PRESS RELEASE: Sevenoaks Town Council visits Purelake development site at 136 High Street (Old Tesco site)

Published: 19 December 2024

Staff and Councillors of Sevenoaks Town Council received a site tour of the Purelake development site at 136 High Street (formally known as the Old Tesco site) on 16th December 2024.

Councillor Wightman reported to the Planning & Environment Committee on 16th December 2024 that the building structure is mostly finished with expected completion of the apartments in Spring/Summer 2026. He expressed that the visit was very interesting and encouraging.

It is understood that a Public Realm Strategy has been submitted to Sevenoaks District Council under a planning application for approval of details. This is awaiting validation and will be uploaded to the District Council’s Planning Portal once approved by the Validation team – this will be publicly available to view at the below webpage: https://pa.sevenoaks.gov.uk/online-applications/propertyDetails.do?activeTab=relatedCases&keyVal=001R6KBKLI000

Sevenoaks Town Council is engaging with the developer on this and looks forward to reviewing the Strategy, which it hopes will be in line with its Cultural Strategy to deliver a high quality asset to the public realm.

The Cultural Strategy, which forms an Appendix and evidence base to the Sevenoaks Town Neighbourhood Plan, envisages a thriving Cultural Quarter being developed in the Town Centre, with a wide “Town Walkway” delivered between Wagamama and the Old Tesco building in order to provide new access to the culturally significant assets of the Kaleidoscope Gallery, Museum and Library, the Leisure Centre, the Environmental Park and Webbs Alley entrance to Knole Park.

The walkway was incorporated into Purelake’s development plan early on in the design process for this site, which provides an exiting opportunity to enhance the cultural offering of the Town Centre. Sevenoaks Town Council has requested that this be further enhanced via attractive public realm features and incorporation of external electric supply at the Walkway entrance, in order for the Christmas Lights Switch On event to be able to continue being held at this location following completion of development.