The Chairman of Kent County Council, Mr Graham Gibbens, has expressed the deepest sympathy of the Members and officers of Kent County Council on the sad passing of His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh. The Chairman said: “The Duke has been a constant source of support for Her Majesty The Queen during her reign…
The symptom free testing centre at the Assembly Hall in Tunbridge Wells will be closing this Sunday 11th April. People living in the area are urged to continue to book rapid tests at the centre in the town’s Crescent Road up until this weekend, including Sunday. From Thursday 15th April residents will be able to…
Kent County Council (KCC), with partners Porchlight and Look Ahead, have a message of hope for some of the county’s most vulnerable people this World Health Day. Kent Homeless Connect (KHC) has been designed by Kent County Council (KCC) for people experiencing homelessness, or at risk of being homeless, who also have complex needs such…
Preliminary work ahead of a new signalised junction at the A251/A2 junction in Faversham will begin on Tuesday (April 6). It comes as part of plans by Kent County Council to ease congestion and queuing on the A251 Ashford Road and improve turning onto the A2 Canterbury Road. Before work can start on the scheme,…
Construction work on the new £10 million community hub in Southborough has been completed and the building has officially been handed over by the contractor. The fitting out of the main building – under the new name of the Southborough Civic Centre, adopted by the town council on 8 March – will begin imminently. The…
KCC Trading Standards officers, with the support of Kent Police and immigrations teams, targeted illicit tobacco sellers in Margate, Ramsgate and Folkestone in a week-long intelligence-led operation. A total of 21 premises were visited, resulting in more than 6,000 packets of cigarettes and rolling tobacco being seized, together with £4,000 cash, and eight shops were…
Half a million symptom free COVID-19 tests have now been carried out at sites across Kent. Symptom free tests are a vital part of the county’s route out of lockdown as around 1 in 3 people with coronavirus do not have any symptoms. This means they could be spreading the virus without knowing it. Out…
Organisations with ideas to help Kent’s towns, rural and coastal areas thrive are being urged to submit their project plans to a new UK Government programme. The UK Community Renewal Fund aims to support people and communities most in need, that wish to bring forward new ideas to invest in skills, community and place, local…
Parents and carers whose children may be eligible to receive Free School Meals due to the family’s financial circumstances are being urged to apply for them ahead of the upcoming April school holidays, even if their child is in Years R, 1 or 2. The Government announced this month that it was extending the Covid…
A new “social prescribing” service to help tackle loneliness and isolation among the over 65s in four areas of Kent has been launched by KCC. The new pilot service is free and confidential, operating from 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday. It was launched on International Social Prescribing Day, 18 March, as a trial in Folkestone East…
Satisfaction levels with Kent’s Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRC) have been found to be overwhelmingly high in a new survey. Nearly 9,000 people were asked about their experiences, with the results showing 95% were satisfied or quite satisfied with their visit and felt safe. More than 98% were also happy with the booking system.…
Kent County Council has asked the government to reduce the number of night flights coming in and going out from Gatwick Airport as the UK comes out of lockdown. This is in response to the Department for Transport (DfT) consultation on night flight restrictions at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports. KCC has said that the…
Kent County Council has been awarded £500,000 to carry on an innovative new study on tree planting which could change the way the UK plants trees. The Trees Outside Woodlands project, led by Defra, Natural England, and the Tree Council, is a £2.52 million investment over the next two and a half years. The study…
As schools reopen to all pupils, Kent County Council is providing compensation to families who bought a KCC Travel Saver Card or 16+ Travel Saver Card but may not have needed to use it during the national lockdown in January and February. Parents who paid in full for a KCC Travel Saver Card will receive…
Improvements to Sandwich railway station by Network Rail have been welcomed, as preparations get under way for The 149th Open, which will be played at Royal St George’s from 11-18 July. The improvements were designed to increase platform capacity, reduce disruption to local roads and residents, and enhance the experience for passengers and spectators. The…
The first of Kent’s new mobile library vehicles have hit the county’s roads, bringing a range of books to residents eager to nourish their love of reading during lockdown and beyond. KCC’s Libraries, Registration and Archives service has invested in five new vehicles to cover all the routes across Kent – including the surrounding areas…
Kent County Council has published its forward works programme outlining plans for highway maintenance right across the county for the next five years. This investment plan includes renewal and maintenance work not just for roads and pavements but also streetlights, drainage systems, traffic lights, bridges, tunnels, and trees. It includes around 7.5 million square metres…
