AQA Geography Pre-release Materials 2024: Tudeley Village Proposal (AQA GCSE Geography)

What is a garden settlement?

• In 2022, the UK government pledged £15 million to support the development of 14 new garden settlements
• Garden settlements are planned residential communities where planning focuses on providing large green areas and parks
• A garden settlement or village aims to be sustainable, providing:
  • Green spaces
  • New job opportunities 
  • Community facilities
  • Infrastructure investment
• The funding aimed to support new 300,000 homes in 43 towns and villages
  • Up to 90,000 of the homes will be designated affordable housing
• One area included in the government plan is Tudeley Village, located between Tonbridge and Paddock Wood in Kent

What is a sustainable settlement?

• A sustainable settlement should meet the needs of the community today and those of future generations 
• There should be:
  • Minimal damage to the environment
  • Secure jobs
  • An equal allocation of resources
  • A strong sense of community
  • Involvement of local people in decision-making
• The features of a sustainable settlement may be economic, social or environmental

Sustainable Settlement Features

Economic	Social	Environmental
Access to a range of jobs  Thriving local economy	Community facilities such as schools and healthcare Affordable, quality housing Access to water and energy supplies	Conservation of open spaces and habitats such as ancient woodland Provision of public transport, cycle networks and footpaths to reduce car use Renewable energy provision

• Located in southeast England, Kent has some of the highest house prices in the UK
• Kent County Council has been allocated a government target to build 12,000 homes a year within the county
  • In 2021/22, only 6,870 were built
• The average house price in Tonbridge is £394,996
• To afford an average-priced house in Tonbridge, buyers would need:
  • A 10% deposit of £39,499
  • To make mortgage payments of £2,050 a month for 25 years
• Home buyers are usually able to borrow 4.5 times their annual income 
  • This means that home buyers would need a household income of over £85,000 a year to afford the average house
• The shortage of housing in Kent is the result of:
  • Population growth
  • Increased movement of people to Kent from London
  • Lack of house building
• This shortage has led to a rapid increase in house prices, reducing the availability of housing further
  • House prices in the area have increased 422% since 1997
• Tonbridge is expected to have population growth of over 10% between 2021 and 2031
  • This will further increase the demand for housing

 

• The proposed village is located between Tonbridge and Paddock Wood
• The main features of this site are:
  • The London to Ashford railway line, which runs through the centre of the proposed development
  • To the south of the development area is the B2017, which is the main road through the area
    • This road already experiences congestion, leading to the proposal for the Five Oak Green bypass
  • An area of low-lying, flat land, that is ideal for building on
  • The River Medway floodplain to the north of the proposed settlement 
  • The Hadlow Estate Solar farm to the east
  • The site covers approximately 2.7 km²

Location of the proposed site of Tudeley Village

• The proposed development site is currently agricultural land just to the north of High Weald, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB)
• The features of the High Weald AONB include:
  • Over 10,000 hectares of protected land
  • Over 3,700 species of plants and animals
  • Woodland coverage of 28%, much of it dating back to Medieval times
  • Many sites with high biodiversity include over 13,000 ponds and 50 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI)

• The AONB provides people with leisure and recreational activities
• Houses in the area covered by the AONB are built in the local style
• Sustainable management of the AONB has been made more challenging by the increasing population and number of visitors

Location of proposed Tudeley Village and High Weald AONB

• Tudeley Garden Village would be a self-contained settlement, which means that it includes all the facilities that people need, including:
• • Schools
  • Leisure (sports centre, cricket club, tennis club, etc.)
  • Housing, mix of sizes and styles
  • Allotments and orchards
  • Nursery, primary and secondary schools
  • Healthcare
• The village aims to provide a range of affordable housing 
• Some of the facilities would not be built straight away but added during the different phases of the development over a 30 year period

Plan for Tudeley Garden Village

• The Tudeley Village plan is centred around sustainability

Tudeley Village: A sustainable settlement