitted to the examination.

Publication of Inspector’s Response to Greg Clark, MP Letter Dated 27 February 2023 – Document ID-014

This letter provides a reply to Greg Clark, MP following receipt of Letter dated 27 February 2023 relating to Kipping's Cross roundabout.

Inspector's Letter - January 2023

The letter provides a reply to the Council’s initial response following receipt of the Inspectors initial findings (Document ID-012). The Inspector is not seeking any comments from participants at this stage but invites the Council to respond to questions raised.

Council next steps response to the Inspector

Inspector’s Initial Findings Letter – November 2022

The letter sets out the Inspector’s initial findings following the Examination hearing sessions. The Inspector is not seeking any comments from participants at this stage but invites the Council to consider the issues raised and the suggested ways forward. Updates will be provided in due course, including the next steps for the Examination.

Additional notes and documentation has been added to the examination website as requested by the Inspector at the hearings in July 2022. At this stage the Inspector is not seeking any comments or representations on the additional documents. Instead, further information, including the next steps for the examination, will be published in due course by the Inspector.

Publication of revised Hearing Programme, Stage 2, June to July sessions with Participants - 14 July 2022

Publication of revised Hearing Programme, Stage 2, June to July sessions with Participants - 12 July 2022

Publication of revised Hearing Programme, Stage 2, June to July sessions with Participants - 01 July 2022

Publication of revised Hearing Programme, Stage 2, June to July sessions with Participants - 23 June 2022

Publication of revised Hearing Programme, Stage 2, June to July sessions with Participants - 13 June 2022

Publication of Virtual Examination Guidance

Update from Inspector 10 June 2022

One of the Council’s team has today tested positive for Covid and thus cannot attend in person next Tuesday or Wednesday (and possibly Thursday if still testing positive after 5 days). The Council has exhausted all other possibilities of continuing with the in person sessions.

Rather than delay the sessions until a future date, the decision has therefore been made to defer to virtual sessions using ‘Zoom’, which will operate in the same way as the virtual sessions already planned for hearing sessions running from 21 June. Further details and joining instructions will be issued to participants as soon as possible.

Public Observation of the hearing sessions will remain online on the Council’s YouTube channel.

Publication of agendas for Day 7 (Tudeley Village) and Day 8 (Paddock Wood) - 6 June 2022

Publication of revised Hearing Programme, Stage 2, June to July sessions with Participants - 9 June 2022

Publication of revised Hearing Programme, Stage 2, Days 4-6 with updated Participants (Version 3) - 24 May 2022

Publication of revised Hearing Programme, Stage 2, Days 4-6 with updated Participants - 24 May 2022

Publication of revised Hearing Programme, Stage 2, Days 4-6 with updated Participants - 23 May 2022

Publication of Stage 2 Matters 2-5 Hearing Statements - 18 May 2022

Hearing Statements for Matters 2 to 5 (Week 2) can be viewed under the drop down heading Stage 2 Hearing Statements Weeks 2-4 below. Hearing Statements for Matters 6 to 9 (Weeks 3 to 4) will be uploaded in due course, when received from the Programme Officer.

Publication of revised Hearing Programme, Stage 2, Days 4-6 with Participants - 18 May 2022

Publication of revised Stage 2 Matters, Issues and Questions - 22 April 2022

Publication of revised Guidance Note, Hearing Programme and Stage 2 Matters, Issues and Questions - 14 April 2022

The Inspector has issued revised documentation for the Stage 2 part of the Local Plan Examination, these including a revised Guidance Note, revised Stage 2 Hearing Programme and revised Stage 2 Matters, Issues and Questions. They can be viewed below.

Publication of a Public Notice detailing Stage 2 Examination hearing dates - 12 April 2022

Update from Inspector 7 April 2022

A post hearing letter from the Inspector (ID-08) has been published below. This letter sets out the Inspector’s decision to proceed to Stage 2. The documents mentioned in Paragraph 2 of the letter are published as PS-025, PS-023 and PS-024. As stated in paragraph 3 of the letter, we are now working to agree dates for Stage 2. The relevant public notices will be published and a revised stage 2 programme when dates are agreed.

The Inspector has issued an agenda (ID-07 - set out below) for the additional Duty to Co-operate hearing session scheduled for 29 March 2022.

The Inspector has published a letter (ID-06 - set out below) regarding the Stage 1 hearings. This will have an impact on the programming of Stage 2 of the examination.

In light of the additional information and the invitation to respond, the Inspector has extended the deadline for submitting hearing statements for Stage 2. For the hearing session currently scheduled to take place on Thursday 24 March 2022, the deadline for submitting statements remains the same - Tuesday 15 March 2022. However, for hearing sessions due to take place in Week 3 of the examination (Tuesday 29 March – Friday 1 April 2022), the deadline for submitting hearing statements has been extended to Friday 18 March 2022.

Publication of the Inspector’s Guidance Note, Hearing Programme and Matters Issues and Questions

The Inspector has published his Examination Guidance Note, Hearing Programme and Matters Issues and Questions.

The Examination Guidance Note provides further information on the procedural and administrative arrangements for participants in the Examination, including relevant deadlines and how to contact the Programme Officer.

Publication of a Public Notice detailing Examination hearing dates

Under Regulation 24 of the Local Planning Regulations (2012, as amended), a Public Notice has been published setting out the dates, times and location of the Examination hearing sessions. The Public Notice can be viewed below.

If you have any queries on these documents, please direct them to the Programme Officer.

Those wishing to view the Examination hearing sessions are encouraged to do so online.

The Stage 1 hearing sessions (weeks 1 and 2) were held between Tuesday 1 March and Thursday 3 March and Tuesday 29 March 2022 in the Council Chamber and may be viewed via TunbridgeWells.Public-I.tv.

Revised Stage 2 hearing sessions were held between Wednesday 25 May and Tuesday 19 July 2022.

The hearing sessions held on Wednesday 25 May to Friday 17 June (weeks 3 and 4) and Tuesday 5 July to Friday 8 July 2022 (week 6) were conducted in Committee Rooms A & B.

The hearing sessions held on Tuesday 21 June to Friday 24 June (week 5) and Tuesday 12 July to Tuesday 19 July 2022 (weeks 7 and 8) were conducted via Zoom.

All Stage 2 hearing sessions may be viewed via Tunbridge Wells Borough Council’s YouTube channel. The streams for past sessions will be saved on the YouTube channel and will be added to the Stage 2 hearing sessions playlist.

Please see the Stage 1 and Stage 2 Hearing Programmes for the full timetable.

Stage 3 hearing sessions were held in two main parts, Tuesday 18 June to Thursday 20 June and Tuesday 16 July to Friday 19 July 2024 (with Thursday 18 (pm) and Friday 19 July and Wednesday 24 July being reserve sessions). Please head to TunbridgeWells.Public-i.tv webcast library and search for “Local Plan Examination Stage 3 Hearings” to view the past live streams.

In addition there will be a further hearing session to be held on Thursday 14 November 2024 (with Friday 15 November 2024 being a reserve session) in relation to Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation Needs and any other matters arising from the recent consultation. The November hearing session(s) will be held in-person at the Town Hall, Mount Pleasant Road, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1RS and live streamed via the council’s website (TunbridgeWells.Public-i.tv).

If you experience any issues viewing the live stream, please let us know and explain the issues via LocalPlan@tunbridgewells.gov.uk.

At the examination hearing session on Tuesday 1 March 2022, the Inspector asked the Council to provide minutes of meetings between Tunbridge Wells Borough Council and Maidstone Borough Council. The Inspector also invited the Council to provide summaries of the meetings held as part of the 'Strategic Sites Working Group'. This information has now been provided. Should participants wish to make any comments on the additional information, this should be done in writing by Friday 11 March 2022. Additional comments should only relate to the further information provided.

Should any changes be required to the scheduled hearing programme, participants will be notified in writing with updates provided through the examination website.

For information

Matter 1

Additional statements from absent participants from Matter 1 Hearings

Matter 2

Matter 3

Matter 4

Matter 5

Matter 6

Matter 7

Matter 8

Matter 9

Matter 7

Matter 10

Matter 11

Matter 12

Matter 13

Matter 14

Matter 15

Additional notes and documentation has been added to the examination website as requested by the Inspector at the hearings in July 2022. At this stage the Inspector is not seeking any comments or representations on the additional documents. Instead, further information, including the next steps for the examination, will be published in due course by the Inspector.

NB During the course of the Stage 2 hearing sessions, the Inspector also asked (as Action Points 7 -11) for certain documents to be made available. These documents are contained under ‘Examination Post-Submission Evidence Base Documents’.

Stage 3 Local Plan examination hearing sessions took place in two parts in June and July 2024 with an additional session(s) to be held in November 2024 on the following dates (with the final date being a reserve session):

• Hearing Day 1: Tuesday 18 June 2024 (Morning session 10am to 1pm; afternoon session 2pm to 5pm)
• Hearing Day 2: Wednesday 19 June 2024 (Morning session 9.30am to 1pm; afternoon session 2pm to 5pm)
• Hearing Day 3: Thursday 20 June 2024 (Morning session 9.30am to 1pm; afternoon session 2pm to 5pm)
• Hearing Day 4: Tuesday 16 July 2024 (Morning session 10am to 1pm; afternoon session 2pm to 5pm)
• Hearing Day 5: Wednesday 17 July 2024 (Morning session 9.30am to 1pm; afternoon session 2pm to 5pm)
• Hearing Day 6: Thursday 18 July 2024 (Morning session 9.30am to 1pm; Reserve session (if needed) afternoon 2pm to 5pm)
• Hearing Day 7: Friday 19 July 2024 (Reserve session (if needed) Morning session 9.30am to 1pm; afternoon 2pm to 5pm)
• Hearing Day 8: Wednesday 24 July 2024 (Reserve session (if needed) Morning 10am to 1pm; afternoon 2pm to 5pm)
• Hearing Day 9: Thursday 14 November 2024 (Morning session 10am to 1pm; afternoon session 2pm to 5pm)
• Hearing Day 10: Friday 15 November 2024 (Reserve session (if needed) Morning 10am to 1pm; afternoon 2pm to 5pm)

Hearing sessions were and will be held in-person at the Town Hall, Mount Pleasant Road, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1RS and live streamed via the council’s website (TunbridgeWells.Public-I.tv).

This is the full list of Matters, Issues and Questions for the Stage 3 hearings.

Hearing Statements for Matters 4, 7 and 9 (Week 2 Hearings 16 to 19 July 2024) will be published in due course.

Matter 1

Matter 2

Matter 3

Matter 5

Matter 6

Matter 8

Matter 4

Matter 7

Matter 9

Please see the post-submission Evidence Base Documents below, which are included in the Submission Local Plan and Core Documents webpage.

Examination Post-Submission Evidence Base Documents

Post-Initial Findings Evidence Base Documents

Post-Submission Documents following Stage 3 Week 1 Hearing Sessions

Stage 3 New Evidence Base Documents (for the Public Consultation held 11th September 2024 until 23rd October 2024)

In response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and guidance from government, the Planning Inspectorate has published guidance on site visits, hearings, inquiries and events.

You can view the guidance on the GOV.UK website.

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council

• Privacy Notice for Planning Policy

Planning Inspectorate

• Privacy Notice for Local Plan Examinations