| Kent County Council provides a strategic planning
function across Kent.
It draws on both national and regional elements of the
planning system in providing the overall strategy direction for
Kent.
Particular county functions relate to mineral and waste
activities.
The two main delivery arms of the county function are plan
making and development control.
Planning
Kent County Council is responsible for producing the structure
plan. The
Kent and Medway structure plan has been prepared jointly with
the Medway Council.
The council will also be responsible for the new framework
documents (formerly local plans) that provide for mineral and waste
development.
Development control
In its strategic role the council also provides advice on
development proposals referred to them by the district
councils.
Through its development control function the county council is
responsible for processing and determining county matter
applications.
It also processes any matters requiring further approval that
flow from these determinations.
The council also regulates through monitoring and enforcement
mineral and waste developments.
The role of Kent County Council
In applying the above functions the council acts as the county
planning authority, mineral planning authority and waste planning
authority.
The council also collects and provides information on matters
relevant to its strategic planning function including mineral and
waste.
In a related function the council, acting as the highway
authority, provides advice on all planning applications. It is a
consultee of all local planning authorities.
What we do
The council is the planning authority responsible for ensuring
that minerals, waste management activities and its own development,
stay within planning controls.
It also has enforcement responsibilities in relation to
construction routes and borrow pits associated with the channel
tunnel rail link.
What we don't do
The county planning authority does not deal with enforcement
issues arising from fly tipping or when your domestic rubbish has
not been collected.
It also does not deal with minor waste operations on sites where
there are multiple contraventions for which the borough or district
council is the enforcement authority for the other
contraventions.
It does not deal with developments permitted by the borough or
district council.
This includes the importation and export of material to
development sites where the material is an integral part of the
permitted scheme and is necessary to enable the development to go
ahead.
However, it should be noted that the deposit or removal of any
additional material is a waste disposal operation and will require
planning consent from the county planning authority.
The district planning function
The borough or district council is responsible for preparing
local development frameworks (formerly local plans) which cover
land use development in their locality.
Their development control functions relate to housing and other
built development including householder applications.
The unitary planning function
Medway Council is the only unitary council in Kent. It is
responsible for all planning functions, both district and county,
within its area.
For more information on planning in the Medway area please visit
the Medway
Council website (opens in a new
window). |