Fawkham Parish Council

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Fawkham Parish Council was created in 1935 as the parish authority and is the third tier of local government after Kent County Council and Sevenoaks District Council.

29/08/2026

A reminder of our Parish Council meeting this Thursday, 3rd September at 7:30 in the village hall, at which we will discuss and agree our responses to Sevenoaks District Council’s Local Plan consultation. We will have detailed information available at the meeting and encourage you to come along to that and then respond to the consultation - the information at the meeting may provide you with some key points you may wish to include. We will also publish some detailed information after our meeting. The consultation closes on September 17th.

SDC has prepared the final draft of its Local Plan, known as the Regulation 19 version. The new Local Plan will guide what can be built and where between 2027 and 2042.
It includes sites put forward by landowners and developers to meet the Government’s new housing target of 17,460 houses that must be built over the lifetime of the Plan.

For Fawkham, it still includes two sites for housing: ST3-2 Fawkham Business Park with 28 units and ST3-3 Orchard Farm with 34. Fawkham Parish Council raised issues with both of these sites during the Regulation 18 consultation which SDC has not addressed in the Regulation 19 version of the Local Plan.

A site on land adjacent to Banckside and Downs Valley, largely in Hartley, has also been retained, and the housing number increased from 114 to 190. This is at the top of the large field on the right as you head towards Longfield, also known as Forty Acre field. Both Fawkham and Hartley PCs objected to this site being included.

Over 1,100 dwellings are planned in Fawkham, Hartley and New Ash Green, nearly 500 in South Darenth/Horton Kirby, 400 in West Kingsdown and 2,600 at Pedham Place by J3 of the M25. The vast majority of the sites in and around villages and hamlets will be on greenfield Green Belt land, mostly "grey belt". This will clearly have a large impact on the local area, including on infrastructure and highways.

The public consultation runs until 17th September and this is the final chance to comment before the Plan is examined. This Regulation19 consultation covers Legal Compliance and Soundness, which includes whether the Local Plan is justified based on the evidence, and whether it is effective and consistent with national policy. You may find this useful is explaining more about this and how to respond: https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/2026-07/Responding-to-a-Regulation-19.pdf.
After our meeting, we will also be publishing some information you may find useful when making a response.

There are also FAQs prepared by SDC on the Local Plan which can be found here:https://fawkhamparishcouncil.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Local-Plan-QandAs_June_2026_FINAL.pdf

Finally, there are some leaflets with a high level summary of the Local Plan available in Fawkham’s Little Library on the green outside the Rising Sun Inn.

14/08/2026

As you may know, Sevenoaks District Council has prepared the final draft of its Local Plan, known as the Regulation 19 version. The new Local Plan will guide what can be built and where between 2027 and 2042. It includes sites put forward by landowners and developers to meet the Government’s new housing target of 17,460 houses that must be built over the lifetime of the Plan.

For Fawkham, it still includes two sites for housing: ST3-2 Fawkham Business Park with 28 units and ST3-3 Orchard Farm with 34. Fawkham Parish Council raised issues with both of these sites during the Regulation 18 consultation which SDC has not addressed in the Regulation 19 version of the Local Plan.

A site on land adjacent to Banckside and Downs Valley, largely in Hartley, has also been retained, and the housing number increased from 114 to 190. This is at the top of the large field on the right as you head towards Longfield, also known as Forty Acre field. Both Fawkham and Hartley PCs objected to this site being included.

Over 1,100 dwellings are planned in Fawkham, Hartley and New Ash Green, nearly 500 in South Darenth/Horton Kirby, 400 in West Kingsdown and 2,600 at Pedham Place by J3 of the M25. The vast majority of the sites in and around villages and hamlets will be on greenfield Green Belt land, mostly "grey belt". This will clearly have a large impact on the local area, including on infrastructure and highways.

A public consultation runs until 17th September and this is the final chance to comment before the Plan is examined. This Regulation 19 consultation covers Legal Compliance and Soundness, which includes whether the Local Plan is justified based on the evidence, and whether it is effective and consistent with national policy. You may find this useful is explaining more about this and how to respond to a Regulation 19:https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/2026-07/Responding-to-a-Regulation-19.pdf

There are also FAQs prepared by SDC on the Local Plan which can be found here:https://fawkhamparishcouncil.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Local-Plan-QandAs_June_2026_FINAL.pdf

There are some leaflets with a high level summary of the Local Plan available in Fawkham’s Little Library on the green outside the Rising Sun Inn.

FPC will be responding to this consultation, covering the sites above and the draft Local Plan policies which relate to them. We plan to have detailed information available at our September meeting, two weeks before the consultation closes, and encourage you to come along to that and then respond to the consultation - the information at the meeting may provide you with some key points you may wish to include. The meeting is at 7:30 on Thursday 3rd September at the village hall.

21/07/2026

FPC is being consulted on an application for “Permission in Principle” to build a house in a field south of Salts Farm House on Fawkham Road. You can find full details here: https://pa.sevenoaks.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=THT6L4BK12100

FPC always tries to bring to residents’ attention applications for “new builds” within the Parish, and the outcome of these. These, and all other planning applications, can always be found on FPC agendas on our website and on SDCs planning portal: https://pa.sevenoaks.gov.uk/online-applications/

FPC is objecting to this application due to the unsuitability of the location and use. The key reasons FPC believes the site is unsuitable are:

- Despite being close, on paper, to the facilities of Longfield, the site is not in a sustainable location in practice
- Impact on the openness of the Green Belt
- The site is a UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority habitat of chalk grassland: this means development at this location would be contrary to a number of Policies in the made Fawkham Neighbourhood Plan
- The hedgerow fronting the site is “important” under the Hedgerows Regulations 1997 and, under FNP Policy FNP2, requires a suitable buffer from development, in addition to that for the Ancient Woodland, which may make the site unviable

20/07/2026

Appeal dismissed on Land south of Court Lodge, Valley Road for Permission in Principle for 2-3 dwellings

The Planning Inspector upheld Sevenoaks District Council’s (SDC) decision to refuse this application. Although the land is now grey belt, the Inspector agreed with the position put forward by SDC and Fawkham Parish Council (FPC) that the location is not sustainable, as Fawkham is a hamlet with limited facilities. She commented that the amenities within Fawkham “would not be accessible safely by bike or foot due to the road being unlit and without a cycle or footpath” and that "Despite [Longfield and Hartley] being located within a reasonable commute by bike, the reality of cycling along unlit, narrow windy roads with no cycle path, variable speed limits and rising terrain in areas would be a significant deterrent to all but the most able cyclist. The absence of footpaths makes walking to any facility unsafe’”.

She also stated that the “Fawkham Neighbourhood Plan recognises that the Parish is not a sustainable location for anything other than very limited housing development."

There were further reasons given within the Appeal Decision and you can find the full document here: https://pa.sevenoaks.gov.uk/online-applications/appealDetails.do?keyVal=TBUE93BK10K00&activeTab=summary

This post is for information only.

11/07/2026

SDC’s Local Plan Update: Sevenoaks District Council has now prepared the next version of its Local Plan, known as the Regulation 19 version. For Fawkham, it still includes two sites in Fawkham: ST3-2 Fawkham Business Park with 28 units and ST3-3 Orchard Farm with 34. Fawkham Parish Council raised issues with both of these sites during the Regulation 18 consultation which SDC has not addressed in the Regulation 19 version of the Local Plan. A site for 190 units on land adjacent to Banckside and Downs Valley, largely in Hartley, has also been retained. This is at the top of the large field on the right as you head towards Longfield, also known as Forty Acre field.

A public consultation on this version of the Local Plan will be held from 23rd July to 17th September. This is the final stage before it is submitted for Examination. This consultation focuses on Legal Compliance and Soundness, which includes whether the Local Plan is justified based on the evidence, effective and consistent with national policy. FPC will be responding to this consultation, covering the sites above and the draft Local Plan policies which relate to them.

We will have little further information to share at our July FPC meeting on Thursday 16th although please do come along. We plan to have drafted our response for discussion and agreement at our September meeting which is on 3rd September, two weeks before the consultation closes. We suggest you hold off making your response until then, when we will be able to provide you with some key points that you may wish to include. We will remind you closer to the time, and it would be good to have many of you attend our September meeting.

Fawkham’s Little Library: Fawkham Parish Council are very pleased to launch this new scheme, where you "take a book, lea...
19/06/2026

Fawkham’s Little Library: Fawkham Parish Council are very pleased to launch this new scheme, where you "take a book, leave a book”.

You can find our Little Library on the green outside the Rising Sun Inn, next to the Parish Council Noticeboard.

Please feel free to take a book, and leave a book if you can. There are books for adults and for children.

How It Works:
• Bring a book you’ve finished reading and leave it on one of the shelves
• Choose a book to take away and enjoy
• Please only leave books in good condition
• If there’s no room on the shelves, please don’t leave any books around the cupboard - take them back home.
• We can’t accept bulk donations of books, only small donations of 1 or 2 books at a time. We suggest you keep any large quantities of books to donate to the Book Stall at the Church Fete or take them to a local charity shop, such as Oxfam or Ellenor in New Ash Green.

We hope you enjoy using the Little Library - happy reading!

Fawkham Parish Council has provided this Little Library using Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) funds. CIL is money raised from local development and can only be used in certain ways.

We are very pleased to say that two new Fawkham Parish signs have been put in place this week.After the previous sign on...
08/05/2026

We are very pleased to say that two new Fawkham Parish signs have been put in place this week.

After the previous sign on Baldwins Green was demolished by an HGV, we thought it would be good to take the opportunity to create a new design, incorporating residents’ suggestions alongside the elements of the previous design. The other sign on the green outside the Rising Sun was also showing its age so we replaced this one too. These were funded via our Parish CIL (Community Infrastructure Levy*)and the insurance payment.

The legend on the sign aims to reflect Fawkham’s special character and includes the following elements:
• The scroll bears the word Fawkham, supported on the left by oak leaves and on the right by seven acorns, indicating our inclusion in the District of Sevenoaks.
• The beautiful Norman church of St. Mary’s Church features in the top panel, along with bluebells representing the Ancient Woodland found across the Parish.
• On the bottom left panel is the de Faukeham coat of arms, as depicted in a stained glass window which existed in St Mary’s church until Victorian times. A drawing of this window was made for Thorpe’s Custumale Roffense in 1788, in which details of the coat of arms can be seen. The de Faukehams were the family who were granted the manor after the Norman conquest, and adopted the name of the village. The drawing can be seen here: Church window. The Latin inscription beneath it, Regnat Populus, means “Let the People Rule”.
• The bottom right hand panel shows the white horse of Kent on a red background, to indicate our inclusion in the County of Kent. Beneath it, a blue wavy line on a silver background is a visual pun on the watercourse which flows down Valley Road on a regular basis!
• The central bottom panel shows a tractor on fields bounded by hedgerows, reflecting the rural nature of the Parish.
• The design is edged in green, to represent the Green Belt which washes over Fawkham.
We are very pleased with the new signs, and hope you are too!

*CIL is received from development in the Parish and can only be used to fund certain expenditure.

It’s National Hedgerows Week - Hedgerows are a distinctive rural feature in Fawkham, found along the sides of lanes and ...
06/05/2026

It’s National Hedgerows Week - Hedgerows are a distinctive rural feature in Fawkham, found along the sides of lanes and public footpaths, and around gardens and fields. They provide homes and food for wildlife and offer vital green corridors that help animals move between sites. They connect otherwise disjointed and isolated habitats into a network for insects and the creatures that feed upon them: amphibia, reptiles, birds and mammals, including badgers, bats, hedgehogs and dormice.

As well as their biodiversity value, Fawkham’s hedgerows have amenity and aesthetic value, adding to the landscape character of the Parish. A profusion of hawthorn and blackthorn blossom can be enjoyed in the spring, wild dog roses bloom in summer, while sloe berries on blackthorn, berries on hawthorn and rosehips are abundant in autumn.

The hedges also help to slow or stop floodwater and flints from pouring off the valley-side fields into our lanes and help to combat air and water pollutants.

The Parish’s hedgerows are shown on the map below.

There is a mixture in size, age and condition of hedgerows throughout Fawkham Parish. Many are believed to be several hundreds of years old and species-rich. Several are relicts of Ancient Woodland which now edge fields cleared for agriculture, and many connect with other hedgerows and into shaws or blocks of woodland.

Woody species found include spindle, field maple, hazel and dogwood which often indicate older hedges. Other species include whitebeam (which is rarely found in the wild), elm, ash, blackthorn, wild cherry, rowan, hawthorn, wild rose, oak and sycamore. Some hedgerows have been surveyed in detail to find out which woody species they contain, and full details of these can be found in Appendix 4 here:https://fawkhamparishcouncil.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Evidence-Report-Biodiversity-Assets-3.24.pdf

The CPRE report that hedgerows surveys indicate there were more than 500,000km of managed hedgerows in England in 1984, but by 2007 more than 100,000km had been lost. Many of those which remain have been managed poorly or not at all. CPRE launched a Hedgerow Heroes project to plant or rejuvenate 100 miles of hedgerows this year. Our Neighbourhood Plan includes several policies which aim to protect hedgerows from development.

🐥 Happy Easter 🐣 The Easter bunny has left some eggs in some secret places around Fawkham. *Please take one per househol...
05/04/2026

🐥 Happy Easter 🐣

The Easter bunny has left some eggs in some secret places around Fawkham.

*Please take one per household to allow as many children as possible to find one.

Fawkham Parish Council

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Fawkham
DA38NT

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Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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