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Minerals and waste planning policy

As the minerals and waste planning authority for Kent, we have to plan for waste management capacity and mineral supply. We do this through our Minerals and Waste Local Plan. The plan includes strategic policies for minerals and waste development, as well as development management policies which are used to determine planning applications.

The plans and policies in the local plan form part of the development plan for Kent, alongside district and borough local plans, neighbourhood plans and national planning policy.

Current local plan

The current adopted Minerals and Waste Local Plan is the Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan 2013-30 as amended by the early partial review in September 2020, and the Mineral Sites Plan 2020.

Details of the Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan 2013-30 as adopted in July 2016, the early partial review adopted in September 2020, and the 2021 refresh of the local plan, and the Minerals Site Plan adopted in 2020 are set out below.

Our Local Development Scheme (PDF, 675.9 KB) sets out our work programme up until 2023.

Our Statement of Community Involvement (PDF, 833.0 KB) explains how we will engage with Kent’s communities throughout the local plan preparation process.

Our privacy notice explains how we will use your personal information throughout the Local Plan preparation process.

To contact our team, call 03000 422370 or email mwlp@kent.gov.uk.

Find out how to submit a planning application for minerals or waste development.

Read our plans

Our consultation hub

View our Minerals and Waste Planning Policy consultation activity

The Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan 2013-2030 (KMWLP) was adopted in July 2016 and sets out the vision and strategy for waste management and mineral provision up until the year 2030. It also contains a number of development management policies for evaluating minerals and waste planning applications.

The KMWLP underwent an early partial review (EPR) on several policies over 2016 to 2020, this is explained in further detail in the section below. This is the current adopted Minerals and Waste Local Plan for the determination of planning applications. The EPR document was adopted in September 2020 and replaced the KMWLP adopted in July 2016.

Mineral safeguarding maps

The maps below accompany policy CSM 5, which is contained within the KMWLP and safeguards economic mineral deposits within Kent:

Supplementary Planning Document

To assist in interpretation of minerals and waste safeguarding policies, we have produced a Safeguarding Supplementary Planning Document (PDF, 2.2 MB) which was adopted in March 2021. Read the adoption statement (PDF, 156.1 KB).

Review of the Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan 2013-30

We are required to review the Local Plan every 5 years. This is to ensure that the policies remain relevant, conform to national policy and guidance and satisfactorily address the needs of the local community. An assessment of the Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan 2013-30 has been completed and identified the need for a number of changes. Read the report of this assessment (PDF, 2.1 MB).

Following the assessment, we are undertaking a refresh of the Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan 2013-30. A public consultation will take place between December 2021 and February 2022.

Following the adoption of the Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan 2013-30 (KMWLP) in July 2016, further assessments suggested that the level of waste management capacity required to maintain net self-sufficiency is different to what was originally thought.

We therefore undertook an early partial review of the KMWLP to amend several of the policies relating to waste management. This was to ensure that Kent benefits from an up-to-date strategy for waste management capacity and informed whether a waste sites plan was needed.

As part of the early partial review of the plan, we also made the policies relating to minerals and waste safeguarding clearer to improve their effectiveness when used in practice.

In October 2019, the early partial review was subject to independent examination by planning inspector Nicholas Palmer BA (Hons) BPI MRTPI. His report concluded that the Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan Early Partial Review and the Kent Mineral Sites Plan provide an appropriate basis for the planning of minerals and waste development in Kent, provided that a number of modifications were made to them.

You can read the report and proposed plan modifications below:

In September 2020, members of the county council resolved to adopt the KMWLP as amended by the early partial review.

We consulted with the public on the modifications between November 2019 and January 2020. View the consultation response summary (PDF, 313.3 KB).

Our Mineral Sites Plan allocates specific sites within Kent for mineral extraction to ensure that Kent has enough permitted mineral reserves over the plan period (until 2030).

In September 2020, members of the county council resolved to adopt the Kent Mineral Sites Plan.

You can read the report and proposed plan modifications below:

We consulted with the public on the modifications between November 2019 and January 2020. View the consultation response summary (PDF, 313.3 KB).

Annual Monitoring Reports

Mineral and waste sites

Aggregate Assessments

Habitat Regulations Assessments (HRA)