New Mayor looks ahead to exciting developments to come for the town

Published: 20 May 2025

It’s an honour to become Town Mayor again - thirty years after my first term. It’s a bigger job now as Sevenoaks Town Council does so much more than in 1995, and we have important decisions to take on the future of the town over the next twelve months. So we need your help.

Local government changes should give the Town a chance to take more local control of parks and other services. An exciting sports development at Greatness Recreation Ground is due to start with Sevenoaks Football Club.

We’re developing ideas for the community building at Greatness Lake, as well as thinking about the long-term potential of the Stag to grow and play an even bigger role in plans for the Town Centre.

I hope we can involve even more members of the Sevenoaks community to make the most of all these opportunities. Town and Parish Councils will continue through local government changes affecting Districts and Counties, and will continue to speak for their communities. Sevenoaks Town Council aims to capture the widest possible range of voices in charting the future of our wonderful town. We would love to hear your ideas.

I will continue the approach of the last two mayors, Councillor Libby Ancrum and Councillor Claire Shea, working with the Sevenoaks community to make investments in safer streets, better facilities for young people and safeguarding green spaces.

Sevenoaks will continue to grow under government housing targets. It is vital that we get the right homes in the right places, and that we invest in local infrastructure to support quality of life.

During the year I’ll be supporting two local charities:

• Sevenoaks Area Youth Trust which works with the Town Council to deliver detached youth services and run events for young people at the House in the Basement, our youth centre at the Stag Theatre 
• Sevenoaks Citizens Advice which harnesses volunteer expertise to help people make better decisions about their lives, and secure their legal rights. Not many people realise that it’s a charity; many national and local government services use it, but its success depends on people giving time and money. These are just two of the voluntary organisations which make a huge difference to life in Sevenoaks, and which need all the support we can give them.

Our calendar has a wide range of events for young people, for music and food lovers, for cyclists and all those who value our green spaces, as well as for the Sevenoaks business community. Many of these are supported by local volunteers. Take a look and make the most of them this summer.