Kent is one of the more straightforward counties in England to reach and one of the more variable to actually deliver into. The motorway network is excellent — the M20 and M2 run the length of the county — but Kent is also where the UK’s cross-Channel freight problems land, and where a delivery can meet anything from a Medway industrial estate to a single-track lane between orchards in the Weald. The road leg is rarely the issue here. The last half-mile frequently is.
Delivery to Kent is free: the price shown against a container is the total payable, with nothing added at checkout. Offload by HIAB or crane is agreed in writing before delivery.
Ports serving Kent
- London Thamesport (Isle of Grain)
- Sheerness
- Dover
- Ramsgate
London Thamesport on the Isle of Grain is the county’s dedicated deep-sea container terminal, with Sheerness handling substantial cargo traffic on the Medway. Dover, for all its scale, is overwhelmingly a roll-on roll-off ferry port rather than a container terminal, so a box arriving in Kent has usually come from a deep-sea terminal rather than off a Dover ferry. In practice a container heading to a Kent address may well have entered the country at Felixstowe or Southampton and travelled by road, because those terminals handle far more volume than the Kent ports do.
Roads into Kent
The M20 and M2 run broadly parallel from the M25 to the coast, and between them they reach most of the county quickly. The M25 and the Dartford Crossing form the western boundary — the crossing carries the Dart Charge, which applies to HGVs and has to be paid rather than ignored. The A21 runs south towards Hastings, the A2 and A299 Thanet Way serve the east, and the A20 shadows the M20 into Folkestone and Dover. The one thing worth knowing about Kent specifically: when cross-Channel freight backs up, Operation Brock puts a contraflow on the M20 between junctions 8 and 9, and traffic Kent-wide is affected for as long as it runs. It is not predictable and it is not rare.
Areas we deliver to in Kent
- Maidstone
- Canterbury
- Ashford
- Medway towns (Chatham, Gillingham, Rochester)
- Dartford and Gravesham
- Thanet (Margate, Ramsgate, Broadstairs)
- Dover and Deal
- Folkestone and Hythe
- Tunbridge Wells
- Sevenoaks
- Swale (Sittingbourne, Faversham)
- Tonbridge and Malling
Site access in Kent
Kent’s recurring access problem is the Weald: narrow lanes with high banks, tight bends and weight-restricted bridges, often serving exactly the kind of smallholding or paddock a container is destined for. Romney Marsh brings a different problem — the ground is low, flat and can be genuinely soft, and a loaded artic that leaves a hard surface there may not get back onto it. Fruit farms and vineyards across mid-Kent are usually fine for access along the main track but frequently not once you turn off it. Urban delivery in the Medway towns and the Thanet coastal towns is generally workable provided there is somewhere a 16.5m vehicle can legally stop and offload.
Check the approach against our guide to delivery access, craning and ground preparation before you order.
Planning permission in Kent
Kent has no National Park, but it has two large National Landscapes — the Kent Downs and part of the High Weald — which between them cover a substantial share of the county and apply tighter control over anything visible in open countryside. Green Belt runs along the north-west fringe towards London. There are extensive conservation areas in Canterbury, Sandwich, Faversham, Rochester and Tunbridge Wells, and Kent has an unusually high density of listed buildings, which matters because siting a container within the curtilage of a listed building is a different planning question from siting one in a field. Ask Kent County Council or your district authority rather than assuming.
See also our guide to planning permission for a shipping container in the UK.
Delivery timing
Kent is close to us and well connected, so the practical constraint is almost never distance. It is whether a suitable vehicle can reach the site and whether the cross-Channel corridor is running normally on the day. Where Operation Brock is active, allow for it.
Our general estimate is 7 to 10 days from cleared payment — an estimate given in good faith, not a guarantee.
Stock is held at third-party depots around the country, so a Kent delivery is despatched from wherever the right unit is. Viewings are by appointment — see our contact page.
Containers available for delivery to Kent
See what size you need and the condition guide.
Delivery across South East England
Kent sits within our South East England delivery region; all delivery areas covers the rest of the UK.
Request a quote with your postcode and a note on the final approach.