Sevenoaks District Council Local Plan 2015-2035: Settlement Hierarchy

April 2018

Executive Summary p. 2

1. Introduction p. 4 2. Policy Context p. 6 3. District Profile p. 8 4. Approach to the Settlement Hierarchy p. 11 5. Updated Settlement Hierarchy for the Local Plan 2015-2035 p. 15 6. Settlement Profiles p. 22 7. Conclusions p. 24

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Executive Summary

The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) encourages Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) to identify within their Local Plans, appropriate locations for development. These should account for social, economic and environmental opportunities and ensure that the location of development is sustainable. The Settlement Hierarchy is a useful tool to determine the role of settlements, according to a number of factors including population size, services available within a settlement, consideration of Green Belt boundaries and transport connections.

The Settlement Hierarchy for District has 5 settlement classifications, ranking from the most sustainable (Principal Town Centre) to the least sustainable type of settlements (Hamlets):

 Principal Town – Sevenoaks Urban Area (Sevenoaks Town including , Chipstead, and Riverhead),

 Towns - , Edenbridge (including Marlpit Hill) and

 Local Service Centres – Hartley, and

 Villages – , , , Seal, , , , , Halstead, Leigh, , Sevenoaks , (with Knockholt Pound), Sundridge, Shoreham, , and ..

 Hamlets – , Hever, , , , , , , , , , Hodsoll Street, Ash, Stone Street, Mark Beech, , , , , Chevening, Knatts Valley, , Bitchet Green, Heaverham, , Mark Beech and Pratts Bottom.

N.B. Settlements which have been underlined are washed over by the Green Belt. While Badgers Mount has been classified as a Hamlet due to limited facilities and services, the settlement has a defined Green Belt boundary.

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1. Introduction

1.1 In 2011, the Council adopted a Core Strategy which sets out the overarching strategy and vision for the District up to 2026 and identified a number of key strategic policies to how the vision would be delivered. However, the Government has, since then, introduced new national planning policy and guidance, which govern how Local Planning Authorities go about the plan-making process. This includes the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) in 2012 and the National Planning Practice Guidance (NPPG).

1.2 The Council also adopted its Allocations and Development Management Plan (ADMP) in February 2015, which was found sound at public examination and in line with the NPPF. The ADMP states the Council’s commitment to review its pre-NPPF Core Strategy, so it reflects national policy and guidance. As such, the Council is currently undertaking a review of the Core Strategy and is currently preparing a new Local Plan which will cover the Plan period 2015-2035. To achieve this, the Council is preparing a new evidence base to reflect the current circumstances of . Once completed, the new Local Plan will replace the current Core Strategy and ADMP.

1.3 The Settlement Hierarchy for Sevenoaks District is a key piece of evidence that will be used to prepare the emerging Local Plan 2015-2035. It helps to define the role and function of each settlement within the District. This document will help inform the profile of settlements as well as their capacity to accommodate future development requirements.

1.4 The Sevenoaks District has a number of settlements, varying in size, character and function across the District. These include a number of urban areas, villages and hamlets which consist of only a small number of homes.

1.5 The settlement hierarchy is a way of categorising an area’s settlements to recognise their different roles. The hierarchy groups together the settlements that have similar characteristics. At the top of the hierarchy are the larger settlements that fulfil the most functions, have the best infrastructure (facilities and services) and are the most accessible by sustainable forms of transport. The smaller settlements, with fewer functions, infrastructure and transport links are nearer to the bottom of the hierarchy. This will help the Council determine which settlements are most suitable to accommodate additional growth (Figure 1).

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Settlements with the best access to services (most sustainable)

Settlements without access to services (least sustainable)

Figure 1 – Example of a Settlement Hierarchy

1.6 The Sevenoaks District Settlement Hierarchy was first prepared in 2007/2008 and subsequently updated in July 2009 and October 2014. The Authority Monitoring Report 2014/15 reports on changes to the 2014 Settlement Hierarchy in accordance with the Core Strategy and ADMP monitoring indicators.

1.7 The purpose of this report is to outline the new Settlement Hierarchy for the Sevenoaks District and how it will help prepare the emerging Local Plan 2015-2035. The Hierarchy:

 Provides a brief overview of the national and local planning policy context;  Describes the broad methodology used to develop the Hierarchy; and  Outlines and justifies the classification of each of District’s settlements.

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2 Policy Context

2.1 National Policy Context

2.1.1 National planning policy states that any development should take place within the most sustainable and deliverable locations. The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) states that a series of land-planning principles should be used when undertaking plan-making and decision-taking, in order to maintain sustainable development. Paragraph 17 of the NPPF outlines the principles of development stating that “[…] every effort should be made objectively to identify and then met the housing business and other development needs of an area and respond positively to wider opportunities to grow”, while promoting “[…] mixed use developments, and encourage multiple benefits from the use of land in urban and rural areas, recognising that some open land can preform many functions (such as wildlife, recreation, flood risk mitigation, carbon storage, or food production)”.

2.1.2 The NPPF additionally states that the plan-making processes for development should “not simply be about scrutiny, but instead be a creative exercise in finding ways to enhance and improve the places in which people live their lives” (paragraph 17). Furthermore, Local authorities should define a network and hierarchy of centres that is resilient to anticipated future economic changes.

2.1.3 The NPPF sets out individual planning policies for specific elements of development, in order to achieving sustainable development. In regards to the development of town centres, paragraph 23 states that local planning authorities should “recognise town centres as the heart of their communities and pursue policies to support their viability and vitality” with “[…] town centres in decline, local planning authorities should plan for positively for their future to encourage economic activity”. This includes the development of strong rural economies, which is important for a majority of settlements within the Sevenoaks District. Paragraph 28 of the NPPF states that Local Authorities should promote and retain the local services and community services within village as these are important community assets.

2.2 Local Policy Context

2.2.1 Sevenoaks District Council is now preparing a new Local Plan. The Council has produced adopted policies through the Sevenoaks District Core Strategy (adopted February 2011) and the Allocations and Development Management Plan (ADMP) (adopted February 2015) to reflect national planning policy and guidance. The over-arching aims of the Core Strategy’s Spatial Vision promote sustainable development within the District in the plan period, up to 2026, including the commitment “to locate development in sustainable locations on previously developed land, ensuring that the main focus for major developments is in Sevenoaks, Swanley and Edenbridge” (ADMP paragraph. 1.5).

2.2.2 The policies within the ADMP are reflective of the adopted policies within the Core Strategy, while maintaining compliance with the NPPF at the national

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level. ADMP Policy SC1 sets out that all development within the District will be in favour of sustainable development whereby “[…] the Council will take a positive approach that reflects the presumption in favour of sustainable development contained within the National Planning Policy Framework”.

2.2.3 This allows the Sevenoaks District to develop in a positive and sustainable manner. The Council is aware of the constraints that affect development within the District and have adopted policies that take these into account. This accounts to the protection of community services and amenity, within settlements of the District especially rural settlements. The ADMP recognises that local shopping provision is important to many settlements within the District and small scale retail development should be allowed in scale with the settlement. This can be split into town and local centre. A town centre can be defined with uses including:

. Retail development (including warehouse clubs and factory outlet centres); . Leisure, entertainment facilities and the more intensive sport and recreation uses (including cinema, restaurants, drive-through restaurants, bars and pubs, night-clubs, casinos, health and fitness centres, indoor bowls centres and bingo halls); . Offices; and . Arts, culture and tourism development (including theatres, museums, galleries and concert halls, hotels and conference facilities)

2.2.4 For a local centre, it can be defined as locally significantly areas of retail to which specific retail policies apply, in accordance with the NPPF.

2.2.5 Under Core Strategy Policy LO7, the Council seeks to retain local services and facilities, in order to manage the sustainability of rural locations and settlements, including the local character and the needs for services. This has been extended within the ADMP whereby neighbourhood services within urban confines are equally important as those services that can be lost in rural settlements (ADMP Policy CF2).

2.3 Emerging Local Plan 2015-35

2.3.1 Following the adoption of the ADMP, the Council committed to reviewing the Local Plan within five years. The emerging Local Plan will be based on up-to- date evidence bases, including demographic changes, and the need for new homes, employment and retail land across the District. Based on an increase in population growth, headline figures suggest that the District has a housing need of an additional 12,400 homes across the new pan period (2015 to 2035) and requires approximately 11.6 hectares of employment land.

2.3.2 It is expected that development will be distributed and delivered according the sustainability of the settlements within the District. The Settlement Hierarch

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will therefore help determine the general distribution of development in the new Local Plan, and will form as an evidence base to this.

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3. District Profile

3.1 Sevenoaks District is a predominantly rural district with approximately 93% of land within the district designated as Green Belt. There are also two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) which covers approximately 60% of land in the District. There is the North Downs to the north of the district and the High Weald to the south. Both land designations are important in terms of national planning policy and guidance, with AONBs seen as landscapes of national importance.

3.2 The district has a number of major roads including the M25, M26, M20, A25, A20 and A21 (Figure 2). These provide access to , Gatwick, Heathrow and Stanstead airports, and the Channel Ports as well as Ashford and Ebbsfleet international stations. Rail services are focused on links to London though services also serve towards the Kent/Sussex coasts, Gatwick (via Redhill and Edenbridge), Uckfield and East Croydon. A majority of the larger settlements have a rail station, as well as a number of the smaller settlements and villages.

3.3 There are 56 settlements within Sevenoaks District. As it is predominately rural, there are a number of villages and smaller settlements as well as some well defined urban areas. Approximately half of the settlements within the District have a defined Green Belt boundary. These tend to be the larger settlements and villages and the remainder are washed over by the Green Belt:

Settlements with defined Green Belt Settlements washed over by the Green boundaries Belt Sevenoaks Town Penshurst Riverhead Ide Hill Dunton Green Chiddingstone Chipstead Four Elms Bessels Green Chiddingstone Causeway Edenbridge with Marlpitt Hill Fawkham Swanley Hever Westerham Fordcombe Otford Crockham Hill New Ash Green Cowden Hartley Underriver West Kingsdown Ash Seal Hodsoll Street Horton Kirby Toys Hill South Darenth Bough Beech Kemsing Chiddingstone Hoath Brasted Swanley Village Hextable Stone Street Eynsford Mark Beech Crockenhill Marsh Green Halstead Well Hill

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Farningham Knatts Valley Knockholt with Knockholt Pound Chevening Heaverham Leigh Godden Green Shoreham Bitchet Green Sundridge Mark Beech Badgers Mount Pratts Bottom

3.4 Settlements across the district provide a range of facilities and services which support the day to day activities of residents, with some settlements having a wider and greater number of services than others. Due to the rural character of the Sevenoaks District, a number of smaller settlements have a limited number of services and facilities available to them, and residents may travel to the large settlements and surrounding areas outside of the District to use particular services. It is worth noting that some settlements are washed over by the Green Belt and have a greater number of services and facilities than those settlements which have Green Belt boundaries.

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Figure 2 – Sevenoaks District

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4. Approach to the Settlement Hierarchy

4.1 This section details the methodology and justification for producing the Settlement Hierarchy. As the NPPF states, local plans “are the key to delivering sustainable development that reflects the vision and aspirations of local communities” (para. 150) and should seek to achieve sustainable development across social, economic and environment dimensions (para. 152). Therefore, it is important that the Local Plan allocates potential development sites in sustainable locations which would meet the future requirements of residents.

Paragraph 17 of the NPPF outlines the principles of development stating that “[…] every effort should be made objectively to identify and then met the housing business and other development needs of an area and respond positively to wider opportunities to grow”, while promoting “[…] mixed use developments, and encourage multiple benefits from the use of land in urban and rural areas, recognising that some open land can preform many functions (such as wildlife, recreation, flood risk mitigation, carbon storage, or food production)”.

4.2 The Settlement Hierarchy uses the following criteria to determine the position and grouping of settlements:

Criteria Used Justification The given population of a settlement is a good The population of a indication of its size. This can then be used settlement proportionally against the other criteria to determine the position of a settlement in the hierarchy. The range of facilities and services available in each The range of facilities and settlement given an indication to how sustainable a services available in the settlement is. It also gives an indication as to settlement for the whether some settlements depend on other community to meet its day- settlements to provide facilities and services for its to-day requirements residents. Access to education is considered as a key service for a settlement and the local community. Access to The settlement’s access to education encompasses all forms of education education provision (i.e. primary, secondary, higher education such as colleges). Access to health services is an important service The settlement’s access to within a community. Therefore, this is identified as a health services facility that contributes to a sustainable settlement. It is important that that a settlement is connected by public transport and other allows greater The settlement’s connectivity choice/opportunities for residents to travel. and access to public Therefore, public transport and connectivity with transport surrounding settlements is important when looking at sustainability.

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It is important to note that a number of other factors could not have been included as part of the hierarchy assessment. These are detailed in the table below.

Criteria rejected Justification High reliance on private ownership has been, anecdotally, one of the main contributors which undermine what is considered to be a sustainable location for development. This can lead to arguments of increased congestion on the road network.

Whilst some areas within the District rely on the use of a private vehicle to travel because of a lack of public transport, the issue can be considered as subjective in the wider context. It is a question of choice and whether there are suitable alternative modes of transport available. This may result in residents still using private vehicles, despite a wide Car Ownership / choice of other modes (i.e. buses, trains, cycling) due to other Usage contributing factors. Therefore it would be unwise to draw a direct correlation between the use of a private vehicle and sustainability.

In addition, the number of vehicles within a location can not directly correlate with the sustainability of a settlement as it is dependent on individual social and economic requirements/factors (e.g. mobility requirements, individual wealth, number of people living within one household etc.).

Therefore, for these reasons, this aspect was not accounted for within the assessment process.

The issue of car parking is equally subjective when looking at the sustainability of a settlement.

There are two types of car parking that can be identified for the purposes of assessment; individual and communal. Individual car parking can be described as car parking that is available for a household that it designated off-road or private for the sole benefit of residents. Communal car Car parking parking can be described as on-street car parking without restrictions or parking to access goods and services (i.e. town/village centres).

Like car ownership, it is a question of choice and individual circumstance. The amount of car parking available is useful to a number of residents who depend on available car parking to access services and facilities. However, the level of car

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parking available is not an indicator to whether a location is sustainable.

Therefore, for these reasons, this aspect was not accounted for within the assessment process.

The NPPF is clear that unsustainable travel patterns should not be exacerbated and access to jobs near homes should be available to ensure sustainability.

Whilst this certainly a valid consideration in terms of developing sustainable communities, it is not realistic to assume that if there are local jobs within the area, that a local person will fill that job. Furthermore, Sevenoaks District has Travel to work excellent links with London (i.e. rail and road) where there patterns high-skilled residents are able to find a variety of well-paid positions and it is not plausible to assume that the local area or surrounding Districts and Boroughs can compete with this.

As a result, employment is considered to be a choice for a resident and therefore, consideration for travel to work patterns will not be taken into account and will not influence the settlement hierarchy.

4.3 Population of Settlements

4.3.1 The population of a settlement is a good indication of its size. This can then be used proportionally against the other criteria to determine the position of a settlement in the hierarchy. It also gives and indication as to whether settlements are over or under provided with services and facilities.

4.4 Settlement Services and Facilities Audit

4.4.1 A range of services and facilities were identified as contributing to the sustainability of settlements. This includes key retail services, community facilities, health and education provision, as well as transport connections. These were taken as the basis for an audit of each settlement.

4.4.2 None of the individual services have been prioritised or weighted apart from public transport where, for example an all day service scores higher than a peak only service. Some services were deemed as making an essential contribution towards the sustainability of a settlement especially when grouped together. These were classified as “key sustainability services/facilities”.

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4.4.3 On-site surveys were undertaken to determine what services each of the District’s settlements provided. This was based on a points system whereby a single point would be awarded for each service/facility present within a settlement. For example, if a settlement contained two primary schools, two points would be awarded.

4.4.4 Audits were sent out to town and parish councils for checking, as it is important that no services or facilities are missed from the audit. For the purposes of clarity, each town and parish council received one audit sheet which detailed all settlements within their parish area, along with the services and facilities in each area.

4.4.5 A total “Facility Score” was then calculated for each settlement which enabled them to be ranked accordingly to the range of services and facilities they currently provide. A further point was awarded for a settlement having a Green Belt boundary. Each scoring mechanism will be expanded upon in the next section.

4.4.6 National Policy stresses the importance of transport and access as a key indicator to successful, sustainable development. An analysis of transport links (i.e. bus and train services) are included, and are included as a separate score from the Facility score, but will be combined with the total settlement score. This analysis will focus on both peak and off-peak services per hour.

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5. Updated Settlement Hierarchy for the Local Plan 2015-2035

5.1 Population

5.1.1 As the 2011 Census population data is considered out of date, an approximate population figure for each settlement was derived from the mid-2015 population projections1 from the Office of National Statistics using Output Area (OA) data. In most cases, Output Area boundaries do not coincide with defined settlement boundaries. If part of the settlement falls within a particular OA, then this was included in the total for the settlement. The quoted population may therefore slightly exceed the population living within the defined settlement boundary.

5.1.2 For some very small settlements it was not possible to calculate a settlement’s population due to the geographical limitations with OA data. Where this was the case, an estimate for each settlement is given based on the electoral role (adding an extra 25% for those not eligible to vote).

5.1.3 A point was then awarded for every 1000th resident within the settlement. It is important to note that the populations have not been rounded up for the purposes of the scoring.

Table 1: Settlement Population and Scores

Population (ONS mid Population Score (per Settlement 2015 projection) 1000th resident) Sevenoaks Urban Area (Areas outside of the green belt including Sevenoaks 29,218 29 Town, Bessels Green, Chipstead, Dunton Green and Riverhead) Swanley 16,112 16 Edenbridge (including 8,847 8 Marlpitt Hill) New Ash Green 5,941 5 Hartley 4,800 4 West Kingsdown 4,667 4 Kemsing 4,073 4 Hextable 4,044 4 Otford 3,474 3 Westerham 3,368 3 South Darenth 2,130 2 Eynsford 1,674 1

1 Office of National Statistics (ONS) mid-2015 population projections (October 2016) https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/data sets/censusoutputareaestimatesinthesoutheastregionofengland

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Seal 1,590 1 Crockenhill 1,574 1 Leigh 1,274 1 Farningham 1,204 1 Halstead 1,063 1 Horton Kirby 1,002 1 Brasted 878 0 Sundridge 846 0 Sevenoaks Weald 812 0 Shoreham 804 0 Penshurst 762 0 Knockholt 754 0 Ide Hill 722 0 Swanley Village 712 0 Badgers Mount 647 0 Four Elms 602 0 Hodsoll Street 561 0 Cowden 517 0 Knatts Valley 484 0 Bough Beech 437 0 Fawkham 429 0 Chiddingstone Causeway 418 0 Chiddingstone Hoath 409 0 Ash 376 0 Stone Street 365 0 Hever 358 0 Underriver 335 0 Crockham Hill 326 0 Toys Hill 316 0 Mark Beech 311 0 Fordcombe 309 0 Bitchet Green 305 0 Well Hill 278 0 Heaverham 255 0 Chevening 250 0

5.2 Green Belt Boundaries

5.2.1 Current policy in the NPPF stresses the importance of protecting the Green Belt, by identifying appropriate development opportunities within existing settlement boundaries (i.e. brownfield land). As paragraph 80 of the NPPF states the function of the Green Belt is to check unrestricted sprawl from large built up areas, as well as protecting the merging of towns and protecting the countryside from encroachment.

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5.2.2 Therefore, settlements with defined Green Belt boundaries are more likely to be sustainable locations, than those settlements that are washed over by the Green Belt. This can to due to identifying potential urban renewal and regeneration opportunities with vacant brownfield sites within larger town and villages.

The following settlements have a defined Green Belt boundary and therefore will receive one point Sevenoaks Town Riverhead Dunton Green Kemsing Chipstead Brasted Bessels Green Hextable Edenbridge with Marlpitt Hill Eynsford Swanley Crockenhill Westerham Halstead Otford Farningham New Ash Green Knockholt with Knockholt Pound Hartley Sevenoaks Weald West Kingsdown Leigh Seal Shoreham Horton Kirby Sundridge South Darenth Badgers Mount

N.B - As all other settlements within the District are washed over by Green Belt (see para. 3.3), those settlements will not receive a point

5.3 Facility Scoring

5.3.1 It is important to understand the number of facilities and services that are available for the local community to meet their day-to-day needs. The table below lists a number of services and facilities that can a settlement may have available.

5.3.2 Some services were deemed as making an essential contribution towards the sustainability of a settlement especially when grouped together. These were classified as “key sustainability services/facilities”. Settlements with four or more services have been highlighted during the assessment of each settlement.

Type Facilities/Services Included Key Service? Rail Services (3, 2 & 1 peak services per Y hour and all day) Transport Bus Services (3, 2 & 1 peak services per Y hour and all day) Primary School Y Education Secondary School

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Employment Designated Business Areas Doctors Surgery Y Health Dentist Post Office Y Bank/Building Society Superstore (over 2,500 sq. m. trading

floorspace selling food and non-food) Supermarket (under 2,500 sq. m. trading Retail Service floorspace selling food and non-food) Providers Small Local Store Y Other Shops & Services (e.g.

butchers/hairdressers) Pubs/Takeaways/Restaurants/Tea

Rooms Community Hall Y Permanent Library Mobile Library Place of Worship Recycling Facilities Community Facilities Recreation Ground including Cricket

Ground Synthetic Turf Pitch Children’s Play Area/Provision for Young

People Major Indoor Sports & Leisure Facility

5.3.3 Below shows the total facility score for each individual settlement, taking into account the criteria that has been outlined in paragraph 5.3.2. Each service and facility has been given 1 point, or more if there are multiple of the same facility. For example:

 If the settlement has a single doctor’s surgery, it would score one point;  If the settlement has three primary schools, then it would score three points, one for each school;  Points for “other shops & facilities” are determined by the number of units which are still in use, according to the District’s town and local centre retail monitoring. This usually accounts for high scores in the top tier settlements in the hierarchy calculations.

Settlements that have 4 or more key facilities have been identified in Table 2 (see below). This indicates the more sustainable locations which may be able to support future development.

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Table 2: Settlements and Facilities Scores

Settlement Facility Score 4+ Key Services? Sevenoaks Town 468 Y Edenbridge (including Marlpitt Hill) 117 Y Swanley 116 Y Westerham 87 Y New Ash Green 53 Y Riverhead 51 Y Otford 47 Y Hartley 41 Y West Kingsdown 28 Y Brasted 26 South Darenth 26 Y Seal 25 Y Hextable 23 Y Eynsford 22 Y Dunton Green 21 Y Kemsing 21 Y Crockenhill 20 Y Halstead 18 Y Leigh 16 Sevenoaks Weald 15 Sundridge 15 Farningham 14 Four Elms 14 Knockholt 14 Y Shoreham 13 Ide Hill 12 Hever 11 Penshurst 11 Chiddingstone 10 Fawkham 10 Horton Kirby 10 Chiddingstone Causeway 8 Chipstead 7 Badgers Mount 6 Cowden 6 Crockham Hill 6 Fordcombe 6 Underriver 6 Ash 5 Bessels Green 5 Hodsoll Street 5 Stone Street 5

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Mark Beech 4 Chevening 3 Chiddingstone Hoath 3 Knatts Valley 3 Swanley Village 3 Toys Hill 3 Well Hill 3 Bitchet Green 2 Bough Beech 2 Godden Green 2 Heaverham 2 Marsh Green 0 Pratts Bottom 0

5.4 Transport Links

5.4.1 Due to the proximity of London and other large employment centres, the District has good transport connections, in particular with rail transport. There are four rail lines that run through the District:

 The London to mainline servicing Sevenoaks, Dunton Green and Knockholt;  The Swanley to Maidstone East line servicing Kemsing, Otford, Eynsford, Shoreham and Swanley;  The Tonbridge to Redhill (via Edenbridge) line which services Leigh, Chiddingstone Causeway and Edenbridge; and  The Uckfield to London line servicing Cowden, Hever and Edenbridge.

5.4.2 Sevenoaks and Edenbridge have two stations available which offer different services to different destinations. Sevenoaks Station and Bat & Ball station both have services to London Terminals as does Edenbridge Town. Edenbridge Station also has access to via services along the Tonbridge to Redhill line. However there is no direct service between Sevenoaks and Edenbridge.

5.4.3 While rail services are important to the District, there are a number of key strategic roads within the District linking up settlements to the Kent strategic road network. Important roads and highways include:

 The A25 which runs across the central region of the District. Settlements that rely on the A25 include Westerham, Sundridge, Brasted, Riverhead, Sevenoaks Town and Seal.  The A224 and A225 run north to south through the District and are used by settlements such as Sevenoaks Urban Area, Knockholt and Halstead, as well as Otford, Enysford, and Farningham.  The A20 heading through Swanley to London.

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 The District has the M25, M26 and M20 running through it which it a key part national strategic road network.

5.4.4 The table below outlines the average number of rail services per hour at each station only, both during peak and off-peak periods. The definition of peak and off-peak services can vary, according to different train operators, and what time they arrive at a particular destination. Therefore for the purposes of clarity, “peak” and “off-peak” services have been defined as the following:

 Peak – services that depart from a station between 07:00 and 10:00.  Off-peak – services that depart from a station after 10:00

Table 3: Settlements with Railway Stations and Service Frequency

Services Available per hour Settlements with Rail Services Available Peak Off Peak Chiddingstone Causeway (Penshurst Station) 1 1 Cowden 2 1 Dunton Green 3 2 Edenbridge (Services to Redhill/Gatwick) 1 1 Edenbridge Town (Services to London) 2 1 Eynsford 2 2 Hartley (Longfield Station which is located out-of- 3 3 District) Hever 1 1 Kemsing 2 1 Knockholt 2 2 Leigh 2 1 Otford 3 2 Sevenoaks (Mainline services) 5 3 Sevenoaks (Metro services) 3 3 Sevenoaks (Services via Bat & Ball station) 2 2 Shoreham 2 2 Swanley 2 1

5.6 All factors described in this section are taken into account when preparing the final Hierarchy. The final Settlement Hierarchy can be found in Table 4.

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Table 4: Final Settlement Hierarchy for Sevenoaks District

Combined Population, Population 4+ Key Settlement Services, Green Settlement of Sustainability Classification Belt & Settlement2 Services/Facilities? Employment Score Sevenoaks Urban Area (Sevenoaks Town Principal including Bessels 29,218 587 Y Town Green, Chipstead, Dunton Green and Riverhead) Swanley 16,112 135 Y Edenbridge (including Towns 8,847 126 Y Marlpitt Hill) Westerham 3,368 92 Y New Ash Green 5,941 59 Y Local Service Otford 3,474 51 Y Centres Hartley 4,800 46 Y West Kingsdown 4,667 33 South Darenth 2,130 30 Y Hextable 4,044 28 Y Seal 1,590 27 Brasted 878 27 Kemsing 4,073 26 Y Eynsford 1,674 24 Y Crockenhill 1,574 22 Y Villages Halstead 1,063 20 Y Leigh 1,274 18 Farningham 1,204 16 Sevenoaks Weald 812 16 Sundridge 846 16 Knockholt (including 754 15 Y Knockholt Pound) Shoreham 804 14 Four Elms 602 14 Horton Kirby 1,002 12 Hamlets Ide Hill 722 12 Penshurst 762 11

2 Figures are taken from the mid-2015 population projections from the Office of National Statistics (October16 2016). See paragraph 5.1.2 for further information on population methodology. An asterisk (*) denotes that there was insufficient data for the desired Output Area (OA).

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Hever 358 11 Fawkham 429 10 Chiddingstone * 10 Y Chiddingstone 418 8 Y Causeway Badgers Mount 647 7 Cowden 517 6 Underriver 335 6 Crockham Hill 326 6 Fordcombe 309 6 Hodsoll Street 561 5 Ash 376 5 Stone Street 365 4 Mark Beech 311 3 Swanley Village 712 3 Chiddingstone Hoath 409 3 Toys Hill 316 3 Well Hill 278 3 Chevening 250 3 Knatts Valley 484 3 Bough Beech 437 2 Bitchet Green 305 2 Heaverham 255 2 Godden Green * 2 Marsh Green * 0 Pratts Bottom * 0

N.B. Settlements which have been underlined are washed over by the Green Belt. While Badgers Mount has been classified as a Hamlet due to limited facilities and services, the settlement has a defined Green Belt boundary.

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6. Settlement Profiles

6.1 Principal Town

Settlement: Sevenoaks Urban Area (Sevenoaks Town, Dunton Green, Riverhead, Chipstead and Bessels Green)

The Sevenoaks Urban Area compromises Sevenoaks town, Riverhead, Dunton Green, Chipstead and Bessels Green. The area has been designated as the District’s Principal Town as it has the greatest population (29,218) and the greatest number of services and facilities (overall score: 587).

6.2 Towns

Settlements: Swanley Edenbridge (including Marlpitt Hill) & Westerham

Swanley has the second largest population in the District with 16,112 residents. It is also one the District’s major employment centres. Swanley has good rail and bus connections to surrounding areas and central London, with retail provision focused towards convenience facilities and services. Additionally, there are primary and secondary schools within the town. This is reflected within the overall score (135).

Edenbridge is the third largest settlement within the Sevenoaks District, with 8,172 inhabitants. There are a good range of services and facilities (overall score: 126) that are available for residents (including a Major Indoor Sports & Leisure Centre), yet it lacks in providing a full range of services (i.e. a secondary school) or employment opportunities.

Westerham is a designated a Town Centre and has a greater number of service and facilities available to residents (overall score: 92) than the Local Service Centres.

6.4 Local Service Centre

Settlements: Hartley, New Ash Green, Otford

Local Service Centres do not offer as wide a range of services and facilities as Town Centres. However, they do offer a proportionate range of services, facilities and employment opportunities for the daily needs of the local community and surrounding settlements.

6.5 Villages

Settlement: South Darenth, Hextable, Seal, Brasted, Kemsing, Eynsford, Crockenhill, Halstead, Leigh, Farningham, Sevenoaks Weald, Knockholt, Sundridge,. Shoreham, Four Elms,

These settlements are smaller than those further up the Hierarchy and offer fewer services and facilities. However, many of these settlements have 4 or more “key sustainability services/facilities”. In addition, they all have defined Greenbelt boundaries (except Four Elms) which means that, within these boundaries, there are

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opportunities for potential small scale or minor development. This is reflective of the total service scores for each settlement..

6.6 Hamlets

Settlement: Chiddingstone, Chiddingstone Causeway, Badgers Mount, Cowden, Underriver, Crockham Hill, Fordcombe, Hodsoll Street, Ash, Stone Street, Mark Beech, Swanley Village, Chiddingstone Hoath, Toys Hill Well Hill, Chevening, Knatts Valley, Bough Beech, Heaverham, Godden Green, Marsh Green. Penshurst, Hever, Fawkham, Ide Hill, Horton Kirby

These Hamlets have very small populations (fewer than 1,000 inhabitants) and have a limited range of services and facilities). All the settlements in this classification are washed over by Green Belt (excluding Badgers Mount). As such, it would be unrealistic to expect these settlements to accommodate much new development.

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7. Conclusions

7.1 The District has a number of settlements all offering a different variety of services and facilities to meet the day-to-day needs of the community. The settlements range from towns to small hamlets spread across the District.

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