Major Housing Plans Threaten Popular Golf Course

Pedham Place Golf Centre is a hugely popular venue in Kent that boasts an 18-hole layout measuring 6,457 yards, alongside a fun, nine-hole par-3 course, which has consistently drawn golfers and societies to this location on the outskirts of Swanley.

Such is its popularity, the centre has been reviewed over 800 times on Golfshake, which saw it rank as one of the most visited destinations on this website last year.

However, the long-term future of this superb facility could be in doubt should ambitious (and locally contentious) plans outlined by Sevenoaks District Council come to fruition.

The council has been set a government-imposed housing target to build 10,000 new homes by 2040, and the land occupied by Pedham Place has long been proposed as a potential site despite it being a green belt area.

Back in 2018, a last-ditch appeal to exclude this land from the proposals was narrowly unsuccessful, and it has remained a heated issue ever since as the council attempts to frame and win over local opposition with its vision.

The council has declared as part of its recently closed first consultation: "Pedham Place in Farningham, near Swanley, is being considered for a mixed-use development for up to 2,500 homes. The site promoters are working on various options for the site, including a stadium, training ground and hotel, in addition to residential, education, employment, health and other facilities."

That stadium in question would belong to Wasps Rugby Football Club, former giants of the Premiership, which has been a dormant entity since the club fell into administration in the autumn of 2022. Owners have declared their intention to revive the club in a brand-new home in Kent that would encompass a 28,000-seater stadium complete with a hotel, training areas, changing rooms, and a medical centre for players.

Sevenoaks' Local Plan is continuing to develop as it hopes to build a community of the future, where all amenities would be within a 20-minute walk for residents, but those based in nearby villages have routinely expressed their concern.

The council released a statement in March that noted: "We have said from the outset that, in order to meet the Government housing need for the Sevenoaks District, we have to consider the most suitable Green Belt sites put forward by landowners. Pedham Place is one of these Green Belt sites under consideration."

Su Hewitt of Protect Our Green Belt Together is among the campaigners against the plans, and she commented: "People don’t want a development at Pedham Place, and 61 per cent said no to it. Looking in depth at the consultation responses, of the 191 people who agreed to Pedham Place, 12 per cent of them thought it was not green belt or National Landscapes land, and 36 per cent called for protection of the green belt and National Landscapes when commenting on other sites. Residents in the district clearly want to protect our landscapes."

Mrs Hewitt also addressed the impact on nearby villages. "Crockenhill only has 1,000 inhabitants. Imagine how they will feel having 2,500 homes - that’s maybe 10,000 extra people - dumped on their doorstep."

That's not to mention a stadium that could draw almost 30,000 people to the area during matchdays. The site has an enviable location adjacent to the M25, with the proposed new settlement being next to junction three, but National Highways has cast doubt on the proposals after revealing that they are based on the implementation of roadworks that may never happen.

A spokesperson commented: "This information was included, in good faith, in a council presentation by a consultant working on the Pedham Place development proposal circa 2022.

"Currently there are no programmed improvement proposals at M25 junction three."

Responding to these latest developments, a representative of Sevenoaks District Council, said: "We are currently considering all of the comments and representations made by local people and agencies.

"These will be taken into account before we publish the revised version of the local plan in the summer.

"We are also working with National Highways and Kent County Council to share details of our plans as they develop."

This is an undeniably complex debate that is about balancing the needs for future economic growth and community development alongside environmental concerns and the anxieties of local villagers, with the existence of a popular golf course at the heart of the discussion.

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