How can we improve our health and wellbeing? The places we live? The communities to which we all belong? These are the questions we seek to answer, as we strive to make Kent better by design.
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How can we improve our health and wellbeing? The places we live? The communities to which we all belong? These are the questions we seek to answer, as we strive to make Kent better by design.
Working together to get things done well.
Kent has 1.5m residents, the largest population of all the English shires and our numbers are growing faster than the national average. We need homes to meet both local needs and the housing targets set by Government. It’s in everyone’s interest that the planning system makes it straightforward for developers to obtain planning permission.
So in this guide, far from listing what developers can’t do and why things can’t be done, we’re suggesting how to make development proposals and planning applications more likely to be approved quickly and painlessly. It provides a flexible, scalable tool all parties can use collaboratively in the design process.
There are many reasons why planning applications are delayed or refused. One of the most common is that the developer hasn’t demonstrated that they understand the context of the proposed site. Kent’s geography, landscape, history, culture and vernacular architecture all contribute to its distinctive character, summed up in its long-cherished subtitle ‘the garden of England’. We therefore find it much easier to approve schemes that are sympathetic to and enhance our county as a place to live, work, visit and invest.
We’re also committed to applying the government’s National Design Guide, published in 2019. This defines ten characteristics of good design aligned to the National Planning Policy Framework, which states that the fundamental purpose of the planning and development process is to create high–quality buildings and places. These characteristics should be evident in all aspects of your application; consider including a diagram in your design statement that illustrates your scheme’s overarching principles and how they relate to the surrounding area.
With multiple planning authorities in the county, we want to see schemes that truly benefit Kent residents and businesses that take a consistent and thorough approach. The best way to determine what people need and want is, of course, to ask them. Evidence that you’ve invested in meaningful community engagement will make it easier for us to approve your.
