Station Details

Hildenborough

Station NameHildenborough
Station CodeHLB
Station OwnerSoutheastern
Developable Area115.50ha
Development Capacity5,775 homes (at 50dph)
Local Planning AuthorityTonbridge and Malling
2021 Housing Delivery Test - Homes Required2,189
2021 Housing Delivery Test - Homes Delivered1,369
2021 Housing Delivery Test - Score63%
2021 Housing Delivery Test - ConsequencePresumption
Green BeltLondon
Green Belt Area115.5ha ( 100% of the potential development area)
Network Rail RegionSouth East
Network Rail Sub-RegionKent
Passengers, 2020 - 202182,818
Passengers, 2019 - 2020573,762
UK Station Passenger Rank (Use)1,040

Development Potential

England's busiest station (apart from those serving airports) had 4,170,558 passenger movements in the period 2019-2020. The station with the least was 68. Hildenborough station had 573,762 passengers enter or exit it during this period. That's roughly 1,576 people per day.

For a station with this number of passengers passing through it each year a density of 50 homes per hectare is reasonable, based on its proximity to major population centres and existing infrastructure.

Hildenborough is located within the South East railway region. The potential area for development around the station (excluding existing buildings, national parks, flood zones, public green space, protected habitats, areas of outstanding natural beauty, world heritage sites and surface water) is approximately 115.5ha.

Assuming an appropriate (but not prevailing) development density of 50 dwellings per hectare, this area has a development capacity of around 5,775 homes.

The station sits within Tonbridge and Malling planning authority, which in 2021 achieved a Housing Delivery Test Score of 63%, having delivered 1,369 homes from a target of 2,189. As a result of this score, the authority is subject to a 'presumption in favour of sustainable development', according to the NPPF.

The total capacity of all Tonbridge and Malling's stations is 17,189 homes. That's 785% of its total 2021 Housing Delivery Test requirement.

Taking green belt into account, the capacity of Tonbridge and Malling's stations is 8,775 homes without building on protected land. That's 401% of its total 2021 Housing Delivery Test requirement.