On February 23, 2026, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council in Kent hired environmental experts to carry out new studies on flood risks and future building sites. These reports will help the council decide where new homes and businesses can safely be built across the borough and in the town centre over the next 15 years.
The council is paying JBA Consulting approximately £72,360 to complete the two projects. One study will look specifically at how to protect the town centre from flooding, while the second will check if new building plans are sustainable for the local area.
This work is a key part of the Royal Tunbridge Wells Town Centre Plan, which describes how the area should grow by the year 2040. The council needs this expert evidence to prove to government inspectors that any future construction projects are safe and meet national environment rules.
The decision to hire consultants follows a difficult period for the town’s infrastructure, including a 14-day water outage in late 2025 that affected 24,000 households. In January 2026, the council provided evidence about the incident caused by South East Water to the EFRA Select Committee during a government hearing.
Currently, about 1,900 homes in the borough are already identified as being at risk of flooding. Local building targets were recently reduced by 1,000 homes because of concerns that certain areas were not suitable for new housing due to these flood risks.
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