A major £42 million flood defence scheme has officially opened across West Kent, offering significantly enhanced protection against climate change and severe winter storms for over 2,400 properties in Tonbridge and Hildenborough.
The project combines an expanded Leigh Flood Storage Area with new Hildenborough embankment defences to safeguard 1,870 homes and 575 local businesses, alongside communities further downstream on the River Medway.
By raising the maximum stored water level at the control structure by 55 centimetres, engineers have boosted the Leigh site’s capacity by 23 per cent. The upgraded basin can now hold 7.4 million cubic metres of floodwater, the equivalent of 2,880 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Originally built in 1982, the Leigh structure had been activated 75 times up to summer 2026 to avert disaster. This landmark expansion secures the resilience and reliability of the region’s primary flood defences for the next 50 years, while generating more than £23 million in wider community benefits.