Council agrees next step for Darent Valley nature restoration

Horton Kirby & South Darenth Parish Council are disappointed to find that yet again this Parish has been excluded from projects involving the Darent Valley and have written to Cllr IIrene Roy to express this.

News Release

19 November 2025

Council agrees next step for Darent Valley nature restoration

Sevenoaks District Council has agreed to join forces with local landowners to set up a company to fund nature improvements across the Darent Valley.

The Council is part of Darent Nature Partnership, a group of 20 landowners who have worked together since 2022 to conserve and enhance 6,500 hectares of countryside stretching from Otford to the northern side of Eynsford, following the course of the River Darent.

The area is known for its natural beauty and rich cultural and historic heritage. However, the environment has degraded over the years due to changes in farming practices, industrialisation, water extraction and construction.

The Darent Nature Partnership area includes private farms and estates, the Kent Wildlife Trust and local councils. Sevenoaks District manages Shoreham Woods and Oxenhill Shaw (in Otford), with a combined area of 214 hectares.

The Partnership is proposing the creation of a company to manage the land, supporting a greater area of wildlife rich habitat. This includes restoring 35 kms of river, 95 hectares of chalk grasslands and enhancing 500 hectares of scrub and woodland.

The restoration improvements could capture around 92,000 tonnes of carbon, equal to the emissions of 1,000 petrol or diesel cars every year. The company has applied for Government funding for its work and could trade Biodiversity Net Gain units and carbon credits worth around £5 million to Sevenoaks District Council over a 30-to-50-year period. This income could be invested in further habitat restoration in the Darent Valley.

Cllr Irene Roy, Sevenoaks District Council’s Cabinet Member for Cleaner and Greener, says: “The Council is passionate about preserving and enhancing our environment for nature and future generations. So, we are really excited about the prospect of working with other landowners on this long-term project with so many benefits. This project will help restore natural habitats that, over centuries, have been lost or degraded, to support a raft of wildlife.

“The proposed rewilding and other works could take thousands of tons of carbon out of the atmosphere, helping to tackle climate change. The Partnership could also bring in a long-term sustainable income worth millions of pounds to reinvest in further nature conservation and sustainable land management work.”

The proposal to be part of the Darent Nature Partnership company was approved by Council on 18 November 2025.

The Darent Nature Partnership is led by Kent Wildlife Trust. For more information about the Partnership, visit www.darent.org.

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