Sevenoaks & District · Local news you can trust
Eight fire engines fought a garden fire in Collet Road, Kemsing, on Thursday night as it spread to sheds and trees. One person was checked by paramedics.
Read the full story
Sponsored
West End Classics at St Nicholas, Sevenoaks: Friday 23 October
Danny Whitehead and Rachel Roper sing Phantom, Les Mis and The Sound of Music by candlelight at St Nicholas Church. Two 60-minute concerts, 6pm and 8pm, tickets £25 to £45.
Business
JetMS Completions owed £6.15m, has £64,296 to pay it
The Biggin Hill firm's statement of affairs is public: £6.15m owed against £64,296 to pay it. Seventeen staff, HMRC and local suppliers are in the queue.
Council
The Vine PSPO: order set to stay until 2029 as ASB falls
ASB reports at The Vine fell from nine in 2023 to one last year, and 75% of consultation responses back keeping the order until December 2029.
Crime
Halstead car meets: £500 fines ahead as order faces renewal
43 fixed penalties and 56 protection notices since 2024, but car meets at Halstead go on. Fines are set to jump to £500 and three more years are planned.
Business
Sevenoaks new businesses: 74 firms registered in August
74 companies took Sevenoaks addresses in August, from a padel venture to railway contractors; 20 share one Sundridge office. Who is new, and the trend.
Council
Sevenoaks community grants: £5,000 open now, close 6 October
Voluntary groups in Sevenoaks district can apply for up to £5,000 until 12 noon on 6 October. Who qualifies, the two application routes and every key date.
Business
HMRC moves to wind up Halstead firm: hearing 9 September
HMRC has petitioned to wind up Knockholt Properties of Halstead, with a High Court hearing on 9 September. Two Edenbridge beauty firms and a Westerham accountancy also entered liquidation in August.
Crime
Swanley home closed for three months after court order
A Cherry Avenue home is shut until late November after Sevenoaks magistrates granted Kent Police a closure order on 25 August. Entering it is now an offence.
Transport
Sevenoaks trains: both lines closed on Sunday 6 September
Southeastern lists no trains Orpington to Tonbridge or Otford to Sevenoaks on Sunday 6 September. The Otford line is out again on 19 and 20 September.
Days Out
Days out near Sevenoaks: Hever up £3.15 on 2 September
The government's 5% VAT rate on family days out ends on 1 September. Hever Castle rises £3.15 an adult, Riverhill £1.75, and Knole's discount at the till stops.
Planning
Childsbridge Lane, Kemsing: 7 Green Belt homes granted
Permission in principle for up to seven homes on Green Belt land behind Childsbridge House, Kemsing, was granted on 4 September, with no conditions attached.
Fire and rescue
Westerham barn fire: five engines sent to Chestnut Avenue
A barn fire at Chestnut Avenue, Westerham, spread to grass on Monday 24 August. Five fire engines and a wildfire vehicle attended; the smoke advice was lifted at 16:16 and crews finished at 9pm. No injuries.
Sevenoaks Online covers the town and the villages around it, from Otford and Kemsing to Westerham, Edenbridge and Swanley. We report the local news that comes off the public record, planning decisions, crime figures, council spending and house prices, so you can see what is actually changing in the district, and we keep the everyday information you look up again and again accurate and easy to find: when your bin is collected, where to park, what your council tax band costs, and how long the train to London really takes.
Every story here is built from a real, named source: the council’s own registers, the police’s open crime data, the Land Registry, and other public records, and we link to that source so you can check it yourself. We are upfront about where a figure comes from and when we last updated it. If we get something wrong, tell us and we will correct it.