District Councillors Keith Bonin, Anna Firth and James London are pleased to report that the proposed construction of mounds up to 12 metres high on the Chevening estate parkland was refused by Sevenoaks District Council.
In support of residents and the Parish Council we, your councillors, all spoke against the application at the Development Control Committee meeting on the 9th September. Through active lobbying and with the support of speakers from the parish, we and the Parish Council were successful in convincing the Committee of the inappropriateness of this development.
We strongly believe that the proposal to import 750,000 cubic metres of soil and other materials onto the parkland is inappropriate in the Green Belt and an area of outstanding natural beauty. The Committee agreed that the mounds would not be in keeping with the open historic landscape and would give an artificial scale and appearance, which would not preserve the openness of the Green Belt.
The proposal would have allowed up to 200 HGV movements a day through the district to reach the site. Although, most of this would have gone through Badgers Mount, the proposal would have allowed up to 40 HGV movements a day through Bessels Green and past Amherst and Riverhead Infants Schools. This would have caused very real harm for residents without any compensating benefits.
As your Conservative councillors, we will continue to stand up for residents concerns and protection of the Green Belt.
