Conservation is key for Sevenoaks District

Published: Tuesday, 16th July 2019

Sevenoaks District Council is helping to fulfil a promise to protect the environment by extending five conservation areas.

On Thursday 11 July, the Council’s Cabinet agreed to improve and broaden conservation areas in Brasted, Leigh, Seal, Shoreham and Swanley Village, with Shoreham having two existing conservation areas merged into one.

Residents living in the conservation areas had an opportunity to comment on the Council’s proposals during a six week public consultation that was held in October 2018. The majority of feedback from residents and resident groups was extremely positive, with most people recognising the changes as being necessary to maintain the special character of the areas.

An overview of the changes are as follows:

• Brasted – There will be an addition to the conservation areas on the High Street and Rectory Lane.
• Leigh – Conservation areas will now include 1 to 22 Garden Cottages, part of Powder Mill Lane, north of The Crandells and south of The Green.
• Seal – The conservation area has been extended to include the village allotments and Jubilee Rise.
• Shoreham – Shoreham High Street and Church Street will be merged into one conservation area, which includes the field at north end of the High Street known as Crown Field.
• Swanley Village – There will be an addition to the conservation areas on Beechenlea Lane and Swanley Village Road.
• For both Shoreham and Swanley Village, in order to protect front gardens in the conservation areas, right for permitted development in these areas has also been removed. Home owners wishing to make changes to their properties must now make planning applications so that each case can be looked at on its own merits.

Cabinet Member for Development & Conservation, Cllr Julia Thornton says: “We are passionate about preserving the character of our beautiful District and these five updated and extended conservation areas will mean they will remain great places to live, work and visit.”

Cllr Thornton adds: “The overwhelmingly positive response to our public consultation shows that residents are just as keen as we are to preserve our historic villages as best we can.”

For full details of the changes to the conservation areas visit www.sevenoaks.gov.uk/conservation

A conservation area is an area of special architectural or historic interest, the character or appearance of which it is desirable to preserve or enhance. In the Sevenoaks District there are currently forty-two conservation areas. It is the duty of the Council to review conservation areas from time to time in the form of an appraisal to see if any more can be done to strengthen the space. Once finalised, conservation area appraisals provide everyone involved in the planning process with a framework against which future planning applications in a conservation area can be assessed and determined.