Kent Current

Kent Current An independent Kent news website covering local news, politics, culture, and more.

Some of Canterbury’s distinctive Victorian cast-iron lampposts are being removed and replaced, not because anyone has cl...
05/01/2026

Some of Canterbury’s distinctive Victorian cast-iron lampposts are being removed and replaced, not because anyone has clearly decided they should go, but because years of drift between Kent County Council and Canterbury City Council have left replacement as the default option.

Our lead story looks at how responsibility for heritage street lighting has fallen between the cracks, why lampposts in a conservation area are now due to be taken out, and how campaigners fear the same process will quietly repeat itself across the city.

Read today’s Kent Current briefing here:

Years of drift between councils have left replacement as the default option.

Our latest briefing leads on large illegal waste sites continuing to operate across Kent, despite regulators knowing abo...
16/12/2025

Our latest briefing leads on large illegal waste sites continuing to operate across Kent, despite regulators knowing about them. Around Sittingbourne, dumping has carried on after repeated interventions, raising questions about whether enforcement is moving quickly enough to stop organised waste crime before lasting damage is done.

We also cover the lifting of the Tunbridge Wells boil notice, new funding for walking and cycling, changes to train timetables, disputes over care charges, and a busy week ahead in council chambers across the county.

Large illegal waste sites are thriving in Kent and no one seems able to stop them

A full meeting of Swale Borough Council was suspended on Wednesday night after disruption from the public gallery during...
12/12/2025

A full meeting of Swale Borough Council was suspended on Wednesday night after disruption from the public gallery during a debate on whether the borough should join the national District of Sanctuary scheme.

The meeting was halted twice. Councillors reported sustained abuse and intimidation, while the council later confirmed damage to the building, including vandalised toilets, flooding and a lift forced out of service. Several councillors said it was the worst behaviour they had experienced in office. Police are now reviewing CCTV footage.

Our report sets out what happened inside the chamber, how the disruption unfolded, and what it means for council business going forward.

Read the full story here:

What Swale’s meeting tells us about local democracy. Plus the latest from KCC, Tunbridge Wells still faces water uncertainty, news in brief, and more

For this week’s big interview, we sat down with Kevin MᶜKenna, MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey.He talks about his journ...
08/12/2025

For this week’s big interview, we sat down with Kevin MᶜKenna, MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey.

He talks about his journey into politics, working in critical care during the pandemic, living with HIV, and why the constituency’s mix of industrial towns, rural communities and holiday parks makes it one of the most complex in Kent.

What we asked Kevin MᶜKenna, MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey

This week’s Monday briefing leads on Kent County Council’s decision to leave thousands of unauthorised flags attached to...
08/12/2025

This week’s Monday briefing leads on Kent County Council’s decision to leave thousands of unauthorised flags attached to lampposts across the county and the FOIs that now show the repair bills quietly increasing. A policy built on spotting risks the council isn’t checking for is starting to generate its own costs.

We also look at the latest on Tunbridge Wells’ water crisis, Channel 4’s investigation into waste crime near Iwade, the strange art of defining a town, and everything happening in council chambers across Kent this week.

Read the full briefing:

FOIs reveal the cost of Kent’s lamppost flag policy and what happens when risks go unchecked

Tunbridge Wells has endured nearly a week of water failures, broken deadlines and a boil notice that will stretch well b...
04/12/2025

Tunbridge Wells has endured nearly a week of water failures, broken deadlines and a boil notice that will stretch well beyond the return of supply, exposing long-flagged weaknesses in South East Water’s network and a collapse of trust across the town.

A week of dry taps, false deadlines and emergency queues reveals a broken system and a town running out of patience

Hopefully you won't notice much difference, but today, we have left Substack and migrated our work to Ghost.Read more ab...
03/12/2025

Hopefully you won't notice much difference, but today, we have left Substack and migrated our work to Ghost.

Read more about why we've done it here:

We’ve moved, but nothing should change for most of you. A quick update: The Kent Current has now moved off Substack and onto a new home powered by Ghost. You don’t need to resubscribe, you don’t need to change anything, and your newsletters should keep arriving exactly

Maidstone leader faces no-confidence vote.Maidstone council leader Stuart Jeffery will face a no-confidence vote on Wedn...
01/12/2025

Maidstone leader faces no-confidence vote.

Maidstone council leader Stuart Jeffery will face a no-confidence vote on Wednesday. The Conservative group say the council has been distracted by “symbolic” projects. Jeffery calls it “silly posturing” and says his administration is delivering on its promises.

Today’s briefing also looks at water shortages around Tunbridge Wells, a Canterbury roadworks U-turn that has now been abandoned, M&S scouting new food store sites across Kent, new planning applications, and a few national newspapers suddenly rediscovering the county.

Read today’s briefing:

Plus Reform set to raise council tax, Goudhurst sees off smugglers, and is Kent really the largest council in the country?

Docker is a Folkestone-based brewery and bakery. Steven talks to Head Brewer and Director Pete Nelson to talk about how ...
26/11/2025

Docker is a Folkestone-based brewery and bakery. Steven talks to Head Brewer and Director Pete Nelson to talk about how he got into brewing, why they opened a new bakery in Ashford, and his advice for new brewers.

What we asked Pete Nelson, Head Brewer at Docker Bakery

📣 Kent's far right moves into the mainstream🚨 A fake town for civil unrest near Gravesend➡️ More analysis of Reform at C...
24/11/2025

📣 Kent's far right moves into the mainstream
🚨 A fake town for civil unrest near Gravesend
➡️ More analysis of Reform at County Hall
🌹 Folkestone MP speaks out
🗞️ News in brief, our Kent event calendar, and lots more

Plus a fake town for civil unrest near Gravesend, more from Reform, Folkestone MP speaks out, and more

The FAR Academy is an award-winning education provider for students with special educational needs. We spoke with headte...
19/11/2025

The FAR Academy is an award-winning education provider for students with special educational needs. We spoke with headteacher Brent Lewis about the dispute they are now facing with Kent County Council over funding, which could detrimentally affect their students.

What we asked Brent Lewis, CEO of the FAR Academy

🚓 Kent to lose its Police Commissioner in 2028☀️ The mega-solar farms of the future🧑‍💼 Senior staff at Manston suspended...
18/11/2025

🚓 Kent to lose its Police Commissioner in 2028
☀️ The mega-solar farms of the future
🧑‍💼 Senior staff at Manston suspended
➡️ More Reform expulsions, and lots more

Plus the mega-solar farms of the future, senior staff at Manston suspended, more Reform expulsions, and lots more

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