All Sevenoaks news stories
Sevenoaks news, new stories most days: planning decisions, council votes, crime, schools, business and sport, each linked back to its official source.
Top story
Sevenoaks Town up to 7th after 2-1 win; RFC go to Worthing
Sevenoaks Town beat AFC Croydon Athletic 2-1 to climb to seventh in the Isthmian South East. Sevenoaks RFC put four wins from four on the line at Worthing on Saturday.
More stories
Parking
Sevenoaks parking freeze agreed, cash users to be consulted
Cabinet backs a 2027 parking freeze paid for by £5 weekend charges at Gordon Road and the end of cash, but older residents' groups will be consulted first.
Bins
Sevenoaks new bins: 150 missed collections a day reported
About 150 missed bins a day are being reported since wheelie bins arrived, out of 10,000 daily collections. First-week recycling was 2.5 times normal.
What's On
What's on in Sevenoaks this weekend, 23 to 25 October
Half term starts: Emmetts' children's fairground opens, Kentish Opera sing HMS Pinafore, the Oaks seconds host Dover, and the clocks go back on Sunday.
Schools
Four Elms Primary Ofsted: strong standard for wellbeing
Ofsted rates Four Elms Primary near Edenbridge strong for pupils' wellbeing. Every Year 6 pupil met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.
Roadworks
Sevenoaks Roadworks: Oak Lane, M26 and M20 Nights from 26 October
Oak Lane in Sevenoaks shuts from 26 October, the M26 and M20 close on three nights and Greenwood Way stays shut. Kent's 22 October notice, every order linked.
Community
Swanley Park café owners retire after 15 years
The family who have run the Park Café at Swanley Park for 15 years are retiring. The café stays open under new management, Swanley Town Council says.
Community
Marsh Green's new £70,000 playground opens near Edenbridge
Marsh Green has a new children's playground, opened on 7 October. Edenbridge Town Council put up to £70,000 of developer levy money into replacing the old one.
Data
Sevenoaks unemployment claims rise to 1,685 in September
September's claimant count of 1,685 is the district's highest since January 2022. Men account for 125 of the 135 extra claimants on a year ago.
Council
Sevenoaks Leisure Centre could shut during the rebuild
The council says Sevenoaks Leisure Centre may have to close while the Land East scheme is built. Keeping it open could add several million pounds.
Council
Sevenoaks council this week: missed bins five times target
Missed bin collections ran at five times the council's target this summer, and 130 households are in temporary housing. Scrutiny looks at both on Thursday.
Remembrance
Sevenoaks war memorial restored ahead of 8 November service
The bronze soldier on the Vine has been cleaned, repatinated and sealed by Antique Bronze, in time for Remembrance Sunday. See the before and after pictures.
Roads
Sevenoaks pothole claims: 284 made, 13 paid, £3,070 total
Drivers made 284 pothole damage claims against KCC in Sevenoaks district last year and 13 were paid, totalling £3,070. The 20 worst roads, named, from our FOI.
Planning
Westerham Hosey Hill: up to 9 homes sought on Green Belt
Up to nine homes are proposed on a Green Belt field off Hosey Hill, Westerham, with a decision due by 28 October. Plus all 38 new Sevenoaks applications.
Business
Companies Registered at Sevenoaks Addresses, 6 to 18 October
Forty companies were registered at Sevenoaks district addresses between 6 and 18 October, from the Companies House register. A registration is not an opening: the list, and the firms in liquidation or facing petitions.
Community
Hollybush football goals petition closes with five signatures
The ePetition for football goals at Hollybush in Sevenoaks closed on 17 October with five signatures. What it asked for and where the council's reply will go.
Community
Sevenoaks community news: Stag pledges beat £100k target
Eight Sevenoaks charities share £11,740 and the rugby club's rent drops to a peppercorn. Stag pledges hit £117,000; Edenbridge Market wins a national award.
Community
Swanley's Hilda May 'Blue Park' reopens after £23,510 refit
Swanley's Hilda May playground, known locally as Blue Park, has reopened. It is the fourth refit this year in a record £337,686 spend on play.
Environment
Sevenoaks hosepipe ban stays as Sussex hits severe drought
Both bans still run in the district. Severe drought was declared in parts of Sussex on 15 October; Kent's rules are unchanged and the Darent is still low.
Crime
Sevenoaks crime news: Swanley shooting charges, 6 appeals
Six Kent Police appeals are open around Sevenoaks, the newest a Dunton Green failed-to-stop on 2 October, plus three October charges. Every reference number.
Business
Sevenoaks business news: Tesco returns to the High Street
Tesco and Oliver Bonas will open at Chandlers Place on the High Street. Plus 81 new firms in September, two pub licence reviews and an award for Edenbridge.
Planning
Troy Lane traveller pitches refused against officers' advice
Councillors refused three Gypsy and Traveller pitches off Troy Lane, Edenbridge, overturning a recommendation to approve. The Cock Inn garden in Halstead was granted.
Sport
Sevenoaks RFC beat Farnham 28-7; Sevenoaks Town win 3-2
Sevenoaks RFC beat Farnham 28-7 for four league wins from four, and a Jeche hat-trick gave Sevenoaks Town a 3-2 home win over Broadbridge Heath on Saturday.
Planning
Sevenoaks planning: 2,175 Local Plan comments are in
2,175 Local Plan comments go to an inspector in 2027. Councillors met on 15 October over Troy Lane's traveller pitches; the next committee sits on 12 November.
Business
Tesco and Oliver Bonas to open at Chandlers Place, Sevenoaks
Tesco and Oliver Bonas will take the shop units at Chandlers Place on Sevenoaks High Street. Oliver Bonas's sign plans are open for comment until 30 October.
Crime
Sevenoaks crime rate: 52.5 per 1,000, 37% below average
Sevenoaks recorded 52.5 crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, 37% below the England and Wales rate. The Home Office figures, and what they miss.
Planning
Sevenoaks Planning Portal: Direct Link, 21 Days to Object
Search any Sevenoaks application by postcode or reference on Public Access, free and no account needed. You get 21 days to comment, and here is what counts.
Earlier stories
October 2026
- What's on in Sevenoaks this weekend, 16 to 18 October
- Bluebell Cemetery, Halstead, wins national Gold Award
- Sevenoaks community grants: £5,000 open now, close 6 October
- Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells A&E: 12-hour waits hit 686
- Swanley Asda shoplifter jailed for 18 weeks after ban breach
- Swanley petrol station bids to sell alcohol 24 hours a day
- Vine PSPO extended to 2029 as Halstead consultation agreed
- Broke Hill golf course: 660 homes refused, officers overruled
- Halstead car meets order: have your say by 13 November
- Sevenoaks District Council news: parking vote 20 Oct, bins in
- Swanley Asda knife robbery bid: man, 46, charged
- Rising Sun, Twitton: licence review on 27 October
- Westerham Club licence review: no decision yet after 21 Oct
- Seal pupil's harvest design painted on Coldbreath window
- Knockholt station traveller pitches: Halstead objects
- Swanley and New Ash Green curry houses win Curry Life awards
- Sevenoaks NHS: Stephanie Elsy is new Kent and Medway chair
- Sevenoaks ambulance times: up to twice the 7-minute target
- Swanley shooting: two men charged with attempted murder
- Sevenoaks Town lose 5-2 at Crowborough; rugby wins 47-7
- Troy Lane traveller pitches recommended despite 74 objections
- Westerham mast vote: 67% yes, council moves to next stage
- Borough Green stabbing: man charged with attempted murder
- What's on in Sevenoaks this weekend, 9 to 11 October
- Sevenoaks homelessness: 139 told to leave by family, friends
- Sevenoaks GPs to link abuse victims to support from 2027
- Sevenoaks Local Plan: 80% of 3,000 replies call it unsound
- Sevenoaks council this week: crossings petition, road dates
- Sevenoaks food hygiene: September's 27 ratings all 5s
- New Sevenoaks businesses: 81 in September, 3 liquidations
- Sevenoaks planning: home bid for Cowden pub's holiday let
- Dunton Green: driver fled on foot after failing to stop
- Edenbridge Market named Small Market Team of the Year
- Sevenoaks Rugby Club rent cut to peppercorn, £11,740 grants
- Sevenoaks Town win 2-0 at Steyning, rugby opens 68-12
- Sevenoaks parking charges frozen, but cash to go from April
- The Stag: 600 pledges top £117,000, beating £100k target
- Sevenoaks wheelie bins start 12 October: glass goes in too
- What's on in Sevenoaks this weekend, 2 to 4 October
September 2026
- Sevenoaks crime: 86 reports in August, lowest in two years
- Greatness Pavilion up for grabs: ideas due 31 December
- Sevenoaks GPs each cover 2,570 patients, 18% above England
- West Kingsdown Traveller pitch allowed on appeal for 3 years
- Four towns oppose CIL cut, want levy kept up to 149 homes
- Sevenoaks gets £260,000 for new signs linking bus and rail
- Hospices of Hope, Otford: 35 years marked with a carnival
- Sevenoaks car parks could stop taking cash from April
- Sevenoaks council this week: bins, parking, housing list
- Sevenoaks dog theft: lurcher stolen from Dunton Green farm
- Sevenoaks in Bloom wins three golds at Wisley awards
- Sevenoaks fly-tipping reports up 58% as fines stay rare
- Kemsing: nine more homes sought beside Childsbridge site
- Sevenoaks planning applications: 6am petrol station bid
- Broke Hill refusal: developer asks for government call-in
- Westerham padel courts: five-court bid, comments by 13 Oct
- Kings Arms Westerham wins 1am licence with new noise curbs
- Sevenoaks planning decisions: 3 refusals in 15 since May
- New Ash Green wheelie bins: no lorries in garage courts
- Greatness pavilion: who paid the £2.1m and who built it
- Sevenoaks Town 5-0 Eastbourne: Barrington hat-trick
- Westerham phone mast vote closes 3pm on 2 October
- Swanley graffiti: boy, 15, arrested over town centre damage
- What's on in Sevenoaks this weekend, 25 to 27 September
- Sevenoaks council finances: borrowing 'not sustainable'
- Westerham robbery inquiry: four arrests, 300 items seized
- The Vine PSPO: order stays until 2029 as ASB falls
- Broke Hill 660 homes decided Thursday: council month ahead
- Silver Sevenoaks: free over-55s events October to December
- Greatness Football & Community Centre opens after £2m build
- Sevenoaks new businesses: 57 registered in three weeks
- Sevenoaks planning applications: barn home bid among 32 new
- Westerham food hygiene: Market Square caterer rated zero
- Shoreham fly-tipper handed 28-week suspended sentence
- Sevenoaks Town beat Margate 2-1 for first win of season
- Sevenoaks CIL plan: 8 of 16 object, all of them residents
- Pig & Pickle Seal Chart: pub company goes into liquidation
- Sevenoaks crime down 3.1%, district police commander says
- Ightham Primary graded strong in all seven Ofsted areas
- Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve: Trust fights 1,500-home plan
- 1,500 homes north of Sevenoaks: what the brief promises
- Brittains Lane 284 homes: now for the Local Plan inspector
- Local Plan consultation opens on 23 July: how to have your say on 17,460 homes
- Bradbourne Lakes closed until summer 2027: what happens first
- Otford demands 1,500-home site cut from Sevenoaks Local Plan
- Sevenoaks house prices July 2026: down £7,387 to £538,714
- Ide Hill dog theft: both stolen spaniels are back home
- Sevenoaks unemployment claims hit 1,675, a four-year high
- HMRC petition against Halstead firm: no winding-up order yet
- Sevenoaks High Street crash: police appeal after teen hurt
- Swanley's Cherry Avenue playground reopens after £100k refit
- Childsbridge Lane, Kemsing: 7 Green Belt homes granted
- Sevenoaks Shared Prosperity Fund: £2m ends, no successor
- Fort Halstead: Barratt asks to ease monument consent step
- Sevenoaks nursery Ofsted: strong marks for two new settings
- Hastings line shut 24 Oct to 1 Nov: buses over half term
- Sevenoaks wheelie bin roadshows: dates before 12 October
- Sevenoaks station: no step-free route to London until 1 December
- Sevenoaks Local Plan: 2,175 Responses, Now to the Inspector
- Sevenoaks District Council's abolition is paused, and the May 2027 election is back on
- South Darenth Traveller site: two-pitch plan on Horton Road
- Sevenoaks stolen car returned: Fiat 500 traced to Dartford
- JetMS Completions owed £6.15m, has £64,296 to pay it
- Kemsing fire: eight engines sent as Collet Road blaze spread
- The Stag: £100,000 pledge appeal opens, closes 1 October
- Sevenoaks food hygiene: full July list shows a 1 and a 2
- Sevenoaks new businesses: 74 firms registered in August
- Charing Cross reopened 17 August: claim refunds by 30 Sep
- The Stag: town council drops legal action, may pay £650,000
- Sevenoaks households get wheelie bins from October as recycling service is overhauled
- The Stag Sevenoaks: officers back £650,000 transfer
- The Stag's future: council offers town a £650,000 buyout or a 30-year lease
August 2026
- Swanley home closed for three months after court order
- Sevenoaks bank holiday bins: nothing on Monday 31 August
- Sevenoaks trains: both lines closed on Sunday 6 September
- Days out near Sevenoaks: Hever up £3.15 on 2 September
- Westerham barn fire: five engines sent to Chestnut Avenue
- Sevenoaks green recycling bags: £300k spent, £225k saved
- Waypoint Aerotec owes £486,584, has £11,443 to pay it
- Sevenoaks GCSE results 2026: 42 grade 9s at Trinity
- Great Comp Garden art exhibition: 29 to 31 August, £10.50
- Number Eight Sevenoaks: Café Royal chef cooks 23 September
- JETMS Completions liquidation: Biggin Hill firms wound up
- Sevenoaks house prices June 2026: down £6,025 to £543,081
- Sevenoaks unemployment claims hit 1,665, a 2022 high
- Halstead Nursery graded strong in all six Ofsted areas
- Sevenoaks children can design a real Christmas light
- Sevenoaks School boarding house: listed consent granted
- Knockholt fostering agency All4u rated Good by Ofsted
- The View School Edenbridge: strong in three Ofsted areas
- Sevenoaks A level results 2026: Trinity's best ever again
- Oaks Day Nursery Swanley: strong in two Ofsted areas
- Sevenoaks house prices up £20,952 in a year to £553,752
- Chipstead Lane yellow lines: object or support by 31 August
- M25 lorry fire shut motorway near Westerham from 5.15pm
- Biggin Hill aircraft firm JetMS heads into liquidation
- Sevenoaks bins from 6am, Monday 10 to Friday 14 August
- Sevenoaks planning applications: 43 lodged to 7 August
- Otford by-election: green belt slate sweeps all three seats
- Ming Foods Swanley placed in administration on 24 June
- Sevenoaks food hygiene: all 25 July inspections scored 5
- Fleur De Lis Leigh: premises licence bid filed on 27 July
- Lady Boswell's Sevenoaks: strong in all seven Ofsted areas
- Ashgrove Road Sevenoaks: farm access refusal now on appeal
- Out-of-work benefit claims in Sevenoaks district hit their highest level since January 2022
- Edenbridge wildfire: 10 fire engines to Hever Road
- Riverhead puts the A25 zebra crossing first and is holding back its reserves to pay for it
July 2026
- Homes plan for car park behind Otford High Street leads week's planning list
- Sevenoaks bin crews back on 6am starts as heatwave returns for the last week of July
- A 20m phone mast for Westerham among 38 planning applications lodged this week
- Councillors approve the £40m Land East loan after a bid for more oversight is defeated
- Sevenoaks disabled facilities grants: 55-day target agreed
- Sevenoaks EV charging: 11 of 26 wards have none
- Sevenoaks committee defies officers on Underriver stables
- Councillors decide tonight on the £40m loan for the Land East regeneration
- Sevenoaks bin crews start at 6am until 17 July as heat alert bites
- Cabinet approves final Local Plan consultation: how to have your say from 23 July
- Work starts on 60 homes at the old White Oak Leisure Centre site in Swanley
- Sevenoaks council to consult on new homelessness strategy as housing register reaches 1,142
- Green belt homes at Badgers Mount head to Sevenoaks planning committee on 9 July
June 2026
- Edenbridge 135-home green belt scheme granted by Sevenoaks committee
- Spitals Cross Edenbridge: £10.3m rebuild, 23 new homes
- Sevenoaks Local Plan: 17,460 homes, 810 at Broke Hill
- Sevenoaks bin collections start an hour earlier during the heatwave
- Sevenoaks planning committee, 18 June: 3 of 4 granted
- Sevenoaks names its 2026 community heroes at Making it Happen awards
- Council backs more than £2m of works at Edenbridge Leisure Centre
- Cabinet appoints Wates to deliver new Sevenoaks leisure centre and town-centre scheme
- Ash Church End: nine homes back before councillors
- Land East Sevenoaks: Wates picked, £40m loan on table
- Farningham Traveller site: backed after 2023 refusal
- Edenbridge 135 homes: officers back plan, 151 objections
- Bessels Green A25 crossing ruled out: 16 users a day
- Sevenoaks planning applications: 30 lodged in a week
- Councillors refuse 235-acre New Ash Green solar farm despite £400,000 appeal warning
- Sevenoaks recycling hits record high as food waste rounds collect 220 tonnes in a month