Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council’s Regulation 19 Local Plan consultation closes at 11.59pm on 25 October 2026 — the last formal chance for residents to put their views on record before an independent inspector decides whether the plan is legally sound.
Residents across Tonbridge, Snodland, Borough Green, Kings Hill, Aylesford, East Malling, West Malling and surrounding villages are running out of time to comment on a draft blueprint that would shape housing, roads, schools and green spaces across the borough for years to come. The council posted a reminder this week urging people to take part before the window closes.
This isn’t a standard planning consultation where you can object to a neighbour’s extension. The Regulation 19 stage — the formal pre-submission stage under national planning regulations — asks whether the plan is legally compliant and whether it meets four tests of “soundness”: is it justified, effective, consistent with national policy, and actually deliverable? Comments that stick to those questions carry the most weight when an independent Planning Inspectorate inspector reviews them. Anything submitted after the deadline may not receive the same formal status.
The plan has had a rough ride to get this far. Councillors voted to pause its progression — partly over concerns about whether South East Water and other infrastructure providers could cope with the scale of development proposed. The Tonbridge & Malling Green Group cited figures suggesting South East Water had confirmed capacity for around 6,318 additional homes, against a proposed total of about 20,106 homes in the emerging plan. Those figures come from campaign and stakeholder material rather than independently verified primary sources, and the council’s own planning evidence, mitigation measures and phasing assumptions may tell a different story — but the gap has alarmed local campaigners.
That council pause didn’t stick. The Secretary of State stepped in with a formal direction requiring the Regulation 19 consultation to begin by no later than 11 September 2026 and the plan to be submitted for examination by 31 December 2026. The government’s view is that the borough needs an up-to-date planning framework, and further delay only creates uncertainty for residents, infrastructure providers and developers alike.
Supporters of the plan argue that a formally adopted Local Plan gives greater certainty to everyone — it sets clear rules for where development can and can’t go, rather than leaving individual planning applications to be decided case by case without a proper framework. An independent examination also means the final call rests with a national inspector, not with elected councillors.
But critics, including parish councils and local residents’ groups, have raised concerns that go beyond water supply — traffic pressure, loss of agricultural land, Green Belt impacts, flooding risk and the capacity of GP surgeries and schools all feature in objections. The examination process itself will determine whether those concerns are enough to change, delay or block the plan.
Key information
- Consultation deadline: 11.59pm on 25 October 2026
- How to comment: Use Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council’s online Local Plan consultation portal to submit a formal representation
- What to focus on: Legal compliance and soundness — not objections to individual planning applications
- Submission to inspectors: The council must send the plan to the Planning Inspectorate by 31 December 2026
Tonbridge & Malling residents have one week left to comment on draft Local Plan before it goes to national inspectors Quiz
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