Council Updates
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Council Updates Folkestone & Hythe Council moves 90 residents out of homes near fire-damaged Grand Burstin Hotel
Around 90 people from Pavilion Court on Marine Terrace have been temporarily rehoused after safety inspectors warned that a major basement…
20 September 2026 -
Council Updates Maidstone cabinet declines scrutiny recommendations and approves Lockmeadow improvements
Cabinet noted but did not agree the scrutiny committee’s call to keep the Tuesday and Saturday market trading separately from the market…
19 September 2026 -
Council Updates Margate Winter Gardens plans for drama school, nursery and restaurant recommended for approval
Thanet’s planning committee considered a proposal on 16 September 2026 to transform the Winter Gardens on Fort Crescent from a theatre into…
19 September 2026 -
Council Updates Medway Council’s gender pay gap falls to record low of 1.1%, figures show
Medway Council’s mean gender pay gap has fallen to its lowest level since reporting began, dropping to 1.1% in the 2025/26 snapshot, though…
19 September 2026 -
Council Updates Appeal dismissed for 87-apartment conversion of Maidstone office block over fire safety and amenity failings
A planning inspector rejected proposals to convert Medvale House on Mote Road, Maidstone into 87 apartments, citing inadequate outdoor…
19 September 2026 -
Council Updates Kent SEND services show progress but remain patchy, inspectors find
Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission have rated Kent’s special educational needs and disabilities services as “inconsistent” — an…
19 September 2026 -
Council Updates Brigade of Gurkhas given Freedom of Kent after cross-party council vote
Kent County Council voted on 17 September 2026 to award the Freedom of the County of Kent to the Brigade of Gurkhas, formally recognising…
19 September 2026 -
Council Updates Grand Burstin Hotel fire brings 26 engines to Folkestone seafront
Grand Burstin Hotel fire brings 26 engines to Folkestone seafront Firefighters tackled a basement blaze at the Grand Burstin Hotel in…
19 September 2026 -
Council Updates Sevenoaks park to close for nine months as Bradbourne Lakes restoration begins in September
Bradbourne Lakes in Sevenoaks will shut to the public from 28 September 2026 until early summer 2027 while the district council carries out…
18 September 2026 -
Council Updates Maidstone Council Objects to Quarry Plan That Could Destroy Ancient Woodland
Maidstone Borough Council has formally objected to Kent County Council’s draft mineral extraction plan, warning that proposed quarrying…
18 September 2026 -
Council Updates Nearly £179,000 spent upgrading Tonbridge Racecourse Sportsground facilities
Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council’s Communities and Environment Scrutiny Select Committee received an update on 17 September 2026 on a…
18 September 2026 -
Council Updates Heathlands garden community scoping opinion approved with strengthened requirements for water and railway station
Maidstone’s planning committee voted unanimously to issue an environmental scoping opinion for the proposed 5,000-home Heathlands Garden…
18 September 2026