Cabinet confirmed The Vine's ASB order until December 2029 on Tuesday night, and agreed an October consultation on extending the Halstead car-meets PSPO.
The anti-social behaviour order at The Vine in Sevenoaks will stay in place until December 2029. Cabinet approved the extension on Tuesday night, and the council announced it on Wednesday. (Sevenoaks District Council, Public Space Protection Order at The Vine to be extended, 23 September 2026)
The same meeting agreed to consult residents in October on extending the separate car-meets order on London Road, Halstead. (Sevenoaks District Council, Cabinet minutes, 22 September 2026)
Both decisions had been promised for this meeting, and we previewed them in Council this week.
The Vine: order runs to December 2029
The Public Spaces Protection Order was introduced in December 2023 by the district and town councils, after residents raised noise, vehicle nuisance and drunken and rowdy behaviour. Since then, the council says, there have been no reports of rowdy or nuisance gatherings at the ground.
The minutes record what the July consultation found:
- 143 responses, 60 of them from people under 18
- 107 supported extending the order for up to three years
- 129 agreed with the prohibitions as they stand
- no fixed penalty notices have been issued at The Vine in 2026
The extended order runs from 1 December 2026 and can last up to three years. The Cabinet decision itself takes effect on 1 October, after the call-in period. (Sevenoaks District Council, Cabinet minutes, 22 September 2026)
Cllr Lesley Dyball, Cabinet Member for People and Places, said: “It’s reassuring that anti-social behaviour at the Vine has markedly reduced since the PSPO was put in place. It has been a great success, and we want to do everything possible to keep this area safe.” (Sevenoaks District Council, 23 September 2026)
Members asked whether the trouble had simply moved elsewhere. Officers said other parts of Sevenoaks do face anti-social behaviour, but not because of the Vine order, and a task and finish group has been set up to deal with it. The full background, including the fall in police reports from nine in 2023 to one last year, is in our report on the consultation results.
Halstead: consultation next, and a fines ledger
The Hewetts Roundabout order on London Road, Halstead, was made in March 2024 to deter car meets, racing and motor vehicle nuisance. Cabinet approved a four to six week public consultation on extending it, to run in October. That decision took effect immediately.
The minutes put hard numbers on the enforcement effort. Over 100 community protection warnings and fixed penalty notices were issued at the site in four weeks during the summer. The advisory committee’s minutes a fortnight earlier had put the same period’s figure at 91; the two sets of minutes do not agree, and we have reported both. Of the roughly 100 fines just issued, members were told just over half were paid within 14 days, others are on payment plans, and some have been contested and reviewed by Kent Police. Fine income goes into the council’s community safety budget. (Sevenoaks District Council, Cabinet minutes, 22 September 2026)
Two more details from the meeting:
- the order is enforced with Kent Police using footage filmed by residents, and the council is in talks with Transport for London about mounting an ANPR camera on one of its lampposts
- new fine levels apply from 26 October 2026, when the maximum penalty for breaching a PSPO rises from £100 to £500
The enforcement story so far, including the 43 fixed penalties and 56 community protection notices logged since March 2024, is in our Halstead car meets report.
The rest of the night
Cabinet also took the September finance package, which the Finance and Investment Advisory Committee had already seen:
- the council forecasts a £130,000 overspend for the year, with the 3.3% pay award adding £71,000 above budget (financial monitoring report)
- the treasury annual report recorded £748,000 of interest earned at 4.43%, and officers told members there is no longer capacity for further internal borrowing, with up to £100m of approved external borrowing still undrawn
- a new Safeguarding Policy for 2026 to 2030 was recommended to Full Council
One answer in members’ questions is worth noting. Asked about Land East of the High Street, the town centre development, members were told the development agreement with the council’s partner has not yet been signed, and a letter to businesses, members and local councillors about an engagement programme will go out in the next few weeks. Our report on the council’s borrowing position has the background on the capital programme these decisions feed.
What it means for you
At The Vine, nothing changes day to day: the same two prohibitions carry straight on, and anyone causing trouble can still be told to leave and not return for 24 hours. If the area stays quiet, councillors have said the order could eventually be removed.
If you live near the Halstead order area or drive the A224 corridor, October’s consultation is your formal chance to say whether the car-meets order should continue. We will link the consultation when it opens. Anti-social behaviour can be reported through the council’s ASB reporting page or to Kent Police on 101.
Sources
- Sevenoaks District Council, Public Space Protection Order at The Vine to be extended, 23 September 2026
- Sevenoaks District Council, Cabinet agenda and draft minutes, 22 September 2026
- Sevenoaks District Council, People and Places Advisory Committee printed minutes, 10 September 2026
Image: Gardens at The Vine, Sevenoaks, by Marathon, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph on Wikimedia Commons.
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