Kent Village Masterplan Unveiled: 800 Homes, School, and Shops Proposed

A plan shows a new village near Paddock Wood. It will include about 800 homes. There will also be a primary school. Land exists for a future secondary school, and shops, allotments, and a traveler site are planned too. The site is farmland. It covers about 222 acres in Capel and Paddock Wood.

Paddock Wood is a market town in Kent. Tunbridge Wells is less than eight miles away. Capel is a historic rural village with nice views. Developers are already building a lot in Paddock Wood.

Three big housing sites are under construction now: Mascalls Farm (413 homes), Mascalls Court Farm (375 homes), and Church Farm (360 homes).

Crest Nicholson created a plan for the new village, showing the settlement’s size. They want 40% of the homes to be affordable.

The plan includes outdoor sports facilities, a pavilion, and a play area. A “local centre” will have shops, and they are saving land for a secondary school that could grow from four to six forms. A railway line runs along the site’s bottom end, and a new pedestrian crossing is planned there.

They placed the traveler pitches on the lower portion across the railway tracks. They labeled some land a “potential future residential area”. Crest Nicholson had a consultation that ended in February, and they are reviewing feedback to shape their plans.

A planning application is due this spring. They asked the council if an environmental review was needed, and the council said yes. They listed many aspects to cover, including traffic, landscape, and history. They also want them to review biodiversity and flood risk. Noise and lighting must be assessed too.

Crest Nicholson designed the main street for buses. Bus stops may be located in green spaces near the local centre. The main car access is from the A228, and another will be from the B2160 for buses.

They said local neighborhood plans from Paddock Wood and Capel councils will influence their design.

Capel Parish Council objected to the plan earlier. They do not want the site in the Local Plan. Traffic and air quality worry them, especially on the A228 and nearby roads, citing Five Oak Green, Pembury, and Matfield too.

A portion of the site faces flood risk, and they want any flood prevention to consider downstream areas. The council said 770 houses would greatly increase the parish size. They want contributions for highways, improvements to community facilities, and infrastructure in place before residents arrive.

Crest Nicholson calls the land part of a larger plan, including 2,450 homes with services, possible through using Green Belt land.

This current plan is east of the A228 and west of the B2160. A road from the B2160 is in the plan. Another access comes from the A228. Sports and traveller pitches get access south of the railway.