Four new councils confirmed for Kent and Medway

Kent and Medway will be reorganised into four new unitary councils from April 2028, Local Government Secretary Steve Reed has confirmed.

The decision will see Kent County Council (KCC), Medway Council and the county's 12 district, borough and city councils abolished and replaced by four single-tier authorities responsible for delivering all local government services.

The change is part of the Local Government Reorganisation programme, announced in December 2024, which aims to abolish two-tier council structures across England.

According to Kent and Medway council leaders, these new councils will deliver all of the services in their area including education, social services, highways, libraries, emptying bins, leisure centres and housing services.

Reed said they were "shaking up local government so people could get the services they deserve".

"These reforms create stronger, more efficient councils that lay the foundations for real devolution and the economic growth that will bring new jobs and opportunities to communities right across England," he added.

Following a government consultation with Kent residents, launched earlier this year, Reed has opted for the four new unitary authorities to cover the following areas:

• North Kent: Dartford, Gravesham, and Medway

• West Kent: Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Malling, Maidstone, and Tunbridge Wells

• Mid Kent: Swale, Ashford, and Folkestone and Hythe

• East Kent: Canterbury, Thanet and Dover

Leader of KCC Linden Kemkaran, from Reform UK, said this was not the option the county council had supported.

Instead, the local authority had proposed one unitary council, with three area assemblies, which it believed would be better value and simplify governance.

"The Government has made its decision and we will now review the detail to understand what it means for Kent, including implementation and timescales," she said.

Kemkaren added that despite the changes, they would ensure residents received "the support they rely on every day".

Responding to the announcement on Thursday, Vince Maple, leader of Medway Council, said despite supporting a four-unitary model from the start, they believed the chosen option "missed a once-in-a-generation opportunity to redesign services around modern communities".

"Areas like Walderslade and Faversham would be stuck with the same problems and confused geographies created by previous processes over the past 50 years," he argued.

Kent currently has a two-tier local government system.

At the upper tier is KCC, while the lower tier is comprised of 12 district and borough councils.

Medway Council functions separately as a unitary authority.

In addition, there are more than 300 town and parish councils handling local-level services.

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