The Masterplan for Tudeley Village
In drawing up the plans, we have carefully studied how Kent villages have evolved over time, with asymmetric village greens, buildings set back from the roads, winding lanes, and a rich variety of house styles.
The detailed masterplan for Tudeley Village, a new community of 2,800 homes in the borough of Tunbridge Wells, includes facilities such as a new primary and secondary school, health, sports and leisure facilities and a mixture of formal and informal open space. A public consultation in October 2020 was run as a joint in-person and online event and material on the project website has been viewed more than 4,000 times. Feedback from the consultation informed a number of changes including clearer links to the existing footpath network, improving the proposed pedestrian and cycle links through the site, and re-designs of the eastern neighbourhood and of the secondary school and its playing fields/pitches.
Interactive Map of Tudeley Village.
Use the tabs below to explore different aspects of the masterplan.
Masterplan
Tudeley Village masterplan comprises distinct neighbourhoods organised around a village centre. There are also smaller neighbourhood centres, which represent clusters of amenities. These neighbourhoods are all connected by a network of open spaces and pedestrian and cycle routes. The character of the village is defined by its walkability, enabling residents to live more sustainably and enjoy the health and leisure benefits of walking. Key community infrastructure, including schools and leisure facilities, have also been woven throughout the plan.
Housing
The masterplan indicates a settlement of 2,800 dwellings. This will include of various types and tenures in a range of sizes and styles.
Mixed use
Tudeley Village will be a mixed-use community, which will offer myriad amenities and employment opportunities.
Open space
The masterplan incorporates various types of open space – informal and formal; large and small – largely inspired by the site’s existing landscapes features.
Community
Tudeley Village will encompass numerous community facilities, including a nursey, primary school and secondary school; a GP surgery and dentist surgery; sports and leisure facilities; and heritage assets.
Movement
An interconnected network of pedestrian, cycle and vehicular routes is woven through the masterplan, both within the village and extending beyond to Tonbridge, Five Oak Green and Paddock Wood.
Infrastructure
Transport and community infrastructure will be joined by sustainable investment in utilities to support the new village.
Village character
Set in the green Wealden landscape, the design of Tudeley Village draws from local settlement patterns and vernacular architecture. The new village will be immediately recognisable as a Kent village. Common characteristics shared by villages in the local area include village greens, many of which grew up around crossroads in an informal, organic way. There are also similarities in other green spaces, and in the materials and styles of buildings and how they are arranged around other features of the village. All Saints’ Church has been carefully considered in respect to its setting and context and, as a result, the Tudeley Village proposals have been set well back behind a generous buffer of open space.
First neighbourhood centre
It is common in Wealden villages to see a direct physical link between the church and the village centre. As a result, the first neighbourhood centre is designed to afford views and pedestrian links to the church, providing both a visual and physical connection with the new community. This centre will also provide a village hall near the church, part of a high-quality public realm achieved by an easily walkable layout and well-proportioned plots providing a user-friendly, liveable new neighbourhood.
First residential character area
Strong, viable and vibrant communities are made up of a range of ages and demographics: a mix of private and affordable dwellings with a varied range of house types will be built at Tudeley. House types will also vary from detached and semi-detached houses to smaller terraced cottages and apartments; all ranging from one to three storeys in height which will give a varied and interesting roofscape, typical of Kentish villages.
Constraints Plan
This plan creates a basic structure for the masterplan. Features include areas of ecological interest, such as woodland, bodies of water and hedgerows; key views within the site; existing buildings in and around the site; and public footpaths. Existing roads and the railway line are also included. As many of these constraints are landscape features, this plan also forms the basis of the masterplan’s green network of open spaces and pedestrian and cycle paths. The features of the landscape are an integral part of the masterplan providing variety and beauty for residents to enjoy, and places for wildlife and biodiversity.
Land Use
The land use plan describes the distribution of different uses across Tudeley Village. The 170.29-hectare site offers a developable area of 94.7 hectares. This developable area includes space for housing and associated uses (access roads within the site, private gardens, car parking, open space and children’s play areas). This analysis shows that Tudeley Village could support 2,800 dwellings.
Open Space
The masterplan incorporates a generous allocation of open and green spaces. Many of these are based on existing features such as the ponds that form the centrepiece of the new village green and the areas of ancient woodland and hedgerows incorporated into the green network. Overall, these measures will contribute to a biodiversity net gain of at least 10 per cent.
Commercial
Mixed-use communities are bustling and vibrant places, which provide amenities for residents, as well as employment opportunities. The masterplan is arranged around neighbourhood centres, each with commercial units and community spaces. Post-Covid, people will expect provision of suitable workspaces, either in homes or in small office hubs for micro businesses, and this should become the norm. Tudeley is well-placed to deliver this.
Phasing
The phasing strategy has been planned to ensure that each generation of residents will experience a true sense of place and enjoy the benefits of living in Tudeley Village. The strategy also considers the most effective way to build out the site, taking into account the requirements for infrastructure, including important transport links and improvements, as well as the provision of key community services.
Click on each phase to find out more.
Phase 1
The first phase will see development start at the south west of the site, with a new access from the B2017 Five Oak Green Road. A total of 360 homes will be completed during this phase alongside commercial and community facilities. A pedestrian and cycle link between Tudeley Village and Tonbridge will also be built during Phase 1.
Phase 2
The new settlement will expand to the east during the second phase of development, comprising a further 620 homes, served by the first neighbourhood centre built during Phase 1. New pedestrian routes and roads will be built to serve the site, alongside a wedge-shaped public space flanked by new homes.
Phase 3
The third phase will include the delivery of several essential components of Tudeley Village, including the village centre, the completion of the village green and the first primary school. A further 340 new homes will be built during Phase 3. Land will be set aside to allow for the construction of a new rail halt.
Phase 4
The fourth phase will complete the section of Tudeley Village located to the south of the railway line. Containing the second neighbourhood centre, sports facilities and the village’s six-form-entry secondary school, this phase will also see the delivery of 580 new homes, increasing the total number of dwellings at Tudeley to 1,900.
Phase 5
Linked to the southern part of Tudeley Village by a new crossing of the railway line, Phase 5 will comprise 405 dwellings alongside the third neighbourhood centre and open, informal green space to the north. The neighbourhood centre will provide commercial and retail spaces. The railway crossing will put the primary school and village centre a short walk away.
Phase 6
The existing crossing of the railway line at Sherenden Road will be improved, and a third crossing built to the east. A cricket club will be built to the north of Phase 6, although this could be delivered earlier if desired. Comprising an additional 495 units and including land set aside for a rail halt, Phase 6 will bring the total number of units at Tudeley up to 2,800.
The Tudeley Village masterplan seeks to deliver the Hadlow Estate’s vision for a sustainable settlement, which would respond to the needs of the community for generations to come. Tudeley would be a place for people of all ages, incomes and tenures. Affordable housing would be integrated within the community. Alongside the 2,800 new dwellings, there would be sites for employment including offices, workshops, cafés and shops.
The Covid-19 pandemic has increased people’s appreciation of supportive communities and further emphasised the importance of our physical environment, not only how it looks but its impact on our health and wellbeing.
Comfortable homes, from which to work, teach and relax, with access to local amenities and public open space, including parks and the wider countryside, must be more than just an aspiration for any future development.
