Ministers decide future shape of Kent and Medway’s councils
Published
Thursday 16 July, 2026
Updated
Thursday 16 July, 2026
Government ministers have decided Kent and Medway will be served by four completely new councils from April 2028.
Following a government consultation which attracted around 3,000 responses, the Secretary of State has opted for option 4B which will create:
- 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
Cllr Tim Gibson, leader of Swale Borough Council, said:
“This is the option we preferred, as it brings us together with areas who share our DNA, with communities that balance rural villages, with bustling towns and coastal communities.
"The size of the new council should be large enough to provide financial stability, but not so large that the connection between councillors and their residents is broken.
“Reorganising councils across Kent is going to be a significant change in how local services are delivered, but it will be a marathon, not a sprint.
“Local people should be reassured that we will continue to focus on delivering our services whilst we prepare for the new authority coming into being in 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.
“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.”
You can read the background to local government reorganisation in Kent on the Kent Council Leaders website.
