The Government has today (Thursday, 5 February) launched a consultation on the future number of councils in Kent and Medway and the areas they should cover.
It wants to hear the views of Kent and Medway residents on the biggest proposed shake up of local government in 50 years.
In 2025 the Government asked councils to come up with plans to create unitary councils in a process known as Local Government Reorganisation (LGR).
Unitary councils are responsible for providing all council services in one area. Medway Council has already operated successfully as a unitary council for nearly 30 years.
However, elsewhere in Kent, the current system sees Kent County Council (KCC) deliver some services such as education, social services and roads, and district or borough councils deliver others such as waste and recycling collections and providing housing services.
Under the proposed system, Medway Council and all Kent councils would be replaced by a much smaller number of new unitary councils.
Councils across Kent and Medway have worked together to draw up a series of options for the future number of unitary councils and what areas they should cover.
Medway Council has put forward a preferred proposal for four councils (4D), which is supported by Canterbury City Council and Ashford Borough Council.
This change represents a once in a generation opportunity to get the structure of councils across Kent right for the next 50 years – ensuring they serve residents across the region in the most effective and efficient way possible.
Option 4D seizes the opportunity to reimagine Kent to reflect current communities and sense of place, with boundary changes to reflect modern live, work and travel patterns.
Additional proposed benefits of the 4D proposal include:
- geography linked by shared economic and transport connections,
- local identity being preserved and communities being empowered,
- the ability for services to be better targeted at a local level,
- long term financial stability and sustainability,
- Kent being devolution-ready.
Welcome the start of the consultation
Medway Council Leader, Cllr Vince Maple, said: “We welcome the start of the government consultation, and we want as many people as possible across Kent and Medway to have their say on these changes. I am proud of the collaborative way all the leaders have worked together to develop these proposals.
“We firmly believe that our proposed model will provide the best structure for Kent for years to come, striking the right balance between financial sustainability, efficient service delivery and ensuring that local government remains closely aligned to the needs of our local communities.
“Local Government Reorganisation is the moment to be really bold and shape local government in Kent and Medway for the next generation, improving the lives of all our residents. We must take the opportunity to reset outdated boundaries for the 1.9million people in our region, reform public services, put communities first and ensure decisions about our region are made in our region, rooted in the understanding of and pride of our communities and the promise of our future.”
Important you have your say
In a joint statement, council leaders in Kent and Medway, said: “Our councils are your councils, and it is important you have your say on their future and how they deliver vital services.
“We’ve worked really closely together to pull together the evidence to support a number of options for the people of Kent and Medway so the Government can make an informed decision.”
Take part in the Government’s consultation.
The deadline for responses is Thursday 26 March.
A decision on which option ministers have chosen is likely to be announced in the summer.