Councillors refused three Gypsy and Traveller pitches off Troy Lane, Edenbridge, overturning a recommendation to approve. The Cock Inn garden in Halstead was granted.

Sevenoaks District Council has refused three Gypsy and Traveller pitches on farmland off Troy Lane, west of Edenbridge. Councillors on the Development Management Committee turned the scheme down on Thursday night, although planning officers had recommended approval. (Sevenoaks District Council, Public Access record for 25/02693/FUL)

The refusal notice was issued on Friday 16 October. The site drew 74 letters of objection, and Edenbridge Town Council objected as well. (Sevenoaks District Council, officers’ report on 25/02693/FUL)

Why it was refused

The decision notice gives a single reason. It says the site is in an “unsustainable location”, so the scheme fails one of the national tests for building on grey belt land. (Sevenoaks District Council, refusal notice for 25/02693/FUL, 16 October 2026)

That makes it inappropriate development in the Green Belt, the notice says. It adds that there are “no very special circumstances to clearly outweigh the harms identified”. The council cites the national planning rules and two policies of its own Core Strategy, LO1 and LO8.

Location was one of the points objectors pressed hardest. Edenbridge Town Council said the bus stop on Hilders Lane is no longer served. It said both lanes are narrow, have no pavements and carry the national speed limit.

What officers had said

The officers’ report accepted the site is not within a safe walking distance of most of Edenbridge’s services. It said that context “is common for Gypsy and Traveller sites within Sevenoaks District, which are frequently located in more rural areas”.

Officers weighed that against the shortage of pitches. The council’s own figures put the remaining need at 170 pitches across the district, as of September 2026. The district has no adopted site allocations, so it cannot show a five-year supply. Our preview of the meeting sets out the officers’ case in full.

Timeline of application 25/02693/FUL: received 22 September 2025 and validated 9 January 2026; 74 objections and an Edenbridge Town Council objection; officers recommended approval, calling the site grey belt with an unmet need of 170 pitches; the committee refused it on 15 October 2026 for an unsustainable location; the refusal notice was issued on 16 October 2026, and the applicant can appeal until 16 April 2027.
How the Troy Lane decision went. Graphic by Sevenoaks Online
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What happens next

The applicant can appeal to the Planning Inspectorate within six months of the notice, which means by 16 April 2027. The notice sets out that right. (Sevenoaks District Council, refusal notice for 25/02693/FUL)

The pitch shortage has decided appeals in the district before. Last month an inspector allowed a traveller pitch at St Clere Hill Road, West Kingsdown, for three years, citing the lack of sites. Our report on that appeal has the detail.

The application was received on 22 September 2025 and validated on 9 January 2026. Its original decision deadline was 6 March 2026.

The committee’s minutes, which will record the vote, have not yet been published.

The Cock Inn, Halstead: garden approved

The same meeting granted permission to turn the tarmac in front of the former Cock Inn, on Shoreham Lane, into a private garden. Officers had recommended approval. (Sevenoaks District Council, grant of permission for 26/00808/FUL, 16 October 2026)

Halstead Parish Council had strongly objected. It said the corner is dangerous for children and families walking to the school, shop and recreation ground, and wanted a pavement there instead. (Sevenoaks District Council, officers’ report on 26/00808/FUL)

The permission comes with conditions, including:

  • visibility splays of 2.4 by 43 metres, kept clear of anything over 1.05 metres high
  • full landscaping details, including replacement for lost trees and the timber fence, approved before the garden is used
  • work to start within three years

The land belongs to Kent County Council as highway land. Planning permission alone does not hand it over: a separate application to the Secretary of State to stop up the highway is still needed.

What it means for you

Every document on both applications, including the objections and the decision notices, is on the council’s planning portal. Search for 25/02693/FUL or 26/00808/FUL.

If an appeal is lodged on Troy Lane, it will be listed on the Planning Inspectorate’s appeals casework portal. Our planning applications guide explains how to follow a scheme near you.

Sources

Image: Troy Lane, by N Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph (Wikimedia Commons). Graphic by Sevenoaks Online.