Sevenoaks District's House Building Boom

Sevenoaks District Council has set out plans to build 17,000 homes in the coming 15 years to meet the Labour government's new targets.

It's an increase of 60% on the previous housing target.

That means building 1,145 homes a year, compared with the previous target of 712 new homes a year.

That previous housing plans controversially included land allocated for a whole new settlement of 2,500 homes at Pedham Place – which hosts a golf course and land occasionally used for boot sales. It is included again in the latest schedule of sites as an “additional option”.

The new Labour government elected last May won on a pledge to ‘get Britain building’, with plans to reform planning policy and encourage housebuilding.

It set Sevenoaks the new target last December and on October 9, the council’s Conservative cabinet is set to vote in favour of putting the new plans out to consultation with the public.

The new plan includes a large new site proposed for 1,500 homes north of Sevenoaks and West of Otford Road.

Sat right next to the M26 and Dunton Green Railway Station, Sevenoaks councils says the almost 250 acre site is “a well-contained grey belt site on the edge of the district’s principal town, outside the [Kent Downs] national landscape, with good access to local amenities and public transport”.

Grey belt is a new term introduced in the government’s reform of planning policy to mean land which is technically allocated as green belt, but is “poorly performing”.

In total, the new plan allocates land for 17,175 homes to be built in the district from 2027-2042.

Being so close to outer London, Sevenoaks council’s jurisdiction is classified as 93% Metropolitan Green Belt — land where it is usually harder to get planning permission, intended to prevent the outward growth of the capital.

Cllr Nigel Williams (Con), cabinet member for development & infrastructure, said: “While everyone agrees there is a need for new affordable homes for residents’ current and future needs, the government has radically increased the district’s housing target, while virtually removing Green Belt protections in large parts of our district.

“We cannot delay or stop the new Local Plan, as it is a government-led process initiated by the secretary of state.

“Nonetheless, we are determined to do everything we can to secure the required infrastructure improvements to mitigate the huge scale of housing required, and to be clear that developers will need to deliver a much higher level of affordable housing in certain areas.

“We’re very keen to hear our residents’ views on the sites proposed by landowners and I would urge local people to take part in our survey, which will open in October for seven weeks,” he added.The consultation is set to last from October 23 until December 11, and residents can submit their views online, as well as attending in person events.

The Otford Road site is the largest new site proposed in this version of the plan.

Most of the additional 400 homes per year the council needs to build are proposed in much smaller other sites.

Some of the sites proposed include:
– Swan Lane, Edenbridge – 600 homes
– Land south of Redhill Road, New Ash Green – 580 homes
– Media House, Swanley – 180 homes
– Former Oasis Academy, Hextable – 178 homes
– North and south of Maidstone Road, Swanley – 203 homes
– Land north of Moultain Hill, Swanley – 370 homes

Cllr Laura Manston (Green) expressed fears about the effect on her village of New Ash Green. She said: “I am deeply concerned about the impact it will have on my community and our environment.

“The proposed developments would increase the number of houses in our village by around 40% at a time when local infrastructure such as health services and public transport is insufficient for supporting the existing community, let alone another 2,000 residents.”

Local plans are documents which councils must produce to govern housing and infrastructure building in their jurisdictions over the course of decades.

The plan itself doesn’t give permission for anything specific to be built, but serves as a blueprint for development in the future.

It means, as long as they are otherwise hitting housing targets, councillors have power to refuse developments which are proposed on land not allocated for building in the local plan.

Councils which do not have local plans end up having to approve developments which they otherwise would like to refuse.

If all goes according to schedule, the council intends to develop its final version of the plan based on feedback, and send it out for a last consultation in Summer next year.

The authority then hopes to send it to the government for final approval around Christmas time in 2026.