Planning & Local Plan

Planning & Local Plan

Planning Applications

Fawkham Parish Council (FPC) is consulted by Sevenoaks District Council (SDC) on every planning application within the Parish. These applications are considered at our meetings, and a comment is submitted to SDC by the Clerk on behalf of the PC.

SDC must consider FPC’s view before it decides to grant or refuse permission for the development, although FPC’s view is only advisory. Our comments need to relate to a material consideration, which can include (but are not limited to):

  • Overlooking/loss of privacy
  • Loss of light or overshadowing
  • Parking
  • Highway safety
  • Traffic
  • Noise
  • Effect on listed building and conservation area
  • Layout and density of building
  • Design, appearance and materials
  • Government policy
  • Disabled persons’ access
  • Proposals in the Development Plan
  • Previous planning decisions (including appeal decisions)
  • Nature conservation

Any individual resident may also comment on a planning application, online or by letter, regardless of whether they have been included as a “neighbour” in the consultation process.

For more information on the planning application process, please see SDC’s Planning pages.

Local Plan

Fawkham Parish Council has been closely monitoring the proposed new Local Plan.

The draft Local Plan from 2018/9 originally included proposals to build over 500 houses in Fawkham, an increase of over 200%. Several meetings were held in 2018 and 2019 to update residents and find out their views, and these enabled the Parish Council to represent those views during the consultation and Examination processes. Many villagers also responded to the consultations, with 1,642 comments were received on the largest proposal at Corinthians/Banckside, which was not taken forward into the final Plan by Sevenoaks District Council.

The Local Plan submitted for Examination in April 2019 included three sites in Fawkham: 32 housing units at Grange Park Farm, 31 at Fawkham Business Park, plus the existing planning permission for a 50 bed dementia home at Salts Farm. This represented an increase of over 50% in the number of houses in the village.

The Examination of the Local Plan began in October 2019, and FPC submitted a number of Hearing Position Statements, attended nearly all of the Hearing Sessions, and participated in three of them. During these Hearings the Inspector stopped the Examination as she found that SDC did not fulfil the Duty to Cooperate with neighbouring authorities. This notion was rejected by Sevenoaks District Council, which pursued judicial review proceedings. However, this action was not successful and SDC withdraw the Plan. Work then began on a new Local Plan. A first Regulation 18 consultation was undertaken in late 2022/early 2023on a new draft Plan, which included proposed sites in non-Green Belt areas. A second Regulation 18 consultation, including sites within the Green Belt (which may include some in Fawkham) is scheduled for 23rd November 2023 – 11th January 2024. FPC will be carefully considering the draft Plan, and its response to it, and will keep Parishioners informed.

Read the latest information on the Local Plan.