Making sure that the countryside is protected and new homes are built by the rules is one of a council’s most important jobs.

But according to 31 parishes, Maidstone Borough council is not doing it properly.

They have jointly sent a letter to the council demanding improvements to its enforcement service.

That is the department responsible for making sure that listed buildings are properly protected, the Green Belt is not developed without permission, and that new homes are built within strict guidelines.

Maidstone council admits there have been problems but says changes are taking place.

In the letter, the parishes complain that council officers are reluctant to take up any reported concerns, and that they "hide" behind the Data Protection Act to avoiding reporting back.

They also claim the council doesn’t respond to complaints about mobile homes because there is nowhere to move them.

The protest has been organised by Yalding Parish Council, whose chairman, Cllr Geraldine Brown, said: "We thought perhaps it was just us, but when we wrote to the other parishes a few months ago, we couldn’t believe the feedback. There is absolute frustration across the whole borough.

"We are not blaming any individuals within the enforcement department, it’s just that they don’t have the resources.

"The department relies on consultants working two days a week much of the time. There’s no continuity."

Cllr Martin Pepper, the chairman of Boxley Parish Council, said: "Speed, fairness, equality and feedback to those who represent the community seems to be a sensible code we’d like Maidstone council to adopt."

Cllr Brown put her concerns to a meeting of the borough council on Wednesday but was told the department had already been restructured.

The leader of the council, Cllr Chris Garland (Con), said: "We are committed to effective enforcement, but resources are limited. We have brought in a new system to prioritise those breaches that cause the most harm.

"In the past, communication with parish councils has been a problem, but now we are providing regular updates. In the last 18 months the number of (outstanding) cases has gone down from 800 to 300."

Cllr Clive English, the Lib Dem planning spokesman, said: "There has been extensive restructuring. That has caused some dislocation, but there have been far more injunctions and stop orders issued."