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Tonbridge & Malling

Aylesford on the river Medway

High quality, well designed, development can enhance the sense of place and identity of an area and can bring significant benefits to the local environment and economy. In this way, new development can have a significant and positive impact on the lives of local people and visitors to Tonbridge & Malling Borough.

Provision of a sensitively articulated built form should always complement the established character and identity of the different parts of the Borough to help reinforce a strong sense of place and avoid development that is unremarkable, anonymous and has little relationship to its surroundings.

The River Medway has shaped growth across the Borough, both historically and in more recent years. It remains a key priority to ensure new developments respond positively to the river frontage and its tributaries, maximising the opportunities these features offer for creating attractive and enjoyable places to live, work and visit and incorporating all available measures for properly integrating frontages into the public realm and maximising opportunities for biodiversity enhancements.

Opposite: A typical residential street, image courtesy of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council

We have significant and varied historic assets across the Borough and have a proven track record in ensuring that new development takes place in a sensitive manner to compliment our historic assets. We recognise that these must evolve over time and understand the importance of not replicating historic designs or construction methods, ensuring appropriate innovation and sympathetic design solutions.

Opposite: The RIBA award-winning Barton Science Centre, Tonbridge School, image courtesy of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council
  • We consider that the use of high-quality materials and hard and soft landscaping in schemes of all sizes make a fundamental contribution to the quality of developments and will always strive to ensure that developers recognise this and deliver quality from inception to completion.
  • We recognise that high quality design should be at the heart of new development and understand that early engagement with developers plays a crucial role in ensuring this can happen. We actively encourage prospective developers to enter into early pre-application advice to ensure that positive design-led discussions can happen at the earliest opportunity.
  • We are committed to ensuring that climate change issues and biodiversity goals are considered in all aspects of our decision making, and we recognise the important role new development plays in this across the Borough.