Frequently Asked Questions

The purpose of the Kent Mineral Sites Plan (MSP) is to identify sites where suitable and necessary mineral development (quarrying) can occur and, in doing so, provide certainty to the minerals industry, local authorities and communities of where future development of this nature might take place. The Kent MSP identifies sites to meet mineral supply requirements (based on current assessments of need and the objectives of the KMWLP) that are considered suitable when assessed against the locational criteria set out in the policies of the KMWLP.

The Kent MSP helps provide certainty that a steady and adequate supply of aggregate minerals can be maintained in Kent in accordance with national policy. Together, the adopted KMWLP and the adopted Kent MSP form the main part of the Development Plan which represents the planning policy framework for minerals and waste development in Kent.

The current Kent MSP allocates three sites that are considered suitable for the quarrying of aggregate minerals: A soft sand quarry (Chapel Farm West, Lenham); and, two sharp sand and gravel quarries to be worked sequentially (Moat Farm, Capel and an extension to Stonecastle Farm Quarry, Hadlow). Prior to any allocated site being developed, it would require detailed planning permission. 

‘Mineral Sites’ are locations where an economic mineral exists and where its extraction, in the form of quarrying, could potentially occur.

Sites allocated in a Mineral Sites Plan are considered acceptable in principle for mineral extraction. Allocating sites helps ensure certainty of mineral supply. 

It should be noted that the allocation of a site does not equate to the grant of planning permission. Any proposal for the development of an allocated site would need to secure planning consent and satisfy the requirements of the development plan and planning policy considerations at that time.

Yes, the County Council adopted the Kent Mineral Sites Plan (MSP) in September 2020 which provides greater certainty that aggregate requirements can be met for sands and gravels. The sites allocated in the adopted Kent MSP were subject to all stages of the County Council’s Site Identification and Selection Methodology and then found sound by a Planning Inspector following an Independent Examination.

The adopted Kent Mineral Sites Plan forms part of the development plan along with the Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan and is used in the determination of planning applications and appeals related to proposals for minerals development.

Three sites for land-won aggregate are allocated in the Kent MSP which was adopted in 2020. The site at Chapel Farm, Lenham, is an allocation for soft, or building, sand. This material is sourced from the Folkestone Formation. This being a major geological unit that forms part of the stratigraphy of both Kent and the wider South East. It is considered a strategic mineral in that there is no other reliable source of supply (either from marine or artificial sources) that can generally meet the British Standard for a mortar sand. It is therefore a primary aggregate resource of great importance to the construction industry. Chapel Farm has a potential resource of 3.2 million tonnes that would ensure a steady and adequate supply of this aggregate. Future statutory five yearly reviews of the KMWLP will take account of the soft sand supply and demand situation at that time and assess whether additional allocations would then be justified.   

The other two sites are for the superficial Sub-Alluvial River Terrace sand and gravels in the Upper Medway Valley in the Tonbridge area. These sites are at Moat Farm, Capel and an extension to Stonecastle Farm Quarry, Hadlow/Whetsted. These aggregate forming deposits comprise sharp sand and gravel which is used in a number of applications including concrete products and other construction applications. Both sites would provide an additional 2.5 million tonnes of aggregate that would contribute to maintaining supplies of this aggregate type in Kent. Due to past extraction there is an increasing geological scarcity of sustainable sharp sand and gravel resources which makes maintaining supplies from land won sources in Kent more difficult. Therefore, importation, including from marine sources, is increasingly important to ensuring a steady and adequate source of supply is maintained to meet Kent’s needs.   

In accordance with planning legislation and regulations, a statutory review of the Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan is being undertaken. As part of the review of the Local Plan, the plan period has been updated from 2013-30 to 2024-39. This is to ensure consistency with the requirement in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) that strategic policies should look ahead over a minimum 15-year period from adoption. 

This change to the plan period, and a review of recent data on permitted mineral reserves and sales in Kent, has revealed a need to plan for the supply of additional hard rock in Kent. This is to ensure that we have planned for a steady and adequate supply of mineral provision over the new plan period (2024-39) in accordance with requirements in the NPPF.

An update to the adopted Kent Mineral Sites Plan is therefore being prepared with a view to making provision for the supply of hard rock.

It should be noted that no changes are proposed to the existing site allocations in the Kent Mineral Sites Plan adopted in 2020 as these are still required to meet future aggregate needs.

Hard rock is processed to form ‘crushed rock’ which is an important construction aggregate. Construction aggregates in Kent are formed by extraction and processing of both superficial deposits (sands and gravels) and the main crustal units of the Hythe Formation (Kentish Ragstone). This ragstone material is a hard limestone rock that when processed (crushed and size selective screened) gives rise to a crushed hard rock aggregate. This material can be used for a variety of functions including drainage, landscaping, paving and general fill. Furthermore, the material can be used for ready mix concrete, structural concrete purposes, and construction block stone for new build and heritage projects, and large sized rock units such as gabion stone can be used for armour stone such as sea defence works.

The way in which Kent County Council selects sites for inclusion in the Kent Minerals Sites Plan is set out in its Site Identification and Selection Methodology. The main stages in the site identification and selection process are summarised below:

1. Call for Sites
2. Initial Assessment of Nominated Sites + Draft Sustainability Appraisal
3. Consultation on Site Options
4. Detailed Technical Assessment (following this stage a decision on whether or not to allocate the site in the draft KMSP is made by the County Council) 
5. Publication of draft updated Kent Mineral Sites Plan (Regulation 19) (+ Final Sustainability Appraisal) for representations on soundness 
6. Independent Examination (submission to the Planning Inspectorate and Examination)

Sustainability Appraisal (SA) is a statutory mechanism for considering and communicating the likely effects of a draft plan, and alternatives, with a view to avoiding and mitigating adverse effects and maximising positives.

Draft SAs have been completed both for the updates to the Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan and the Kent Mineral Sites Plan (MSP).

The draft SA of the draft updated MSP has made several recommendations for measures to prevent, reduce and, as fully as possible, offset any significant adverse effects of an updated MSP that included the nominated site.

The SA is required to appraise reasonable alternatives to an updated MSP that included the nominated site.  No other site for the extraction of hard rock has been identified or was nominated during the Call for Sites, therefore there are no alternative sites within Kent that could be considered.  However, an alternative could be not to allocate the nominated site but instead rely on imports of hard rock from outside of the county, which may come into Kent by sea, rail or road and so an appraisal of this alternative has been undertaken.

The ‘Call for Sites’ is the start of the Kent Minerals Sites Plan (MSP) process. A ‘Call for Sites’ is an event whereby operators, land-owners and relevant stakeholders are invited to nominate sites for the potential allocation of a site for development in a Local Plan.

The ‘Call for Sites’ relating to the update to the Kent MSP took place from October 2022 to December 2022 and invited nomination of land which could accommodate a hard rock quarry to meet the identified supply requirements. 

During the ‘Call for Sites’, one site was nominated for the proposed extraction of hard rock - Land to the South and West of Hermitage Quarry, Aylesford (an extension of the existing Hermitage Quarry, Aylesford).

The nominated site has been subject to an initial desktop assessment to assess its suitability for potential mineral working in accordance with the County Council’s Site Identification and Selection Methodology. An Initial RAG (Red-Amber-Green) Assessment of the nominated site has been undertaken which can also be found on our online consultation website Let's talk Kent. 

This assessment shows how the suitability of the nominated site was assessed against various assessment criteria using a RAG scale and identifies areas likely to require further attention at the detailed technical assessment stage.

The nominated site was assessed against the following criteria:

• Landscape Designations/Visual Impact
• Nature Conservation and Geodiversity
• Historic Environment
• Water Environment (including flooding)
• Air Quality
• Soil Quality
• Public Rights of Way (PRoW)
• Transport (Including Access)
• Services and Utilities
• Health and Amenity
• Cumulative Impacts
• Airport Safeguarding Zones
• Green Belt

A nominated site is one that is being promoted by a third party, often but not exclusively a mineral operator, to a Call for Sites exercise conducted by the Mineral Planning Authority. An allocated site is a site that has undergone detailed technical assessment, consultation and ultimately been found acceptable in principle for development by a Planning Inspector following an Independent Examination.  

The fact that a site is allocated in an adopted plan is a significant factor in determining any future planning application for a mineral development in that location.

No. The current public consultation is intended to help gather views and technical information to inform detailed technical assessment of the site’s suitability.

Once the current public consultation has ended all the matters raised and technical information gathered will help inform the basis of a detailed technical assessment. Only when this is completed will the County Council consider whether or not to include the site in the updated Mineral Sites Plan. If that were to happen, a further public consultation under Regulation 19 of the relevant plan making regulations, would occur prior to any formal submission of the updated the Mineral Sites Plan to the Secretary of State (Planning Inspectorate) for Independent Examination.

A site can only be allocated in a Local Plan document once the matter has been the subject of an Independent Examination conducted by the Planning Inspectorate on behalf of the Secretary of State. The Examination is held in public and considers whether there is sufficient evidence to justify allocation of the site in a particular location. Both promoters of the site and objectors to the site can give evidence. After such an examination the Inspector’s report is issued that concludes whether or not the site can be allocated. The report may recommend modifications to the Plan which the County Council will consider before adopting the Plan. Any such modifications would require further public consultation.

The County Council is seeking any views and comments you may have on the Draft updated Kent Mineral Sites Plan, including details of the nominated hard rock site and supporting information to help inform the detailed technical assessment work.

The draft updated Kent Mineral Sites Plan (that is subject to the current public consultation) needs to align with the proposed changes to the period of Kent Minerals and Waste Local Plan (2024 to 2039) and so includes updated calculations for the amount of both soft sand, and sharp sand and gravel that is needed over that period. The calculations show that currently only additional capacity is needed for hard rock and there is no requirement for any other mineral sites to 2039.