Plans have been submitted for a major development of countryside land between Crowborough and Tunbridge Wells which could mean almost 200 new houses as well as extensive new sports facilities.
And a separate plan by the same developer for an extra 178 new homes is expected to follow.
Tunbridge Wells Rugby Club (TWRFC) wants to move to a brand new site off Bunny Lane, and, under the plans, 184 new homes could be built on its existing site on Frant Road.
The second application by the same developer is planned on nearby fields between Frant, Eridge and Tunbridge Wells.
The proposal for the new sports facilities for TWRFC cover 35 acres at Chase Farm in Bunny Lane – on land within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). This would provide six new rugby pitches, three cricket pitches, a two storey rugby club house, a one-storey cricket pavilion, and five new padel courts.
The plans for new housing on the existing rugby club site are for a mix of flats, two, three and four bedroomed homes. Of the 184 new houses, 35 per cent would be social or affordable properties.
Although the location is between Tunbridge Wells and Wealden, it falls within the Wealden district so Wealden District Council will be deciding whether to approve the proposals.
In their “master plan” for the plans, the developer, Esquire Developments, also included a third site at Pinewood Farm – between the two sites and to the west of Frant Road. This, which it says would be the subject of a second planning application, would provide a further 178 homes.
The developers submitted the current proposal following a significant public engagement and consultation exercise. This involved public exhibitions with details of the sites, a questionnaire, a consultation website, a questionnaire, and a leaflet drop. They said more than 400 people had engaged with the proposals.
People had raised concerns about the safety of the A267 Frant Road to Bunny Lane which is dangerous with frequent accidents, and they also said the plans would put a huge strain on Frant. Among the other fears expressed by residents were the lack of infrastructure in the area, inadequate parking and the increase in traffic.
But there were also some positive views. Some respondents had acknowledged there was a need for more homes, thought the proposed development was of high-quality homes, that there was a good design mix within the development, there would be increased biodiversity, and the site was in an ideal location.
Esquire Developments said it had also consulted key local stakeholders including local councillors. Key concerns raised had included the large scale of the developments, the impact of extra traffic, and the impact on the AONB.
And the proposals have met with a mixed reaction from environmental groups. Based on the plans submitted, Natural England said it considered that the proposed development would not have significant adverse impacts on statutorily protected nature conservation sites.
But the Sussex Ornithological Society disagrees. It says the land to the south of Tunbridge Wells, close to the sites “is an important area for biodiversity and has nationally significant populations of certain bird species”.
And the undeveloped site which would be the home of the new sports club facilities is of “exceptional importance for one nationally scarce bird of conservation concern”. Although it doesn’t name the bird, the society said the site was “the most important in Britain for our rarest unnamed bird which is monitored nationally by the Rare Breeding Birds Panel”.
It added: “Sussex holds more pairs of these birds than any other county in Britain, and several of them breed in this area or in the adjacent HWNL in Kent. The Sussex birds have been monitored by the SOS for over two decades.” The sites for development are within a 1km of this bird’s nest site.
Addressing some of the concerns raised, Esquire Homes said: “The recent planning reforms introduced by the Government have increased the housing requirement for a number of authorities across the country, including WDC. The Government also now requires all LPA’s to meet their housing requirement.
“As such, there is a requirement for WDC to allocate sufficient land to meet this requirement. Due to the significant proportion of the District that is located within the National Landscape, a proportion of homes will need to be allocated within the High Weald.”
It added the proposed scheme had been fully assessed by its transport consultant and had been submitted to KCC Highways and ESCC Highways and assessed as part of their pre-application process.
Detailed modelling of the highway network had been undertaken to assess the impact of the proposed development on the wider network, and a Road Safety Audit (RSA) had also been undertaken to ensure that the proposed accesses as safe and suitable for the volume of traffic anticipated to be generated by the proposed development.
Writing on the TWRFC website, its chairman, Mike Rigby, said the new sports facilities in Bunny Lane would be “a community asset to be proud of”.
He said: “Our existing neighbours are understandably upset that the farmland many of their houses were built on will potentially be subject to further developed as part of this scheme. But there are many upsides for our community to consider that offer considerable benefit to our town.
“This is why I wanted to share with you again the reasons why this is so important for: our community; our club; our mini and youth members; our senior players; and our supporters/social members. We are an important sports hub around which our community forms and our long term future is vital to the town. Our club has outgrown existing facility and the proposed facility will be a significant improvement.”
He said the new facilities would mean better playing surfaces, with all grass pitches drained to a high specification and a full artificial grass pitch, better parking, clubhouse and changing facilities “enhanced beyond recognition”, better changing rooms, and “an amazing social space for our community.”
Mr Rigby added: “We want to secure long term sustainability for the club based around rugby, cricket, football and padel. Giving us a diverse and broad appeal to our community and town.
We secure our future on freehold land, with broad income streams to keep us safe for the next 100 years.”
https://www.twrfc.com/news/chairman-update-the-future-of-trwfc-2951329.html
For more details of the planning application visit: https://planning.wealden.gov.uk/Planning/Display/WD/2025/2241/MAJ