The Stag was offered to Sevenoaks Town Council in June 2026 for £650,000 or a 30-year peppercorn lease. The original offer in full, and where it stands now.
This is our report from 7 June 2026, when the two options were first put to the town. Since then Cabinet decided on 16 June to dispose of the building, the town council sent a pre-action protocol letter on 21 July and then resolved on 24 August not to take the district council to court. Its Finance and Delivery Committee met on 1 September to consider buying the freehold for £650,000, funded by a loan, reserves and fundraising, with no rise in the precept.
Read the current position: the town council drops its legal action and weighs a £650,000 purchase.
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 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, 5 June 2026, a news release the council has since removed from its website)
- 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. (Council news release, 5 June 2026, since removed)
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.” (Council news release, 5 June 2026, since removed)
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. (Council news release, 5 June 2026, since removed)
There is also a bigger change hanging over it. Sevenoaks District Council was due to be replaced from April 2028 under local government reorganisation, when Kent’s district and county councils would be reshaped into new unitary authorities, and settling the Stag’s ownership before that transition was part of the argument. Ministers paused the reorganisation on 7 September 2026, so that deadline has gone for now. (Council news release, 5 June 2026, since removed)
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. (Council news release, 5 June 2026, since removed)
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 of 5 June 2026 has been taken down, though the council’s Stag statement of 1 September restates the Cabinet decision. For more on the centre’s programme and other things to do locally, see our guide to things to do in Sevenoaks.
What happened next: officers recommended that Cabinet approve the £650,000 transfer, and our report on the officers’ recommendation to Cabinet sets out the valuation, the asset-lock safeguards and the late commercial bid for the building. Cabinet backed the disposal on 16 June, the town council threatened a judicial review over the price and dropped it on 24 August, and it is now weighing whether to buy the freehold: the September position is here.
Sources
- Sevenoaks District Council, Council considers options to keep The Stag in local ownership and control (5 June 2026, news release since removed from sevenoaks.gov.uk)
- Sevenoaks District Council, Council reaffirms position on future of The Stag Community Arts Centre (1 September 2026)
- Sevenoaks District Council, Council and committee meetings (agendas and minutes for the 9 June, 16 June and 14 July meetings)
Chart by Sevenoaks Online from the council’s published figures.
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