Plans for an “exciting” £120m revamp of a town centre including a leisure centre, homes, a market hall and new footpaths have been altered after public feedback.
Designs for the land east of Sevenoaks High Street no longer include a replacement library or new hotel after the county council pulled out but councillors are looking to appoint a developer by the end of the year.
Sevenoaks District Council (SDC) has been looking at redeveloping the land for some time and in August last year made £435,000 available for planning the works.
It was originally set to include a new hotel, a library replacing the Kaleidoscope building, gallery and museum but an updated scheme has been released after a public consultation.
SDC officers wrote: “Feedback was generally supportive, but you told us that you had concerns around moving the library, the location of a new hotel, accessibility and parking.
“Kent County Council has now decided that the library will remain in its existing form in the town centre.”
A new leisure centre is to be built, including a gym and swimming pool, as well as a “cultural hub and market hall” to complement the street markets which already run on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
New public spaces, a “green corridor” to Knole Park, bus links, a drop-off and pick-up area and homes with dedicated parking will also be included.
The site of the former Tesco in the town’s High Street, which closed in 2018, currently has planning permission for 104 homes and three commercial units, which will form part of the redevelopment of the area.
The changes are partially informed by feedback on the consultation but also by the fact that Kent County Council (KCC) has decided to no longer be involved.
Cllr David Skinner (Lib Dem), who represents the town, said: “I think it’s an exciting opportunity but it’s one that’s got to be thought through very carefully.
“The decisions we make now are going to affect the design and layout of the town for the next hundred years.
“They’re proposing to put buildings on top of a lot of the current car parks.
“At the moment we’ve got a sea of car parks with little building islands marooned in the middle of them so if that can be improved that’s great but parking is important for the town centre, so we’ve got to understand how it will be replaced.”
“Measures to minimise the use of vehicles in the area” are also to be implemented according to council documents.
Cllr Skinner continued: “We need to ensure people can drive into town – lots of people have got to do that – but it’s in all of our interests if we can encourage active travel, pedestrianisation and people walking and using bicycles.
“We’ve got to make absolutely sure that as much affordable housing as possible is put into this development.
“For the town to be prosperous and move into the future we’ve got to have affordable housing and it needs to be in places like the land east of the High Street for people to be able to access the town.
“If we get this right the opportunities for Sevenoaks into the future are absolutely fantastic but if we don’t get it right we will regret it. I’m confident that we can get it right.”
An SDC spokesperson said the area could host 250-350 homes, and the authority has modelled a scheme with 264.
They also said the project will be “self-financing, with income from the new homes paying towards the new leisure centre and other improvements”.
Cllr Michael Horwood, the cabinet member responsible for the project at SDC, said: “We remain 100% committed to delivering this very important project to improve Sevenoaks’ leisure and cultural offer, supporting the town’s economy and enhancing the environment.
“We have been working hard in the background to update the scheme, taking account of residents’ comments and the decision by KCC to no longer be part of the project.
“Our work so far suggests the scheme is viable and deliverable, and will bring significant benefits for the area, particularly in building a new state-of-the-art leisure centre, as the existing one is coming to the end of its life.
“Our next step is to appoint a development partner and we’ve already had interest about the scheme.”
A Kent County Council (KCC) spokesperson said: “Despite best endeavours, it was not possible to arrive at a jointly viable scheme with SDC.
“Our Kaleidoscope building remains fit-for-purpose, and we remain committed to our comprehensive town centre library provision from this location.
“The nature of our adult community learning and skills provision in Sevenoaks is changing due to government changes in the curriculum, subjects that they will support and permit local authorities to run.
“We will be exploring opportunities to use the library building alongside other community venues for this service.
“We understand Sevenoaks District Council will continue to redevelop their own landholdings east of the High Street.
“We remain open to exploring future partnership and collaboration opportunities where these arise.”
SDC is set to consider the changed plans in March and April, and at a meeting on April 29 will vote on whether to put the contract out to tender and appoint a “development partner” by the end of the year.
That partner would be expected to work on detailed designs throughout 2026 before putting in a planning application.
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