Tonbridge and Malling approves retrospective planning change for Ditton demolition

Residents near Bradbourne Lane in Ditton will see a previously approved housing scheme press ahead after the council signed off a variation to its planning conditions on 18 May 2026. The site at Park Farm Cottage — postcode ME20 6PE, just outside Aylesford — had already been granted permission to knock down an existing dwelling and build two semi-detached houses with landscaping and parking. According to the published planning record, a retrospective decision was sought in relation to the demolition, leading the developer to submit an application to vary the conditions attached to the original permission.

Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council approved application 26/00669/FL, which varied four conditions attached to the original permission TM/24/00271/FL. A Section 73 application — the standard mechanism councils use to alter conditions on an existing permission without issuing a completely new one — was submitted and validated on 13 April 2026.

The four conditions touched on sequencing of demolition and the redevelopment contract, an archaeological investigation and recording requirement, tree protection measures, and ecological mitigation and enhancement. All four had environmental or heritage implications, reflecting the controls the council had originally placed on the cottage site.

The decision, issued on 18 May 2026, approved the application approximately five weeks after it was received and validated.

What happens next: the developer will be subject to the varied conditions as construction of the two new homes on the Bradbourne Lane site proceeds, according to the planning decision issued by Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council.