Services your district council provides
We are responsible for certain services across the whole of Kent, for example education, highways and social care. There are 12 district councils, also known as borough or city councils, responsible for services including bin collections, environmental health, leisure facilities, housing and planning.
To check who your local district council is and to visit their website use the postcode checker.
Medway residents should visit the Medway Council website.
District council services
Your district council can support you with animal enquiries relating to:
- animal welfare
- bats and badgers
- dangerous dogs
- dead animals
- dog bins
- dog wardens
- exhibiting or training
- foxes
- fouling fines
- lost dogs
- pest control.
Contact your local district council
- Ashford Borough Council - animal enquiries
- Canterbury City Council - animal enquiries
- Dartford Borough Council - animal enquiries
- Dover District Council - animal enquiries
- Folkestone and Hythe District Council - animal enquiries
- Gravesham Borough Council - animal enquiries
- Maidstone Borough Council - animal enquiries
- Sevenoaks District Council - animal enquiries
- Swale Borough Council - animal enquiries
- Thanet District Council - animal enquiries
- Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council - animal enquiries
- Tunbridge Wells Borough Council - animal enquiries
Contact Kent Police if you’ve witnessed:
- an aggressive or out of control animal
- an owner using an animal to intimidate people
- someone who is using animals in illegal activities such as dog fighting.
How we can help
Your district council collects your:
- household waste bins
- garden waste
- recycling and bulky waste collections (furniture and white goods).
Contact them directly to report any issues about your bin collections, garden waste or if you are missing your bin.
Or visit one of our Household Waste Recycling Centres to get rid of your household waste yourself.
Clinical waste collection
To arrange collection or disposal of a sharps container contact the healthcare service who provided the item or your district council may offer a collection service.
Your district council provides business licences for:
- alcohol
- busking
- dog breeding
- exhibiting or training performing animals
- food
- gambling
- health and safety
- scrap metal
- street performance
- street trading
- taxis.
Contact your local district council
- Ashford Borough Council - business
- Canterbury City Council - business
- Dartford Borough Council - business
- Dover District Council - business
- Folkestone and Hythe District Council - business
- Gravesham Borough Council - business
- Maidstone Borough Council - business
- Sevenoaks District Council - business
- Swale Borough Council - business
- Thanet District Council - business
- Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council - business
- Tunbridge Wells Borough Council - business
Council Tax is paid directly to your district council.
Contact your district council for any enquiries relating to your Council Tax including:
- appeals
- benefits
- changing your details
- exemptions
- fraud
- reductions.
Contact your local district council
- Ashford Borough Council - Council Tax
- Canterbury City Council - Council Tax
- Dartford Borough Council - Council Tax
- Dover District Council - Council Tax
- Folkestone and Hythe District Council - Council Tax
- Gravesham Borough Council - Council Tax
- Maidstone Borough Council - Council Tax
- Sevenoaks District Council - Council Tax
- Swale Borough Council - Council Tax
- Thanet District Council - Council Tax
- Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council - Council Tax
- Tunbridge Wells Borough Council - Council Tax
To be able to vote in elections or referendums you need to be on the electoral register which you can apply for with your district council.
Contact your local district council
- Ashford Borough Council - elections and voting service
- Canterbury City Council - elections and voting service
- Dartford Borough Council - elections and voting service
- Dover District Council - elections and voting service
- Folkestone and Hythe District Council - elections and voting service
- Gravesham Borough Council - elections and voting service
- Maidstone Borough Council - elections and voting service
- Sevenoaks District Council - elections and voting service
- Swale Borough Council - elections and voting service
- Thanet District Council - elections and voting service
- Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council - elections and voting service
- Tunbridge Wells Borough Council - elections and voting service
You can report problem with the following to your district council:
- bonfires
- dog bins and fouling
- graffiti
- hygiene inspections of local businesses, including health and safety
- lanterns
- noise and light pollution
- pest problems
- public toilets
- road and pavement sweeping
- smoke and air pollution
- stray dogs.
Contact your local district council
- Ashford Borough Council - environmental health service
- Canterbury City Council - environmental health service
- Dartford Borough Council - environmental health service
- Dover District Council - environmental health service
- Folkestone and Hythe District Council - environmental health service
- Gravesham Borough Council - environmental health service
- Maidstone Borough Council - environmental health service
- Sevenoaks District Council - environmental health service
- Swale Borough Council - environmental health service
- Thanet District Council - environmental health service
- Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council - environmental health service
- Tunbridge Wells Borough Council - environmental health service
Fly-tipping is illegal.
Report fly-tipping on public land - please don’t attempt to remove the rubbish in case there are hidden sharp or dangerous items.
Your district council will arrange for the rubbish to be removed.
Contact your local district council
- Ashford Borough Council - report fly-tipping
- Canterbury City Council - report fly-tipping
- Dartford Borough Council - report fly-tipping
- Dover District Council - report fly-tipping
- Folkestone and Hythe District Council - report fly-tipping
- Gravesham Borough Council - report fly-tipping
- Maidstone Borough Council - report fly-tipping
- Sevenoaks District Council - report fly-tipping
- Swale Borough Council - report fly-tipping
- Thanet District Council - report fly-tipping
- Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council - report fly-tipping
- Tunbridge Wells Borough Council report fly-tipping
Contact Highways England
Highways England are responsible for cleaning up litter next to the roads they look after.
Find out what roads they look after and how to contact them.
Contact your district council to apply for council housing or for information about:
- affordable housing
- community housing
- council housing
- homelessness (or if you are about to become homeless)
- housing benefits
- private renting.
Contact your local district council
- Ashford Borough Council - housing
- Canterbury City Council - housing
- Dartford Borough Council - housing
- Dover District Council - housing
- Folkestone and Hythe District Council - housing
- Gravesham Borough Council - housing
- Maidstone Borough Council - housing
- Sevenoaks District Council - housing
- Swale Borough Council - housing
- Thanet District Council - housing
- Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council - housing
- Tunbridge Wells Borough Council - housing
Social care support housing
If you feel that you can no longer live in your own home, we may be able to support you.
Your district council has information about local parks and play areas, including:
- location
- accessibility points
- car park.
Find your nearest park and play park
- Ashford - parks and play parks
- Canterbury - parks and play parks
- Dartford - parks and play parks
- Dover - parks and play parks
- Folkestone and Hythe - parks and play parks
- Gravesham - parks and play parks
- Maidstone - parks and play parks
- Sevenoaks - parks and play parks
- Swale - parks and play parks
- Thanet - parks and play parks
- Tonbridge and Malling - parks and play parks
- Tunbridge Wells - parks and play parks
Visit our Kent Country Parks
Why not visit one of our Kent Country Parks and find something to do in the great outdoors!
Contact your district council for parking enquiries, including:
- abandoned vehicles
- blocked driveways
- disabled parking bays and restrictions
- parking restrictions
- parking permits/ residential parking schemes
- selling vehicles on the road or verge
- vehicles parked on the road or verge
- white vehicle access lines.
Learn more about parking restrictions.
Contact your local district council
- Ashford Borough Council - parking enquiries
- Canterbury City Council - parking enquiries
- Dartford Borough Council - parking enquiries
- Dover District Council - parking enquiries
- Folkestone and Hythe District Council - parking enquiries
- Gravesham Borough Council - parking enquiries
- Maidstone Borough Council - parking enquiries
- Sevenoaks District Council - parking enquiries
- Swale Borough Council - parking enquiries
- Thanet District Council - parking enquiries
- Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council - parking enquiries
- Tunbridge Wells Borough Council - parking enquiries
Contact your district council for:
- new planning applications for households, commercial or industrial building works
- road names
- house numbering
- planning advice
- building regulations.
We deal with waste, minerals and county council developments.
Contact your local district council
- Ashford Borough Council - planning services
- Canterbury City Council - planning services
- Dartford Borough Council - planning services
- Dover District Council - planning services
- Folkestone and Hythe District Council - planning services
- Gravesham Borough Council - planning services
- Maidstone Borough Council - planning services
- Sevenoaks District Council - planning services
- Swale Borough Council - planning services
- Thanet District Council - planning services
- Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council - planning services
- Tunbridge Wells Borough Council - planning services