Frequently Asked Questions

The adopted Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan sets out the County Council’s strategy and policy framework for minerals and waste development in Kent. The Plan includes strategic policies for minerals and waste development, as well as development management policies.

The Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan 2013-30 was adopted in July 2016 and limited changes adopted in September 2020 resulting from an Early Partial Review. The separate Kent Mineral Sites Plan, which allocates three areas of land suitable for development associated with the extraction of sand and gravel, was also adopted in 2020. Together these documents form part of the Development Plan which sets out how planning applications, and appeals, are to be considered for mineral and waste management development. 

The Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 (as amended) and the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) state that Local Plans should be reviewed at least once every five years to assess whether they need updating and should then be updated as necessary. The statutory reviews of Local Plans ensure that they remain relevant and fit for purpose and that planning policies, including targets, are still valid, effective and deliverable.

A statutory five-year review of the Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan (KMWLP) began in 2021 which found that, while much of the Local Plan is still relevant, some updates are needed to respond to, amongst other things, changes in government policy and legislation since 2016.

Revisions are therefore proposed to the adopted KMWLP including changes to its Vision, Strategic Objectives, policies and supporting text. The proposed revisions were subject to an initial consultation with key stakeholders followed by three public consultations since 2021. A ‘Proposed Submission Draft’ of the Plan was published for representations in January 2024.

The Proposed Submission Draft Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan 2024-39 was submitted, with the representations received, to the Secretary of State for Independent Examination on 17 May 2024. The independent Inspector appointed to examine the Local Plan convened public hearings in September 2024 to consider the relevant Matters and Issues.

After considering representations made during the January 2024 consultation on the Local Plan, and following the public hearings in September 2024, the Inspector has identified a number of Main Modifications that she considers are required in order to ensure that the Local Plan is ‘sound’ (i.e. positively prepared, justified, effective and consistent with national policy) and legally compliant.

We are now consulting on the proposed Main Modifications to the Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan 2024-39. Further guidance on the Local Plan preparation process can be found in the Governments Procedure Guide for Local Plan Examinations.

Following the submission of the Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan 2024-39 to the Planning Inspectorate for independent examination in May 2024, the appointed Planning Inspector has identified a number of changes to the Plan which she considers are required in order to ensure that the Local Plan is ‘sound’ (i.e. positively prepared, justified, effective and consistent with national policy) and legally compliant.  

In accordance with relevant legislation, Kent County Council has published the proposed Main Modifications that are considered necessary by the Planning Inspector. The County Council is now consulting on these modifications to the Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan 2024-39 which you can comment on using the representation form. 

A number of minor changes and updates are also proposed to be made to the Local Plan before it is adopted. These Additional Modifications (previously known as minor modifications) have been identified by the Council as those which are necessary to improve presentation or to address or correct any typographical or factual errors and are not necessary to resolve soundness or legal compliance issues. 

These are published for information only and are outside the scope of the Main Modifications consultation. They are not being put before the Inspector for consideration.

We are seeking views on the soundness and legal compliance of the proposed Main Modifications to the Local Plan, along with the Sustainability Appraisal.  All representations received on the Main Modifications will be collated and forwarded on to the Planning Inspector who will then consider if any further changes are required to be made to the Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan 2024-39 before it can be adopted. 

A number of minor changes and updates are proposed to be made to the Local Plan before it can be adopted. These are known as Additional Modifications and have been identified by the Council as those which are necessary to improve presentation or to address or correct any typographical or factual errors and are not necessary to resolve soundness or legal compliance issues. These Additional Modifications are published for information only and are outside the scope of the Main Modifications consultation as they are not being put before the Inspector for consideration.

The tests of ‘soundness’ and ‘legal compliance’ are requirements of local plan making legislation and the National Planning Policy Framework.

We are seeking views on whether the proposed Main Modifications to the Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan 2024-39 are ‘sound’ and ‘legally compliant’ which can be summarised as follows:

• ‘sound’ - that is, whether it has been positively prepared, is justified, is effective and is consistent with national policy; and 
• legally compliant - that it is prepared in accordance with legislation governing plan making. 

A Guidance Note has been produced which sets out further information on the requirements of ‘soundness’ and ‘legal compliance’ along with details of how representations can be made and where the consultation material can be viewed. We recommend that you read this note before submitting your representation on the Main Modifications.

Yes, full responses will be submitted to the Planning Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State for Independent Examination. They will be made publicly available on our website with personal data removed. 

Please read our privacy statement for further details.

Once the consultation has closed, the Minerals and Waste Planning Policy Team will collate all of the comments received and forward them to the appointed Planning Inspector. 

The Inspector will then consider whether any further changes need to be made to the draft Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan 2024-39 before it can be adopted.

Kent County Council, as the Minerals and Waste Planning Authority for Kent, has a statutory responsibility to plan for future minerals supply and waste management capacity in Kent. This is to ensure economic minerals, which are necessary to meet society’s needs, are provided and waste is sustainably managed, whilst also protecting communities and the environment. 

We do this through our Minerals and Waste Local Plan and subsequent planning applications. The Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan 2013-30 was adopted by the County Council in July 2016, and was subject to some limited changes as part of an Early Partial Review which was adopted in September 2020. The statutory 5 year review of the Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan commenced in 2021 and is ongoing. 

Economic minerals are naturally occurring materials found in the earth’s crust that are used by society for a wide variety of applications such as construction and industrial production purposes. In Kent, at this time, important economic minerals include aggregate forming materials comprising:

• soft sand for mortar production
• sharp sand, gravel and hard rock for construction and concrete manufacturing

Industrial minerals in Kent include brickearth that is used to produce construction bricks. 

Other industrial minerals which are important include clay for land engineering purposes and silica sand which is used in a variety of applications including glass making and water filtration. 

Chalk used to be extracted for cement manufacture but is now only used in the County for agricultural liming.

More information on minerals worked in Kent can be found in the Pre-Submission Draft Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan.