Council Updates
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Council Updates Tunbridge Wells Borough Council sets out planning vision for The Pantiles and the Commons
The council has published a policy statement placing The Pantiles and Tunbridge Wells and Rusthall Commons at the heart of its long-term…
7 August 2026 -
Council Updates Kent council launches free acid attack training for local retailers
Kent County Council’s Trading Standards team is offering free online training to DIY stores, builders’ merchants and garden centres across…
7 August 2026 -
Council Updates Maidstone residents asked to have their say on quarry plan that could affect ancient woodland near Aylesford
Kent County Council is consulting on a draft minerals plan that includes a proposed extension to Hermitage Quarry, raising concern about…
7 August 2026 -
Council Updates Folkestone’s new town centre library sees visitor numbers more than double
The Sandgate Road library and Community Learning Centre recorded 10,648 visits in June 2026 — a 131% rise on figures from the old Grace…
6 August 2026 -
Council Updates Three new mental health emergency departments coming to Kent hospitals
Three new mental health emergency departments coming to Kent hospitals Ashford, Gillingham and Margate are among 59 sites across England…
6 August 2026 -
Council Updates Who picked Kent’s four new councils? The question the county council is now asking itself — explained
Kent is getting four new councils. The chairman of the county council has put in writing that the winning map came from three Labour-led…
6 August 2026 -
Council Updates Swale Council breaks ground on 51 social rented homes at Sittingbourne car park site
Families on Swale’s housing register could soon be paying roughly half the going private rent for a new home in the middle of Sittingbourne…
5 August 2026 -
Council Updates Eight Kent country parks keep their Green Flag Awards
Lullingstone, Shorne Woods, Pegwell Bay and five other Kent County Council parks have retained the Green Flag Award, the internationally…
5 August 2026 -
Council Updates Gravesham bans bonfires at all allotment sites during hot, dry spell
Gravesham Borough Council has placed a temporary ban on bonfires at every council allotment site in the borough, citing the increased fire…
5 August 2026 -
Council Updates Who chose Kent’s new map? The county council’s own chairman is asking whether party politics played a part
The Government’s four-council map for Kent was chosen from a proposal put forward by three councils the county council’s chairman describes…
5 August 2026 -
Council Updates Northfleet Harbourside refused: government blocks 3,500-home plan to protect Thames wharf
The Secretary of State has refused planning permission for the Northfleet Harbourside development, ruling that the permanent loss of Robins…
31 July 2026 -
Council Updates Ashford council moves forward with plans to reopen former Odeon and Mecca Bingo as cultural venue
Ashford Borough Council is leading plans to return the long-empty High Street building — once home to a cinema and bingo hall — to arts and…
31 July 2026