Planning Application - still pending

Published On: 

Mon 25 Mar 2013 — 9:20 am

Our planning application with Sevenoaks District Council is still pending a decision.

That does not sound newsworthy. It is, because of a confusion that is circulating.

The planning application features two components. First, we needed permission to demolish our existing church hall. We are in the Kemsing conservation area, so any demolition needs consent. Second, we needed permission to construct the new buildings (vicarage, church hall, social housing). Sevenoaks District Council separated those two components into two applications, and they gave each a different number.

The confusion began when the demolition application appeared on the planning list on one week, but the construction application was not processed until the following week's list. Local residents received a letter announcing our plans to demolish the hall, with no indication that any new buildings would take its place. Only later did the other half of the story come out. We tried to clarify things for people, by posting our own public notices giving the full picture.

However a number of residents who wrote to the Council to express their views are now receiving letters to say that the planning application has been granted. If you've read this far, you probably guessed the rest - they've granted us permission to demolish the hall. The people who have received letters are those who quoted the first planning application number in their correspondence.

That does not prejudice their decision as to whether we will be allowed to build the new buildings. And the SDC website still shows that application as "pending decision" - at the time of writing.