PRESS RELEASE Sevenoaks Town Council pursuing two Masterplans for the Town Centre and St Johns, to help guide Town's future development and investment
Published: 24 April 2024
Background:
Sevenoaks Town Council recently commissioned Urban Initiatives Studio to prepare
two Masterplans for 1) Sevenoaks Town Centre and 2) St Johns Hill area, in order to provide developers and decision makers with a
spatial vision for these important parts of the Town.
The Masterplans will build upon the work previously completed in the
Sevenoaks Town Neighbourhood Plan, identifying key opportunities for future development – including design guidance, enhancements to cultural attractions, improvements to the pedestrian environment, any potential traffic mitigation measures and opportunities for greener infrastructure to enhance the biodiversity of the areas. Please visit the following link for further detail as to the scope of the Masterplans:
https://sevenoaksndp.files.wordpress.com/2024/03/4347_21.pdf What will the Masterplans achieve?
The two Masterplans will be used as a guide for any future development and investment into the Town, with the main focuses being
improving walking and cycling opportunities, supporting the local economy, addressing environmental matters, developing a Cultural Quarter, linking key destinations together, and improving the public realm experience. The purpose of the Masterplans is to set out a clear vision –
informed and endorsed by local people – for what future development should look like within the Town. This will be used by developers and decision makers to guide their plans and to identify key infrastructure provision and improvements that should be delivered alongside development.
The large extents of the two subject areas, as shown in the following two maps, will allow for a holistic vision for the areas in their entirety, ensuring a more connected and accessible Town with a prominent Cultural Quarter.
How can you get involved?
Sevenoaks Town Council is currently running
two separate surveys to investigate how the Town Centre and St Johns area are currently being used, what their strengths and weaknesses are, and what local people would like to see improved. Responses will be used to inform the output of the Masterplans, and
public are therefore encouraged to fill out both surveys and share them with their contacts so they can have their say on the future visions for Sevenoaks.
Stakeholder workshops are to be held and led by our consultants throughout the process, whereby we will be seeking views of local people as well as representatives of local organisations and businesses to ascertain what their priorities and visions are for the future of both areas.
The first Workshop for the Town Centre Masterplan, held on 23rd April 2024, was incredibly positive, with attendees sharing their initial thoughts and ideas for the Town Centre. In addition to local residents, those in attendance included (but were not at all limited to) representatives of:
- National Trust for Knole and Lord Sackville
- Several Residents Associations
- Local businesses;
- Sevenoaks District Council;
- Sevenoaks Society;
- Sevenoaks Senior Action Forum;
- The future generations to come (via an incredibly well-behaved toddler)
The first
Workshop for the St Johns Masterplan is due to be held on 30th April 2024, from 4pm to 7pm in the Chambers at the Town Council Offices, Bradbourne Vale Road. Public are welcome to come and share their thoughts on what they believe to be working particularly well in St John’s, what could be improved, and how they would like to see this done.
Following the aforementioned consultation events, our consultants will be collating and investigating ideas and putting together some initial proposals for a future vision. These will be presented via
follow-up Workshop events to be held in May/June 2024 and finally be amended for public consultation in June/July 2024.For updates on the Masterplans, please visit the Town Council’s website, where periodic updates will be published. These will also be available via Planning Committee Agendas: https://www.sevenoakstown.gov.uk/News__and__Events_19898.aspx
This project is separate, but complementary to, that which is currently being pursued by Sevenoaks District Council, whereby they are investigating early design concepts for the area east of the Town Centre. This area includes the Leisure Centre and Kaleidoscope (Library, Museum, and Art Gallery).
Both the Town Council and District Council are working together to ensure that the Masterplans are complementary to each other.If you have any queries, please contact:
Georgie Elliston via planning@sevenoakstown.gov.uk
24/04/2024