Sash windows in Dunton Green, the brick village on the Darent

Dunton Green lies in the Darent valley about three miles north of Sevenoaks, inside the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and close under the North Downs. Its station has trains to London Bridge, Waterloo East and Charing Cross, and London Road carries the shops and the three pubs: the Miners Arms, the Dukes Head and the Rose and Crown.

Brick runs through the village's history. Bricks and tiles were made here from at least the 17th century, and the Dunton Green Brick, Tile and Pottery Works was set up in 1862 with clay pits, kilns and an engine house. The old church of St John the Divine, designed by M. T. Potter and built in 1889 and 1890, was built of local brick; it closed in 1987 and is now in commercial use. The Free Church opened in 1873 and moved to its present building on Station Road in 1937.

The planning position is simple

Dunton Green is not one of the 41 conservation areas in Sevenoaks District, so a house here, unless it is individually listed, can have its sashes replaced like for like without planning permission. Flats still need permission, as they do everywhere. That makes Dunton Green the most straightforward village on this site for a uPVC sash frontage.

The council's residential character assessment treats Dunton Green as part of the Sevenoaks urban area, alongside the town, Riverhead, Bessels Green and Chipstead. If your Dunton Green house was built with sashes, freedom from planning does not mean any window will do. A red brick front looks best with sashes that keep the size of the original opening and the original bar pattern, in white or white woodgrain, and with a matching front door fitted at the same time.

Background: Dunton Green on Wikipedia.

Planning a frontage in Dunton Green? Ask for a survey or call 01732 900157.