Dover District had its say at the Local Elections on 2 May and European Elections on 23 May. Full details of election results are on the DDC Election pages. 

Dover District Council now comprises 32 members representing 17 wards.  To find your local councillor, please see our Your Councillors pages. 

Cllr Mike Conolly was appointed as the new Chairman of Dover District Council at the Annual Meeting on 17 May. 

• More on Councillors & Elections

Work is well underway on exciting construction and restoration at Kearsney Abbey as well as a major programme of landscape works in the Kearsney Parks, as part of the £3.1m Heritage Lottery Funded Kearsney Parks project. 

Work in Kearsney Abbey includes restoration of the Grade II listed former billiards room and the construction of a new extension, with an enlarged café and new customer toilets, including a Changing Places facility.

Two new horticulture apprentices have now joined the project team, and will be learning their trade on one of the most exciting garden restoration projects in the south east, as work gets underway to restore Thomas Mawson’s landscape at Russell Gardens. 

• More on Kearsney Parks

The Open is coming to Sandwich from 12-19 July 2020 - and a range of partners are working together to prepare and make the most of this big hitting opportunity.

Residents and businesses can find out more information, and register to receive email updates about the preparations on The Open page on the DDC website.

• More on The Open

Tourism continues to flourish in White Cliffs Country, creating far reaching opportunities and economic benefits for the area. 

The new tourism guide for 2019 has been published, providing a welcome to the district, including the beautiful towns of Dover, Deal and Sandwich.  There's also the new days out guide, complete with maps.

As part of our work to continue to promote tourism, we are working on a new tourism strategy for the future.

For more information on events over the summer, and for all your tourism needs, please visit the White Cliffs Country website.

• More on White Cliffs Country

The exciting new Dover District Lotto has been live for 3 months, following its successful launch in March.

As at the end of May, we have raised almost £9,000 for good causes, with over £2,500 for the Community Grant Scheme and around £6,500 for local groups and organisations.  We are set to raise tens of thousands of pounds for good causes over the year.  We have over 90 good causes signed up so far.

To find out how your good cause can benefit, or to play, please go to www.doverlotto.com

• Dover District Lotto

A range of new housing options continues to take shape across the district.

This includes major plans for Connaught Barracks, with detailed planning permission granted for the Officers' Mess site. Work is  underway on the £2.5m redevelopment of Norman Tailyour House in Deal, which is set to provide 18 fully renovated sheltered Council flats. Main construction on the William Muge/Snelgrove site in Dover is also set to start this month.

We are in the process of producing a new Local Plan, which will include a clear direction on where new growth should be in the district, and policies to guide new development to 2038. Consultation on the draft plan is planned for early 2020. To get involved, please register for updates via our Keep Me Posted service.

East Kent local authorities are holding a Community-Led Housing and Self-Build Conference in Dover on 18 June, after the success of the 2018 conference, (pictured).

• More on Local Plan review

As part of our ongoing commitment to support the armed forces community, DDC has launched a new survey to help us find out more about the community.

The survey follows a pledge to support the armed forces community, as part of the Armed Forces Covenant. The survey is gathering information to help us see what areas may need additional support, or where improvements could be made. 

DDC is also proud to be helping to support the Armed Forces Day in Pencester Gardens in Dover on 22 June.

• More on Armed Forces Covenant

Our Inspire Fund continues to provide funding support to help young people who are facing challenges. The fund helps young people to create new friendships, introduces them to healthy lifestyles through sport, and opens new doors into work with opportunities to learn new skills. 

We have also welcomed the success of the second Dover District Youth Conference, where more than 800 pupils from secondary schools in Dover District came along to Discovery Park in Sandwich in March.

• More on Inspire Fund

Would you like to help make a difference in your local community - we continue to develop our Community Caretaker project to help local people get involved in their area.

We have been awarded funding to build and stock ten community stores, which are stores of equipment, including litter picking and gardening equipment, to help our new Community Caretakers.

We have four community stores set up in the district with six more to come.  

• More on Community Caretakers.