Swale Borough Council Local Plan Consultation

To Whom it May Concern,

Re: Public Consultation

Swale Borough Council is now inviting comments on the Regulation 18 stage of the Local Plan. This consultation seeks feedback from stakeholders and the community on a series of questions about the Local Plan’s vision, objectives and Development Management policies.

A refreshed Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report is also being consulted on.

This consultation will be open from Monday 12th January 2026 until Monday 23rd February 2026 at 5pm.

You can view the draft Local Plan Regulation 18 document and the refreshed Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report and evidence documents at: https://swale.gov.uk/lpr-consultation

Please respond to this consultation via our consultation portal: https://swale-consult.objective.co.uk/kse/

Hard copies of the Local Plan Regulation 18 will be available to view at the 3 Council offices:

• Swale House, East Street, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 3HT – open 10am to 12 noon, Monday to Friday.
• Sheppey Gateway, 38 to 42 High Street, Sheerness, Kent, ME12 1NL - open 10am to 12 noon Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
• Alexander Centre, Preston Street, Faversham, Kent, ME13 8NZ – open 10am to 12.30pm and 1:30pm to 4:30pm, Tuesday.

Hard copies of the Local Plan Regulation 18 will also be available to view at all Swale’s libraries:

• Boughton
• Faversham
• Teynham
• Minster
• Queenborough
• Sheerness
• The 2 mobile libraries

Whilst Sittingbourne library is closed for refurbishment works a hard copy will be available at The Swallows Leisure Centre reception. Central Avenue, Sittingbourne, ME10 4NT.

For opening hours and addresses of the libraries please visit https://www.kent.gov.uk/leisure-and-community/libraries/visiting-a-library/find-your-nearest-library or call 03000 41 31 31.

You can also email or post any comments (referring to the question number you are answering) to Lpcomments@swale.gov.uk or Planning Policy, Swale House, East Street, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 3HT.

All comments must be provided by 5pm on Monday 23rd February 2026 - please submit them earlier if you can.

All comments made on the Local Plan Regulation 18 will be processed by our team and will be made available for public inspection (after the consultation closes), together with your name and post town. For details on how your information is handled, please see our privacy notice at https://swale.gov.uk/planning-and-regeneration/local-plans/local-plan-review/local-plans-privacy-notice

Equalities Questionnaire

We are also inviting our residents and stakeholders complete the optional Equalities Questionnaire after commenting on the Regulation 18 document. This can also be found on the home page of the Portal: https://swale-consult.objective.co.uk/kse/.

If you would like to purchase a copy of the Reg 18 Local Plan at a subsidised rate, it will cost £17.50 which includes postage. The order form will be available on our website, or you can phone our Call Centre for assistance: https://swale-self.achieveservice.com/service/pay_planning_fees

At Full Council on 10th December 2025, the Statement of Community Involvement (SCI), December 2025, was adopted. The SCI, which explains how the community can get involved in local planning matters, can be found on our website at https://swale.gov.uk/planning-and-regeneration/local-plans/sci. Copies of the SCI will be available upon request for a fee.

Yours sincerely,

Planning Policy Team