Kent County Council (KCC) is consulting on a proposed change to its Statement of Priorities, which sets out how they process Section 53 applications.

The Definitive Map and Statement (DMS) is the legal record of Public Rights of Way (PROW). Section 53 of the Wildlife & 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. KCC has a duty to investigate and determine every application it receives in accordance with its Statement of Priorities.

Over the past 5 years, KCC has seen a substantial rise in Section 53 applications, particularly those based on historical (documentary) evidence. This has resulted in a significant increase in the backlog for allocating applications.

To address this, KCC is proposing 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 accelerated criteria in the Statement of Priorities applies.

More information on why KCC is proposing this change is available from the consultation webpage, where you can also tell them your views.

Visit https://letstalk.kent.gov.uk/prow-statement-of-priorities by the 23 March 2026.