Showfields Estate, Tunbridge Wells
Town & Country Housing
Town & Country Housing provides more than 9,500 affordable homes in the 15 local authority areas in Kent and Sussex. One of their significant regeneration and redevelopment schemes is Showfields Estate, Tunbridge Wells, on which Podium Surveying is appointed as Employer’s Agent.
Showfields Estate is the site of the former Tunbridge Wells Agricultural Showground, dating back to the 1800s. It was also the site of Britain’s first motor show in 1895, called the ‘Horseless Carriage Exhibition’. The estate is being redeveloped to replace old buildings that do not meet current fire regulations with new high-quality homes and to provide a mix of affordable homes, including social rented and shared ownership and homes for private sale. These works include extensive landscaping, including additional parking, improvements to the small green to the north, retention of the main village green, road calming measures, new estate cycle routes, and footpaths. The scheme includes the demolition of 110 units and the construction of 146 units of various sizes and tenures to suit residents’ needs. The garages on the estate will also be removed as these are no longer fit for purpose and cannot accommodate modern cars.
Town & Country Housing has been working with residents and the wider community to develop ideas for the regeneration of the Showfields Estate. Through this community consultation, five key aims of the residents and stakeholders have been established – with these aims focused on the estate layout, security, landscaping, social value, and overall resident amenities.
The new homes are being built in two phases, between 2024 and 2027. Following the appointment of a design team, RIBA design Stages 1 and 2 commenced in 2021. Following stakeholder and local planning pre-application consultation for both phases, a full planning application was submitted in 2022. There were various planning matters that Town and Country, along with the appointed architect, PRP and planning consultants Frankham’s, have carefully considered. For example, the planning application addresses the village green, tree preservation orders, housing mix and densities, surface water flooding, parking, road traffic management along Showfields Road, electric vehicle charging points, scheme programme and rehousing of existing residents.
Planning approval was approved in early 2023, along with the agreement of a S106. During the design development, Podium provided several iterations of a detailed Cost Plan and Programme, including phased decanting of the residents in the first blocks to be developed, which started once the planning approval was obtained. While the planning application was being determined, the design team was commissioned to complete the Stage 3 design in readiness for tendering. The scheme is to be let as a JCT 2016 Design and Build project. In mid-2023, a Selection Questionnaire was uploaded to the Delta e-sourcing portal to obtain bids to be considered for the ITT stage as part of an open tendering process. These were evaluated, and once the Stage 3 design, including a full set of Employers Requirements produced by Podium, was ready, the preferred bidders were invited to provide a full tender in late 2023/early 2024.
Podium Surveying is providing a comprehensive Employer’s Agent service through all phases of the redevelopment of these residential units. Our Employer’s Agent will continue proactively identifying and managing key project issues, producing and maintaining a scheme Risk Register, and providing a dedicated resource to manage all the quality, cost, and time aspects on behalf of our client Town & Country Housing. We will contribute our strong expertise in Contract Administration to oversee design development, lead on procurement, and manage the project during its construction phase and beyond.
Images courtesy of PRP Architects