Sevenoaks Town-wide 20mph speed limit and traffic calming scheme

Update 30 August 2024

Following the statutory consultation period, the scheme has been reviewed and the decision has been taken to make this Order permanent.

Full details, including the roads impacted, can be found in the Made Order Public Notice and Statement of Reason document and the scheme plans.

Anyone may, by application to the High Court by 14 October 2024, challenge the validity of the Orders or of any provision contained in them on the grounds that it is not within the powers conferred by the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, or any instrument made thereunder, or that there has been a failure to comply with any statutory requirement to the Orders.

Update April 2023

KCC's Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport has taken the decision to proceed with the scheme recommended by the Sevenoaks Joint Transportation Board, with the following roads removed:

• Mount Harry Road
• Hitchen Hatch Lane
• St Botolphs Road
• Part of A225 between a location near The Vine/War Memorial and the Bat & Ball junction (A25).

KCC Highways will be working closely with Sevenoaks Town Council to complete the overall designs and will investigate whether the four roads removed could have innovative traffic calming measures rather than hard engineering methods such as speed cushions or build-outs to help reduce the average speeds to speeds that would be more compliant with a 20mph speed limit. A view will then be taken by the Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport as to whether all or some of these four roads can be incorporated into the overall 20mph scheme.

At present the anticipated completion date for implementation of the extended 20mph speed limit is September 2024.

KCC will also be installing a zebra crossing on A225 Dartford Road just north of The Vine.

Sevenoaks Town Council are funding the extended 20mph speed limit and Zebra crossing.

Update March 2023

The results from the second consultation held by Sevenoaks Town Council were discussed at the Sevenoaks Joint Transportation Board on 20 March 2024. The report pack, including the consultation report can be downloaded from Sevenoaks District Council's website. A recording of the meeting is available on YouTube.

This page will be updated once a decision has been taken by KCC's Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport.

Update November 2023

Sevenoaks Town Council are leading on a second consultation on the proposed town-wide 20mph scheme, which runs until 14 December. The scheme being consulted on has been refined using the feedback from the 2022 consultation. The report from the first consultation is available from the Documents section on this page.

With KCC and members of Sevenoaks' Joint Transportation Board, the Town Council has produced a special edition of its regular Town Crier. It has details of the 20mph signage-only scheme and how the public can have their say. The Town Crier is delivered to homes in the area but there are additional copies available at the Bat and Ball Centre (Cramptons Road), Sevenoaks Town Council offices (Bradbourne Vale Road) and the library in Buckhurst Lane. There is also a large map of the proposals at these locations as well.

You can also visit their website to view the information pack and submit your thoughts online.

Following feedback from the 2022 consultation it was decided by all partners not to take forward the traffic calming measures to Dartford Road and The Vine.

Original consultation text

Kent County Council is proposing a town-wide 20mph speed limit in Sevenoaks and traffic calming measures to Dartford Road and The Vine.

Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs)

There are two TROs as part of this scheme. The effects of the proposed Orders will be to:

• reduce the existing speed limit to 20mph on various roads in Sevenoaks
• introduce one-way traffic flow on the Dartford Road in Sevenoaks between The Vine and St Botolphs Road in a southerly direction.

The Orders are being made for the following reasons:

• for avoiding danger to persons or other traffic using the road or any other road or for preventing the likelihood of any such danger arising
• for preserving or improving the amenities of the area through which the road runs
• for facilitating the passage on the road or any other road of any class of traffic (including pedestrians)

Traffic calming proposals for Dartford Road and The Vine

In addition to the proposed one-way traffic flow on Dartford Road covered by the TRO the traffic calming proposals for Dartford Road and The Vine also include:

• a new southbound only cycleway
• alterations to turning movements from The Vine onto Dartford Road
• a new footway build-out on The War Memorial site to improve pedestrian access
• a new zebra crossing south of the junction with Vine Court Road.

There is more information in the Consultation Document and Scheme Plans, which are available from the 'Documents' section on this page.

Your views matter

We want to understand and incorporate the views of the local community, stakeholders and the travelling public into the design of this scheme.

Any person wishing to object or support the TROs and provide feedback on the wider traffic calming scheme can also do so via the questionnaire.

What happens after the consultation?

Following the consultation, a report will be compiled summarising the analysis of the responses. This report will be made available from this webpage. The feedback will be used to help finalise the scheme design and reported to the Sevenoaks Joint Transportation Board (JTB) in December 2022.

If the decision is taken to proceed the scheme then alterations to the Traffic Regulation Orders will be advertised as ‘Made Orders’. This will be publicised via a notice in the local newspaper and on this webpage.