Public Rights of Way Statement of Priorities

We are consulting on a proposed change to Kent County Council's (KCC) Statement of Priorities, which sets out how the council processes Section 53 applications.

The Definitive Map and Statement (DMS) is the legal record of Public Rights of Way (PROW). Section 53 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 places a legal duty on KCC as the Surveying Authority to ‘keep the DMS under continuous review’. Under Section 53 anyone can apply to KCC to amend the DMS to add, upgrade, downgrade, or delete a PROW. KCC has a duty to investigate and determine every application it receives in accordance with its Statement of Priorities.

Over the past five years, KCC has seen a substantial rise in Section 53 applications, particularly those based on historic (documentary) evidence. This has resulted in a significant increase in the backlog for allocating applications.

To address this, KCC is proposing a change to our Statement of Priorities in Appendix 1 of our Countryside Access Improvement Plan (CAIP), to prioritise user-based applications (those based on proof that a path has been used for at least 20 years). This means taking them out of submission order so that for every historic based application allocated, one user based application would be allocated.

Both types of application would continue to be allocated in the order they were received, unless one of the acceleration criteria in the Statement of Priorities applies.

More information on why we are proposing this change is available in the Consultation Document.

Have your say

You can tell us your views on the proposed change to our Statement of Priorities by completing the online questionnaire.

If you cannot complete the online questionnaire, a Word version is available to download from this webpage, which you can complete and return either by email or post. Paper copies are available on request.

If you have questions about the proposal or need any support to take part in the consultation, you can contact us via the contact details under the 'Who's listening' section on this webpage.

The consultation closes at midnight on Monday 23 March 2026.

Next steps

Following the end of the consultation, all of the responses will be analysed and a consultation report will be produced, summarising the feedback we have received.

The feedback from this consultation is expected to be reported to Members at the Growth, Economic Development and Communities Cabinet Committee in May 2026 and will be taken into consideration before a decision is taken by the Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services.

The consultation report and details of the decision will be published on this webpage.

We are consulting on a proposed change to Kent County Council's (KCC) Statement of Priorities, which sets out how the council processes Section 53 applications.

The Definitive Map and Statement (DMS) is the legal record of Public Rights of Way (PROW). Section 53 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 places a legal duty on KCC as the Surveying Authority to ‘keep the DMS under continuous review’. Under Section 53 anyone can apply to KCC to amend the DMS to add, upgrade, downgrade, or delete a PROW. KCC has a duty to investigate and determine every application it receives in accordance with its Statement of Priorities.

Over the past five years, KCC has seen a substantial rise in Section 53 applications, particularly those based on historic (documentary) evidence. This has resulted in a significant increase in the backlog for allocating applications.

To address this, KCC is proposing a change to our Statement of Priorities in Appendix 1 of our Countryside Access Improvement Plan (CAIP), to prioritise user-based applications (those based on proof that a path has been used for at least 20 years). This means taking them out of submission order so that for every historic based application allocated, one user based application would be allocated.

Both types of application would continue to be allocated in the order they were received, unless one of the acceleration criteria in the Statement of Priorities applies.

More information on why we are proposing this change is available in the Consultation Document.

Have your say

You can tell us your views on the proposed change to our Statement of Priorities by completing the online questionnaire.

If you cannot complete the online questionnaire, a Word version is available to download from this webpage, which you can complete and return either by email or post. Paper copies are available on request.

If you have questions about the proposal or need any support to take part in the consultation, you can contact us via the contact details under the 'Who's listening' section on this webpage.

The consultation closes at midnight on Monday 23 March 2026.

Next steps

Following the end of the consultation, all of the responses will be analysed and a consultation report will be produced, summarising the feedback we have received.

The feedback from this consultation is expected to be reported to Members at the Growth, Economic Development and Communities Cabinet Committee in May 2026 and will be taken into consideration before a decision is taken by the Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services.

The consultation report and details of the decision will be published on this webpage.

  • Have your say!

    We want to hear your views on the proposed change to our Statement of Priorities and have provided this questionnaire for you to give your feedback. 

    We recommend you read the Consultation Document before responding to this questionnaire.

    In line with other local authorities and government departments, we ask people to register to take part in some activities on Let’s Talk Kent. We do this to give people the opportunity to choose to be kept informed and to protect the integrity of our consultations from individuals and groups who may attempt to unduly influence the outcomes of the consultation. It also means that when you submit your response you will receive a copy by email for your own records. 

    As with all our consultations a Word version of the questionnaire is available from the consultation webpage for people who would prefer not to complete the online version. 

    Privacy: Kent County Council (KCC) collects and processes personal information in order to provide a range of public services. KCC respects the privacy of individuals and endeavours to ensure personal information is collected fairly, lawfully, and in compliance with the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act 2018. Read the full Privacy Policy.


    Complete questionnaire