Sevenoaks is a local government district in west

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. 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 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 from Charing Cross, the traditio ...

, Sevenoaks Rural District and part of

Dartford Rural District Dartford Rural District was a rural district with an area of 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 ha ...

Geography

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 Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

to the north,

Gravesham Gravesham ( ) is a local government district with borough status in north-west Kent, England. Its administrative centre and largest town is Gravesend, which was known as ''Gravesham'' in ancient times. Gravesham was formed on 1 April 1974 ...

to the northeast,

Tonbridge and Malling Tonbridge and Malling is a local government district with borough status in Kent, England. Tonbridge is the largest settlement but the authority is based in the modern development of Kings Hill. Geography Tonbridge and Malling Borough cover ...

to the east, briefly

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Rocks. T ...

to the southeast. It also borders two which, equal to it, do not have borough status, the Wealden district of

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East ...

to the south and the

Tandridge Tandridge is a village and civil parish in the Tandridge District, in the county of Surrey, England. Its nucleus is on a rise of the Greensand Ridge between Oxted and Godstone. It includes, towards its middle one named sub-locality (hamlet), ...

district of

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

to the southwest. It borders the London Boroughs of

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, c ...

and Bexley to the northwest. In the 2011 Census, the district had a population of 114,893.

Council

The third tier of government within the district consists of the following town and parish councils: *

Ash-cum-Ridley Ash-cum-Ridley is a civil parish in the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 7,070, reducing to 6,641 at the 2011 Census. The parish includes four main settlements: * Ash is a smal ...

* Badgers Mount *

Brasted Brasted is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. Brasted lies on the A25 road, between Sundridge and Westerham; the road is named Westerham Road, High Street and Main Road as it passes through the village east to ...

* Chevening *

Chiddingstone Chiddingstone is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. The parish is located on the River Eden between Tonbridge and Edenbridge. The village of Chiddingstone Causeway and the hamlet Chiddingstone Hoath are al ...

* Cowden * Crockenhill * Dunton Green * Edenbridge *

Eynsford Eynsford ( or ) is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located south east of Swanley, south of Dartford. The village including its farmland and woods occupies the northern half of the triangle formed ...

* Farningham * Fawkham * Halstead *

Hartley Hartley may refer to: Places Australia *Hartley, New South Wales * Hartley, South Australia ** Electoral district of Hartley, a state electoral district Canada *Hartley Bay, British Columbia United Kingdom * Hartley, Cumbria * Hartley, Pl ...

Hextable Hextable is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It lies north of Swanley and south of Dartford. History The origin of the village name goes back to Saxon times. Its first documented appearance is in 1203 w ...

* Hever * Horton Kirby and South Darenth * Kemsing *

Knockholt Knockholt is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located north west of Sevenoaks & south of Orpington, adjacent to the Kent border with Greater London. The village is mostly a ribbon development, sur ...

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staff ...

Otford Otford is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It lies on the River Darent, north of Sevenoaks. Otford's four churches are the Anglican Church of St Bartholomew in the village centre, the Otford Methodist Ch ...

* Penshurst * Riverhead *

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...

* Sevenoaks (Town) *

Sevenoaks Weald __NOTOC__ Sevenoaks Weald is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. The parish is located on the Low Weald, immediately south of Sevenoaks town, with the village of Sevenoaks Weald at its centre. It was formed in ...

* Shoreham *

Sundridge with Ide Hill Sundridge and Ide Hill is a civil parish in the Sevenoaks (district), Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. It is located in the River Darenth, Darenth valley and lies between Sevenoaks and Westerham. The parish contains the villages of Sundridge, ...

* Swanley (Town) * Westerham *

West Kingsdown West Kingsdown is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England, on the A20 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Swanley, 5.5 miles (9 km) northeast of Sevenoaks and from London. The Area The parish was part of A ...

Elections and political control

The council consists of 54 elected councillors. As of the 2019 election and subsequent by-elections, the political makeup of the council is: ; Administration :

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

(45) ; Other parties : : Hextable Independents (2) : Independent (2) : Labour (1)

Audit

In 2009 the Audit Commission named Sevenoaks District Council as one of the four best-run and most efficient councils in the country.

Premises

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

Council. The new building was formally opened on 3 March 1986.

Housing and architecture

The layout of the district is dual-centred: *A well-buffered suburban town itself, which spreads into suburban villages (St Johns, Riverhead, Dunton Green, Sevenoaks Weald). *Swanley and smaller, equally buffered

and Crockenhill within the

M25 motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 the lon ...

. In all areas

low-rise A low-rise is a building that is only a few stories tall or any building that is shorter than a high-rise, though others include the classification of mid-rise. Definition Emporis defines a low-rise as "an enclosed structure below 35 metres 15 ...

dominates: the incidence of flats exceeding two storeys is rare. The number of

listed buildings In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

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 house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

s of the wealthiest in society from the 16th to 18th centuries form part of this district. Examples at Grade I include Knole House,

Chartwell Chartwell is a country house near Westerham, Kent, in South East England. For over forty years it was the home of Winston Churchill. He bought the property in September 1922 and lived there until shortly before his death in January 1965. In th ...

, Penshurst Place and Chevening House, most of which have their own produce-selling farms. Older with original stone walls are

Hever Castle Hever Castle ( ) is located in the village of Hever, Kent, near Edenbridge, south-east of London, England. It began as a country house, built in the 13th century. From 1462 to 1539, it was the seat of the Boleyn (originally 'Bullen') family. ...

with its -wooded island in a listed parkland. A folly exists at

Lullingstone Castle Lullingstone Castle is a historic manor house, set in an estate in the village of Lullingstone and the civil parish of Eynsford in the English county of Kent. It has been inhabited by members of the Hart Dyke family for twenty generations inclu ...

which is a reconstruction of its gatehouse and separate modern house.Hever Castle

References

{{coord, 51.270, 0.193, display=title, region:GB_scale:100000 Non-metropolitan districts of Kent