THE public consultation for Tunbridge & Malling Borough Council’s new Local Plan began on Monday October 1.
Residents, community groups, businesses and other key stakeholders are invited to give their views during the six-week consultation period, which ends at 4pm on November 12.
The Local Plan gives details of all future housing development across the borough up to 2031. The council said: “The purpose of having a Local Plan is to identify how future needs for new homes will be met, along with jobs, businesses and community facilities such as schools, medical facilities, roads and public open spaces.
“The Local Plan will also provide a framework for considering and determining planning applications for anything from home improvements to major new developments, and identifies sites that could feature in meeting development needs in the most sustainable way.”
All comments received will be handed to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government when the Plan is submitted.
Howard Rogers, the council’s Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Infrastructure, said: “The Local Plan is an extremely important strategic document and we are very keen to receive the view of residents and local organisations.
“The Plan is not just about building houses, it addresses our much wider needs and demands for the homes and communities in which we and our families want to live.”
The Local Plan and supporting documents can be viewd in full on the Council’s website at
tmbc.gov.uk/localplan
Hard copies are available at the council’s Kings Hill offices and at Tonbridge Gateway on Castle Street, as well as in all libraries in the borough.
There will be two drop-in sessions, attended by council officers who will answer questions.
These are on October 15 in the Committee Room at the Kings Hill offices, and October 17 in the Council Chamber at Tonbridge Castle – both sessions will run from 9am to 8pm.
Comments can be submitted online at tmbc.gov.uk/localplanreg19/ or by emailing localplan@tmbc.gov.uk
You can also write to the council’s Local Plans Team, Gibson Building, Gibson Drive, Kings Hill, West Malling ME19 4LZ.
