Planning refusal would spell 'disaster' for castle

PLANNING OFFICERS DESCRIBED RESTAURANT'S MOCK-TUDOR DESIGN AS A 'POOR PASTICHE'

- By JENNY SEYMOUR

HEVER Castle will face “disaster” if its plans for a significant building scheme - including a new restaurant, visitor centre and upmarket accommodation - fail, a meeting heard.

The castle is at loggerheads with conservation officers over its designs, particularly for the restaurant. Hever says the success of its planning application is vital to secure the Grade I listed gem’s future.

However, Historic England has opposed the plan, saying it will cause “harm” to Anne Boleyn’s childhood home.

Sevenoaks District Council’s conservation teams agree, and planning officers’ recommended plans were rejected when they went before councillors last week.

Speaking on behalf of the castle, agent David Bedford told the council’s planning committee that the two parties had reached a “stalemate” on the plans submitted in 2023. He said a call by conservation officers for a redesign “simply isn’t fair to impose on us”.

He told last Thursday’s meeting that the privately owned castle’s operating costs exceed more than £8million per year and continue to rise.