104 homes in blocks of up to seven storeys will replace the empty Hendy Ford garage on Mount Ephraim, with 40 parking spaces and Culverden Street one-way.
The empty Ford garage on Mount Ephraim is to be knocked down and replaced with 104 homes. Tunbridge Wells Borough Council’s Planning Committee approved the scheme unanimously on 16 September.
The draft minutes of the meeting are now published. The application is 25/02604/FULL, for the former Hendy Ford site at 3 Mount Ephraim, TN4 8AG.
As with most large schemes, permission depends on a Section 106 legal agreement being signed first. Only then is the decision notice issued.
The site
The dealership sits near the junction of Mount Ephraim and London Road, on both sides of Culverden Street. Its buildings have stood empty since Hendy Ford moved to a new showroom on the North Farm Industrial Estate, the officers’ report says.
Its neighbours include the United Emmanuel Church to the north, The George pub and its microbrewery on Culverden Street, and terraced houses on Rock Villa Road. The Wells Primary School is to the south-west, at King Charles Square. The site is already allocated for housing in the borough’s Local Plan, under policy AL/RTW 3.
What will be built
The report sets out:
- 94 flats and maisonettes: 38 one-bed, 37 two-bed and 19 three-bed
- 10 four-bedroom mews houses, making 104 homes in all
- 32 affordable homes, 31% of the total
- six blocks, lettered A to F, on a site of 0.53 hectares
- 40 car parking spaces: 30 in an undercroft car park under Block A, two of them for a car club, and one for each mews house
- 104 cycle spaces in the report’s summary table, with four for each mews house
- a communal garden, new street trees and a water rill running down to Culverden Street
The blocks step down the steep slope from Mount Ephraim. The report’s table gives their storeys:
The tallest, Block B, reaches 19.15 metres on the Mount Ephraim side and 22.15 metres on the Culverden Street side. The buildings now fronting Mount Ephraim are between 6.5 and 10.6 metres high.
Culverden Street goes one-way
Most of Culverden Street will become one-way northbound, exiting on to Grosvenor Road. Two-way traffic stays on the short stretch from the A26 to the new town houses. There will be new footways and two pedestrian crossings either side of Block D.
The objections
The report records 18 representations. Concerns included:
- noise complaints from new residents affecting The George
- parking, highway safety and traffic near the school
- the height and number of homes
- the effect on the conservation area and the church
- noise and disruption during demolition
The director of Fonthill Ltd, which runs The George, spoke against the scheme at the meeting. The minutes record that the council’s environmental health team raised no objection to homes so close to the pub and brewery.
The council’s own parking team raised concerns. The report says the Local Plan parking standard would require 135 spaces here, against the 40 proposed. Kent County Council, the highway authority, did not object. Officers said basement parking would add “significant extra cost”, which could cut into the affordable housing or the design.
Councillors approved the scheme with a note asking the developer to say clearly which homes have no parking, so buyers know before they commit.
What the developer will pay
The Section 106 agreement includes, among other items:
| Contribution | Amount |
|---|---|
| Secondary school places | £142,558.14 |
| Youth and adult recreation | £125,360 |
| NHS GP and healthcare within 3 miles | £108,324 |
| Local walking and cycling projects | £52,500 |
| Children’s play and recreation | £50,406.72 |
| Tunbridge Wells Commons Conservators | £21,840 |
| Waste | £20,189.52 |
| Adult social care | £18,811.52 |
| Special educational needs | £14,975.62 |
| A264 Pembury Road corridor | £10,348.33 |
The agreement must also secure at least 30% affordable housing and two car club spaces. If no housing association wants the affordable homes after a set marketing period, a fallback lets the mix or tenure change. A cash payment instead of on-site homes is the last resort.
What it means for you
- If you use Culverden Street: the one-way change is part of the approved plans, with the highway detail still to be agreed with KCC.
- If you live nearby: a construction plan is among the conditions and must be approved before demolition. Councillors said they hoped the developer would take residents’ concerns about noise and construction into account.
- If you are thinking of buying: 30 undercroft spaces for 94 flats means most flats will have no parking space. Each mews house has one. Our parking guide covers the town centre car parks.
- Track it: look up 25/02604/FULL on the council’s planning register. For other big schemes, see our planning news page, and our report on 125 homes at Spratsbrook Farm, approved at the same meeting.
Sources: Tunbridge Wells Borough Council Planning Committee, draft minutes of 16 September 2026; officers’ report on 25/02604/FULL, Former Hendy Ford, 3 Mount Ephraim, on the meeting page.
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