Tonbridge and Malling Borough covers an area from the North Downs at Burham and Snodland in the north to the town of Tonbridge in the south. The River Medwaymeanders north-east through the borough towards the Medway Gap, having in the west of the area received the River Eden. The Eden Valley Walk is also mostly in this borough.
The immediate district of Tonbridge is omitted from the Domesday Book; however most other settlements in the Borough are included. Castles were built at Tonbridge, Allington and West Malling in the 13th century. Religious houses: Malling, Aylesford and Tonbridge were built: one such was St Mary's Abbey dating from 1092. Aylesford Priory on the banks of the Medway, was built in the 13th century.
Tonbridge district can be divided in two distinct areas, which were divided at the beginning of the nineteenth century by the woods and heaths of the ragstone (1) ridge from Great Comp to East Malling. Northwards lies the well peopled Vale of Holmesdale with the market town of West Malling as the principal centre of population, an area crossed lengthways by the railway and motorway (M20); southwards of the ridge is the heavy clay of the Weald and valley of the Medway[2]
Kentish ragstone geologically speaking is the Upper Greensand Ridge, used in church building in Kent.
Modern times
Hadlow Tower is in Tonbridge and Malling BoroughFairlawne House is in this borough
The land included is mainly agricultural – orchards, and livestock in the main – although major business parks and buildings within 30 miles (50 km) coupled with the railways and the motorway means a majority of working residents commute to work in the more built-up villages and Tonbridge. The new settlement of Kings Hill can be regarded as tied in with the economy of Maidstone equally with that of parts of Kent further to the western extremity.
A remnant of the once flourishing hop-growing industry is provided by a tourist attraction at Beltring: once the Whitbread Hop Farm, it puts on weekend exhibitions and shows. Tonbridge and Malling has 27 listed buildings in the highest category of the national system, Grade I. This includes eight churches, five reduced structures left over from St Mary's Abbey or Malling Abbey, West Malling and four manor houses, mostly built by lower social ranks than the titled nobility.
Ightham Mote is in Tonbridge and Malling
A diverse materials and appearance construction is Ightham Mote which is recognised in the highest category of the UK's architecture listing system, Grade I, though no longer in private hands.
East Malling Research Station disseminates results of research into matters affecting horticultural crops, with particular emphasis on the fruit, hop and nursery stock industries.
Many of the villages are beside long-distance walks with tourist accommodation, enabling tours of the orchards and bluebell woods.
Administrative history
The district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It covered the whole area of two former districts and part of a third, all of which were abolished at the same time:[3]
The new district was named Tonbridge and Malling, combining the names of the former districts.[4]
The district received borough status on 16 December 1983, changing the name of the council from Tonbridge and Malling District Council to Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council and allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[5]
Since the 2023 election the council has been under no overall control, being led by a coalition of the Conservatives and the Independent Alliance.[10]
The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[11][12]
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Tonbridge and Malling. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1985 have been:[13]
Extension to the Gibson Building including the main reception, completed 2000.
Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council's main offices are at the Gibson Building in Kings Hill, which had been built in 1939 as the officers' mess building of RAF West Malling.[17] The building is named after Wing CommanderGuy Gibson, known for leading the Dambusters Raid, who had been based at RAF West Malling in 1941–1942.[18] The council moved to the Gibson Building in November 1974, just a few months after the council's creation.[19] A large extension to the Gibson Building was added in 2000.[20] The council also has an office at Tonbridge Castle, which had been the offices of the former Tonbridge Urban District Council.[21]
Since the last boundary changes in 2023, the council has comprised 44 councillors elected from 19 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[22]
Much of the district is covered by civil parishes, with the exception being the former Tonbridge Urban District, covering the town of Tonbridge, which is an unparished area. The parish council for Snodland takes the style "town council".[23]
The High Speed 1 line with Eurostar services crosses the north of the borough, but there are no stations here, although southeastern high speed commuter services to / from London St Pancras call at Snodland during the morning and evening peak periods.
The borough has road routes passing through it. There are three motorways: the M2, M20 and the M26; three west-east roads (A20; A21 and the A26 road). Three other roads of similar stature are the A227, A228 and A229.
Tonbridge and Malling has youth projects and organisations including Cupid FM, the first ever youth radio station or project of its kind within the area. The project received funding and support from Kent County Council and Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council, and during 2006 set up a studio and online broadcast which came to a close in November of that year. The station was run by local teens and music was populated by the latest chart hits.
Mayors and chairmen
The councillor presiding at council meetings was initially called the chairman until December 1983 when the council was awarded borough status and the role was renamed mayor. The existing chairman at that point, Barry Hughes, became the first mayor.[5]
^Plaque by main entrance doors to civic suite: "The Gibson Building / Named after Wing Commander Guy Gibson VC DSO DFC RAF / Who said of RAF West Malling when serving here with 29 Squadron during 1941/42 "Of all the airfields in Great Britain, here, many say (including myself) we have the most pleasant"
^Plaque in the main reception, within the extension, reads: "This building was opened by The Worshipful The Mayor of the Borough of Tonbridge and Malling Councillor Michael J. Dobson on 11 August 2000."
^"Contact us". Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
