Council takes legal action to protect National Landscape
The Council had an injunction order granted in the High Court on 6 June 2025, for a 12-month period on land in Kilndown, near Lamberhurst.
The injunction means that the land cannot be used for residential purposes or any other purpose in breach of planning control, and residential caravans and mobile homes cannot be sited there. If the landowner disobeys the order they may be held to be in contempt of court and could be fined or be liable to imprisonment.
The injunction is the result of prompt action taken by the Council’s Planning Enforcement and Legal teams in the preceding weeks, including over a weekend, when it became apparent that some of the owners of the land, which is in the High Weald National Landscape, intended to live there. The land in the specific Kilndown area is now covered by the injunction until 2026 so protecting it from unauthorised development.
The Head of Planning Service, Carlos Hone said: ‘The Council acted very quickly to stop this unauthorised development before too much work had been done on the site. I hope people will realise that we will not hesitate in taking whatever action is necessary in situations like these. We have a planning system which is there to both protect communities and ensure that areas like the National Landscape are protected against unauthorised development.'
