Cllr Kevin Maskell, Leader of Sevenoaks District Council, says:
“I want to reassure residents that, at no point, has Sevenoaks District Council had any intention of selling The Stag. It is a greatly valued cultural venue for the district, and we are fully committed to keeping it in public ownership for community use.
"As the freeholder, we have previously granted Sevenoaks Town Council a 25-year long lease to manage the Stag, which has another 10 years to run.
"At the same time, we are assessing Sevenoaks Town Council’s application for a Community Asset Transfer of The Stag.
"As part of our considerations, we must observe Government requirements and advice from our independent external auditors. This means we cannot dispose of the Stag for free and Sevenoaks Town Council has provided a valuation on that basis.
"We recently highlighted in our papers for our forthcoming Financial and Investment Advisory Committee (FIAC), we have been approached by a commercial company expressing an interest in operating the Stag. I want to be clear: we have no intention of transferring The Stag to this company. However, the commercial approach means that we could breach national state subsidy rules if we offer this facility for nil or low cost to the Town Council. Therefore, we are taking further legal advice to ensure we do not breach national legal requirements regarding the transfer of a council asset.
"It is therefore important to stress that no final decision has been taken on the future of The Stag. We are not seeking a commercial sale, but we continue to look at all options on how best to support a community asset transfer whilst ensuring our decisions are lawful.
"In addition, as we have previously highlighted to the Town Council, the online petition submitted via Change.org, cannot be treated as a formal petition under the rules of the Council’s Constitution, however the issues raised within it are important. For this reason, the petition will be considered by the Chairman of the Council to ensure residents’ views are heard while upholding the legal and governance standards that protect both the Council and the community.
"I do want to reiterate, as I have at Full Council and in Advisory Meetings, that the District Council values and is fully supportive of The Stag remaining as a public asset. We will continue to look at all options to support those values through the community asset transfer process."
View our FAQs about the Sevenoaks Town Council application for Community Asset Transfers.