Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council called on residents to submit their views on a draft Local Plan covering more than 20,000 new homes, even as South East Water warned that existing infrastructure could support only a fraction of that growth.

Residents across Tonbridge & Malling had until late October to comment on a draft Local Plan that would shape where and how the borough grows over the coming decades. The council posted a last-minute reminder on social media, acknowledging that water supply was a live concern — and urging people to use the formal process to say so.

The draft plan proposes 20,106 new homes across the borough. The problem is that South East Water says its current infrastructure can support only about 6,318 additional properties — a gap of roughly 13,788 homes. The difference matters because the company’s existing Water Resources Management Plan was drawn up using 2023 housing projections of around 317 homes a year. The draft Local Plan now requires 1,097 homes a year — more than three times that figure.

South East Water, which has a legal duty under the Water Industry Act 1991 to connect new homes to the water network as they are built, submitted a six-page response to an earlier Regulation 18 consultation — the first formal public stage of drawing up a Local Plan — which ran from 10 November 2025 to 2 January 2026. The company was blunt: current and planned supply cannot support the scale of development proposed without further infrastructure and other interventions.

The council voted on 3 September 2026 not to approve the Local Plan for consultation — with 33 councillors in favour of that position, nine against, and one abstention — while it sought more evidence from South East Water and other infrastructure providers. The Government then directed it to press ahead with the consultation anyway.

What South East Water says it can do

The company has identified a handful of options. Two new boreholes — at Saints Hill treatment works near Edenbridge, capable of producing up to 1.5 megalitres a day, and at Lilley Farm, producing up to 1 megalitre a day during summer — could both be ready by summer 2028. A larger option, a pipeline connecting Bough Beech Reservoir to Riverhill, could deliver up to 10 megalitres a day but carries a lead time of six years. Major infrastructure improvements are not expected before 2032.

South East Water said it was working with the council and the Government’s Water Delivery Taskforce to identify solutions and make the most of available supply. But critics pointed out that none of these measures would arrive quickly enough to match the pace of housebuilding the plan envisages.

The argument for pressing on

The council’s position was that residents deserve a formal say, even while the water question remains unresolved. A Local Plan, supporters argue, gives the borough a structured way to direct where housing goes and coordinate infrastructure — without one, development can still happen, just without the same oversight or planning.

Councillor Matt Boughton, the council’s leader, raised concerns directly with the Government about whether the proposed level of development could be supported by available water infrastructure. His argument was not that development should be blocked, but that the evidence base needed to be stronger before the plan advanced.

The case against

Opposition councillors and local campaigners argued the plan should not have moved forward at all until the council had firmer answers on water capacity and delivery timescales. Water supply has already become what planners call a material planning consideration — meaning it can now be used as grounds to scrutinise or refuse individual planning applications in affected areas. And water is only part of the picture: concerns about pressure on roads, schools, healthcare and drainage in communities near proposed development sites have run alongside the water debate throughout.

The conflict over dates adds another layer of uncertainty. The council’s tweet gives a deadline of 11:59pm on Monday 26 October; later published reports state the consultation closed at 11:59pm on Sunday 25 October. Residents should check the correct date directly with Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council.

Key information

  • The draft Local Plan consultation closed at 11:59pm on Sunday 25 October 2026. Note: the council’s social media post cited 26 October; published council sources consistently give 25 October as the correct date.
  • Representations must be submitted through the council’s formal consultation process; contact Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council for details of how to submit
  • This is a Regulation 19 consultation — the second formal public stage — meaning the plan is closer to being finalised, and responses will be considered before it is submitted for independent examination
  • Planning applications in areas where water capacity is constrained may face additional scrutiny; residents near proposed development sites can raise infrastructure concerns through that process as well