Sevenoaks District Council takes action again after Green Belt site is offered up for sale as individual plots

Sevenoaks District Council is taking action to protect a Green Belt site which is being sold for development.

The Council received tip-offs from residents that the land off Newhouse Farm Lane in Hever, near Edenbridge, is being sold as individual plots. The marketing materials suggest the land could be developed for housing.

However, the site is protected. It is in the Green Belt and just outside an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and therefore it’s unlikely to be granted planning permission for development.

To ensure the site continues to be protected, the Council served Article 4 Directions on Thursday 30 July 2020 restricting the activities that can normally be carried out without planning permission. This includes putting up fences, gates or walls, stationing caravans and other temporary uses.

This latest action comes after the Council served Article 4 Direction on sites in Edenbridge (Hever Road) and West Kingsdown (St Clere Hill Road) as they too were being marketed as individual plots for development.

Cllr Julia Thornton, the Council’s Cabinet member for planning, says: “We have committed to our residents that we will do everything possible to protect our much cherished environment. Serving these latest Article 4 Directions clearly demonstrates that we are delivering on this promise.

“Green Belt sites are protected in law and any proposal to build on them is extremely unlikely to be granted planning permission. People considering these sites should be warned,  they are effectively being offered agricultural land.”

Anyone who is considering buying a plot of land should check its planning status first. They can do this on the Council’s interactive planning map at https://maps.sevenoaks.gov.uk/planning.

Alternatively they can seek advice from the Council’s Pre-Application Planning Advice team www.sevenoaks.gov.uk/preapplicationadvice or call 01732 227000.