The Borough of Tonbridge and Malling

Information about the borough

Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council is located in West Kent. The borough of Tonbridge and Malling does not have a single urban focus but comprises a number of diverse, contrasting settlements and neighbourhoods.

The borough stretches north, beyond the M2 motorway, encompassing Blue Bell Hill Village and parts of Walderslade. To the South of the M2 is an area of the borough known locally as the 'Medway Gap'. This comprises a number of formal industrial villages on the east and west banks of the River Medway which are based on a history of cement and papermaking. The urban area immediately to the south, comprising the parishes of Leybourne, East Malling, Larkfield, Ditton and Aylesford, looks predominately to Maidstone for anything over and above day to day services. The market town of Tonbridge, with a population of 35,000 people, is located to the south. The remainder of the borough is rural in character, with villages and small towns of varying size and character. The main rural settlements are West Malling, Borough Green, Wrotham, Hadlow, Hildenborough and East Peckham. 

On the Index of Deprivation, the borough ranks as the least deprived overall in Kent and ranks 300th out of 354 districts nationally. However, there is considerable variation between borough wards. Two of the wards, East Malling and Snodland East, stand out as particular areas of disadvantage. East Malling statistically ranks as the third most deprived ward in West Kent and Snodland East, the fourth.

Population

• The 2001 Census recorded the borough's population as 107,561 - the 7^th highest in Kent. The borough has a growing population with a rise of 5.7 per cent since 1991.
• The population density (number of people per hectare) is 4.5. This reflects the predominantly rural nature of the borough.
• The average household size in the borough is 2.49 persons.

Age Structure

• Nearly 22 per cent of the borough's population is aged 15 or under, an increase of 2 per cent from 1991.
• 72 per cent of the borough's population is aged between 16-74, which represents a decrease of nearly 2 per cent since 1991.
• Those aged over 75 years of age represent 6.6 per cent of the borough's population. This is decrease of 1 per cent since 1991 and is 1per cent below the national average for England and Wales
• Of the total population of the borough, 24.4 per cent are one-person households, an increase of 3 per cent since 1991.

Ethnicity

• At the time of the 2001 Census 98.3 per cent of the population classed themselves as white British, the highest in Kent.
• The single argest Black or Minority Ethnic (BME) group in the borough is Asian or Asian British who represent 0.5 per cent of the population.

Crime levels in the borough

• Overall crime levels in the borough are low - we are the third lowest borough in Kent.

More details of levels of crime are available on the crime statistics page.

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Last updated: 22/06/10 at 09:50:23 Office use only: 2/2011-06-15