Local Government - Hartley-Kent: Covering Hartley, Longfield & District

This is the lowest tier of local government.  To make this clear they are referred to as local councils and not local authorities.  If they wish, they can call themselves town councils, as Swanley has done, but this doesn't give them any more powers.  There are over 10,000 parish councils in England, but not everywhere has one.  For example Dartford and Gravesend towns are unparished.

Parish councillors are elected every 4 years, in the same year that elections for the District Councils are held.  The last election was in 2023.  Longfield and Ash parish councils are divided into wards, so that all parts of the parish will be represented on the council.   Fawkham and Hartley elect all their councillors en bloc.  Hartley is somewhat of an outlier, being by far the biggest unwarded parish in Sevenoaks district.  This has led to areas such as Wellfield and Bramblefield to be underrepresented on the council.

Parish councils run a number of parks, playgrounds, halls and other local facilities.  They might run holiday clubs for children or other community events such as Longfield Festival or Longfield Fireworks Display.  When Kent County Council withdrew funding for the local Community Warden in 2025, Hartley and Ash parish councils decided to fund the post themselves.

Unlike private individuals, who can do anything so long as the law doesn't ban it, most parish councils can only do what the law allows them to.  However section 137 of the Local Government Act 1972 allows them a limited power to spend on items not otherwise authorised that benefit their area.  However now, if certain criteria are met, parish councils can apply for what is called a "General Power of Competence" which frees them from the cash limit of section 137.  As far as I am aware Hartley is the only council locally to do so.  It was last renewed in 2023.  The general power of competence can be lost, the biggest risk of doing so is if too few candidates come forward at elections.

Parish councils act as statutory consultees, as a sort of mouthpiece for the local community.  The most important of these is planning applications.  Planning Authorities must consult parishes on any application in the parish's area.  A parish council cannot grant or refuse permission, but their comments have to be taken into account.  

Like many other societies, parish councils in recent years have seen a fall in the numbers willing to serve, and in particular to stand for election.  In 2023 there were no contested parish council elections in our area and none even with enough candidates (with the exception of the 1 candidate for the 1 seat at Longfield Hill).  Hartley had 12 candidates for 13 seats, Fawkham 4 for the 5 seats, Longfield 8 for the 12 seats and Ash worst of all with only half the number of candidates for the 16 seats.  

The table below shows the make up of parish, district and county council electoral areas with the number of councillors in brackets.  At District level our area is split between Sevenoaks (Hartley, Ash and Fawkham) and Dartford (Longfield).

In a three-tier area such as ours, these are the middle tier.  By default they are called districts, but a district can petition for a royal grant of borough status as Dartford did so in 1933.  The only practical difference of doing is that the council chairman of a borough is called the mayor.  

Our area is split between Dartford Borough Council and Sevenoaks District council.  They hold elections for the whole council every 4 years.  Although some other districts such as Tunbridge Wells elect a third of the council at a time, in the years when there is not a county council election.  Such councils are less prone to sudden change of direction when the opposition wins an election.

The one service we are all familiar with is that they empty the bins!  In fact they are responsible for environmental health in general.  They also deal with housing (including housing benefit claims), and most planning applications.  They draft the district plan which sets out what types of development will be permitted in the area.  They operate or commission services such as parks and leisure centres.  One well known council run facility is the Orchard Theatre in Dartford.  Like parish councils they used to have to show specific legal authority under the Local Government Acts for any expenditure, but now all of them have the general power of competence to spend on anything that benefits their area.

They only have a fraction of the income of county councils, but they are the ones who send out the council tax bill, all the other councils add their charge or "precept" to the bill.  Their income comes from council tax, business rates and government grants.  They also have other sources of income such as parking charges and charges for services such as planning applications.  For some, such as Dartford, a significant other source of income is the Community Infrastructure Levy, which is paid on any new housing unit built.  With all the Thamesside development in recent years, this has meant a significant revenue stream for Dartford Council.

In recent years district and county councils have come under considerable financial pressure, due to rising costs, falling government grants and strict limits on the increases in council tax.  This has forced them into a lot of outsourcing and shared working with other authorities.  For example Sevenoaks and Dartford share Environmental Health and Revenues and Benefits.

The highest tier is Kent County Council, one of the largest local authorities in the country.  The whole council is elected every 4 years.  

This is where by far the largest amount of our council tax goes.  Counties are responsible for big ticket items such as social services, highways, waste disposal, libraries and archives, fire brigade, trading standards and strategic planning.

The current government have indicated that they wish to change local government in Kent and Medway by replacing the county and districts with fewer unitary authorities, like Medway Council.  Above that there will probably be an elected executive mayor for the whole of Kent and Medway.  At the moment (May 2026) a consultation has been completed on the options proposed which the government are considering the responses to.  The proposals ranged from the 1 unitary authority proposed unsurprisingly by Kent County Council, to proposals for 3, 4 or 5 unitary authorities.  Because Dartford is likely to go to a Thamesside authority with Gravesham and Medway, while Sevenoaks will be part of a west Kent authority, it means Longfield and Hartley/New Ash Green will remain in different authority areas, although they are counted as one urban area.  One proposal would put the rural parts of Dartford and Gravesham into a West Kent authority, but that proposal does appear to be somewhat politically self serving.