Two homes at Badgers Mount, a much-altered house at Riverhead and a stable block at Underriver all go before Sevenoaks councillors on 9 July. Officers recommend all three for approval, each called in by a ward councillor.

Sevenoaks councillors will decide three planning applications on Thursday 9 July, and officers have recommended that every one be approved. Two new homes on green belt land at Badgers Mount, a heavily altered house at Riverhead that has drawn 23 objection letters, and a stable block at Underriver are all on the Development Management Committee agenda. Each was called in for a committee vote by the local ward councillor. (Sevenoaks District Council, Development Management Committee, 9 July 2026)

The committee meets at 7pm at the council offices on Argyle Road. These are the three schemes, what officers say, and why they matter.

Three applications before Sevenoaks Development Management Committee on 9 July 2026: two homes at Perran, Badgers Mount (26/00546/OUT) recommend grant; house alterations at 22 Shoreham Lane, Riverhead (25/03481/HOUSE) recommend grant; stable block at Underriver (26/00135/FUL) would grant
Chart by Sevenoaks Online.

Two homes at Badgers Mount, on green belt land

The headline case is at Perran, Charles Road, Badgers Mount. The outline application, 26/00546/OUT, seeks to demolish two existing buildings and split a large garden plot to build two detached houses, with the details of layout, scale, appearance, access and landscaping all left to a later “reserved matters” application. It was called in to committee by Councillor Grint on the grounds of overdevelopment and the impact on the green belt. (Sevenoaks District Council, officer report, 26/00546/OUT)

The site sits in the Metropolitan Green Belt and the Kent Downs National Landscape, and Badgers Mount Parish Council has objected. The parish argues the plot lies outside the defined village boundary, so the scheme is not the “limited infilling in a village” that national planning rules allow, and that subdividing a large garden to add two houses “where none currently exist” would encroach on the green belt and reduce its openness. (Sevenoaks District Council, officer report, 26/00546/OUT)

The officer report agrees the proposal is not infilling, but recommends approval on a different basis: that the plot is previously developed land, where redevelopment is allowed in the green belt under paragraph 154(g) of the National Planning Policy Framework, provided it does not cause substantial harm to openness. The officer concludes any further impact on openness would not be substantial “due to the location of the site and its surrounding context which is residential in nature”. The report also leans on a factor that runs through most green belt cases in the district right now: because the council cannot demonstrate a five-year supply of housing land, the “tilted balance” of the NPPF applies, and the officer finds no protected asset that gives a strong reason to refuse. The recommendation is that outline permission be granted. (Sevenoaks District Council, officer report, 26/00546/OUT)

A much-altered house at Riverhead, 23 objections

At 22 Shoreham Lane, Riverhead, application 25/03481/HOUSE proposes a long list of changes to an existing house: removing the chimney, converting the garage, demolishing a rear extension and adding new rear and part first-floor side extensions, a loft conversion, solar panels, a new garage and a garden room. Councillor Clack called it in over concerns about overdevelopment, an overbearing impact on neighbours, and a garage sitting forward of the building line. (Sevenoaks District Council, officer report, 25/03481/HOUSE)

The scheme has attracted 23 letters of objection, nine of them from the same address, and Riverhead Parish Council has objected on the grounds of overdevelopment of the plot. Objectors describe the result as a three-storey house that is inappropriate for the street. The site is within the urban confines of Riverhead rather than the green belt. The council’s tree officer, having received an arboricultural assessment and method statement, raised no objection, and Southern Water did not object. Officers recommend that permission be granted subject to conditions, including tree protection during the works. (Sevenoaks District Council, officer report, 25/03481/HOUSE)

A stable block at Underriver, already at appeal

The third item is at Land Surrounding The Stables, Underriver House Road, Underriver, where application 26/00135/FUL seeks to build a single timber stable block. Councillor Thornton called it in over the impact on the openness of the green belt and possible harm to the National Landscape. Nine letters of objection have been received, raising the loss of an open grassy agricultural field and a fear that a stable would later be treated as brownfield land opening the door to further development. Seal Parish Council also objected. (Sevenoaks District Council, officer report, 26/00135/FUL)

This case is unusual: the applicant has already lodged an appeal against the council’s non-determination of the application, meaning the Planning Inspectorate, not the committee, will make the final decision. The committee’s job on 9 July is only to tell the inspector what its view would have been. Officers say that, but for the appeal, they would have recommended approval, with conditions restricting the stables to private equestrian use, requiring timber construction, controlling manure storage and drainage to protect the ditch to the east, and protecting the dark skies of the National Landscape. (Sevenoaks District Council, officer report, 26/00135/FUL)

What it means for residents

An officer recommendation is not a decision. Councillors on the committee can, and sometimes do, vote against the recommendation, and all three of these cases reached the committee precisely because a ward councillor wanted them debated in public rather than signed off by officers. The meeting on 9 July is open to the public, and members of the public who have made a representation can usually register to speak.

For the Badgers Mount plot, an outline grant would settle only the principle that two homes are acceptable there. A second, detailed application covering layout, access, appearance and landscaping would still have to be submitted and approved before anything is built. The Underriver stable will be decided by the Planning Inspectorate on appeal whatever the committee resolves. The Riverhead house, if approved, can proceed in line with its conditions.

You can read every officer report, follow a case or comment on a live application by searching the reference on the council’s Public Access planning portal. Our guide to tracking Sevenoaks planning applications explains how to search by street and set up alerts for your own address, and our June planning applications roundup covers the schemes lodged across the district last month. We will report what the committee actually decides once the minutes are published.

Sources

Image: The Bullfinch, Riverhead by Chris Whippet, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph. Chart by Sevenoaks Online.