Open Letter to the Leader of Sevenoaks Council

Dear Cllr Maskell

The Government’s housing targets require 17,460 new homes to be built in Sevenoaks by 2042. That's around 1,164 homes a year; a 63% increase on the previous housing requirement for Sevenoaks.

The Local Plan is vital to maintain control over this development. But it needs to be sustainable, justified and deliverable.

That’s why we are asking: is this plan actually capable of delivering this level of growth without unacceptable impacts on the environment and infrastructure? 

• Climate change - Are the policies for sustainability sufficiently ambitious and enforceable? Will homes use sustainable materials that keep warm in winter and cool in summer? Will they include water saving measures and utilise grey water? Will they provide indoor environmental quality including sufficient space, light and air quality? Will they be sensitive to the site location and environment?
• Economy - The Local Plan seeks to support businesses and protect town centres; how will it achieve this where town centres are privately owned?
• Housing - Are 17,460 homes genuinely deliverable and justified? How many affordable homes will actually be delivered? What is the plan to make up the 222 homes shortfall? Only 1911 homes are planned for urban sites or Grey Belt. Have alternatives been properly investigated before releasing Green Belt?
• Infrastructure - Are schools, health, roads, buses and community facilities actually funded and planned to coincide with the growth in population?
• Nature - Are biodiversity losses genuinely avoided/mitigated rather than offset?
• River Darent - Will the planned scale and distribution of growth be accommodated without ecological damage to The River Darent or conflict with the Council’s own commitment to protecting the District's chalk streams?
• Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve - A 1,500-home development will produce light, noise and pollution right next to this sensitive wildlife site. Is the mitigation proposed demonstrably sufficient?
• Sewage - Can homes have their wastewater treated without worsening the ecological condition of the District's rivers and aquifers?
• Transport - Can the transport network accommodate the proposed growth sustainably?
• Water - Can homes be supplied with the water they need without harming the Darent?

We are particularly concerned about the following sites: 

1. ST4-7 North of Sevenoaks - 1,500 homes - impact on the River Darent and Wildlife Reserve
2. ST5-2 Pedham Place - 2,600 homes - impact on the National Landscape
3. ST5-1 Broke Hill - 741 homes - impact on local infrastructure
4. ST4-26 New Ash Green - 530 - impact on local infrastructure
5. Edenbridge - 1,384 - whether necessary infrastructure can be delivered quickly enough to keep up with this major expansion
6. Swanley - 967 - whether Swanley can absorb these extra homes while maintaining sustainable infrastructure 
7. Hextable, West Kingsdown, Kemsing, South Darenth, Sevenoaks/Dunton Green - cumulative impact of multiple sites on infrastructure and environment

Given these concerns about the environment and infrastructure, we call on you to conduct an urgent sustainability assessment of the Sevenoaks Local Plan.

This letter was written by Sevenoaks Green Party and is endorsed by all those who have signed below.