Keeping you up to date: Westerham and its possible development
Questions and comments about what’s happening on the possible development of our town have been coming in to the Council Offices – and to individual Councillors too. And no wonder, as there are several strands of activity going on triggered by the District Council needing to review and write a new local plan for the next 20 years.
This involvesthe need for more housing resulting in the ‘call for sites’. As some 93% of Sevenoaks District is classified as Green Belt, it is not surprising that most of the sites put forward come from Green Belt land. Following this, Sevenoaks District Council needed to consider all aspects of the district in terms of its Character assessment to assess whether any of the Green Belt could be taken for development or whether the housing need could be satisfied by other means.
Squerryes Estate has put forward sites around Westerham and this wish to see development has led to their recent engagement with the community on “Which way Westerham”.
So your Council thought it would be helpful to share what it knows, explain how the various bits fit together – and be open about what is still uncertain.
What’s a Local Plan, and why is it important?
Adopted Local Plans supporting the National Planning Policy Framework are the two most important factors in deciding where new homes should be built. A Local Plan is developed in consultation with the community it covers and is scrutinised by a Planning Inspector to make sure it complies with the National Planning Policy Framework, and can be adopted as legally binding District planning policies.
Sevenoaks District Council has a current Local Plan. As far as Westerham is concerned, it recognises that our town is encircled by Green Belt land, on which no new development is allowed, unless it meets very special circumstances. Your Town Council has always supported this approach and routinely opposes any planning application which proposes development on Green Belt land.
So why the current activity?
Whilst it has a current Plan running through to 2023, Sevenoaks District Council needs to update it in the light of the current housing requirements.So they have commissioned and are preparing a new Local Plan to cover the period 2015 -35. This will shape the development of the District, including Westerham, for the next 20 years.
The timetable for the new Local Plan
Right now SDC, using professional consultants, are collecting evidence which will guide them as they produce the new Local Plan. By late Spring/Summer this year they will have assembled sufficient information to be able to consult on the issues and options they have found. In Spring 2018 SDC aim to publish the draft Local Plan for consultation. Following that consultation and any amendments made as a result, the Plan will be published in Summer 2018before it is submitted to the Planning Inspectorate. By Autumn 2018the new Local Plan should have been sent to the Planning Inspector. Subject to the inspector finding the plan to be “sound” this will be put to the secretary of State for approval In Summer 2019: the new Local Plan will then be adopted and will be the framework within which all planning decisions are taken.
It’s a lengthy process, yet one which gives plenty of opportunity for anyone and everyone to give their views. The Town Council will be involved at every stage of the process to ensure that the new Local Plan will properly consider Westerham.
What’s happening now?
Everything which is going on now falls under the heading of ‘gathering the evidence’. There’s a full list of the evidence SDC will be assembling, but probably the key items are:
The ‘call for sites’: the invitation to landowners in the District to put forward sites which could be suitable for development over the next 20 years. Several sites around Westerham have been put forward – though this does not mean that they will be developed.
Green Belt assessment: commissioned by SDC from consultants Arup to assess whether any of the existing Green Belt no longer meets Green Belt criteria and would thus be suitable for release for development.
Two areas of land in Westerham were identified for further investigation: one to the north of our town, which although assessed as ‘strongly’ meeting Green Belt criteria is recommended for further investigation. The second, a small area to the west of our town performs moderately against the criteria, and is also recommended for further investigation. Note that ‘further investigation’ does not necessarily mean that the land will be released from the Green Belt. When it debated this assessment, SDC’s view was that it would investigate the brownfield sites within the Green Belt before considering the non-brownfield sites.
Housing Study: a report - looking at the future housing needs of the district in the light of our aging population, need for affordable housing, and what people have said about the sort of housing they would like.Many of the conclusions were based on responses to the survey we all received.
Other evidence which SDC is amassing includes: a Tourist Accommodation study, an Economic Needs study, a Retail study, an Open Space, Sports and Leisure study, a Strategic Flood assessment, an Infrastructure Plan and Transport Update: there’s a full listing at where the completed reports will also be published.
Where does the Squerryes initiative, ‘Which Way Westerham’ fit in?
As the major landowner in and around Westerham, Squerryes has replied to the ‘call for sites’ and has offered several sites it owns for possible future development. It has begun a process of asking those who live in our town to comment on how they would like to see Westerham develop. These views will be assembled into a ’masterplan’ which Squerryes will present to Sevenoaks as input to their new Local Plan. It will be another piece of evidence to add to those outlined above.
Is this the same as a Neighbourhood Plan?
No. A Neighbourhood Plan is a legal right, set up under the Localism Act 2011 for communities to shape development in their areas. It is an exercise not to be undertaken lightly, it can take up to two years and cost in excess of £20,000. A Neighbourhood Plan can be led by the Parish or Town Councilor by members of the local community and agreed through a local referendum. The Planning Inspector then reviews it and if found sound is adopted as supplemental policy to the Local Plan. The policies it contains are then considered in the determination of planning applications. It can’t block what is in a Local Plan, and hence is generally developed once a Local Plan has been agreed.
Does Westerham have a Neighbourhood Plan?
No. Whilst the current Local Plan excludes development in the Green Belt, there has been little need to produce a Neighbourhood Plan. Should this situation change, then WTC may need to look at introducing one.
So does the Council support the Squerryes initiative?
Your Council’s continuing role is to maintain and enhance the environment of our town and its surrounding countryside. As far as it can, it aims to meet the social and economic needs of our town and to resolve its infrastructure challenges. As your elected representatives, it aims to foster the long term sustainable development of our town.
This does mean that your Council cannot promote the interests of any one landowner over another, and that it must take an even handed view of the various development proposals which may come forward through the Local Plan process.
This simply means that it cannot play a part in the initiative, but does not mean that it opposes an exercise that enables our community to make its views known.
What about a by-pass?
We know that traffic through our town is one of our community’s chief concerns. Indeed much of its effort over the last year has been spent in resisting the proposal for a distribution depot at Moorhouse, which would add significantly to traffic through our town. That proposal was withdrawn at the end of last year, and the developers intentions are currently unknown, but be assured, your Council is keeping a watchful eye for any future application.
However, a by-pass is not a part of the current Local Plan exercise. It would be a much longer term project and would depend on the restoration of the Covers Farm sandpit. The Squerryes estate, intends to take on the responsibility for this is expected to make an planning application to Kent Highways in the next few months.
And finally... a Housing White Paper has just been published which, according to Press Reports, aims to address the current housing shortage by ‘forcing councils to plan for their local housing needs and giving them power to pressure developers to start building on land they own’. At the same time the Housing White Paper restated Government support for the Green Belt. In our area how these two apparent conflicting aims will be reconciled will be through the emerging new Local Plan. Your Council will keep you abreast of this and keep you updated on how, or if, it may affect Westerham.
March 2017