An investment in five new drainage engineers and a planned works team leader has been made by KCC to help tackle flood risks. The county authority looks after highway drainage which keeps water off the road and makes it safe for drivers and other road users. KCC cabinet member for highways Mike Whiting said: “By…
A recommendation to introduce charging for non-household waste at KCC’s Household Waste and Recycling Centres (HWRCs) has been endorsed. The discussions at today’s Environment & Transport Cabinet Committee come following an eight-week consultation where almost 3,000 people responded. KCC operates 18 HWRCs, providing facilities for the recycling and disposal of more than 30 different types…
Kent residents have just under two more weeks to give their views on a draft three-year strategy for the county’s Libraries, Registration and Archives service. A 10-week public consultation opened on 21 November and ends on Tuesday, 29 January. So far, nearly 3,000 responses have been received. Mike Hill, KCC’s Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory…
Community groups from across Kent and Medway have been sharing their plans for new funding for innovative projects to help reduce the numbers of people taking their own lives. Led by health providers and local authorities from the Kent and Medway Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP), the 27 projects have been awarded grants from Government…
As Dry January gets underway, Kent residents are reminded of the simple online quiz ‘Know Your Score’ that can get them advice from the experts, direct to their desktop. The majority of the Kent population (79%) drink sensibly and in safe limits (scoring less than seven on AUDIT – an alcohol risk score) but approximately 254,000 people…
‘New Year, New You’ is the national campaign now underway with support in Kent to raise awareness of key lifestyle behaviours – such as smoking, drinking too much alcohol, inactivity and unhealthy eating – their effect on people’s health and the support available. Drinking too much, smoking, inactivity and poor diets can have long term…
Public Health England (PHE) has released a new film showing the devastating harms from smoking and how these can be avoided by switching to an e-cigarette or using another type of quit aid. The film has been released as part of PHE’s Health Harms campaign, which is supported by Kent County Council in encouraging smokers…
Nursery children told the nativity story in a festive film as they put on a Christmas show with a difference for their proud families. Staff at Discovery Day Nursery in Park Wood, Maidstone, came up with the unique twist on the traditional festive celebration, which also saw the children using sign language while singing Christmas…
Council services Local tip opening hours Kent Country Park opening hours Library opening hours Adult education class openings Gateway opening hours Rubbish collection and other district council information Social services – report abuse out of hours information Help in a crisis You can access some services online Renew your library book Report a problem on…
With only a few days until Christmas Day, Kent County Council is reminding people both artificial and real Christmas trees can be taken to household waste and recycling sites. Old decorations can also be taken, as seen at the Maidstone site where staff have been collecting discarded Christmas decorations over the last two years. They…
Kent County Council’s (KCC) inclusive disco for adults with learning disabilities pulled out all the stops for its Christmas ball in Ashford. For the last 14-years, Saturn Nightclub has been the place to be for disabled adults, their friends and carers to make new friends and party the night away with resident DJ Phil Lambkin.…
The first phase of a £6.65 million scheme to improve the A2500 Lower Road on the Isle of Sheppey has been completed. The new roundabout replaces the previous traffic light-controlled junction between Lower Road and Barton Hill Drive. Construction started on June 25 and over 21,000 hours have been worked, removing 4,000 cubic metres of…
Once again, pupils in Kent have excelled in their Key Stage 2 assessments, achieving higher than the national average for the three main subjects combined. For the third year running, the percentage of pupils in the county who met or exceeded the expected standard in Combined Reading, Writing and Mathematics was higher than the average…
Nurseries and pre-schools across Kent are celebrating after being honoured with prestigious awards to recognise their commitment to supporting continuous improvement. Five nurseries and pre-schools were honoured with a prestigious Threads of Success Improvement and Achievement Award. They were Bertie’s Nursery in Faversham, Discovery Day Nursery in Maidstone, Kiddie Kapers Neighbourhood Nursery in Ashford, Magpie…
I sincerely hope that we never have to implement any of our contingency plans and that the UK has a smooth exit from Europe. However, we don’t know whether or not that will be the case. We must never forget the chaos that we had across half of this county in 2015. The M20 was…
Pupils, families, staff and special guests marked the opening of a new £1.9m building at The Craylands School with singing and the ceremonial passing of a giant pair of scissors. The brand-new block will allow the Swanscombe school to expand from a 1FE (form of entry) primary school to a 2FE one. The two-storey building,…
Kent Supported Employment, part of the Specialist Employment Service in The Education People, has been awarded Team of the Year at the British Association for Supported Employment (BASE) annual, national conference. The service supports over 200 new clients per year in seeking, finding and sustaining employment using the supported employment model; working closely with employers…
