Press release: Sevenoaks Town Council endorses application for the Cross-Channel Geopark to achieve UNESCO World Heritage Status
Published: 26 November 2025
Sevenoaks Town Council has formally agreed to endorse a joint application for the Cross-Channel Geopark* – within which a portion of Sevenoaks Town resides – to be registered as a UNESCO Global Geopark with World Heritage Status.
The Cross-Channel Geopark is named after the marine area which connects Britain with France, with this stretch of water contributing a defining feature of the shared natural and geological heritage and cultural life of the Geopark**.
Its interaction with Sevenoaks Town (pictured below, and extracted from a larger tourist map from the Geopark Transmanche website) is via inclusion of Knole Park, Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve (labelled 35), the River Darent (labelled 25) and Dryhill Quarry (labelled 24) within the Geopark’s boundary.
The benefits of a successful UNESCO designation, which is being pursued by the Kent Downs National Landscape in partnership with the Parc Naturel Régional des Caps et Marais d’Opale, would be a strengthening of the protections afforded both the interacting Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and River Darent chalk stream, as well as potentially accessing further preservation and biodiversity enhancement opportunities.
The Town Council’s endorsement was further ratified at the full Council meeting on 24th November 2025, where
the Mayor of Sevenoaks hailed the proposed designation as a “celebration of the relationship between the underlying geology, people, and natural and cultural heritage”. He further stated that it would
“help to protect the chalk landscapes in both regions, promote sustainable tourism and bring communities closer together through shared understanding of where they live”.The full Council Resolution agreed on 24th November 2025 was as follows:
Sevenoaks Town Council RESOLVED to- Support the Kent Downs National Landscape Unit and the Parc Naturel Régional des Caps et Marais d’Opale in promoting the bid, working with other organisations and Local Authorities in Kent
- Raise public awareness about the Geopark and the benefits it will bring to the local community and natural environment
- Support the Kent Downs National Landscape Unit in reaching out to schools, students, young people and the wider community to help shape the bid and on projects that follow.
Resources for more information on the Cross-Channel Geopark Transmanche: For more information, please contact:
Georgie Elliston – Planning Committee Clerk
01732 459953 – planning@sevenoakstown.gov.uk
25/11/2025
Endnote:
*Formally registered as the “Cross-Channel Geopark Transmanche”, but also referable to as the “Cross-Channel Geopark” or the “Geopark Transmanche”
**This information has been extracted from the Cross-Channel Geopark Management Plan. For further information on the Geopark, including its contents and background to its UNESCO application, please consult the Geopark Transmanche webpage.