🚨 A SECOND SURVEY NEEDS YOUR ATTENTION: HAVE YOUR SAY: SEVENOAKS IS CHANGING HOW DEVELOPERS CONTRIBUTE TO INFRASTRUCTURE
Sevenoaks District Council is currently consulting on a major change to its Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) arrangements — and we think residents should understand what is being proposed.
The consultation closes at 11.59pm on Thursday 17 September 2026.
👉 Take part in the official Sevenoaks CIL consultation
What is changing?
At present, CIL is a levy charged on qualifying development and contributes towards infrastructure such as roads, community facilities, open spaces, health facilities and footway/crossing improvements.
Sevenoaks is proposing that:
- 1–9 new homes will continue to pay CIL.
- 10 or more new homes will no longer pay CIL.
- Non-residential development will no longer pay CIL.
- Instead, infrastructure contributions for these larger developments will be negotiated through Section 106 (S106) agreements.
Why does this matter to us?
The Council argues that S106 will be better for large developments because it can secure specific infrastructure — such as junction improvements, schools, healthcare, public transport, drainage and community facilities — directly from the development.
However, there is an important consequence.
Under the current arrangements, Sevenoaks says that Town and Parish Councils receive 25% of CIL receipts from qualifying development in their area.
The Council itself acknowledges that under the proposed system:
fewer developments will fall within the CIL-liable category
and therefore payments to some Town and Parish Councils may be reduced.
There is no equivalent automatic 25% neighbourhood share of S106.
Instead, parish and town councils will need to influence the S106 process through the IDP, Infrastructure Funding Statement and individual planning applications.
N.B. The Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) is supposed to identify the infrastructure needed to support the proposed growth, who will deliver it and how it will be funded. Without a CIL, it is important to understand how the wider infrastructure identified in the IDP will be funded, including what can realistically be secured through S106 contributions from individual developments, and whether that will be enough to meet the needs created by the scale of growth proposed.
This is particularly important for major developments
Consider the scale of development being proposed in the Sevenoaks Local Plan.
Pedham Place is currently proposed for approximately 2,600 homes, together with employment and other facilities.
Under the proposed CIL system, a development of this scale would not pay CIL.
Instead, its infrastructure obligations would be negotiated through S106.
The Council says S106 will ensure that the infrastructure required by major development is secured and delivered at the right time.
But we believe residents should ask:
Will S106 actually secure enough infrastructure to deal with the full cumulative impact of major developments?
And:
What happens to the wider community benefit that would otherwise have been generated through CIL?
✍️ Please respond
You don't need to be a planning expert.
The consultation allows you to comment on the proposed CIL Charging Schedule and the evidence supporting it.
You may wish to consider raising questions such as:
1. Infrastructure funding
How has the Council demonstrated that replacing CIL with S106 for developments of 10+ homes will generate sufficient funding to meet the infrastructure needs created by major developments?
2. Parish/community funding
What mechanism will provide an equivalent community/neighbourhood benefit for the communities hosting major developments, given that developments of 10+ homes will no longer generate CIL?
3. Reduced parish CIL
The Council acknowledges that removing CIL from larger developments may result in reduced payments to Town and Parish Councils. How has the scale of this reduction been assessed, and what measures are proposed to compensate for it?
4. Deliverability
How can the Council demonstrate that infrastructure will be delivered when much of the funding will only be negotiated through S106 after a planning application is submitted?
5. Large developments
For developments such as Pedham Place, how will the Council ensure that S106 contributions adequately address not only infrastructure within the development but the cumulative impact on surrounding communities and existing infrastructure?
6. Transparency
How will residents and Parish Councils be able to see what infrastructure has been requested, what has been agreed with developers, what has actually been paid and whether the infrastructure has subsequently been delivered?
📝 Most importantly
Please put your response in your own words.
You don't have to use all of these points. Choose the issues that matter most to you and explain why.
This isn't about objecting simply because we don't like the proposal. It is about asking whether the proposed system provides a transparent, fair and deliverable way of funding the infrastructure required to support major development.
Every individual response adds to the consultation record.
Deadline: 11.59pm, Thursday 17 September 2026.
