A SENIOR county councillor has suggested Kent ought to consider setting aside somewhere for people to take part in open-air sex.

The surprising proposal was made by Conservative councillor Frank Fox, a former KCC chairman, during a debate on county council plans to close a lay-by to prevent it being used as a meeting point for fans of outdoor sex.

Kent County Council is to close the A249 lay-by at Stockbury, near Maidstone, after the Kent Messenger newspaper revealed how it had become a popular rendezvous point for people seeking sex or watching others – a practice known as dogging.

A number of county councillors used a meeting of KCC’s Policy Scrutiny committee to express disquiet about the closure plan.

But Cllr Fox, who represents Thanet, went further, telling his colleagues on KCC’s Policy Scrutiny Committee: "Providing somewhere in Kent could be the solution because you are not going to solve it by getting rid of a lay-by. You are only going to move the problem somewhere else,” he said.

His suggestion drew laughter from fellow councillors but Cllr Fox insisted: “You won’t cure it and you won’t get rid of it,” he said.

The councillor responsible for the decision to close the lay-by, cabinet member for strategic planning Cllr Richard King, said any such proposal “would need to be addressed by social services.”

Cllr King was forced to apologise for the way in which the closure plan had come about, saying he regretted that Maidstone councillors were not able to give their views on the matter.

He promised to defer closure to allow the council’s transport board to deliberate on the matter.

“I am quite happy to delay implementation until they have had a chance to discuss it,” he said.

He also praised the Kent Messenger for highlighting the issue, saying its coverage of the matter had been “a public service".