Rural areas across Kent are at the forefront of plans to make ultrafast, ultra-reliable and future-proof broadband available in the South East. Of 63 market towns and villages included in plans announced by Openreach, 26 are in Kent. Openreach’s previously-stated target is to reach four million homes and businesses with ‘full fibre’ technology by the…

Tonbridge residents have been thanked for their patience while extensive improvement works were carried out on the town’s main library. A partial closure of one lane of Avebury Avenue was put in place by Kent Highways while sandblasting of exterior walls and window-replacement were taking place. KCC’s Cabinet Member for Highways, Michael Payne, who represents…

Kent County Council’s Affordable Housing Select Committee has held its first meeting and agreed its terms of reference. The topic had been proposed by Mrs Trudy Dean and added to the work programme. In July, the Scrutiny Committee confirmed the establishment of the Select Committee, with the remit to undertake a review of the key issues…

Op Assist, the multi-agency crackdown on fly-tipping across the county has been recording a number of successes. Over the past few months, officers from local authorities, have been working together with the police and other agencies,  carrying out days of action to deter illegal dumping and identify unlicensed waste collectors. Kent County Council is investing…

Plans for a relief road of the A28 through Birchington, Acol and Westgate-on-Sea have received backing from the government and will now move on to the next stage of development. A bid to fund the £49.8 million project was submitted following a request from the government in December for regions to agree their priorities for improving the Major Road Network – the country’s…

KCC Highways is carrying out trials of “hot foam technology” as part of the council’s commitment to look at alternative methods of weed control on the county’s roads and footpaths. Members have expressed concern over the safety of using weed-killer sprays containing glyphosate because of suggestions that the chemical could be linked to some forms…

Kent libraries are calling for children to sign up to read six books over the next few weeks as they take part in Space Chase, this year’s Summer Reading Challenge. The Space Chase theme is inspired by the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing, and children aged 4-11 are invited to team up with…

A mum from Kent has won a national learning award after overcoming severe anxiety to return to learning and train towards becoming a midwife. Vicky Seagars, 28, has won the Festival of Learning 2019 New Directions award, sponsored by Skills and Education Group, which she received at a ceremony in London. Vicky was a stay-at-home…

As part of the Armed Forces Week activities, representatives of the Princess of Wales’s Regiment spent a day at County Hall, meeting KCC staff and talking about life as an Army Reserve Soldier. They also showed a small selection of the kind of equipment Reservists might be required to use. Among the visitors to the…

The start of the country’s D-Day commemorations were marked at County Hall on Wednesday (5 June) when KCC Chairman Ann Allen hosted a tea party for about a dozen service veterans. Proudly displaying their various medals, the veterans, accompanied by a few relatives and carers and several current representatives of the Armed Forces, enjoyed a…

KCC’s outgoing chairman Mike Angell has handed over the chain of office to his successor Ann Allen in a ceremony at County Hall on Thursday (23 May). Reflecting on the past year, Mr Angell, who represents Ashford Rural East, said: “I have spent much of the past year meeting the wonderful people of Kent, including…

KCC’s Public Protection team is bidding to bag a massive cash boost from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative to help safeguard vulnerable people from telephone scammers. Tesco teamed up with the charity Groundwork to launch its community funding scheme, which provides grants of £4,000, £2,000 and £1,000 for local community projects. Three groups in…