People living in a rapidly growing town are fuming that plans for a new sports hub have been axed.

Better sporting facilities had been proposed as part of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council’s (TWBC) vision for Paddock Wood to meet growing demand as more families move into the area.

A 30-acre site in Eastleigh, close to the railway station, had been earmarked for a 3G pitch for various sports, plus more than a dozen grass football pitches, two rugby pitches and a café.

But that proposal has been shelved, leaving many people frustrated not only over that decision but also with what they perceive to be a lack of consultation over a revised plan for other developments too.

TWBC is putting together its Local Plan, which sets up the vision for development in the area for the next 15 years.

That had been examined by government inspector Matthew Birkinshaw, who came back with his initial findings and the council is now responding to those.

TWBC says all representations will be submitted to the inspector ahead of the next stage of hearings in the summer.

John Hall, 60, is chairman of Paddock Wood Football Club and has called for “new facilities now”.

Other residents are calling for “infrastructure first, expansion second,” as they say the town’s amenities are already at breaking point.

Mr Hall, a sales and marketing manager who was born in Paddock Wood, said: “The sports facilities have been the same since I was a young child.”

The football club has 275 members and Mr Hall says he is having to turn new people away as the current facilities just aren’t big enough, or good enough, to cope.

He said: “Football is a winter sport, and we can’t play because all the pitches are flooded.

“We haven’t played a home game now for three weeks in a row due to being waterlogged and I would say we’re due for another week of waterlogged pitches.”

Greg Clark, MP for Tunbridge Wells, echoed these concerns in a letter to TWBC over the revised strategy.

Mr Clark said: “The principle of ‘i before e’ – infrastructure before expansion – has been departed from in this plan.

“Examples of this include the removal of the proposed sports hub at Paddock Wood – despite substantial new housing at Paddock Wood and elsewhere in the borough.”

Mr Hall said: “We have outgrown our grounds now and that was part of the reason for the sports hub.”

Mr Hall, who made presentations to a borough council meeting on behalf of the people of Paddock Wood, also says TWBC has “taken no notice of the Neighbourhood Plan whatsoever”.

The Local Plan is put together by the council to shape the whole borough, while the Neighbourhood Plan is a document which drills down into more detail for each area.

All sports facilities in Paddock Wood at the moment are to the south and east of the town and the new sports hub would have been built north of the railway line to balance provision across the area.

The Elm Tree ground, which is home to Paddock Wood FC, has no room to expand, and has limited access other than by car – and the parking is already stretched to the limit.

Mr Hall added: “The changing rooms at the Elm Tree were built back in 1982, the only modern modifications are what the club has done.”

The Paddock Wood Neighbourhood Plan identified a preferred site – opposite Baxalls along Eastlands Lane and off Maidstone Road – for the outdoor sports hub.

Mr Hall said: “We all loved the neighbourhood plan because this is what Paddock Wood needs.

“It was put together by people that live in the community and have the best interests of the community at heart.”

Mr Hall says TWBC decided to axe the sports hub without consulting representatives of local sports clubs and has urged TWBC to “come and speak to the people from the community”.

The loss of the hub is just one of the concerns about the revised development strategy.

Other residents have also raised concerns about the lack of other infrastructure.

Although TWBC has reduced the allocated number of houses by 1,000 from 3,600, some feel not enough is being done to improve flood prevention, education and healthcare provision.

Ros Tucker, 48, of Mascalls Park, started the Stop Overdevelopment of Paddock Wood Campaign (STOP) and wants to see improvements to a wide range of things including roads, rail, buses, GPs, dentists, shops and crime and anti-social behaviour prevention.

Mrs Tucker believes infrastructure needs to be put before expansion. She said: “There’s been no infrastructure change whatsoever, so the sewage can’t cope, the drains can’t cope; there are constantly floods everywhere.”

The new plans would see Paddock Wood take 50% of the entire borough’s housing.

She said: “There are not enough shops, there are not enough buses, there is not enough public transport to work with as it is and we haven’t even finished the developments we’re currently building and they still want to give us a further 2,600.”

Andrea Ray, 51, of Bramley Gardens, is worried about a potential increase in crime and anti-social behaviour. She said: “I want to see support from the police around crime reduction.

“We are woefully under-provided for in terms of GP availability, we don’t have any proper fitness facilities here at all, and the actual sports centre is not even open at times that people could use it.”

Adrian Pitts, 65, who has lived in Paddock Wood for 24 years and is to stand as a Lib Dem in the next borough elections, is concerned that flooding has not been sufficiently addressed.

New Environment Agency flood data shows that an area in Paddock Wood scheduled for major housing development has been reclassified, with far more areas falling into Flood Zone 3 – the highest-risk area.

Mr Pitts, who lives in Allington Road where the flood zone has been expanded, said: “Flooding assessment in the consultation does not include any new mitigations.

“We are trying to raise the issue of flooding before properties are built so there can be more mitigations in place.

“I think you have to have development – I’m not an anti-development person – but I think the infrastructure needs to be much more beneficial and seen to be beneficial to locals.”

Tunbridge Wells MP Greg Clark voiced similar concerns in his letter on the revised strategy.

Mr Clark said: “More explicit requirements should have been made for school places, doctors’ surgery capacity and flood relief before development began.

“I am very concerned that local neighbourhoods have not been adequately involved in the preparation of this revised plan.”

Another resident, Elizabeth Blair, 28, who lives in a newly built house in the area, says her main concern is the pushback on childcare provision for schools, nurseries, and medical facilities.

Mrs Blair, of Spindle Berry Avenue, said: “It would be good to see enough infrastructure for the growing populations. This needs to include better pedestrian access, schools, medical facilities, investment to the High Street and recreational grounds like Putlands.

“There definitely hasn’t been enough consultation and it would have been good to be sent a survey for each resident to complete to see what we are truly requiring,” she added.

There are now 2,600 additional houses planned for Paddock Wood in the near future, however the two closest GP surgeries are closed to new patients.

Another woman, from Paddock Wood, told KentOnline she was concerned about the long waiting times trying to speak to a doctor.

She said: “Thirty minutes waiting and I am still number 19 in the queue – the GP surgery isn’t coping as it is let alone building more properties to rely on local amenities.”

Cllr Raymond Moon, who represents Paddock Wood (West) on TWBC, said: “The burden on existing utilities and services in the town, including flooding, foul water and sewage provision, and services such as schools and GP provision, are not able to cope within the present infrastructure in and around the town, and with the increase in predicted population even less likely to cope.”

A spokesperson for Tunbridge Wells council said: “The council is aware of the concerns raised by residents at Paddock Wood and will be considering all representations submitted to the Local Plan consultation relating to a revised development strategy for the borough, following consideration of the examination inspector’s initial findings in November 2022, which is the subject of public consultation.

“All representations will be submitted to the inspector, and these will inform discussions at the future hearing sessions to be held this summer.

“The council has sought to work pro-actively throughout the plan-making process, having consulted with statutory consultees, infrastructure providers and with Paddock Wood Town Council, and will continue to do so to deliver a sustainable development for local residents.”

Find out about planning applications that affect you by logging onto the Public Notice Portal.

The consultation period for the next stage in the Local Plan has been extended until midnight on Friday, April 12 so that all relevant parties have the opportunity to respond to the council’s response to the inspector’s initial findings letter.

Following the last public consultation, the inspector took away the proposed Tudeley village development, which was welcomed by those from the STOP campaign.