Up to 90 Homes Recommended for Approval on Tunbridge Wells' Former Gas Holder Site

More than a decade after Tunbridge Wells' gas holders were demolished, planning officers are recommending approval for a scheme to build up to 90 homes on the site. The outline application for the land on Sandhurst Road, in the High Brooms/Sherwood area, goes before the borough's Planning Committee on Wednesday 21 October.

The scheme would deliver a mix of 23 one-bed flats, 32 two-bed flats and 35 three-bed houses, built in two phases because part of the site remains occupied by Southern Gas Networks (SGN), the former gas holders' operator. Phase one - the larger eastern part of the site - would bring 25 terraced houses and 37 flats; phase two, once SGN has vacated its remaining land, would add a further 18 flats and 10 terraced houses. Access would be via a new junction on Sandhurst Road near Oak Road, alongside wider highway works including a widened footway/cycleway and a new Toucan crossing between the Clifton Road and Oak Road junctions.

The council's own Local Plan allocates this site (under policy AL/RTW7) for 170-200 homes, with 30% affordable - roughly double what's actually being proposed. The gap comes down to the site itself: it's a steep-sided valley with a culverted watercourse running through it, with level changes of up to 9 metres in places, flood risk across part of the eastern half, an archaeological potential area, and contaminated ground from the site's industrial past - the old gas pipework and infrastructure is still there beneath the surface, even though the holders themselves came down in 2013-14.

Officers' report recommends approval subject to a Section 106 agreement, which would secure contributions including £225,000 towards affordable housing, £229,158.69 towards expanding local secondary schools (Bennett Memorial Diocesan School and Skinners Academy among them), £24,072.77 towards SEND places and facilities, plus smaller sums for adult education, children's services, libraries and adult social care. The site sits close to Grosvenor & Hilbert Park and the ancient woodland of Hilbert Woods, and about 300m from the Grade II-listed Liptraps House.

Source: Tunbridge Wells Borough Council Planning Committee agenda, 21 October 2026