Sevenoaks | |
---|---|
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Constituent country | England |
Region | South East England |
Non-metropolitan county | Kent |
Status | Non-metropolitan district |
Admin HQ | Sevenoaks |
Incorporated | 1 April 1974 |
Government | |
• Type | Non-metropolitan district council |
• Body | Sevenoaks District Council |
• Leadership | Leader & Cabinet (Conservative) |
• MPs | Laura Trott Gareth Johnson Tom Tugendhat |
Area | |
• Total | 142.99 sq mi (370.34 km2) |
• Rank | 94th (of 296) |
Population (2021) | |
• Total | 120,841 |
• Rank | 195th (of 296) |
• Density | 850/sq mi (330/km2) |
• Ethnicity | 96.2% White 1.2% S.Asians 1.2% Black 1.1% Mixed Race |
Time zone | UTC0 (GMT) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (BST) |
ONS code | 29UK (ONS) E07000111 (GSS) |
OS grid reference | TQ525555 |
Sevenoaks is a local government district [1] in west Kent, England. Its council is based in the town of Sevenoaks.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of Sevenoaks Urban District, Sevenoaks Rural District and part of Dartford Rural District.
The area is approximately evenly divided between buildings and infrastructure on the one hand and woodland or agricultural fields on the other. It contains the upper valley of the River Darenth and some headwaters of the River Eden.
The vast majority of the district is covered by the Metropolitan Green Belt.
In terms of districts, it borders Dartford to the north, Gravesham to the northeast, Tonbridge and Malling to the east, briefly Tunbridge Wells to the southeast. It also borders two which, equal to it, do not have borough status, the Wealden district of East Sussex to the south and the Tandridge district of Surrey to the southwest. It borders the London Boroughs of Bromley and Bexley to the northwest.
In the 2011 Census, the district had a population of 114,893. [2]
Sevenoaks District Council | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
Leadership | |
Pav Ramewal since 2013 [4] | |
Structure | |
Seats | 54 |
Political groups |
|
Elections | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
Meeting place | |
Council Offices, Argyle Road, Sevenoaks, TN13 1HG | |
Website | |
www |
Sevenoaks District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Kent County Council. The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government. [5]
In 2009 the Audit Commission named Sevenoaks District Council as one of the four best-run and most efficient councils in the country. [6]
The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
Conservative | 1974–1995 | |
No overall control | 1995–1999 | |
Conservative | 1999–present |
The leaders of the council since 1999 have been: [7]
Councillor | Party | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alison Cook | Conservative | 1999 | 10 May 2005 | |
Peter Fleming | Conservative | 10 May 2005 | 7 May 2023 | |
Julia Thornton | Conservative | 23 May 2023 |
Following the 2023 election the composition of the council was as follows:
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Conservative | 33 | |
Liberal Democrats | 14 | |
Green | 4 | |
Independent | 3 | |
Total | 54 |
Two of the independent councillors sit together as the "Sevenoaks Independents". [8] The next election is due in 2027.
Since the last full review of boundaries in 2003 the council has comprised 54 councillors, representing 26 wards. Elections are held every four years. [9]
The council is based at the Council Offices on Argyle Road. The offices were built for the council on the site of a large house which had served as the offices of one of the council's predecessors, the Sevenoaks Urban District Council. The new building was formally opened on 3 March 1986. [10]
The layout of the district is dual-centred:
In all areas low-rise dominates: the incidence of flats exceeding two storeys is rare.
The number of listed buildings in the district exceeds 150. This includes 16 churches listed in the highest grading in the national listing system (Grade I). Castles and English country houses of the wealthiest in society from the 16th to 18th centuries form part of this district.
Examples at Grade I include Knole House, Chartwell, Penshurst Place and Chevening House, most of which have their own produce-selling farms. Older with original stone walls are Hever Castle with its 16 acres (6.5 ha)-wooded island in a listed parkland. A folly exists at Lullingstone Castle which is a reconstruction of its gatehouse and separate modern house. [11]
The whole district is covered by civil parishes. The parish councils for Sevenoaks and Swanley are styled as town councils.
The London Borough of Bexley is a London borough in south-east London, forming part of Outer London. It has a population of 248,287. The main settlements are Sidcup, Erith, Bexleyheath, Crayford, Welling and Old Bexley. The London Borough of Bexley is within the Thames Gateway, an area designated as a national priority for urban regeneration. The local authority is Bexley London Borough Council.
Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter main line railway into London. Sevenoaks is 21 miles (34 km) from Charing Cross, the traditional centre of London. It is the principal town of the Sevenoaks district, followed by Swanley and Edenbridge.
The Borough of Dartford is a local government district in the north-west of the county of Kent, England. Its council is based in the town of Dartford. It is part of the contiguous London urban area. It borders the borough of Gravesham to the east, Sevenoaks District to the south, the London Borough of Bexley to the west, and the Thurrock unitary authority in Essex to the north, across the River Thames. The borough was formed on 1 April 1974 by the merger of the Municipal Borough of Dartford, the Swanscombe Urban District, and part of the Dartford Rural District. According to the 2011 Census, its population was 97,365, increasing to 116,800 in the 2021 census.
Wealden is a local government district in East Sussex, England. Its council is based in Hailsham, the district's largest town. The district also includes the towns of Crowborough, Polegate and Uckfield, along with numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. The district's name comes from the Weald, the landscape and ancient woodland which occupies much of the centre and north of the area.
Tonbridge and Malling is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. The council is based at Kings Hill. The borough also includes the towns of Tonbridge and Snodland along with numerous villages including Aylesford, West Malling and surrounding rural areas.
Gravesham is a local government district with borough status in north-west Kent, England. The council is based in its largest town of Gravesend. The borough is indirectly named after Gravesend, using the form of the town's name as it appeared in the Domesday Book of 1086. The district also contains Northfleet and a number of villages and surrounding rural areas.
Crockenhill is a village in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located 1 mile south of Swanley and 4.5 miles north east of Orpington, adjacent to the Kent border with Greater London.
Swanley is a town and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England, 16 miles (26 km) southeast of central London, adjacent to the Greater London boundary and within the M25 motorway periphery. The population at the 2021 census was 17,826.
Hartley is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. It is located 7 miles (11 km) south west of Gravesend and the same distance south east of Dartford.
Sevenoaks is a constituency in Kent represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Laura Trott, a Conservative who has served as Chief Secretary to the Treasury since 13 November 2023. The seat was previously held by Michael Fallon, who served as Secretary of State for Defence from 2014 to 2017.
Tonbridge and Malling is a constituency in Kent represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Tom Tugendhat, a Conservative. The constituency is located in Western Kent, in South East England.
Dartford is a constituency in Kent represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Gareth Johnson of the Conservative Party. It is the longest bellwether constituency in the country: the party of the winning candidate has gone on to form the government at every UK general election since 1964. Candidates for the largest two parties nationally have polled first and second since 1923 in Dartford.
Hextable is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It lies 2 miles (3.2 km) north of Swanley and 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Dartford.
Fawkham is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. Fawkham is defined as a hamlet by Sevenoaks District Council, with a population of 429. Fawkham is a low density, linear settlement along the bottom of a dry chalk valley some 3 mi (5 km) in length, with secondary lanes intersecting. There is no discernible village centre, although clusters of buildings occur near the Church/junction with Castle Hill, and around the village green and public house at the junction with Fawkham Green Road. There are around 220 houses.
Dartford Rural District was a rural district with an area of 34,037 acres (138 km2) in the county of Kent, England. In 1971 it had a population of 64,561 and an electorate of 43,911. At dissolution it was the most populous rural district council in Kent, but had once been larger, having lost territory when Crayford Urban District was created in 1920, and Swanscombe Urban District in 1926.
Sevenoaks District Council elections are held every four years to elect Sevenoaks District Council in Kent, England. Since the last full review of boundaries in 2003 the council has comprised 54 councillors, representing 26 wards.
Go-Coachhire Limited, trading as Go-Coach, is a bus operator running a total of 40 bus services across Kent and Sussex. The majority of these services are operated on behalf of Kent County Council from their depot in Swanley.
The 2019 Sevenoaks District Council election took place on 2 May 2019 to elect members of Sevenoaks District Council. This was on the same day as other local elections. The entire council was up for election. The result was a reduced majority for the Conservatives but was still a large victory. Independents made gains, as did the Liberal Democrats. UKIP lost the 1 seat they had won in 2015. No contest was held in 4 wards, as the same number of candidates as seats up for election ran.