Sevenoaks Town Council wants £100,000 in pledged donations by 1 October to help buy the Stag's freehold for £650,000. How it would be paid for, and how to pledge.

Sevenoaks Town Council has launched a public appeal to help it buy the Stag. It is asking residents, businesses and supporters of the venue to pledge donations towards a £100,000 target, with pledge forms due back by Thursday 1 October. (Sevenoaks Town Council, fundraiser launch, 2 September 2026)

The money would go towards the £650,000 that Sevenoaks District Council is charging for the freehold of the theatre, cinema and community arts centre on London Road.

The launch also confirms which way the town council has jumped. It resolved on 24 August not to take the district council to court over the price. Its Finance and Delivery Committee then met on 1 September to weigh the options, and the outcome had not been published when we reported that meeting. The Stag’s chief executive, Tony McEwen, described the result in the appeal announcement as “the Town Council’s decision to proceed with the purchase of the freehold”. (Sevenoaks Town Council, 2 September 2026)

How to pledge

The town council is collecting pledges, not payments, at this stage. Anyone who wants to contribute is asked to complete a pledge form by 1 October 2026. The form is online at SurveyMonkey and on paper at the Sevenoaks Town Council office. Questions about the appeal can go to the town council via its announcement page.

How the £650,000 would be paid

The town council’s plan combines three sources (Sevenoaks Town Council, 2 September 2026):

  • £350,000 borrowed through a Public Works Loan
  • £200,000 from the town council’s capital reserves
  • £100,000 from community donations, the target of this appeal

To repay the loan without raising its share of council tax, the town council would stop paying the Stag its £27,000 annual grant. That money would service the loan instead. You can see what the town council’s precept adds to your own bill on our council tax bands page.

Timeline of the Stag freehold purchase: the district council Cabinet decided on 16 June 2026 to dispose of the Stag for £650,000 or a 30 year lease, the town council dropped its judicial review on 24 August, the £100,000 pledge appeal launched on 2 September, and pledge forms are due by 1 October 2026
Graphic by Sevenoaks Online.

Why the town council says it is buying

The announcement argues that owning the freehold “would offer permanent security, remove exposure to future landlord decisions and provide the confidence needed to attract major, long-term investment”. A feasibility study the town council commissioned in 2025 explores potential redevelopment plans for the venue, which is also home to the youth café. (Sevenoaks Town Council, 2 September 2026)

Councillors considered the district council’s alternative offer of a 30 year lease seriously, the announcement says. They rejected it because rent reviews, break clauses and no automatic right of renewal “would remove the long-term certainty of ownership and make it harder to secure significant investment”. Letting the Stag pass to the new unitary authority instead was judged “the most unpredictable” option, with the least security for the town.

Cllr Claire Shea, Leader of Sevenoaks Town Council, said the council remains firmly of the view that the public should not be charged for the transfer of a public asset between local authorities. “But, whilst Sevenoaks District Council insists that it will charge a commercial price, we must now act prudently and consider the long-term interests of the town. Securing the freehold should protect the Stag, support future investment and give this valued venue greater certainty for generations to come.” (Sevenoaks Town Council, 2 September 2026)

Mr McEwen said: “I am overjoyed at the Town Council’s decision to proceed with the purchase of the freehold. We cannot view this victory in a vacuum, of course, as the path ahead will be difficult. I have confidence in the people of the Sevenoaks community and beyond that we can all come together for the upcoming fundraising effort to be able to secure the Stag Theatre for future generations.”

The row behind the price

The district council’s Cabinet decided on 16 June to dispose of the Stag, either by selling the freehold for £650,000, its independently assessed existing use value, or by granting a 30 year lease at a peppercorn rent. The town council challenged the charge, sent a formal pre-action letter in July, then resolved on 24 August not to pursue a judicial review. The district council said on 1 September that its position is unchanged. (Sevenoaks District Council, Council Reaffirms Position on Future of The Stag Community Arts Centre, 1 September 2026)

The two councils still disagree on the principle. The appeal announcement repeats the town council’s argument that there is no requirement to charge for a transfer between local authorities, and says its requests for negotiation and mediation were refused. It adds that public support for a transfer has been shown in a survey, where the Stag was voted the highest priority of 30 community assets considered, with 395 respondents in favour and 29 against, and in a petition of more than 7,700 signatures. (Sevenoaks Town Council, 2 September 2026)

The full background is in our earlier reporting: the June offer, the Cabinet decision and last week’s decision to drop legal action.

What it means for you

If you use the Stag and want the town council to own it, you can now do something concrete: return a pledge form by 1 October. The £100,000 community target is part of the purchase price, so the level of pledges will show whether the plan is affordable.

The purchase is designed not to raise the town council precept. The trade-off is that the Stag would lose its £27,000 annual grant, with the money redirected to loan repayments.

Timing matters because the district council is due to be abolished under local government reorganisation. The town council wants the transfer completed before that happens; otherwise the freehold passes to the new unitary authority. (Sevenoaks Town Council, 2 September 2026)

Sources

Image: The Stag Theatre, Sevenoaks, by Chris Whippet, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph.