Station Details

Swanley

Station NameSwanley
Station CodeSAY
Station OwnerSoutheastern
Developable Area42.14ha
Development Capacity3,161 homes (at 75dph)
Local Planning AuthoritySevenoaks
2021 Housing Delivery Test - Homes Required1,828
2021 Housing Delivery Test - Homes Delivered1,130
2021 Housing Delivery Test - Score62%
2021 Housing Delivery Test - ConsequencePresumption
Green BeltLondon
Green Belt Area33.59ha ( 79.71% of the potential development area)
Network Rail RegionSouth East
Network Rail Sub-RegionKent
Passengers, 2020 - 2021398,890
Passengers, 2019 - 20201,559,052
UK Station Passenger Rank (Use)391

Development Potential

England's busiest station (apart from those serving airports) had 4,170,558 passenger movements in the period 2019-2020. The station with the least was 68. Swanley station had 1,559,052 passengers enter or exit it during this period. That's roughly 4,283 people per day.

For a station with this number of passengers passing through it each year a density of 75 homes per hectare is reasonable, based on its proximity to major population centres and existing infrastructure.

Swanley is located within the South East railway region. The potential area for development around the station (excluding existing buildings, national parks, flood zones, public green space, protected habitats, areas of outstanding natural beauty, world heritage sites and surface water) is approximately 42.14ha.

Assuming an appropriate (but not prevailing) development density of 75 dwellings per hectare, this area has a development capacity of around 3,161 homes.

The station sits within Sevenoaks planning authority, which in 2021 achieved a Housing Delivery Test Score of 62%, having delivered 1,130 homes from a target of 1,828. As a result of this score, the authority is subject to a 'presumption in favour of sustainable development', according to the NPPF.

The total capacity of all Sevenoaks's stations is 15,727 homes. That's 860% of its total 2021 Housing Delivery Test requirement.

Taking green belt into account, the capacity of Sevenoaks's stations is 642 homes without building on protected land. That's 35% of its total 2021 Housing Delivery Test requirement.