Objection to and support for an application:

Details of planning applications can be found online at Public Access For Planning. Planning applications are available for inspection online at the Civic Centre (subject to close during government restrictions) during normal office hours.

Comments on any application must be made in writing; this can be done via Public Access for Planning or by letter to Development Control, Civic Centre, Home Gardens, Dartford DA1 1DR.

Please quote your name and address and the application reference number in any communications.

You will receive an acknowledgement of your representation, either via Public Access, by email or in letter form depending on the way you have submitted your comments.

Please note that we will not, as a matter of course, inform you of the outcome of the planning application.  You should therefore check the application status via Public Access for planning or, you can register your details with Public Access to ‘track’ specific applications whereby you will be notified of any change in status.

Publication of comments:

Comments made on applications will be available to view on the Council's website but in order to comply with the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018, your name, house number/house name, telephone number, email address, signatures, as well as any other personal information, will not be visible.  However, all representations can normally be inspected in hard copy at the Council offices and names and postal addresses will be visible in line with our Privacy Notice.  You must give us no less than 24 hours' notice of your intention to view hard copies of the representations.  Copies of representations, (including photographs) are not usually permitted but, if deemed to be necessary, names and postal addresses (as well as the other sensitive or personal information) will be blocked out.  Comments made are also required to be sent to the Planning Inspectorate and the appellant on appeal. Further information can be found in our Planning Services Privacy Notice.

Objections to or support for a planning application should be submitted in a rational and impersonal way and comments directed to the planning issues raised by the proposal. Please note that comments of a personal, slanderous, libellous, defamatory, or otherwise offensive or abusive nature are not constructive or helpful to the process of determining a planning application and may result in an action for libel against you by third parties.

The Council cannot be held legally responsible for representations from anyone commenting on planning applications which may contain libellous or defamatory statements.

Please see the Council's Privacy Notice with regards to Planning Services.

Occasionally the Council may exercise discretion and will not publish a representation on-line where it is considered this has sensitivities or may lead to intimidation.

Anonymous or confidential comments:

Failure to provide your name and address will mean that your comments have to be treated as anonymous and consequently will carry little weight. Comments marked private/confidential will be treated as such but cannot be taken into account in determining an application as they will not meet the requirement to make representations available to view or to make them available to the Planning Inspectorate should there be an appeal against the decision.

Dealing with representations:

Most planning applications do not attract many representations and are dealt with at officer level. Where representations are received, these may be reported to the Council's Development Control Board, which generally meets every four weeks.

Meetings are open to the public and if an application is reported to the Development Control Board and you have written in expressing your views on the application, you will be entitled to speak. For details of the arrangements for public speaking, click on the link below:

Public speaking

The Council encourages the opportunity for you to have your say on planning proposals considered by the Development Control Board