Social Value Ideas for Sevenoaks District Council

New premises licence granted

The subcommittee approved Tesco Express's new premises licence for alcohol sales and late night refreshment at 136 High Street, Sevenoaks, relying on the Licensing Act 2003, guidance and the council's…

“Having had regard to the representations made by the applicant, the interested party, and the local planning authority as a responsible authority, The…”

Licence variation with conditions

The committee decided to grant the licence variation in principle, but only with added conditions to mitigate noise and manage the external area. The decision also narrowed live and recorded music so …

“Right. Uh, I think this is uh now over to you. So, I don't know if if one of you is going to speak for most of you or how >> I think we'll probably go…”

Alcohol and nuisance controls

The application and discussion focused on mitigating licensing risks around alcohol sales, late night refreshment, litter, nuisance, underage sales and proxy sales. Tesco set out controls including Th…

“Steps the applicant intends to take to promote the four licensing objectives form part of their application and these can be found on page 22 of my re…”

Sexual Entertainment Licensing Fees Uplift 2.5%

Annual review of sexual entertainment venue licensing fees and charges. Committee approved 2.5% uplift aligned with corporate inflation policy, effective 1 April 2026. Currently no licensed premises i…

“This is our annual review of fees and charges for sex establishment licensing. We don't actually have any such uh venues or premises in seven Oaks. Bu…”

Gambling Licensing Fees Uplift 2.5%

Annual review of gambling licensing fees and charges under the Gambling Act 2005. Committee approved a 2.5% uplift in line with corporate inflation policy. No consultation required. Fees apply to appl…

“We're proposing a 2 and a half% uplift which is in line with the corporate policy um for in um inflating fees and charges. Um, these don't go out to c…”

External audit plan and regaining assurance work

Grant Thornton confirmed the external audit plan, phase zero work and regaining assurance strategy for 2025/26, with additional information requested from management and weekly progress updates. Altho…

“Speaker 11: Absolutely. So thanks, Chairman. Evening, everyone. My name is Paris Williams. I'm a director at Grant Thornton. I've been doing the exter…”

External audit reassurance timetable remains constrained

Grant Thornton explained that Sevenoaks is still in a disclaimer environment and that regaining assurance over assets and liabilities may be possible by 2027/28, while reserves are unlikely to be full…

“Speaker 15: Based on that, seven oaks fall within category d, which has put the decent device guidance is now known as category c, and the category c …”

2026-27 Net Expenditure Budget Approved

Cabinet approved net expenditure budget of £22.3 million for 2026-27 with a 2.98% council tax increase resulting in Band D council tax of £258.48 (increase of £7.46). The budget maintains a fully fund…

“the net expenditure budget for 2026 27 will be 22.3 million with the district council's a district's council tax increasing by 2.98%. resulting in ban…”

General Fund Reserve Increase to £2.3m

The general fund reserve is being increased by £200,000 to £2.3 million, ensuring it exceeds 10% of net service expenditure budget. This strengthens the council's financial resilience ahead of LGR tra…

“Increasing the general fund reserve by 200,000 to 2.3 million so it is in excess of 10% of the net service expenditure budget.”

7 Oaks Local Plan published for consultation

Cabinet agreed to publish the Regulation 19 proposed submission version of the 7 Oaks Local Plan for an eight-week consultation from 2026-07-23 to 2026-09-17, with submission targeted for year-end and…

“Good evening members and as always a very warm welcome to all this all of those joining us in the gallery. I'm sorry I can't thank you. Um as I have s…”

Grey belt housing policy applied

Officers and members discussed the Edenbridge outline housing proposal in the context of the new grey belt rules, the emerging local plan, and the need for a five-year housing land supply. The committ…

“um the the the main national policy tells us to look at the MPPF um and any material considerations but in terms of our emerging local plan we can't g…”

Local Plan Reg 19 Strategy

The council is preparing to publish the Sevenoaks Local Plan at regulation 19 in summer 2026, with submission by Christmas and examination in 2027. The plan sets the housing strategy, site allocations…

“The good news is we're on on track um hoping to move to REGG 19 publication this summer um that is set out um at paragraph two of your report on page …”