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People and Process

Expert Advice: who to speak to, about what?

A guide to relevant Kent County Council teams and specialist advisors, organised by topic area

Collaborating with the Local Planning Authority 

Pre-application advice should first and foremost be undertaken with the Local Planning Authority relevant to the application site in question. Please visit the Kent’s Local Planning Authorities page to find out more, including how to submit for advice and the associated costs. 

Collaborating with County-level departments 

There are several County-level services operating at County and Local level, each focusing on a specific aspect of placemaking and development – some are advisory to the Local Planning Authority, and some are statutory consultees/decision makers. To help aid collaborative working between County-level departments, Local Planning Authority Officers and applicant teams, this section of the Kent Design Guide clarifies roles and offers advice on who to speak to, about what. 

Statutory roles

The following County-level departments have statutory duties and decision making responsibilities related to development in Kent.

Highways and Highways Asset Management 

Role: Kent County Council (KCC) has statutory duties as the Local Transport and Highway Authority, to maintain and manage adopted roads, pavements, and public rights of way across Kent, ensuring they are safe for public use.  

Remit: any changes affecting the Public Highway in Kent require formal agreement at County-level. Even if planning consent has been granted by the relevant Local Planning Authority, please note that County-level agreement from the Local Highway Authority is not automatic or guaranteed. 

Formal pre-application advice

This service is for applicant teams. The Highways team can provide advice on planning application proposals that will have an effect on any part of the highway. This can be for a small single building proposal to large major development sites. Please note that a fee is charged for this service. Further information about what is required and who to contact can be found via the link below.

Outline Technical Review

To further assist developers and designers, this service provides a free outline technical review of proposals affecting highway assets. This is separate from the planning process, but will help to ensure that proposals will be acceptable to the highway authority for adoption. To find out more and request an application form, please email the Highways Asset Management team: assetmanagement@kent.gov.uk. 

Early informal engagement

The are several departments operating under the umbrella of KCC Highways. Each team has provided information within the Highways section of the Kent Design Guide, and welcomes early engagement with applicant teams and the relevant Local Planning Authority to help to ensure high-quality outcomes for Kent.

Additional information about technical Highways permissions not referenced here can be found via the link below.

Public Rights of Way (PROW) and Access Service 

Role: Kent County Council (KCC) has a statutory duty to ensure the PROW network is recorded, protected, improved and maintained.  Three teams manage the day-to-day maintenance and protection of the network, maintaining the Definitive Map and Statement (DMS) as well as the record of Common Land and Village Greens, and working towards the delivery of a network relevant to modern day and future use. 

Remit: Any changes affecting Public Rights of Way in Kent will be reviewed at County-level.  

Early informal engagement

Early engagement with planners and developers is vital to shaping development to protect and enhance the PROW network and help deliver sustainable development across the County.  The Public Rights of Way (PROW) team are keen to ensure that their interests are represented with respect to their statutory duty to protect and improve PROW in Kent. The team is committed to working in partnership with the relevant Local Planning Authorities and all stakeholders to achieve the aims contained within the Rights of Way Improvement Plan (ROWIP). 

If you are a landowner, the PROW team seeks to work in a partnership with you, assisting and advising on your responsibility to maintain and protect routes crossing and adjacent to your land. Please note that enforcement is pursued where appropriate using the statutory powers that exist to deal with action or inaction that may lead to public risk or public rights being infringed.  

Please refer to the Public Rights of Way (PROW) section of the Kent Design Guide, where you can contact the relevant department for further information.

Flooding and drainage 

Role: Kent County Council (KCC) is a statutory consultee as the Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) for Kent, with a duty to develop a strategy to manage local flooding from surface water, groundwater and ordinary watercourses. 

Remit: for all major development, suitability and effectiveness of drainage strategies and surface water management provisions (including maintenance arrangements) will be reviewed at County-level. Applications for minor development do not fall under County-level remit and are solely considered by the relevant Local Planning Authority, although we may offer advice where proposals are in areas of known drainage or flood problems. 

Formal pre-application advice

This service is for applicant teams. The Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) team is here to support and advise developers on how to achieve the most effective sustainable drainage systems designs across Kent. Design expectations include early engagement, and we recommend that all developments engage in early joint discussions with the relevant Local Planning Authority and KCC as the Lead Local Flood Authority, to ensure the correct and appropriate surface water drainage solution is achieved.  

KCC strongly encourages: 

  • Pre-application discussions with the SuDS team (LLFA) 
  • Early collaboration between engineers, planners, ecologists, and landscape architects 

Please refer to the Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) section of the Kent Design Guide, where you can contact the relevant team for further information.

Non-statutory, advisory roles

The following County-level departments provide expert advice, primarily to support Local Planning Authorities in Kent with broader plan making and application-specific decision making.

Please note that guidance from these team is embedded in the Kent Design Guide to support Local Planning Authorities, but also to aid applicant teams in identifying opportunities and entering discussions with the relevant Local Planning Authority. These teams do not offer a formal pre-application process, but welcome early collaboration with all stakeholders. 

Please visit the relevant page below where you can contact each team for further information:

Collaborating with other experts 

There are several expert groups/organisations operating in Kent and Medway who can add value to your design and planning process and should be contacted at an early stage in the design process as part of collaborative working with stakeholders. As a starting point for further research and exploration, those that were invited to participate in the stakeholder workshops to develop this Kent Design Guide are listed below: