A council concerned about companies selling areas of ancient woodland for development has reported the practice to trading standards.

Sevenoaks District Council discovered the protected wooded site south of Ashgrove Road, is being split into individual plots with marketing information suggesting it could be approved for planning.

As the woodland is in the Green Belt and an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, it is unlikely planning permission for any residential development would ever be granted.

The practice, known as wood-lotting, is becoming increasingly common in a bid to entice buyers.

To protect the land, the council served Article 4 Directions last month which means those companies can no longer carry out any activities without planning permission.

This includes putting up fences, gates or walls, stationing caravans and other temporary uses.

It also means those looking to buy the land will have a greater chance of seeing that it is agricultural land and stops them falling into the trap of buying land they can't build on.

“We promised our residents we would do everything we can to protect our much cherished environment..."

Cllr Julia Thornton, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Development and Conservation, says: “We have promised our residents that we will do everything we can to protect our much cherished environment.

"Serving these latest Article 4 Directions clearly demonstrates we are being true to our word.

“Anyone considering buying this land should beware: this woodland is protected and any proposals to develop it are unlikely to be granted planning permission.”

Ancient woods are areas of woodland that have been around since 1600 in England.

They are relatively undisturbed by human development and as a result, they have unique and complex communities of plants, fungi and insects.

This latest action comes after the council also served Article 4 Directions on sites in Shoreham, Cowden, Edenbridge (Hever Road), Penshurst and West Kingsdown (St Clere Hill Road) as they too were being sold as individual plots for development.

Jack Taylor, Lead Campaigner for woods under threat at the Woodland Trust said: "The trust is aware that the practice of wood-lotting can present a harmful impact for ancient woods where not managed appropriately and where plots are advertised with the possibility of development.

"We commend the council for taking the appropriate action of reporting the sales to Trading Standards for investigation.

"Ancient woodland is simply not appropriate for new development."

Some of the land has been sold by auctioneer Barnard Marcus.

A spokesperson for the company said: "Barnard Marcus Auctions was made aware of the Article 4 Direction Notices by a third party on Tuesday and carried out its own research having received nothing directly from the local planning authority.

"Once we received confirmation that the Article 4 Direction Notice had been served, we updated our website accordingly with announcements and details added to the legal documents."

Anyone who is considering buying a plot of land should check its planning status first.

They can do this on the council’s interactive planning map here.

Alternatively they can seek advice from the council’s Pre-Application Planning Advice team www.sevenoaks.gov.uk/preapplicationadvice or call 01732 227000.

Read more: All the latest news from Sevenoaks