Tarmac wants to start work on a Scout centre at Sevenoaks Quarry, the first phase of the 800-home scheme. Plus two pubs, two churches and a pre-school playground.

Tarmac has asked Sevenoaks District Council to sign off the last details it needs before building starts on the first part of the Sevenoaks Quarry scheme. That first part is not housing. It is a new Scout centre in place of the old barn off Childsbridge Lane, Seal.

The ten submissions were validated in the week beginning 26 October. They appear on the council’s weekly lists for the three weeks from 19 October, which we could not read while the planning portal was down. (Sevenoaks District Council, weekly planning list, Public Access)

The ones to know about

  • The Sevenoaks Quarry Scout centre, Childsbridge Lane, Seal. Ten condition submissions cover construction traffic, drainage, archaeology, trees and ground conditions. More on this below. (26/02834/DETAIL and nine others)
  • A playground for Knockholt pre-school. The pre-school wants to fence off a small part of the Knockholt Village Centre car park as a play area. (26/02492/FUL)
  • Two pubs. The Spotted Dog at Smarts Hill, Penshurst, wants a glazed entrance extension. The Lion Hotel in Farningham wants a new bar fit-out and fixed seating. Both are listed buildings. (26/02509/FUL, 26/02586/LBCALT)
  • An accessible toilet at St Peter’s, Hever. The church wants a toilet pod and a storage shed in the churchyard, reached by a new lit path. (26/02772/FUL)
  • A slurry lagoon at Crockham Hill. Grange Farm on Pootings Road wants a manure clamp and a slurry lagoon. (26/02219/FUL)

Sevenoaks Quarry: why a Scout hut comes first

The council granted Tarmac outline permission for the quarry on 8 October 2024. The permission covers up to 800 homes, up to 150 residential care units, a primary school, shops, sports and community uses and new parkland. (Sevenoaks District Council, officer report on 25/01445/REM, 24 June 2026)

Outline permission settles only the principle. Each phase then needs its own detailed approval, called reserved matters.

The first phase to get one is the barn on the quarry’s eastern edge. The outline plan was to convert it for community use. Engineers then found the metal-shell barn could not viably be refurbished, and a 2025 amendment allowed it to be knocked down and rebuilt instead, the officer report says.

The council approved the replacement on 1 July 2026. The report describes:

  • a new single-storey barn for a local Scout group, almost on the same spot, moved just under three metres to save trees
  • a climbing wall and outdoor space for Scout activities
  • a car park, reached from a widened entrance on Childsbridge Lane
  • proposed Scout use on weekday evenings from 4pm to 9.30pm, with occasional weekend use

Seal Parish Council backed the Scouts but raised concerns about parking, lighting, drainage onto Childsbridge Lane and a sewer in the road. The report records 32 objections in the first round of consultation, many of them about the wider 800-home scheme. The officer said that principle was already settled by the outline permission.

What the start plans say

The new submissions are the conditions that must be cleared before work begins. They were filed on Tarmac’s behalf, according to the agent’s covering letter of 23 October. (26/02834/DETAIL, covering letter)

The construction traffic plan, dated 22 October, sets out how lorries would reach the site:

  • in from the north, via West End and Pilgrims Way, then onto Childsbridge Lane
  • out by turning right only, south down Childsbridge Lane to the A25 at Seal
  • no deliveries between 8am and 9am or between 3pm and 4pm, to avoid school times
  • proposed working hours of 8am to 6pm on weekdays and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays, with none on Sundays or bank holidays
  • no lorries waiting on Childsbridge Lane, and no reversing onto it

The plan estimates six to ten vehicle movements a day for the first six weeks, while the barn is demolished. That rises to eight to twelve during the main build, then falls to four to eight a day of mostly vans for the fit-out. The contractor will confirm the figures before work starts. (26/02834/DETAIL, construction traffic management plan)

The ground survey found no remediation is needed, the covering letter says. Trial trenches found nothing of archaeological significance, so an archaeologist would watch the works instead.

Neither document gives a start date. The council’s deadline for deciding the conditions is 21 December.

What it means for residents

If you live on Childsbridge Lane, in Seal or in Kemsing, the traffic plan is the document to read. It decides which way the lorries come. Objectors in the last round of consultation asked that construction traffic stay off Mill Lane and Greatness Lane, according to the officer report. The route in the plan does not use either.

The Scout centre is a small first step. The 800 homes will need further reserved matters approvals, phase by phase, and each of those applications will be consulted on.

The list, by area

Tree works are grouped at the end of each area. Where one site has several condition submissions, they share a line.

Sevenoaks town

  • Sevenoaks Quarry, Bat and Ball Road: ten condition submissions for the outline permission covering archaeology, construction management, drainage, remediation and trees (26/02819/DETAIL and 26/02831/DETAIL to 26/02839/DETAIL)

Seal and Ash

  • The Crown, 16 High Street, Seal: archaeology details for an earlier permission (26/02680/DETAIL)
  • Oast House Nursery, Ash Road, Ash: details for an earlier permission (26/02766/DETAIL)

Halstead and Knockholt

  • Knockholt Village Centre, Main Road: a fenced playground for the pre-school on part of the car park (26/02492/FUL)
  • Fort Halstead, Crow Drive: remediation and car charging details for the redevelopment (26/02823/DETAIL, 26/02686/DETAIL)
  • Tree works: QinetiQ Area 2, Fort Halstead (26/02775/WTPO)

Westerham, Brasted and Crockham Hill

  • Grange Farm, Pootings Road, Crockham Hill: a manure clamp and slurry lagoon (26/02219/FUL)
  • Buddha of Westerham, 23 Market Square: cycle parking details (26/02818/DETAIL)
  • Tree works: a beech at St Martin’s Church, Brasted (26/02912/W5DAY)

Edenbridge, Hever, Penshurst and Leigh

  • The Spotted Dog, Smarts Hill, Penshurst: a glazed entrance extension and internal changes to the listed pub (26/02509/FUL and 26/02510/LBCALT)
  • St Peter’s Church, Hever: an accessible toilet pod and storage shed in the churchyard, with a lit path (26/02772/FUL)
  • Hever Stud Farm, Hever Road: stables and staff accommodation replaced (26/02551/FUL)
  • Details for earlier permissions: six for land behind 130 to 132 High Street, Edenbridge; five for Stanholm care home, Mill Hill; and a biodiversity plan for the Leigh flood storage area

Eynsford and Farningham

  • Lion Hotel, High Street, Farningham: a new bar fit-out, fixed seating and handrails in the listed building (26/02586/LBCALT)
  • Tree works: Eynsford Cricket Club (26/02780/WTCA)

Licensing

One new premises licence application reached the council’s register in the period. It is for Tesco in the Fawkham and West Kingsdown ward (26/04624/LAPRE). The notice period ends on 20 November, with no representations so far. (Sevenoaks District Council, premises licence tracker) The figures are from the register as extracted on 6 November.

How to comment

Search the reference on the council’s Public Access portal, or read our guide to the Sevenoaks planning portal and how to object.

Last time: up to nine homes sought on Hosey Hill, Westerham.

Sources

Image: Oast House at Quarry, Farm Road by Oast House Archive, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph.