Draft designs for a new community at Tudeley Village go on show with an invitation to local residents to submit ideas

Published 12th October 2020

A draft masterplan of how a new community might look if it were to be built on land to the east of Tudeley, between Tonbridge and Paddock Wood, will be published next week with an invitation for further ideas and feedback from local residents.

The Hadlow Estate and a team of designers and specialists are sharing ideas for a “carefully and beautifully master-planned village community at Tudeley” in response to Tunbridge Wells Borough Council’s requirement for strategic housing sites to be allocated in its new Local Plan.

Land between Tonbridge and Paddock Wood, which is owned and managed by the Hadlow Estate, is identified in the draft Tunbridge Wells Borough Council Local Plan as a potential site for a new village of up to 2,800 homes, alongside public open space, employment land and other facilities.

The Estate had hoped to develop ideas in partnership with members of the community during a week-long collaborative planning charrette scheduled for earlier this year, but the Covid-19 lockdown and ongoing restrictions resulted in its postponement and eventual cancellation.

Instead, the Hadlow Estate has drawn inspiration from a variety of sources including the Prince’s Foundation whose approach to development has successfully delivered homes and mixed use communities which have been recognised for their outstanding quality. These include Poundbury in Dorset and Tregunnel HIll in Cornwall. “Living with Beauty”, a report published by the Building Better Building Beautiful Commission, has also informed the draft masterplan.

Harry Teacher of the Hadlow Estate described a vision for a thriving rural village. He explained: “We’ve visited and taken inspiration from some of the very best new places in the UK and in the USA and we have seen what can be achieved.

“We are sharing our ideas for a carefully and beautifully master-planned village community at Tudeley, designed to provide a range of dwellings for a range of ages, incomes and tenures, as well as employment opportunities through the provision of workspaces, and community facilities such as a village green, playing field, primary school and community hall.”

Mr Teacher adds: “Most importantly, we are proposing walkable neighbourhoods that fit within the landscape and respect the contours and character of the place. The Hadlow Estate is our home and we care about getting it right. We want to invite our neighbours and the community to share and develop these ideas so that together we can meet the challenges of the future in a proactive and carefully considered way.”

Tickets for a public exhibition in Tunbridge Wells on Tuesday 20th October and Wednesday 21st October are available to a limited number of visitors to allow for social distancing. Online ticket reservations can be made via Eventbrite.

Alternatively, the full exhibition will be published on the Tudeley Village website on Monday 19th October 2020 with a link to submit ideas and feedback.