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Kemsing Conservation Area covers some 24 hectares and contains 21 listed buildings and walls. It was designated in 1972 and was extended in 1990. The conservation area was reviewed and the boundaries amended and extended in 2023. It includes the Church of St Mary and its churchyard, the triangular green in the centre of the village with the War Memorial and St Edith’s Well, the two public houses and the converted buildings of Dynes Farm in the south. The eastern extremity stretches to include Wybourns, an early-20th century replacement for an older house lost in a fire, and in the north to the former vicarage which has been converted to a youth hostel with new housing in the grounds. The 2023 review has added the Common Field (Recreation Ground) and 6–32 West End (even nos.) to the conservation area.
The countryside around is part of the Metropolitan Green Belt and this extends into the boundaries of the conservation area to the south and east. The eastern part of the area also lies within the Kent Downs National Landscape (a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty), and the village is surrounded by a designated Special Landscape Area.
Kemsing is a large village of around 4,000 inhabitants. It has extended westwards from the historical heart of the village and there are now large 20th century housing estates stretching almost to Otford. Development has generally been restricted to the south of the Pilgrims Way because of the steep slopes on the east side of the Darenth Valley that leads up to the North Downs and forms a backdrop to the village.
Kemsing has good local services, including village shops, primary school, pubs, church, library and garage.
The Conservation Area Appraisal (CAA) is split into three documents: Introduction, Appraisal and Design Guidance.