Residents of Tonbridge and Malling have until 11.59pm on Sunday 25 October to comment on the borough’s draft Local Plan, in a consultation the council voted not to hold and was then directed to run by the Government.

The Regulation 19 consultation opened on 11 September and is the last formal chance to comment on the plan before it is submitted to the Secretary of State for independent examination. The plan covers the period up to 2042 and sets out how the borough would meet a housing requirement of 19,746 homes, a figure derived from the Government’s standard method.

Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council posted about the consultation on its official account.

A consultation the council voted against

At Full Council on 3 September 2026, councillors decided the draft plan should not go to a Regulation 19 consultation in its current form. The council said members did not have confidence that South East Water’s infrastructure could support the additional housing the plan must provide, and also had concerns about foul drainage and the “vision led” transport approach required by national planning policy.

On 4 September the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government wrote to the council directing it to proceed with the consultation, plan submission and examination. The council says it would now be unlawful not to hold the consultation.

Council leader Councillor Matt Boughton said: “Councillors were firm that we should not pursue the Local Plan until there was clear evidence that a water supply can be provided to every property the Government wishes to see built across the borough. As a result of the Government’s actions, we are lawfully bound to now proceed with this consultation.”

On the day the consultation opened, Cllr Boughton wrote to housing minister Matthew Pennycook asking for the intervention to be withdrawn. In the letter he argued that it would be “costly and counterproductive to progress a plan for which the majority of houses within it cannot actually be delivered and which therefore will not meet the soundness test”.

What this consultation asks

Regulation 19 is not a general consultation on planning matters. Comments at this stage should address whether the plan has been prepared lawfully and whether it is “sound”: positively prepared, justified by the evidence, effective (capable of being delivered) and consistent with national planning policy. A simple objection to a site, without reference to those tests, is unlikely to carry weight with the inspector.

The plan sets out the vision and spatial strategy for growth, site allocations to meet the borough’s future development needs, and policies on the environment, housing, the economy, design and infrastructure. It follows a Regulation 18 consultation that ran from November 2025 to January 2026.

How to respond

Representations can be made online through the council’s consultation portal. A printable Word representation form is available for people unable to use the online system.

The council has said the hard-copy form wrongly stated that responses could be submitted until 26 October. The official deadline remains 11.59pm on 25 October, but the council will still consider representations received on 26 October where it appears the incorrect date on the form was relied on.

What happens next

After the consultation closes, the council is required to review the representations received and submit the Local Plan and its supporting evidence to the Secretary of State. A planning inspector will then examine whether the plan is legally compliant and sound.

Key information

  • Deadline: 11.59pm, Sunday 25 October 2026
  • Respond online: reg19tmbcconsult.commonplace.is, or by the Word form on the council’s Local Plan page
  • What to comment on: legal compliance and soundness of the plan
  • Housing requirement in the plan: 19,746 homes up to 2042

Sources