Infrastructure Delivery Plan

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council

Infrastructure Delivery Plan

March 2021

1.0 Introduction

1.1

This Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) has been prepared by Tunbridge Wells

Borough Council (the Council). The IDP sets out:

• The national and local context in relation to infrastructure provision and the importance of infrastructure and its timely delivery within the Local Plan process;

• Details of engagement with infrastructure providers and key stakeholders in determining the level of infrastructure required to support new development;

• Background and context to key infrastructure that has been delivered recently, or is in the process of being delivered;

• An analysis of existing infrastructure provision; • Any capacity issues in relation to current provision; • Details of the infrastructure that is required to support the existing and future needs and demands for the borough to support new development and a growing population, as envisaged through the Council's Local Plan;

• An Infrastructure Delivery Schedule setting out the infrastructure required, priority, risk, delivery body, indicative cost (if known) and funding position.

1.2

The IDP has been informed through discussion and consultation with relevant

service providers operating in the borough, alongside reviewing existing evidence and publications (such as management plans and strategies). It is published as a “Live Document’, updated to reflect relevant changes in information and further changes may be required as a result of further updates and information from service providers and progress with the production of the Local Plan.

1.3

1.4
This IDP should also be read in conjunction with the Strategic Sites Masterplanning and Infrastructure Study 2021, which has been prepared in relation to the two Strategic Sites proposed in the Local Plan at Paddock Wood and east Capel, and Tudeley Village.

The IDP is supported by various appendices, as follows:

• Appendix 1 - Infrastructure Schedule; • Appendix 2 – Existing open space by Parish (as identified within the Open
Space Study 2018);

• Appendix 3 - Consultation and record of liaison with key stakeholders;

1.5

The IDP provides critical evidence to support the Local Plan and provides details of

projects required to be delivered to support the growth proposed in the borough. It also provides detail for negotiation with developers to ensure developer contributions are delivered as part of new development.

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2.0 Background and Policy Context

2.1

The Council, in its role as the Local Planning Authority, is required to plan positively

to ensure that development and infrastructure needs are met. This is to ensure that new development is delivered sustainably in a planned way and that housing and employment growth is balanced alongside vital infrastructure.

National Policy

2.2

The National Planning Policy Framework February 2019 (NPPF) highlights the

importance of the provision of infrastructure to achieve sustainable development as the overarching objective of the planning system and plan making. Paragraph 8 sets out the following:

"Achieving sustainable development means that the planning system has three overarching objectives, which are interdependent and need to be pursued in mutually supportive ways (so that opportunities can be taken to secure net gains across each of the different objectives):

• an economic objective - to help build a strong, responsive and competitive economy, by ensuring that sufficient land of the right types is available in the right places and at the right time to support growth, innovation and improved productivity; and by coordinating the provision of infrastructure;

• a social objective - to support strong, vibrant and healthy communities, by ensuring that a sufficient number and range of homes can be provided to meet the needs of present and future generations; and by fostering a well-designed and safe built environment, with accessible services and open spaces that reflect current and future needs and support communities' health, social and cultural well-being; and

• an environmental objective - to contribute to protecting and enhancing our natural, built and historic environment; including making effective use of land, helping to improve biodiversity, using natural resources prudently, minimising waste and pollution, and mitigating and adapting to climate change, including moving to a low carbon economy."

2.3 2.4
Furthermore, paragraphs 15 and 16 refer to the importance of the planning system being genuinely plan led, and that plans should "be shaped by early, proportionate

and effective engagement between plan-makers and communities, local organisations, businesses, infrastructure providers and operators and statutory consultees..."

Paragraph 20 refers to how "strategic policies should set out an overall strategy for the pattern, scale, and quality of development, and make sufficient provision for:

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• housing (including affordable housing), employment, retail, leisure and other commercial development;

• infrastructure for transport, telecommunications, security, waste management, water supply, wastewater, flood risk and coastal change management, and the provision of minerals and energy (including heat);

• community facilities (such as health, education and cultural infrastructure); and

• conservation and enhancement of the natural, built and historic environment, including landscapes and green infrastructure, and planning measures to address climate change mitigation and adaption."

2.5

Paragraph 25 reiterates the importance of effective collaboration with relevant

bodies to identify strategic matters, including with infrastructure providers, and that such joint working should help to determine where additional infrastructure is

necessary to ensure a "positively prepared and justified strategy". In terms of the

delivery of infrastructure, paragraph 34 considers that Local Plans should set out the contributions expected from development, including infrastructure such as that needed for education, health, transport, flood and water management, and green and digital infrastructure. However, it is important to note that such policies should not undermine the deliverability of the Plan.

2.6

Additionally, the national Planning Practice Guidance (PPG) supports this position

and emphasises the need to ensure that the Local Plan is capable of being delivered, including with the provision of infrastructure. It states that early discussion with infrastructure and service providers is particularly important to help understand their investment plans and critical dependencies.

Local Policy

2.7

At the local level, Kent County Council (KCC), which plays a vital role in the

provision of infrastructure in Kent, has produced a Growth and Infrastructure Framework (GIF) (2018 update) to provide a view of emerging development and infrastructure requirements to support growth across Kent and Medway. KCC has worked closely with the borough and district councils, including Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, as well as other strategic partners, in the preparation of this document.

2.8

The GIF highlights opportunities and challenges to creating sustainable

communities in Kent and Medway through the identification of infrastructure needs required to support housing and employment growth. It includes infrastructure provided by KCC and other providers. The GIF draws together information and data from a range of sources, including the individual districts and borough's Local Plans and Infrastructure Delivery Plans.

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2.9

It should be noted that the GIF is a 'snapshot in time' and the data used was the

best available at the time it was produced. In some cases, theoretical costings and assumptions have been used where exact data is not available and the GIF is subject to regular review by KCC and collaboration with the relevant districts and boroughs.

Local Plan policy context and strategy for growth

2.10

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council has prepared a Local Plan, which covers the

period up to 2038 and sets out the amount of future development being planned for, where it is to be located, and its nature, following the Vision and Strategic Objectives.

2.11

The Vision and Objectives are set out within Section 3 of the Local Plan and

specifically in relation to infrastructure, the following Strategic Objectives are of particular note;

• Strategic Objective 1 – To ensure sustainable development that contributes to both meeting housing, economic, and social needs and to conserving and enhancing the highly valued environmental qualities of the borough;

• Strategic Objective 5 – To achieve the timely delivery of all forms of infrastructure that meets the needs of development and supports the vitality of communities.

2.12

2.13 2.14
The overall Development Strategy is set out within Policy STR1 - The Development Strategy of the Local Plan, which identifies the overall scale and broad distribution of development across the borough. This is replicated below for ease of reference as well as the Key Diagram (Figure 5 within the Local Plan).

In preparing the Local Plan, particular regard has been had to national planning policy, as set out within the NPPF (2019), which expects local plans to meet the identified level of development needs for their areas in full, unless there are good planning reasons why this is not possible.

In terms of formulating the development strategy, the overall strategy approach is set out clearly in Section 4 of the Local Plan and includes taking account of a range of considerations, including national policy, the Vision and Objectives, the findings of the various evidence base studies, and those of the Sustainability Appraisal. In terms of infrastructure, it is highlighted that the availability of infrastructure, including proposed infrastructure improvements, to support the growth is also a key concern to be addressed through the Local Plan.

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Figure 1: Local Plan Key Diagram

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Policy STR 1 - The Development Strategy

The broad development strategy for Tunbridge Wells borough over the period 2020- 2038, as shown indicatively on the Key Diagram (Figure 5), is to ensure that a minimum of 12,204 dwellings and 14 hectares of employment (Use Classes B and E) land are developed, together with supporting infrastructure and services.

To achieve this, the Local Plan:

1. Promotes the effective use of urban and previously developed (“brownfield”) land, having

due regard to relevant Plan policies;
2. Looks to focus new development within the Limits to Built Development of settlements, as defined on the Policies Map, where proposals accord with other relevant policies of this Plan;

3. Provides for the growth of settlements, having regard to their role and function, constraints and opportunities, together with the development of two strategic sites, namely:

a) a major, transformational expansion of Paddock Wood (including land at east Capel), following garden settlement principles and providing flood risk solutions; and

b) the creation of a new garden settlement – Tudeley Village between Paddock Wood and
Tonbridge;

4. Includes an allowance for potential delays or non-delivery of sites; 5. Provides for a prestigious new business park to the north of North Farm/Kingstanding Way,
Royal Tunbridge Wells, well connected to the improved A21;

6. Provides a framework for the preparation of a holistic Area Plan for Royal Tunbridge Wells
Town Centre;

7. Provides for some reductions in the area of the Green Belt, notably for the strategic sites and around Royal Tunbridge Wells and Pembury, where exceptional circumstances warrant this and where an effective long-term Green Belt is maintained;

8. Limits development within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to that which can be accommodated whilst still conserving its key characteristics, this being mostly smallscale, only promoting larger proposals where exceptional circumstances are demonstrated;

9. Normally limits development in the countryside (being defined as that outside the Limits to
Built Development) to that which accords with specific policies of this Plan and/or that for which a rural location is fully demonstrated to be necessary.

2.15

Tables 4 and 5 within the Local Plan set out the distribution of housing and

employment allocations for each parish/settlement, which are elaborated upon in the respective chapters in Section 5 of the Local Plan and form the basis of the work that has been used to inform the infrastructure requirements set out within this IDP. Again, Tables 4 and 5 are replicated below for ease of reference.

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6 of 182 Local Plan Table 4: Distribution of housing allocations

Parish/Settlement

Local Plan allocations

Lower Upper

Royal Tunbridge Wells Southborough
1,416 42
1,536 42
Paddock Wood

Strategic urban expansion* Town centre

3,932

3,490 30

4,032

3,590 30

Capel*