Sevenoaks

Sevenoaks District is unique in Kent as being entirely within the Metropolitan Green Belt.

Two-thirds of the landscape in Sevenoaks is designated as National Landscape, to the north within the Kent Downs and to the south within the High Weald. Together these factors provide very strong protection for the countryside, but they also make development land particularly scarce and valuable. This keeps the open countryside under constant threat from inappropriate development.

Committee

Chairman: Nigel Britten

Sevenoaks CPRE Kent Committee meets on alternative months to discuss all relevant issues and planning in particular, but the weekly planning lists are inspected and responses made via the chairman on applications which cause concern.  There are currently 11 members on the committee, including a representative from the CPRE Historic Buildings Committee, each of them monitors event and planning applications in a group of parishes.

Hot issues

• There is great demand for housing, affordable housing in particular. But prices are high and brownfield land is limited, so there is always pressure to build in the Green Belt. The rural area and the National Landscapes in particular are very sensitive to change – details matter. Ensuring that the quality is not lost is a constant challenge.