Representation by Sevenoaks District Council (Sevenoaks District Council)
- Date submitted
- 13 June 2024
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Sevenoaks District Council (SDC) raises no objection in principle to the application for the Cory Decarbonisation Project. SDC is committed to tackling the challenge of Climate Change and has recently adopted a Climate Change Strategy (2024), which sets out the Council’s commitment to tackling the challenge of climate change across the District. In terms of the priorities identified in the Strategy, ‘energy and buildings’ and ‘the natural environment’ are particularly relevant to the consideration of the proposed project. For energy and buildings, the Strategy recognises the important role that new technology can play in tackling the challenge of climate change, with one of the aims being to embrace new technology including carbon capture and storage. For the natural environment, improving biodiversity and increasing natural carbon capture are identified as being key to reducing emissions in the longer term. In principle, therefore, the proposed project aligns with SDC’s Climate Change priorities and aims. SDC welcomes the proposed contribution to reducing carbon emission in tackling climate change. The development is some 10 km from the boundaries of the District. In terms of transboundary impacts, the proposed project is not expected to have an adverse impact on air quality within the District. With respect to traffic generation on the strategic highway network that runs through the District, SDC would defer to other authorities to provide input in this regard. SDC therefore raises no objection to this proposal. Given the District’s shared boundary with Bexley Borough and its relative proximity to a development of this scale, SDC wishes to register its ongoing interest in the application.