Land at Finches Farm, Five Oak Green

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council cannot currently demonstrate a five-year housing land supply (4.34 years) and, whilst the council is progressing a new Local Plan, it will be subject to immediate review upon adoption, to ensure that there is a sufficient supply of housing towards the end of the Plan period.

Upon review, the housing requirement will be calculated using the new Standard Method, which currently identifies a need for 1,098 dwellings per annum.  Given the current housing land supply shortfall, insufficient sites to meet the housing need towards the end of the Plan period and subsequent need for immediate review, there is, and will continue to be, a considerable need for housing in the borough.

In this context, B.Yond Homes has submitted a planning application for up to 130 homes on the land at Finches Farm.  Though the site is Green Belt and is not currently proposed for allocation by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, we nonetheless feel that very special circumstances exist to justify development in this location, and these include:

• New homes, including affordable housing

• Additional facilities for Capel Primary School, including a car park for staff and land for pupil exercise and recreation

• Flood alleviation measures, benefiting existing properties in Five Oak Green

• Measures to improve pedestrian safety and reduce vehicle speeds along Five Oak Green Road, including a safe, dedicated off-road walking and cycling route between the school and the village

• Biodiversity Net Gain in excess of that required to simply mitigate the development of the site

In addition, we consider that this site meets the definition of Grey Belt.  The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) defines Grey Belt as: “land in the Green Belt comprising previously developed land and / or any other land that, in either case, does not strongly contribute to any of purposes (a), (b) or (d) [of the Green Belt].” Purposes (a), (b) and (d) seek to check the unrestricted sprawl of large, built-up areas, prevent neighbouring towns from merging into one another, and preserve the setting and special character of historic towns.  Tunbridge Wells Borough Council’s 2017 Green Belt Study rates the site as making ‘weak or no contribution’ to these purposes, and as such, the site is Grey Belt land as defined by the NPPF and its development is not inappropriate.

Furthermore, the NPPF requires housing development on Grey Belt sites to meet the ‘Golden Rules’ requirements. These are defined as:

• A 50% on-site affordable housing contribution
• Necessary improvements to local or national infrastructure
• The provision of new or improved, publicly accessible open space

The requirements of the Golden Rules overlap with the list of very special circumstances set out above, and it is therefore considered that the proposed development complies with the Golden Rules.