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Kent and Medway to be served by four completely new councils from April 2028
In the biggest shake up of local authority arrangements in 50 years, the government is replacing Kent County Council, Medway Council and the 12 district, borough and city councils that currently deliver services in the county with four new unitary councils.
Those councils will deliver all of the services in their area, much like Medway Council does today, including education, social services, highways, libraries, emptying your bins, leisure centres and housing services.
Following a government consultation, which attracted around 3,000 responses, the Secretary of State has opted for:
- a unitary council covering the areas currently served by Dartford, Gravesham and Medway in the north
- a unitary council covering the areas currently served by Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Malling, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells in the west
- a unitary council covering the areas currently served by Swale, Ashford and Folkestone and Hythe in the middle of Kent
- a unitary council covering the areas currently served by Canterbury, Thanet and Dover in the east
A map of the four new councils in Kent, opted for by the government
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Kent and Medway’s council leaders said: “We want to reassure our residents that not one of our services will change overnight – you will still be dealing with the same council staff tomorrow and the day after that.
“The new councils will not come into being until 1 April 2028.
“All of the councils in Kent and Medway have a long history of working closely together to do the very best for the people we serve and that will not change one bit.
“This is the start of the process of bringing our different teams together with the aim of designing then delivering the best possible services for the people we serve.
“Of course, this change affects the thousands of council staff across the county who work incredibly hard day in and day out.
“Our focus will be supporting them through this change while helping them to carry on delivering our business-as-usual services seamlessly.
“There is a lot of work to do but we will make sure we take every opportunity to make our services the very best they can be.”
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Watch Cllr Stuart Jeffery, Leader of Maidstone Borough Council, mark the new beginning for West Kent
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Have Your Say on Life in Maidstone
We're inviting residents to share their views on living in Maidstone as part of our
Resident Survey 2026.
We want to hear about your day-to-day experience of living here, from your local neighbourhood to the services you use and rely on.
What matters to you most in your local area?
Your feedback will help shape future services, priorities and investment across the borough.
The survey takes just 9–12 minutes to complete and covers topics including:
- Local communities
- Health and wellbeing
- Parks and green spaces
- Opportunities and skills
- Council services
As a thank you, everyone who completes the survey will receive a 15% discount at Go Ape, Leeds Castle and will be entered into a prize draw to win a range of local prizes.
The consultation closes on 30 August 2026.
Take part today and help shape Maidstone's future.
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Thank you for reading this News update
Other newsletters from Maidstone Borough Council include:
Business in Maidstone – workshops, events and business support
Climate Change and Biodiversity – everything to do with sustainability
Consultations – share your views
Maidstone Museum - news, updates and events from Maidstone Museum
Planning – updates on recent planning decisions
Visit Maidstone – the best places to visit and stay
What’s On in Maidstone – for all events
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