Kent Morning Briefing
Monday, 17 August 2026
9 stories · 3-minute read
The day in Kent · Ashford College is set to gain significant new teaching space after securing a £9 million government capital grant, a concrete boost for hundreds of young people in one of Kent’s key towns. Meanwhile, Kent Police are bearing down on antisocial behaviour across Thanet, with dispersal orders now active in both Broadstairs and Margate. Gravesham residents have only days left to shape their borough’s planning future to 2042.
The day ahead in Kent
Weather
Today: Mostly clear morning, becoming cloudy in the afternoon, high 24°C, low 18°C.
Tomorrow: Cloudy morning, high 26°C, low 18°C.
Travel
Roads (2 incidents): M25 — M4 Westbound Jct 4B to M25 Clockwise and Anti-clockwise Jct 15 link road closure and M25 Anti-clockwise Jct 14 exit slip road closure.
Rail: All Kent services running to schedule.
As of 22:30 from National Highways + National Rail.
Coastal tides
Dover: High 02:46 (6.49m) · Low 10:12 (1.01m) · High 15:02 (6.74m) · Low 22:31 (0.91m)
Margate: High 03:55 (4.60m) · Low 09:47 (0.95m) · High 15:59 (4.79m) · Low 22:21 (0.61m)
Tides via tidetimes.co.uk.
5 things to know
- Marden man jailed three years for cocaine supply after Maidstone Crown Court sentencing
- Gravesend residents’ tip-off leads to nitrous oxide seizure and £2,000 cash find
- Kent Police activate dispersal powers across Broadstairs and Margate coastal areas
- Gravesham Draft Local Plan 2042 consultation closes Tuesday 18 August 2026
- FCA permanently bans former Blue Horizon chief after £489,000 fine for fraud
£9m
Government grant to expand Ashford College for hundreds of 16-to-19-year-olds
Kent number of the day
Top Kent Stories
- Ashford College to expand with £9 million government grant
Published 19:51 BST
Why it matters · A Kent drug supplier is off the streets following a successful Maidstone Crown Court prosecution. - Dispersal orders imposed in Broadstairs and Margate to tackle antisocial behaviour
Published 13:51 BST
Why it matters · Dispersal orders signal escalating antisocial behaviour pressure on Thanet’s tourist coastline. - Nitrous oxide seized in Gravesend after residents reported suspicious vehicle
Published 11:52 BST
Why it matters · Community vigilance in Gravesend directly led to a significant drugs and cash seizure. - Gravesham residents have days left to comment on the borough s planning blueprint to 2042
Published 21:51 BST
Why it matters · Gravesham’s planning blueprint to 2042 will shape housing and development for a generation. - UK GDP grew 0.4 per cent in Q2 2026, ONS figures show
Published 15:51 BST
Why it matters · National GDP growth context matters for Kent businesses and household confidence alike.
Crime & Justice
- Marden man jailed for three years after throwing cocaine under parked car during police raid
Published 17:51 BST
Dean Smith, 51, of The Cockpit, Marden, pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court to possessing cocaine with intent to supply and was sentenced to three years imprisonment on 4 August 2026. A Police… - Dispersal orders imposed in Broadstairs and Margate to tackle antisocial behaviour
Published 13:51 BST
Dispersal orders imposed in Broadstairs and Margate to tackle antisocial behaviour Kent Police have activated dispersal powers in two Thanet coastal towns, giving officers authority to move on… - Nitrous oxide seized in Gravesend after residents reported suspicious vehicle
Published 11:52 BST
Kent Police found 25 boxes of nitrous oxide in a vehicle on Doria Drive, and a further six boxes, around 2,000 in cash and multiple mobile phones at a linked property, after Gravesend residents…
Business & Economy
- FCA Fines and Bans Former Blue Horizon Asset Management Chief £489,000 Over Falsified Takeover Documents
Published 21:52 BST
Paul Taylor, former chief executive of Blue Horizon Asset Management, has been fined £489,000 and permanently barred from financial services after the Financial Conduct Authority found he made… - Cost of living, NHS and economy remain top concerns for UK adults, ONS figures show
Published 19:52 BST
Eighty-eight per cent of adults in Great Britain named the cost of living as an important issue facing the UK in the latest ONS Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, with the NHS and the economy close… - Most people in Great Britain cut water use, ONS survey finds
Published 17:52 BST
Figures from the Office for National Statistics show 84 per cent of respondents took at least one action to reduce their water use in the past month, with not leaving the tap running the most…
Financial markets
Bank of England (last 7 days):
Markets via Yahoo Finance; ONS + BoE via official feeds.
What’s on today
No public events scheduled today.
Coming up tomorrow
No public events scheduled tomorrow.
“Kent is known as the Garden of England partly because Henry VIII encouraged fruit-growing there to supply the royal court, establishing orchards that still define the county’s landscape today.”
Kent fact of the day