Sevenoaks District Council to consider building on green belt land

A council will consider building on green belt land to reach its target of building more than 10,000 new homes by 2040.

Sevenoaks District Council (SDC) is reassessing its Local Plan after it was rejected by the Planning Inspectorate in 2020.

The district is 93% designated green belt land, where stricter planning rules mean it is harder to build.

The proposals also include a new village of 2,500 homes in Pedham Place.

The district needs to have 712 new houses built per year from 2025 to 2040, a total of 10,680 new homes in total.

Areas of green belt land earmarked in the plan include Sevenoaks Quarry, Dunton Green, Edenbridge and Kippington.

The biggest site mentioned was Pedham Place, which currently hosts a golf course and land used for car boot sales.

The plan states the site "has the potential scale to accommodate a sustainable settlement" of 2,500 new homes.

The site on the outskirts of Swanley is also set to accommodate a new stadium of more than 20,000 seats for rugby team Wasps, as well as a hotel and training facility.

The council said the plan proposed to make the best use of land within existing built up areas.

"However, we know that utilising existing built up areas alone will not meet the district's housing need," a spokesperson said.

"To meet the district's housing needs, we will soon ask our communities for their views on potential development sites."

The consultation will open on 23 November and close on 11 January.

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