The Cleaner & Greener Advisory Committee of Sevenoaks Council met to discuss a range of topics, including air quality, parking, CCTV, and environmental partnerships. The committee was scheduled to discuss revoking the council's remaining Air Quality Management Areas, increasing parking fees and charges, upgrading the council's CCTV system, and joining the Darent Valley Landscape Partnership. The meeting also included updates from the Portfolio Holder, and updates on Environmental Health.

Darent Nature Partnership

The committee was scheduled to discuss the Darent Valley Landscape Partnership, referred to as the Darent Nature Partnership, an initiative aiming to enhance connected habitats in the Darent Valley. The project, led by the Kent Wildlife Trust, involves 20 landowners, including Sevenoaks Council. The council's landholdings, Shoreham Woods and Oxenhill Shaw, were scheduled to be formally incorporated into the partnership.

The report pack stated that the purpose of this partnership is to manage the land collectively, to optimise additional grant funding from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and to engage with capital markets to benefit from the trading of Biodiversity Net Gain units and possible carbon sequestration credits in the future.

The report pack stated that the Council owns 214ha of woodland, open spaces and rare habitats within the boundaries of the DVLRP, which could contribute substantial environmental benefits to the group through connectivity and coordinated ecosystem improvements.

The report pack stated that the Council would also enhance the environmental assets and impact of its own land through shared knowledge and access to finance, and that the Council's land is also within the Green Belt and the Kent Downs National Landscape (formerly Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty).

The report pack stated that the Council would need to commit to maintaining the land for ecological and BNG uplift purposes for a minimum period of 30 years.

The report pack stated that as a member of the partnership the Council will need to commit to maintaining the land for ecological and BNG uplift purposes for a minimum period of 30 years.

The report pack stated that the partnership has agreed to commission KWT as its agent for a fixed period to act as its strategic land manager and market broker.

The report pack stated that the partnership has agreed to establish a company limited by shares where each landholder, including the Council, would own a share of the company.

The report pack stated that DEFRA has stipulated that the partnership (and the Council by default) will need to secure and ensure community access to these parcels of land, and that this will be enshrined in a community access agreement that the partnership will also need to enter into.

CCTV Service Review and Upgrade

The committee was scheduled to discuss a technical report on the council's CCTV system and options to upgrade the analogue transmission operating system to digital, as the analogue system is no longer supported.

The report pack stated that Sevenoaks District Council maintains a system of 144 cameras, and that the majority of the 144 cameras have Pan Tilt and Zoom (PTZ) capacity.

The report pack stated that the CCTV system and equipment dates back to 1997 when Central Government funding was provided to encourage camera systems nationwide, though most of the original cameras have subsequently been repaired or replaced, however the transmission operating system remains as originally supplied and is analogue in operation, which is no longer supported.

The report pack stated that the Council's CCTV service contributes to the reduction, prevention and detection of crime and disorder by proactively monitoring crime in progress, and that in 2024/25 the CCTV service has contributed to 45 arrests, examples of which, are securing the arrest of 3 males shoplifting in Sevenoaks High Street containing stolen property from local shops, with a value of £1,800, a fight in the town centre, 4 assisted arrests for possession of a weapon, drugs & drink driving, a male caught undertaking an indecent sexual act in a public park, during school holidays.

The report pack stated that further technical reports concluded that the councils CCTV system is in dire need of upgrading, and that the council's current CCTV system uses and relies upon end-of-life equipment which no longer can be supported by the respective manufacturers, which will result in the gradual piecemeal (or in the worst case catastrophic) failure of the CCTV system which it turn would have corporate reputational damage for the Council.

The report pack stated that the technical survey proposed a new transmission model, which is a blend of video transmission solutions and allows for future technological enhancements such as artificial intelligence and advanced detection software, including:

• Wireless comprehensive use
• 4G/5G moderate use with broadband end-connection to the control room
• BT digital circuits with minimal usage.

The report pack stated that a capital investment of £283,000 will be required in year 1 to purchase and upgrade the CCTV network from an unsupported analogue system to a digital system, including some camera upgrades and a new transmission model of wireless/5G and limited BT digital circuits.

Annual Parking Management Review - Fees & Charges 2026/27

The committee was scheduled to discuss the annual parking management review of fees & charges for 2026/27, which proposes to increase parking charges by inflation for on and off street parking schemes.

The report pack stated that the Council operates a number of public car parks and on-street pay and display facilities in towns and villages across the District, and that it is important to regulate these finite resources in order to balance the needs of parking users, including commuters, local businesses, residents, shoppers and other visitors including tourists.

The report pack stated that the Council's approach has been to ensure its parking charges are set to encourage people to use parking spaces responsibly while at the same time promoting a good turnover of parking spaces for the benefit of businesses and visitors, and that parking charges are one aspect of effective parking management; however, others – such as hours and days of operation and maximum stay periods – are also kept under review.

The report pack stated that the assumption for parking income increases in the 10-year budget approved by Council on 25 February 2025 for 2026/27 is as follows:

The report pack stated that a 3% increase could raise £100,000 (based on Trailing Twelve Month {TTM} average), and that the current Consumer Price Index (CPI) rate is 3.6% (July 2025, ONS).

Annual Parking Report 2024/25

The committee was scheduled to consider the annual parking report for 2024-2025, which is required to be published as part of specific transparency obligations outlined in the Local Government Transparency Code 2015.

The report pack stated that Part 6 of the Traffic Management Act (TMA) 2004 requires Local Authorities to publish an annual parking report explaining how they operate and the use of any surplus income on transportation-related schemes.

The report pack stated that Sevenoaks District Council manages its off-street public car parks in towns and villages across the District, and that through an Agency Management Agreement with Kent County Council, (the Highway Authority) the District Council manages on-street parking schemes and manages and maintains on-street parking restrictions across the Sevenoaks District.

The report pack stated that the Council operate 17 off-street car parks, which provide 2,228 available parking spaces across the entire district, and that the council also manage a large number of on-street residential parking schemes on behalf of Kent County Council.

The report pack stated that for 2024/25 19,822 PCNs were issued by the Parking Service for on and off street parking offences, and that 13,275 PCNs were paid within 14 days with another 4,054 being paid after 14 days, and that this is a 20% increase (3,407 additional PCNs) compared to last year (2023/2024).

The report pack included a breakdown of the top 5 on-street and off-street PCN offences:

On-Street PCN's Issued (Top 5 Offences)

• Code 01 Parked in a restricted street during prescribed hours (yellow lines) 2,723
• Code 11 Parked without payment 1,991
• Code 12 Parked in a resident's place 1,754
• Code 30 Parked longer than permitted 1,425
• Code 05 Parked after payment expired 493

Off-Street PCN's Issued (Top 5 Offences)

• Code 73 Parked without payment 10,238
• Code 82 Parked after payment expired 1,902
• Code 86 Parked beyond bay markings 453
• Code 85 Parked in a permit bay 172
• Code 87 Parked in a disabled persons parking bay 111

Revocation of the Council's four remaining Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA's)

The committee was scheduled to discuss the revocation of the Council's four remaining Air Quality Management Areas (AQMA's).

The report pack stated that following feedback from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on the 2024 Annual Status Report and the Council's Air Quality Action Plan (2022–2027), a review of our existing Air Quality Management Areas (AQMAs) has been undertaken, and that DEFRA recommends that any AQMA which has consistently met compliance thresholds for five consecutive years should be considered for revocation.

The report pack stated that in line with this guidance, the Council intends to revoke its remaining AQMAs, and that the 2025 Annual Status Report will confirm that one AQMA has maintained compliance for six years, while the other three have done so for five years.

The report pack stated that in 2022 AQMA's 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 were revoked as the air quality had been below the declaration threshold for at least 5 years, and that AQMA's 1, 2, 3 and 4 were declared due to high levels of Nitrogen Dioxide and 6 was declared for particulate matter, and that in all cases the pollution was associated with road traffic, the ongoing improvement in vehicle emissions almost certainly had the most impact in improvement in air quality, allowing the revocation of the AQMA's.

The report pack stated that this proposal is to remove AQMA 8 Swanley High Street, AQMA 10 Sevenoaks, AQMA 13 – A25 and AQMA 14 – Swanley Birchwood, and that these were all declared due to high levels of Nitrogen Dioxide, and that the ASR 2025 reports on the data gathered in 2024, this showed that the requirements for revocation had been met for AQMA 8 for a sixth year and AQMA's 10, 13 and 14 being met for the fifth year.

Environmental Health Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the work and functions undertaken by the Environmental Heath Team and to provide an outline of the challenges likely to be faced over the next few years.

The report pack stated that the Environmental Health team is divided into two sections: Food & Safety and Environmental Protection, and that the team is responsible for fulfilling several statutory functions and obligations mandated by the Local Authority, including:

• Food Hygiene: Inspecting and regulating food businesses and investigating complaints.
• Health & Safety: Investigating complaints and accidents.
• Infectious Diseases: Investigating cases to prevent outbreaks.
• Statutory Nuisance: Addressing complaints related to noise, pollution, etc.
• Drainage: Investigating drainage issues.
• Private Water Supplies: Conducting risk assessments.
• Environmental Permits: Issuing and regulating permits.
• Air Quality: Monitoring and identifying measures to improve air quality.
• Licensed Animal Activities: Regulating activities such as zoos.
• Skin Piercers and Tattooists: Registering under local bylaws.
• Stray Dogs: Collecting, re-homing, or disposing of stray dogs (as a last resort)
• Licensing Consultations: Providing consultations for various licenses.

The report pack stated that in addition, the team carries out several non-statutory duties, including:

• Consultation on Planning Applications: Providing expert advice on planning proposals.
• Community Protection: Issuing and enforcing Community Protection Warnings and Notices.
• Animal Welfare: Investigating complaints related to animal welfare.
• Dog-Related Issues: Addressing complaints about dog-on-dog incidents and antisocial dog owners.
• Information and Advice: Offering guidance and information to the public.