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.

Parking charges in Sevenoaks District Council car parks will stay the same next year after Cabinet backed a freeze on Tuesday night. The freeze is paid for by a new £5 weekend charge at Gordon Road car park and by ending cash payments at council machines.

Concern about older drivers who still pay in coins won one concession. Cabinet asked for community groups to be consulted on the approved plan, with the findings brought back to a future meeting. (Sevenoaks District Council, Cabinet minutes, 20 October 2026)

The minutes were published today. The decision takes effect on 30 October.

What Cabinet agreed

Cabinet chose the second of two options in the officers’ report, as the Cleaner and Greener Advisory Committee had recommended on 1 October. The first option was a 2.5% rise on every fee and charge. (Annual Parking Management Review, Fees and Charges 2027/28, Cabinet 20 October 2026)

From 1 April 2027 the chosen option means:

  • No rise in any council parking fee or charge
  • A £5 daily charge at weekends in the council’s Gordon Road car park, which is free on Saturdays and Sundays now
  • Nine new spaces in Bligh’s Meadow car park
  • No more cash at council pay machines, and an end to cash collections

The budget assumes £115,000 more parking income in 2027/28. Officers estimate the three changes will raise £120,000 a year between them.

Bar chart of the estimated yearly income from the 2027/28 parking changes: £60,000 from a £5 weekend charge at Gordon Road, £38,000 from nine new spaces at Bligh's Meadow and £22,000 from ending cash at pay machines, against a budget need of £115,000.
Chart by Sevenoaks Online
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The advisory committee’s own vote for the freeze was not unanimous, the Cabinet minutes record. At that meeting some members said the Gordon Road charge would hit people who work in Sevenoaks hardest. Others thought £5 for a day was reasonable, and preferred it to a rise for everyone. (Cleaner and Greener Advisory Committee, 1 October 2026, minute 18)

The argument over cash

Collecting cash from the machines costs the council about £25,000 a year, the minutes say. That is more than cash payments bring in.

Members were told drivers can still pay by:

  • contactless card at the machine
  • the MiPermit app
  • telephone

Officers also pointed out that many other car park operators no longer take cash.

Some councillors were worried about older residents and people who prefer to pay in coins. Asked what consultation had been done, officers said none had taken place yet, because no option had been approved. Cabinet then added the consultation with “relevant community groups” to its decision.

The council’s 2025/26 parking report found cash made up 11% of payments, as we reported in September.

Gordon Road neighbours

Councillors asked whether drivers would avoid the new weekend charge by parking in nearby streets instead. The Strategic Head of Direct Services is to walk the area with residents of Gordon Road.

Officers said the existing restrictions there limit how long drivers can stay, with no return within four hours. Resident-only parking would be a matter for Kent County Council as highway authority. Officers thought big displacement was unlikely, because most weekend users of the council car park park all day.

Bradbourne Road could get cheaper

Cabinet also gave officers power to cut the all-day rate at the Bradbourne Road multi-storey, the station car park, during the year if needed.

The report says use of its 420 spaces was down 15% at the time of writing. Officers put that down to a cheaper private car park opened in 2026 at the one60 building in Hitchen Hatch Lane. Bradbourne Road charges £8.50 for a weekday over five hours; the private car park charges £5.80 for 24 hours, the report says. Officers propose to review the rate once a planning review of the other site is done.

Also decided on Tuesday

  • The Stag. In answer to a question, members heard that Sevenoaks Town Council had applied through the Community Asset Transfer process for the Stag’s freehold. The current lease has about ten years left at a peppercorn rent, and a further 35-year peppercorn lease had since been offered, the minutes say. They record no rise in the support needed to keep the theatre running as it is. Our Stag pledge story has the town council’s side.
  • No CIL Spending Board this year. The Community Infrastructure Levy Spending Board, which hands developer money to local projects, will not meet again this municipal year, members were told.
  • Housing. Cabinet approved a new Tenancy Strategy for 2026 to 2031. It sent the Homelessness and Rough Sleeper Strategy, the Housing Allocations Policy and a Private Sector Housing Enforcement Policy to Full Council for adoption. Officers said 1,255 households are on the housing register, with an average of 14.8 lettings a month.
  • Bins. Members heard how the first week of wheelie bin collections went. Our separate report has the figures.

What it means for you

  • Nothing changes before 1 April 2027.
  • If you pay in coins, switch to a card, the MiPermit app or the phone line before then. The consultation could still bring the cash decision back to Cabinet.
  • If you use Gordon Road free at weekends, expect to pay £5 a day from April. Our free parking in Sevenoaks page lists the places that still charge nothing.
  • Blue Badge holders still park free in all council car parks and on-street pay and display bays, the report says.
  • Commuters at Bradbourne Road may see a lower all-day rate during the year.

Our guide to parking in Sevenoaks lists every council car park and its MiPermit location number. The decision papers are on the council’s Cabinet meeting page.

Sources

Image: Blighs Car Park by Alex McGregor, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph. Signs and machines may since have changed. Chart by Sevenoaks Online.