Sevenoaks dream of a brand new purpose-built pre-school may remain just that, a dream. Council planners could thwart plans put forward by The Children’s Workshop, who have spent years fundraising in an attempt to move away from Sevenoaks Rugby Club where they currently operate.
The plan would see them move to Lady Boswell’s School, but they have now been told that the application they have put forward contravenes planning policy as the land is classified Green Belt, leading chief planning officer Richard Morris to recommend they be refused.
Mr Morris has said:
“The proposed pre-school building would cause a loss of openness and would amount to inappropriate development within the Green Belt. There would therefore be conflict with objectives within the framework and the Council’s Development Plan Policies.”
The Children’s Workshop is arguing that under special circumstances, you can build on the Green Belt, and this should include the need for pre-school places in the community.
A decision will be made on Thursday evening, 1 October.
Unfortunately this is common with a lot of areas where two Council departments do not appear to be on the same page. It took me 18 months (and a lot of heartache) to get a change of planning permission for a designated play area in my nursery grounds, as the land was originally sited as agricultural use and I had to get it changed to business use when a local parish councillor wrote to the Local Council to tell them I was using the site incorrectly. Despite the fact the nursery sits on a two acre site in the middle of the countryside with my nearest neighbours being approximately a mile away as the crow flies.
I could easily expand, and fill, my setting but the thought, cost and time taken to go through the planning process is just not worth it.