South East Water says its current infrastructure can support around 6,300 new homes in the borough — less than a third of the 19,746 the council’s draft Local Plan requires by 2042.

Residents across Tonbridge and Malling could face years of uncertainty over where and when new housing gets built, after South East Water warned that its existing supply plans cannot support the full scale of growth the council is proposing. The borough’s draft Local Plan sets out a requirement for 19,746 new homes by 2042 — roughly 1,097 a year — spread across more than 60 potential development locations. But according to BBC reporting of South East Water’s consultation response, the utility’s current forecasts can accommodate only about 6,318 additional homes. That’s a gap of more than 13,000 properties.

Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council posted about the issue on social media, acknowledging the mismatch directly.

South East Water identified supply-demand pressures in three water-resource zones that cover much of the area: Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone and Cranbrook. The company said its Water Resources Management Plan 2024 — the long-term blueprint for how it manages supply and demand — was based on housing forecasts considerably lower than the council’s proposed numbers. Accommodating growth beyond those forecasts would require its assumptions and decision-making process to be recalculated from scratch.

The council says it has good reasons to press ahead with planning for this level of growth. Meeting the borough’s objectively assessed housing need — the government’s term for the number of homes an area genuinely requires, based on population and household data — demands a framework that links new development to investment in water, roads, schools and healthcare. According to the council, working through a formal Local Plan is the structured way to do that, rather than leaving decisions to ad hoc planning applications.

But critics and concerned residents will point to an obvious problem: the numbers simply don’t add up yet. If South East Water’s current plans can only support around 6,318 homes, there’s a real question about whether the remaining 13,000-plus can be delivered without significant — and currently uncosted — infrastructure upgrades. Some councillors and residents may argue the housing target should be reduced or phased until water capacity is actually in place, rather than approved on paper and sorted out later. Delayed investment, they’d argue, risks homes being built before the taps can reliably supply them.

Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council said it was working with South East Water and other relevant bodies to understand what infrastructure would be needed. Scrutiny discussions at the council recorded that further engagement with the Government and neighbouring authorities was also continuing. The Local Plan has not been finally adopted.

Key information

  • The Regulation 18 public consultation on the draft Local Plan ran from 10 November 2025 to 2 January 2026 and has now closed
  • Residents wishing to follow the next stages of the Local Plan — including any future consultation rounds — should monitor Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council’s Local Plan updates directly through the council’s website