Eccles, Aylesford and East Malling schemes approved; Kings Hill's 65 homes deferred over ancient woodland; West Malling's self-build plots refused.
Tonbridge and Malling’s Planning Committee has approved three housing schemes totalling 385 homes, deferred a fourth and refused a fifth. The decisions were taken over two evenings, on 16 and 24 September.
None of the five sites is in Tonbridge town. They are at Eccles, Aylesford, Kings Hill, East Malling and West Malling, all between about eight and twelve miles north-east of Tonbridge as the crow flies.
The council has not yet published minutes for either meeting, and on 28 September its planning register still showed all five applications as “Registered”, with no decision. We took the outcomes from the council’s own recordings of both meetings, which it publishes on its YouTube channel.
The five decisions
| Site | Homes | Officers said | Committee decided | Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Fields, Bull Lane, Eccles | up to 300 | Grant | Granted | 10 for, 2 against |
| Land south of St Andrews Close, Aylesford | 50 retirement units | Grant | Granted | none against |
| Paris Farm, The Rocks Road, East Malling | 35 | Grant | Granted | 9 for, 3 against |
| MOD land south of Discovery Drive, Kings Hill | up to 65 | Grant | Deferred | 9 to 3 to defer |
| Land east of Town Hill, West Malling | 8 self-build plots | Grant | Refused | unanimous |
The refusal is the one that went against professional advice. Officers had recommended approval of all five.
West Malling: self-build plots refused against officers’ advice
The committee unanimously refused outline permission for eight self-build plots on about 1.5 hectares of grazing land east of Town Hill, on the northern edge of West Malling (officer report, 25/00767/OA).
The site is inside the West Malling Conservation Area. Officers accepted that the scheme would harm it. Their own conservation officer and an outside heritage consultant both put that harm at the low end of “less than substantial”. Officers argued it was outweighed by the housing, because the council cannot show a five-year supply of land and has a backlog of self-build plots.
Councillors disagreed. West Malling Parish Council told the meeting the site gives the approach to the town “an open, undeveloped rural character”. Several members pointed out that the council’s own evidence for its new Local Plan argues against building there.
Councillor David Thornewell moved refusal. The reasons were drafted in the room by the council’s Development Manager, and he told members they would need editing. As read out, they are:
- the eight homes and the resulting “urbanisation of the site” would lose its openness, which “makes an important contribution to the entrance of the West Malling conservation area”;
- the loss of part of the ragstone wall, “a key characteristic of this part of Town Hill”, would cause further harm to the conservation area.
Members also debated whether the harm should now be called “substantial” rather than “less than substantial”. The final wording has not been published. The applicant, Cooleo Properties Ltd, can appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.
East Malling: 35 homes at Paris Farm approved
Esquire Developments’ scheme for 35 homes on paddocks between Four Acres and 193 The Rocks Road was approved by nine votes to three on 24 September. Fourteen of the homes, 40 per cent, will be affordable (officer report, 25/01325/FL).
A resident of Four Acres spoke against it for a local action group. He said parts of the estate are served by a three-inch cast-iron water main, and that South East Water flushes it monthly because of low pressure and discoloured water.
Officers said the state of the existing main is a matter for South East Water, not this application. Members were shown a tougher water condition on the night, requiring the developer to prove an adequate supply before building starts rather than before people move in. Its text has not been published.
The committee also changed or added these conditions:
- evidence of a protected species licence before any hedgerow work, made a pre-commencement condition (the report records hazel dormice in connected hedgerows);
- piling wording to steer the builder towards drilling rather than percussive piling;
- a revised drainage condition that must consider the spring at Gillet’s Hole, plus conditions on carports, slab levels, piling and roof alterations (supplementary report).
Councillor Michelle Tatton, who called the application in, told the meeting she could not support it. Her main objection was the muddy public footpath that will be the only walking route from the site towards East Malling.
Eccles: 300 homes approved with 8 per cent affordable
The largest scheme, up to 300 homes at Northern Fields off Bull Lane, was approved by ten votes to two on 16 September. It includes the first half of a new link road between Bull Lane and Rochester Road.
Policy asks for 40 per cent affordable housing. This scheme provides 8 per cent, 24 homes, a reduction the council’s own viability consultant accepted. Our preview of the meeting sets out the figures. Members added the new water and foul water condition wording. They also asked the developer to look at a walking link that avoids the nearby Site of Special Scientific Interest, as an informative rather than a condition.
Aylesford: 50 retirement flats approved
McCarthy and Stone’s retirement scheme south of St Andrews Close was approved with no votes against. It had been deferred in August over parking and came back with 44 spaces, six more than before. A condition on foul water was added.
Kings Hill: 65 homes held back over ancient woodland
The committee deferred the outline scheme for up to 65 homes on MOD land south of Discovery Drive, by nine votes to three. Members had already resolved to grant it in December 2024. It came back because the section 106 agreement was never signed, and water supply is now a material consideration.
Kings Hill Parish Council argues that part of the site could be ancient woodland. That means land wooded continuously since at least 1600. An ecologist from Bioscan spoke for the parish and urged refusal. Officers relied on an independent review the council commissioned. It found the earliest record of woodland there dates from 1789, so the 1600 test is not met.
Councillor Mark Hood proposed deferring the scheme until the soil has been tested. The Head of Planning warned that soil testing may not settle the date question. He also said the applicant could appeal for non-determination. Members agreed that ancient woodland is the only issue to be considered when the scheme returns, and that the new water wording will be added.
What it means for you
- No permission has been issued yet. The three approvals depend on section 106 agreements being signed. For Paris Farm the deadline is 31 December 2026, unless the council agrees a later date.
- The Town Hill refusal can be appealed. If it is, anyone who commented on the application is normally told and can comment again to the Planning Inspectorate.
- Kings Hill will come back to committee, on the woodland question alone. Meeting dates are on the council’s committee page. The next is 14 October.
- Water is now a condition on large schemes. The Eccles and Paris Farm approvals carry the new wording, which stops building until the developer shows supply is in place. That follows South East Water’s warning on the draft Local Plan, which is open for comment until 25 October.
- To follow an application near you, our Tonbridge planning news page explains how the council’s register works.
What we could not confirm
The minutes and decision notices are not yet published. The vote counts here are as the chair read them out on the recordings. The final wording of the Town Hill refusal and of the new water conditions will be in the minutes, and we will update this story when they appear.
Sources: Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council recordings of the Planning Committee on 16 September 2026 (Aylesford decision at 28 minutes, Kings Hill at 1 hour 30 minutes, Eccles at 2 hours 49 minutes) and the reconvened meeting on 24 September 2026 (Paris Farm at 52 minutes, Town Hill at 2 hours 4 minutes); agenda and reports for 16 September and 24 September; the council’s planning register, checked on 28 September 2026.
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