SEVENOAKS TOWN COUNCIL REGISTERS ITS DISAPPOINTMENT AT LOSS OF ROYAL OAK HOTEL’S NAME AND URGES DISTRICT COUNCIL TO RECONSIDER

Published: 11 April 2025

On 20th March 2025, Sevenoaks Town Council received notification from the District Council on the new addresses which had been registered to the six flats recently delivered at the former Royal Oak Hotel in Sevenoaks Town High Street.

A prominent and historic feature of the town recorded under the name of Royal Oak as far as 1775, the Royal Oak Hotel is an important landmark and reminder of the Town’s heritage.

It was with surprise and disappointment therefore, that Sevenoaks’ Town Councillors learned that the Royal Oak Hotel, now redeveloped into 6 flats, would be renamed “Flats 1-6, Hanover House” – erasing over 300 years of the Town’s history.

Sevenoaks Town Council has written to the District Council to register its deep disappointment with this decision, as well as to request its reconsideration, and reinstatement of the Royal Oak’s prominent name. Councillors remain unsatisfied with the justification provided by the District Council as to why the name has been lost – the summary of which is that the adjacent location of properties which are similarly named “Royal Oak Mews” and “Royal Oak House, 5 High Street” could cause confusion and delays to deliveries and emergency services. Given the origins of the moniker having derived from the Royal Oak Hotel however, with the adjacent properties having been named in deference to its historic significance, the Town Councillors remain determined to contest the loss and pursue its reinstatement.

Full copy of the District Council’s explanation of the decision process is provided below:
“[…] the developer’s first choice was to incorporate ‘Royal Oak’ as part of the building name. We (Sevenoaks District Council) were not able to accommodate this request for the reasons set out below.
The use of the name ‘Royal Oak’ could not be used as the adjoining property incorporates the name ‘Royal Oak’. Therefore using this name would have breached section 11.4 of our policy.
From SNN Policy 2021
11.4. Suggested names will not be accepted if they are difficult to pronounce, or if they are similar to the name of another property, building or street name in the surrounding area, which would cause confusion. For example, duplicated house names on the same road, or within the same postcode sector, will not be permitted. A postcode sector is identified by the first five characters of a postcode e.g. TN13 3**.

In this specific instance there were concerns that ‘Royal Oak House, 5 High Street’ could cause confusion with ‘5 Royal Oak ‘something’, High Street’.

[…]

The intention is not to perpetuate addressing/addresses which would not be accepted under current addressing standards. We take our role of ensuring the safety and welfare of our residents (from an addressing perspective) very seriously and will not implement addresses that could potentially lead to the delay of a resident receiving aid or assistance from the emergency services. Obviously deliveries and mail play a significant part, which is why Royal Mail are consulted on all address changes, as well as Kent Fire and Rescue on any major developments from a blue light perspective.”

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