Three communities can sleep a little easier in their beds knowing that in future their views on how their towns and villages should develop will have to be taken into account.

On Wednesday, Tunbridge Wells council “made” the Neighbourhood Development Plans (NDPs) put forward by Cranbrook and Sissinghurst, as well as Paddock Wood and finally, Pembury.

It means the NPDs now become official supplementary planning policy that must be taken into account when either the borough council or government inspectors rule on future planning applications.

Drawing up a Neighbourhood Plan can be a long process – Cranbrook and Sissinghurst first embarked on theirs in July 2016.

Paddock Wood started even earlier – February 2014, while Pembury has done theirs in a super fast time. They only took three years after starting in July 2020.

There is a set procedure that communities have to go through – which includes consulting widely with the public at every stage and having the final ideas checked over by a government inspector to ensure that they do not conflict with either the borough’s Local Plan or the government’s National Planning Policy Framework.

Finally, they have to be approved by a majority of the electorate voting in a public referendum.

All three communities held their referenda on the same day – September 14.

In Cranbrook and Sissinghurst the turnout was 25%. Of those voting, 92.7% said yes to the plan being adopted – that was 1,140 voters.

In Paddock Wood, the turn-out was 17.1%, of whom 75.5% said yes – 843 voters.

In Pembury, the turnout was 22.3%, with 83.6% of those voting saying yes – 819 voters.

The three plans were all passed at the borough council meeting unanimously, with councillors only speaking to congratulate all those involved in forming the plans for their persistence and hard work, and as Cllr Nancy Warne (Tunbridge Wells Alliance) put it “the countless hours of their time”.

Cllr Ray Moon (Ind) who represents Paddock Wood West sought assurances from Cllr Hugo Pound, the cabinet member for housing and planning, that the neighbourhood plans would be effective immediately.

This was because he said there were two hybrid applications relating to land west of Queen Street in Paddock Wood that had not yet been decided where the plan would be relevant.

Cllr Pound assured him they would apply immediately.

The two plans that Cllr Moon was referring to are from housebuilders Redrow, which is seeking full permission for 170 homes and a wastewater treatment plant, plus outline permission for a further 430 homes.

And from Persimmon Homes, which is seeking full permission for 160 homes and outline permission for a further 400.

Details of the applications can be found on the borough website here by searching for the application numbers 23/00118 and 23/00086 respectively.

Cranbrook Parish Council chairman Kim Fletcher welcomed the passing of his community’s neighbourhood plan.

He said: “I am delighted. It means that the planners at Tunbridge Wells will now have to take into account what we say.”

But he added: “We have been pragmatic in our plan. It’s about preserving a lovely place to live within an area of outstanding natural beauty while ensuring that we still have a vibrant economy.”