Westerham residents and businesses can vote on a 20m phone mast at King George's Field until 3pm on 2 October. The district council has already cleared it.
Westerham residents have one week left to vote on whether a 20-metre mobile phone mast should go up at King George’s Field. Westerham Town Council owns the land and says it will weigh the result before it decides. Voting closes at 3pm on Friday 2 October. (Westerham Town Council, Update and community vote)
Planning permission is not the obstacle. Sevenoaks District Council ruled on 10 September that it did not need to approve the mast’s siting and appearance. The mast can therefore go ahead under national permitted development rules. (Sevenoaks District Council, 26/01941/TELNOT)
The town council says that was only a planning decision. It has not yet agreed to let the mast go up on its land.
What is proposed
The application came from Icon Tower Infrastructure Ltd, through its agent Dalcour Maclaren. It covers:
- a 20m monopole next to Westerham Bowls Club, off Costells Meadow
- 12 antennas and two transmission dishes on the pole
- ground-level equipment cabinets, 2.1m tall, inside a fenced compound
Icon Tower builds masts that several networks can share. Its covering letter says other mobile networks, rural wireless broadband and “other essential networks” may also use the mast. It does not name an operator signed up to use it. (Dalcour Maclaren, covering letter, 20 July 2026)
The town council’s case is simple. It says residents and businesses have reported unreliable coverage, including trouble making calls and using online services. Visitors have struggled to pay for parking by phone.
Why the district council let it through
A prior approval application like this is not a full planning application. The council could judge only the mast’s siting and appearance, not whether it should exist. Health concerns are excluded too, as long as the operator certifies it meets international radiation exposure guidelines. Icon Tower submitted that certificate. (Sevenoaks District Council, officer report)
The site is in the Green Belt and the Kent Downs National Landscape. Planning officer Stephanie Payne accepted that “views of it are unavoidable”. Her report found the siting reasonable because:
- the mast sits between the bowling club and the playground and tennis court, close to existing buildings rather than out on the open playing fields
- the ground there is lower, which reduces how prominent it will be
- tree lines and buildings screen it from most places beyond the field
- it is about 300m from the Grade II* listed St Mary’s Church, and on lower ground
Payne’s report says the other sites Icon Tower looked at were closer to homes or to the church. One would have needed a taller mast to clear nearby trees.
The report concludes that any harm to the landscape is outweighed by better mobile coverage in Westerham.
Who objected, and why
The council received 17 objections, six letters of support and one neutral comment.
Objectors raised:
- harm to the look and character of the area, and to views across the National Landscape
- the mast’s height and prominence
- how close it would be to neighbours
- putting it on community space
- the effect on the listed church and the conservation area
- health and disruption during construction
- that alternative sites had not been properly assessed
Supporters pointed to better signal. They also said it would have little effect on the town centre or on use of the park.
Westerham Town Council itself supported the application when the district council consulted it. It said then that it would hold a public consultation if the mast was cleared. This vote is that consultation.
How to vote
The vote is open to:
- residents aged 13 or over whose home is in Westerham parish
- businesses operating from premises in the parish, with one response each
You can vote on the town council’s online form. Paper forms can be collected and returned at the town council offices at Russell House, Market Square, or at Westerham Library.
You must give your name and full address so the council can check you are eligible and remove duplicates. The council says it will publish only combined totals or percentages, never names or individual answers. Visitors and people from outside the parish should not vote.
What happens next
The town council will consider the result before deciding whether to allow the mast. Any go-ahead is also subject to legal and contractual arrangements with Icon Tower being completed.
The mast is the second big proposal for King George’s Field this year. A separate application for padel courts at the skatepark end of the field is still waiting for a decision.
You can read the full mast application, drawings and officer report on the council’s planning portal. To check other plans near you, see our guide to Sevenoaks planning applications.
Sources
- Westerham Town Council, Update and community vote: proposed telecommunications mast at King George’s Field, 17 September 2026, and the linked voting form (closing time, who may vote, where to collect paper forms, the council’s reasons, privacy terms)
- Sevenoaks District Council, application 26/01941/TELNOT (applicant, agent, decision and date)
- Sevenoaks District Council, officer report on 26/01941/TELNOT (representations, the town council’s consultation response, siting assessment, alternatives, conclusion)
- Dalcour Maclaren for Icon Tower, covering letter, 20 July 2026 (the proposal and shared use of the mast)
Image: Play area, King George’s Field, by Robin Webster, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Geograph: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Play_area,King_George%27s_Field-geograph.org.uk-_2572909.jpg. The photo was taken in 2011 and shows the playground next to the proposed site, not the mast. Chart by Sevenoaks Online.
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