Sevenoaks Town FC's new clubhouse at Greatness was opened on 18 September. What is inside, who paid the £2.1m, and the playground coming this autumn.
The Greatness Football & Community Centre was officially opened on Friday 18 September by the Mayor of Sevenoaks, Cllr Victoria Granville, and Sevenoaks Town FC chairman Paul Lansdale. The new building at Greatness Recreation Ground is the club’s new clubhouse, built in partnership between Sevenoaks Town Council and the football club (Sevenoaks Town Council, press release, 21 September 2026).
The town council says the centre was finished on schedule. It is intended as a hub for sport, recreation and community activity, not just for match days.
What is inside
The building includes:
- changing rooms
- a kitchen
- a gym area
- a café and refreshment areas
It was also built with its running costs and carbon footprint in mind, under the town council’s Green Community Investment Plan. The building has an air source heat pump, solar panels and a living green wall.
Who paid for it
The project cost just over £2.1m. The town council’s own figures, published in August, put the total at £2,127,700, with the Community Infrastructure Levy that Sevenoaks District Council collects from developers as the largest single contribution (Sevenoaks Town Council, Town Clerk’s Update, 21 August 2026 (PDF)). The funders named at the opening were the Football Foundation (funded by the Premier League, The FA and the Government), the Premier League Stadium Fund, Sevenoaks District Council, Sevenoaks Town Football Club and Sevenoaks Town Council.
We reported on the funding and the build in August, when the town clerk confirmed prudent management had allowed the top floor to be fitted out rather than left as a shell: Greatness pavilion: £2.1m build to finish next month.
What was said
Cllr Granville said the town had been waiting for it. “The members and players of Sevenoaks Town Football Club, together with the wider Sevenoaks community, have eagerly awaited the completion of this outstanding facility. I am delighted that the day has finally arrived, demonstrating the strength of the partnership between the football community and Sevenoaks Town Council.”
She congratulated Mr Lansdale, town clerk Linda Larter and the construction team at Longley by name.
Mr Lansdale called it “an incredibly proud moment for Sevenoaks Town Football Club”. He said: “By working together, we have been able to turn an ambitious vision for Greatness Park into a facility that will benefit not only our football club, but the wider Sevenoaks community for many years to come.”
What it means for residents
The centre is the first completed piece of a wider transformation of Greatness Recreation Ground. This autumn the town council says it will install a new playground, an outdoor gym and landscaping around the building.
The café and community spaces are aimed at the wider public, not only club members. The clubhouse also opened in a good week for the club: Sevenoaks Town beat Margate 2-1 at home on Saturday for their first league win of the season (our report). For other play areas in the meantime, see parks and playgrounds in Sevenoaks.
Sources
- Sevenoaks Town Council, press release, “Greatness Football & Community Centre officially opened by Mayor of Sevenoaks and Chairman of Sevenoaks Town FC”, 21 September 2026, with photographs, sent to Sevenoaks Online by the town council’s community engagement manager
- Sevenoaks Town Council, Town Clerk’s Update, 21 August 2026 (PDF) (the £2,127,700 funding breakdown)
Image: photograph supplied by Sevenoaks Town Council, taken at the official opening on 18 September 2026. Chart by Sevenoaks Online.
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