URGENT: BBC Kent Radio Today

London Road Residents

— 2 min read

!! URGENT CALL FOR ACTION WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR !!

BBC Kent Radio interviewed me and Cllr Nigel Williams this morning. Link to the show is below (slide to 7:05am and 8:05am to listen to both interviews).

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live/bbc_radio_kent - Dominic King show, 6am-10am.

Please now text 08000 321333 and start your text with the word "Kent". We have until 10am! 

Here are some suggested bullet points to text in:

1. Pedham Place is also National Landscapes - very protected within NPPF - no exceptional circumstances to prove this is to be built on.

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2. Housing numbers and Green Belt release and in response to Nigel Williams saying they will try and meet the figures set by government:Under the 2025 NPPF, councils like Sevenoaks are explicitly allowed to challenge housing numbers, particularly where Green Belt constraints dominate. This is a once opportunity. Once green belt has gone, it has gone.Why didn’t the Council robustly do this before proposing Green Belt release — and why does it appear to ignore the strong district-wide desire to protect the Green Belt?Why does SDC repeatedly choose the easiest planning option — Green Belt land — rather than prioritising brownfield and under-used land, particularly around its 15 train stations, where higher-density, affordable, 1- and 2-bed homes for young people and older residents are most appropriate?Pedham is the wrong location for this type of housing.

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3. Contradictions in Green Belt evidenceThere are clear contradictions between Council-commissioned Green Belt assessments and the continued promotion of this site.Why does the Council’s own evidence describe this land as highly sensitive, yet it remains in the plan? What new evidence overrides those conclusions?________________________________________

4. National policy and plan soundnessPedham Place lies within Green Belt and a National Landscape, yet no exceptional justification has been demonstrated for its release.How does the Council reconcile this proposal with national policy and its own emerging Local Plan policies — and how can it be considered sound?Local concern has been heightened by comments made at the September 2025 DIAC meeting, where an SDC planner stated the Council was “just trying with Pedham”.Is “just trying” an acceptable basis for proposing development of this scale in protected land?

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