PRESS RELEASE: SEVENOAKS TOWN COUNCIL OPPOSES PLANNING APPLICATION FOR INDUSTRIAL UNITS AND DRIVE-THRU RESTAURANT AT OTFORD ROAD COUNCIL DEPOT

Published: 11 April 2025

Sevenoaks District Council’s proposals to construct three light industrial units as well as a drive-thru takeaway at its bin store depot on Otford Road have progressed, with a hybrid planning application having been published on its Planning Portal on 11th March 2025. Originally publicly consulted on as part of a larger scheme by the District Council in Autumn 2024, the scheme has since been refined and submitted as a formal planning application, which members of the public can view and respond to until 19th April via the following link:
https://pa.sevenoaks.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=SRMSW5BKM8J00

The Hybrid* planning application was reviewed by Sevenoaks Town Council’s Planning & Environment Committee on 7th April 2025, when it considered and agreed a recommendation for refusal on several grounds. The Town Council’s comments, outlined in full below, will now be considered amongst all other responses received to the application, which final decision to be made via Committee, due to the District Council’s coinciding role as both applicant, and decision-maker. The District Council’s Development Management Committee is presided by Sevenoaks District Councillors, who make informed decisions on controversial or significant planning applications, based on both professional advice from qualified District Council Planning Officers, as well as their own local experience and knowledge of the area.

Sevenoaks Town Council recommended refusal on the following grounds:
Non-compliance of Fast Food element with National Planning and Policy Framework paragraphs 96 and 97.
Non-compliance of the proposals with the following Sevenoaks Town Neighbourhood Plan Policies:
C9 (protecting and enhancing the landscape setting and character of town and visibility to and from the open countryside),
C10 (enhance the gateways and arrival points into the town)
M9 (supports measures that will encourage a shift towards the use of greener modes of transport by businesses and residents)
D1 (design guidance on nearby sites for Carpetright/Wickes and Travis Perkins, which recommends that light industrial uses be relocated to the Vestry Industrial Estate in order to remove the inappropriate citing of them within residential areas, and resolve the conflict between light industrial employment and residential accommodation in this area.
Non-compliance with Sevenoaks District Council Policy EN2 (safeguarding amenities of current and future residents with regard to noise, odour, activity or vehicle movements, visual intrusion), as well as EN7 (noise pollution)
The lack of pavement and safe crossing point across the A225 to access the restaurant, which is likely to attract school children, poses a highway safety concern, with no mitigation has been proposed to manage the traffic leaving and entering site at a point with low visibility.

Informative:
Sevenoaks Town Council further recommended that, should the District Council be minded to approve the application, it should be subject to a Design Review Panel, as per Sevenoaks Town Neighbourhood Plan Aim C6. In addition, any permission granted for the industrial units in the full application should be conditioned to ensure that the uses do not risk any damage to the neighbouring SSSI, watercourses or wildlife.

*A Hybrid planning application seeks both Full (i.e. all details provided) and Outline (the principles of a proposed development, sans details which will be determined at a later date) planning permission. The drive-thru aspect of the scheme remains Outline only, in order to allow a partner to be acquired to deliver it to their own preferences.

If you have any queries, please contact:
Georgie Elliston
planning@sevenoakstown.gov.uk
11/04/2025