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

• There are a range of stakeholder views on the proposed development of Tudeley Village including:
  • National Housing Federation (NHF)
  • Kent County Council
  • Home buyers
  • Property developers and businesses
  • Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE)
  • Local campaign groups such 'Save Capel'
• These groups may be for or against the development 

The National Housing Federation (NHF)

• It is likely that the NHF would support the development 
• The NHF encourages all government parties to develop a long-term housing plan
• The NHF would argue that the development will:
  • Provide some affordable housing 
  • Help to solve the housing crisis

"We're concerned measures to protect the greenbelt at any cost will prevent otherwise sustainable developments, close to existing communities, from being built."

Kate Henderson, Chief Executive of the NHF

Kent County Council

• The house building target set by the government for Kent County Council is 12,000 homes a year 
• The Tudeley Village development would help them meet this target
  • Although only 150 houses would be built per year in the first six years
• The Council stated that the new development will be:

"...planned and carefully delivered to positively transform the borough and avoid the ad hoc approach so often seen with new development"

Home buyers 

• Home buyers will be in favour of new housing, particularly if it is affordable housing 

"I have a son who has been looking for a two-bedroom home here, and he just can’t afford to live in Tonbridge. He is now looking at places in the Medway towns."

local Tonbridge resident

Property developers

• Property developers often prefer to build on greenfield sites because they don't have to be concerned about:
  • Working around existing infrastructure
  • The cleaning-up costs of developing brownfield sites

“There are numerous opportunities out there. The fact remains, there's a lot of land and we don't have enough homes for people to live.”

property developer

"Tudeley Village can deliver homes and employment space, and crucially the infrastructure, amenities and services needed to support them."

owner of Hadlow Estate

Business owners

• Some businesses welcome the plans, as the new development would:
  • Increase customers
  • Boost the local economy
• There are also concerns that new shops, cafes and retail will
  • Take customers away from existing businesses
  • Create additional traffic which will upset local residents

"...while new houses will bring more customers, they could also bring problems. More houses means more traffic and it brings more pressure, making it harder and we have to manage that properly and if we don't, the locals will not be happy."

local pub owner

Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE)

• The CPRE oppose the development at Tudeley
• The organisation argues:
  • The development would cause increased traffic and congestion  
  • Developments should be on brownfield sites, not greenfield sites
    • The CPRE estimates that building on brownfield sites across the UK could provide 1.3 million homes

"A brownfield first policy is sound good sense. We need to direct councils and developers to use these sites – often in town and city centres where housing need is most acute – before any greenfield land can be released."

President of the CPRE

Local campaign group, parish council and residents

• The Tudeley Village proposal led to the formation of the 'Save Capel' campaign group
• The group had several objections to the development, including:
  • Increased traffic, leading to more congestion on the B2017
  • The existing infrastructure will not be sufficient and new infrastructure will not be in place for years
  • The housing prices will not be affordable
  • It will lead to the destruction of hedgerows and woodlands, which are valuable habitats
    • Loss of protected species
  • There will be destruction of the footpaths used by the local community
  • Flood risk will be increased by the addition of impermeable surfaces

"Without a station, which is apparently only on the plans for after the first 1900 properties have been built, the pressure on local roads and transport infrastructure would be massive"

Save Capel's Chair

“It is not even a village now, just a hamlet with a few random settlements. This will completely transform Tudeley. The view and the landscape will be lost forever.”

local Tudeley resident

Arguments For and Against the Tudeley Village Plan

For Tudeley Village	Against Tudeley Village
It will provide 2 800 additional houses in the southeast of England. This will help reduce the housing crisis	The development will cover approximately 3 km² of greenfield land. It would require a change to the current Green Belt boundary
The development will contain affordable housing in an area where house prices are above the national average. This will help reduce the number of people in unaffordable or unsuitable housing	'Affordable' housing may still be too expensive for many of the people in the local area
New services and shops will be built as part of the development, increasing access for the local population	The development will be in different phases, meaning that the creation of local jobs will take time. This will result in many residents commuting to London, leading to Tudeley becoming a commuter village that is empty during the day.
An increase in community facilities, including a health centre, schools and sports facilities	The railway station will not be built until there are 1900 homes, which will be over ten years into the development plan. This means people will be dependent on their cars, which will lead to more congestion on the B2017 as well as air pollution
New businesses and services will increase local employment opportunities	Pressure on current local services and facilities whilst new services and facilities are being built
A 'low energy vision'	Hedgerows and other green spaces will be lost, reducing natural habitats and decreasing biodiversity

The issue

• The UK faces a housing crisis
• The population of the southeast of England is increasing 
• To meet the housing demand and ensure affordable housing, some Green Belt land may need to be released and greenfield sites will need to be built on

The future

• In November 2023, the Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (TWBC) withdrew the plans for Tudeley Village 
• This was the result of a report on the local plan by a planning inspector
• The inspector told the council that they had not demonstrated the 'exceptional circumstances' that would enable the release of green belt land

"Further work is therefore necessary before a conclusion can be reached that exceptional circumstances exist to release the relevant site allocations from the Green Belt."

Government planning inspector

• The report identified concerns regarding a range of issues, including:
  • The impact on the nearby roads of increased traffic 
    • The new bypass at Five Oak Green may not gain approval
    • The planned railway station would not be constructed for over 10 years
  • The potential visual impacts of the new infrastructure on the High Weald AONB