Lights go up on the dark riverside path from Town Lock to Vale Road and Cannon Lane from November, a year late. The council hopes to finish by Christmas.
The unlit riverside path between Town Lock and the Vale Road and Cannon Lane retail parks is finally getting lights. Work is scheduled to start in November.
Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council announced on 23 September that it has secured a contractor. It hopes the work will be finished by Christmas 2026. (Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council)
That is about a year later than planned. When Cabinet backed the scheme in June 2025, the aim was construction “later in the calendar year”. The council says the delay came from “difficulties appointing a contractor”.
What is being built
The path is about 380 metres long. It is a public right of way, reference MU33, and a well-used walking and cycling link between the High Street and the retail park off Cannon Lane. Apart from some private low bollard lights by the flats at Waterway House, Davit House and Breach House, it has no lighting at all. (Capital plan evaluation, Cabinet June 2025)
The council’s September 2025 Cabinet report describes the stretch between Vale Road and the former gasholder site as having “a narrow path that is lined with trees and shrubbery and unprotected river edge”. (Cabinet report, September 2025)
The scheme, as approved for tender:
- nine hinged lighting columns along the path, not low bollards
- lights directed at the path, with the column height, spacing and colour temperature chosen to limit spill onto the river
- a design reviewed with the Environment Agency and Kent Wildlife Trust, because the Medway here is rich wildlife habitat
- running costs of about £2,550 a year for power, maintenance and repair, on the council’s own estimate
Column lighting was a deliberate choice. Kent Police’s Designing Out Crime team told the council that bollard lighting “should be avoided”, because it does not light faces well enough and can increase the fear of crime.
What it costs, and who pays
The council’s release puts the scheme at £100,000. It says the money comes from several sources, including the government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund and the Business Rates Pool programme.
The council’s own papers give slightly different figures. The September 2025 Cabinet report set a project budget of £94,000, “funded in full from developer contributions”. It said about £150,000 of section 106 money was allocated to the project, so no council funding would be needed. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund grant was used earlier, for the feasibility and design work.
The 2025 report was clear on one point: no funding would be needed from the borough council itself.
How it got here
- 27 May 2025: the Finance, Regeneration and Property Scrutiny Select Committee reviews a feasibility study by consultants Project Centre.
- 3 June 2025: Cabinet backs the scheme and authorises the council to use its powers under the Public Health Act 1875, with Kent County Council’s rights of way team agreeing.
- 8 July 2025: Full Council moves it onto List A of the capital plan, the list of funded projects.
- September 2025: Cabinet approves tender and construction, with a £94,000 budget.
- 23 September 2026: the council announces a contractor is secured.
(Cabinet decisions on the Riverside Route Lighting Scheme)
Cllr Adem Mehmet, Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Tonbridge Regeneration, said: “We know this is an improvement many people have wanted and needed, so we’d like to thank residents for their patience while we worked through the procurement process and secured the right contractor.”
What it means for you
- Until the work is done, the path stays dark. The clocks go back on 25 October, so expect at least a few weeks of dark evenings on it before the columns go in.
- Expect some disruption in November and December while the columns go in. The council has not yet said whether the path will close during the works. We will add that when it does.
- This is only the first phase. The council calls it the first phase of its Riverside Improvement Plan, which aims to improve the whole riverside route.
- If you want to raise a concern about the path, the council’s ward members for the area are listed on its councillors page.
More on what is changing in the town: Tonbridge planning news and parking in Tonbridge.
Sources: Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council news release, 23 September 2026; Cabinet decisions, June and September 2025; Cabinet report, September 2025; Capital plan evaluation, June 2025.
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