Sevenoaks District Council has offered the town council two ways to secure the Stag Community Arts Centre long term: buy it outright for £650,000, or take a new 30-year lease at a peppercorn rent. A decision runs through three meetings this summer.

The future of the Stag, Sevenoaks’ theatre, cinema and arts centre, is set to be decided this summer after the district council offered the town council two ways to take it on for the long term. Sevenoaks District Council says the town council can either buy the building outright for £650,000, or sign a new 30-year lease at a peppercorn rent. The choice is due to work its way through three separate meetings between June and July.

What is being offered

The Stag Arts Centre Future: key figures
Chart by Sevenoaks Online.

The Stag is owned by Sevenoaks District Council and currently run by Sevenoaks Town Council under a 25-year lease that has nine years left to run. To secure the centre well beyond that, the district council has put two options on the table. (Sevenoaks District Council, Council considers options to keep The Stag in local ownership and control)

  • Buy it outright for £650,000, a figure the council describes as an existing-use valuation.
  • Take a new 30-year lease at a peppercorn rent, in effect a nominal sum, replacing the current lease.

Either route is intended to keep the venue in local hands for decades rather than leaving its long-term future uncertain as the existing lease runs down. (Sevenoaks District Council, Council considers options to keep The Stag in local ownership and control)

Cllr Julia Thornton, the council’s Cabinet Member for Finance, said: “The Stag Community Arts Centre is a much cherished cultural and community asset providing theatre, cinema, and a place for arts and education.” (Sevenoaks District Council, Council considers options to keep The Stag in local ownership and control)

Why now

The offer is part of the council’s Community Asset Transfer programme, which hands buildings and land to town and parish councils or community groups to run. The council says it has received 24 such applications this year and has already approved 16 of them before reaching the Stag. (Sevenoaks District Council, Council considers options to keep The Stag in local ownership and control)

There is also a bigger change on the horizon. From April 2028, Sevenoaks District Council is due to be replaced as part of local government reorganisation, when Kent’s district and county councils are reshaped into new unitary authorities. Settling the Stag’s ownership now puts the centre on a firm footing before that transition. (Sevenoaks District Council, Council considers options to keep The Stag in local ownership and control)

The decision timeline

The proposal is not yet settled. It is scheduled to pass through three meetings over the summer of 2026:

  • 9 June 2026: the Finance and Investment Advisory Committee considers the options.
  • 16 June 2026: Cabinet, the council’s senior decision-making body, looks at the recommendation.
  • 14 July 2026: Full Council takes the final decision.

Sevenoaks Town Council would then need to agree which option to accept. (Sevenoaks District Council, Council considers options to keep The Stag in local ownership and control)

What it means for you

For anyone who uses the Stag for a film, a pantomime, a live show or a class, the immediate position does not change: the centre carries on under the town council. What is being decided is the long-term arrangement, whether the town buys the building or holds it on a much longer lease, so that the venue is protected well past the point where the current lease would otherwise expire.

If you want to follow the decision, the relevant committee and council meetings are public, and the agendas and minutes are published in advance and afterwards. You can find them on the council’s meeting system, and the original announcement on the council news page. For more on the centre’s programme and other things to do locally, see our guide to things to do in Sevenoaks.

We will update this page once Full Council has voted in July.

Sources

Chart by Sevenoaks Online from the council’s published figures.