An existing home at the garden centre would also be demolished
Plans to bulldoze former Kent family-run long-established garden centre and farm shop to build 53 homes(Image: Pentland Homes )
A plan has been submitted to build 53 homes on a former garden centre in Kent. Pentland Homes has applied to Tunbridge Wells Borough Council to bulldoze all buildings on site, including a farm shop, a bungalow, and polytunnels, along with removing two static caravans.
The long-established horticultural centre High Banks Nursery in Gills Green in Hawkhurst shut in September 2024. It was a family business, with members living in the bungalow and caravans there, which they left when it closed.
A statement for the applicant said the garden centre’s viability had become “increasingly challenging over recent years”. The site, in the High Weald National Landscape (HWNL) and beside the A229 Cranbrook Road, has been empty since closure.
Hawkhurst, which is near the East Sussex border, is four miles from Cranbrook, and around 15 miles from Tunbridge Wells. The site is 3.38 hectares, or 8.35 acres, and there is also the redundant main retail building, storage sheds, service yards, growing areas, green houses and more.
The site was home to High Banks Nursery, Cranbrook Road before ceasing operation in 2024.(Image: Pentland Homes)
Eighteen of the homes would be affordable, representing 34 per cent of the overall total. Homes would range from one to five bedrooms, said JIG planning and development for the applicant, which said vehicle access would be via the existing one.
There would be 126 parking spaces and 177 for cycles. At the time of writing, there were no comments from members of the public or third parties, such as the parish council.
JIG said it proposed some improvements to the A229 Cranbrook Road, which included “relocating and extending the 40mph speed limit northwards beyond Lime Grove/A229Cranbrook Road junction, resulting in a consistent 40mph speed limit in the vicinity of the site access”.
It also proposed a 1.8m footway to connect with the existing path, for safe and easy walking to the nearby bus stop to get into Hawkhurst. It also suggests two “uncontrolled” pedestrian crossings, which means they wouldn’t have signals or lights.
The applicant said: “The proposed development seeks to reuse the site taking its redundant state to a characterful residential use whilst respecting its HWNL context.
“The influence on character will be moderated through the retention and enhancement of existing mature trees, woodland, and boundary hedgerows.”
It also said: “Formerly a plant nursery and horticultural unit, the site is currently redundant and comprises a combination of previously developed land and greenfield land. Existing structures remain on-site, including a bungalow, several outbuildings, polytunnels, and two mobile caravans.
“Whilst the site is located within the HWNL, its immediate character is heavily influenced by its proximity to the Hawkhurst Station Business Park and the frequency traffic of the A229.”
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