A pledge to campaign for the abolition of Kent County Council is among policy commitments set out by the Green Party in its manifesto for this year’s election.

The manifesto, the first to be launched by any of the parties, says the county council should be scrapped and replaced by a series of smaller unitary authorities serving different areas. Voters would be given the say on where they should be in a series of ballots.

The county council elections take place on June 4 this year. The Green Party, which put up 33 candidates in 2005, says it expects to field a record number of candidates across most parts of the county and is optmistic of picking up support at the expense of Labour.

However, spokesman Steve Dawe stopped short of predicting the party could make a major breakthrough and have its first county councillor in Kent.

The party’s 32-page manifesto sets out a range of policy commitments. On transport, the party says there should be congestion charging in busy towns and tolls on busy routes through the county.

Pedestrians and cyclists will be given greater priority than other road users when it comes to KCC funding, with extra money coming from a charge on foreign lorries using Kent’s roads.

On the environment, the party says it will push for more recycling, with sites to recycle and re-use organic material set up in each electoral division and a drive to make Kent a plastic bag-free county. It also says it will oppose any plans to expand Kent International Airport at Manston, in Thanet and Lydd Airport.

On housing and plans for tens of thousands more homes in the county, the party says policy should change to ensure that local housing needs are put ahead of expansion based on people moving into Kent.

The manifesto also says the party would scrap Kent TV, KCC’s internet-based TV channel and ditch the 11-plus.

Mr Dawe said: "We expect to put up a full slate of candidates in Canterbury, Maidstone and Tonbridge and Mallling and there will be more candidates than we fielded last time."

He acknowledged that while the party was confident of picking up support from disaffected Labour voters, its biggest challenge would be taking on the Conservatives in areas where they were "in the ascendancy".