Dear Resident,
Proposed Development Sites in Hextable
You will have no doubt seen the details of some proposed future development in Hextable. This is one of the biggest issues to affect Hextable for a generation, that will see development over the next 25 years.
Sevenoaks District Council has statutory housing development goals that have been set by the Government in its ambition to build 1.5 million homes in 5 years. The new Government targets now require SDC to provide an additional 1149 dwellings every year for the next 25 years, which is a 63% increase in the previous target of 704 per annum.
A call for sites exercise was undertaken by Sevenoaks District Council, to seek pieces of land that could be suitable for development, and as a result, around 700 sites were sent in for examination. From these sites that were submitted, 10 sites in Hextable have been considered to meet the criteria and are now published in the draft Local Plan for public consultation, which was released on 15th September. If all these sites are accepted, it will equate to around 900 additional homes over the next quarter of a century, effectively 36 per year of the overall annual target for the district.
The single biggest change affecting Hextable, is the definition of the concept of Grey Belt that the new government introduced in 2024. This is effectively land in the Green Belt comprising previously developed land and/or any other land that, in either case, does not strongly contribute to protecting from urban sprawl, preventing towns from merging, or preserving the setting or special characteristics of historic towns.
It must be noted that the classification criteria of Grey Belt are set by government in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and not local councils. However, where any parcel of land meets these requirements, development may be permitted, and if so, developers of Grey Belt land must meet three core requirements. They must target the provision of 50% affordable housing, contribute towards boosting public services and infrastructure, and protect genuine greenbelt and public amenity.
Development across the UK is both needed and inevitable, and whilst the Parish Council cannot prevent or overturn allocated sites, we must, and will, do all it can to ensure that what is proposed best meets the need for our village, is the most appropriate, and that there is supporting infrastructure included.
There will be a consultation period, where the public and parish council will be asked for their views, before anything is progressed and developed into a final, submission document. When making any comments of the proposals, it is essential that these relate to genuine concerns for the impact to our village.
Click this link to download the official document provided by Hextable Parish Council