West Kent Local NewsWest Kent Local News
Four Arrested After Man Shot in Swanley, as Police Appeal for Witnesses
A man in his 20s was flown to a London hospital with gunshot injuries after a serious assault in Acacia Walk, Swanley on Thursday evening. Four men have now been arrested, and Kent Police says it believes those involved knew each other and is treating it as an isolated incident.
Shipping Containers and a Recycling Centre Catch Fire in Separate West Kent Blazes
Kent Fire and Rescue Service sent eight engines to a blaze involving multiple shipping containers in Wrotham that took over four hours to put out, while seven engines and a height vehicle tackled a recycling centre fire in Allington, Maidstone, earlier the same evening. No injuries were reported at either scene, and the cause of both fires remains unknown.
Diggers Move In at Angel Centre Site Ahead of Make-or-Break Council Vote
Specialist teams are digging boreholes and trenches at Sovereign Way Mid Car Park this week, as preparatory archaeological work gets under way ahead of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council's final decision on the new £20 million Angel Centre on 20 October.
Hollywood Comes to Maidstone's Doorstep, as New Film Revives the Peasants' Revolt
The Uprising, a star-studded new drama about the 1381 Peasants' Revolt, is about to hit cinemas including Maidstone's own ODEON Luxe - and the town council says the story has much deeper roots here than most moviegoers realise.
Borough Green Stabbing: Man Charged With Attempted Murder
Juan Martez-Ortiz, 46, of Sevenoaks Road, has been charged with attempted murder and five other offences after two men were stabbed and a woman injured during a domestic incident in Borough Green, and is remanded in custody ahead of a Maidstone Crown Court appearance.
Where to Find the Cheapest Petrol and Diesel in West Kent Right Now
Government fuel-price data - now built into Google Maps and Waze for the first time today, and already tracked daily on this site - shows an independent forecourt beating every supermarket in three of West Kent's four boroughs, while Edenbridge and Snodland's limited choice of filling stations leaves drivers there paying some of the highest prices in their borough.
Have Your Say: Kent County Council Consults on Moving Maidstone's Family Hub Services
Kent County Council is asking for views on proposals to move InfoZone Family Hub services out of 3 Palace Avenue and into a wider Maidstone Family Hub network, while reopening the former East Borough Children's Centre - the consultation closes on 30 November.
Rusthall Win Penalty Thriller as Four of Five West Kent Clubs Advance in the FA Vase
Rusthall won 8-7 on penalties after a 3-3 draw at Fleet Town, Larkfield & New Hythe thrashed Chislehurst Glebe 4-0 and Tunbridge Wells and Snodland Town also progressed in the FA Vase First Round - only Bearsted fell, beaten 2-1 at home by Hassocks.
Maidstone RFC Go Top of Counties 2 Kent With Big Win at Westcombe Park
Maidstone RFC thrashed Westcombe Park II 45-12 to make it three wins from three and move top of Counties 2 Kent, the best points difference in the division.
Tunbridge Wells Win at Wimbledon to Stay Unbeaten, Second Behind Sevenoaks
Tunbridge Wells RFC won 26-22 away at Wimbledon to make it three wins from three in Regional 1 South Central, level on points with Sevenoaks but second on points difference.
Sevenoaks Move Top of Regional 1 South Central With Bracknell Win
Sevenoaks RFC beat Bracknell 26-19 at Knole Paddock to stay unbeaten and move top of Regional 1 South Central, level on points with Tunbridge Wells but ahead on points difference.
Tonbridge Juddians Stay Unbeaten With Thriller at Bishop's Stortford
Tonbridge Juddians won 36-32 in a nine-try thriller at Bishop's Stortford to stay unbeaten after six games, level on points with National League 1 leaders Plymouth Albion.
Harry Forster's Four Goals Sink Sevenoaks Town at Crowborough
Harry Forster scored four times as bottom-of-the-table Crowborough Athletic beat Sevenoaks Town 5-2 in the Isthmian League South East Division, with Nathan Jeche and Kevin Diomande on target for the Oaks.
Substitute Frankie Baker's Late Strike Earns Tonbridge Angels Win at Maidenhead
Frankie Baker's shot cannoned in off both posts to settle a dour contest at Maidenhead, and goalkeeper Nathan Harness then denied a stoppage-time equaliser to preserve Tonbridge Angels' sixth straight unbeaten away league game.
Lace Up: Three Races Coming to West Kent This Autumn and Winter
A woodland half marathon and 10k at Bedgebury Forest kicks off a run of organised races across West Kent, through the Marden 10K and Half Marathon, and on to a 50km North Downs Way ultra from Detling in December - all open for entries now.
Royal Tunbridge Wells in Bloom Wins Gold, With the Commons and Five Other Green Spaces Also Honoured
Royal Tunbridge Wells in Bloom has won Gold and the Small City category at the South & South East in Bloom Awards 2026, with Tunbridge Wells Commons also taking a category win and five more parks and green spaces picking up Gold or Silver Gilt awards.
Grosvenor & Hilbert Park Named Large Park of the Year for the South & South East
Grosvenor & Hilbert Park in Tunbridge Wells has been judged Large Park of the Year 2026 for the South & South East region in the RHS Britain in Bloom competition, with the Friends group crediting the council's parks team, contractor Tivoli and local volunteers.
Run Kent Returns to Tonbridge: Nearly 1,850 Runners Take on Half Marathon, 10k and 5k
Tonbridge Athletic Club runners took the big wins as Run Kent's half marathon, 10k and 5k drew almost 1,850 finishers to The Judd School on Sunday, with Demelza children's hospice as this year's official charity partner.
Mushrooms, Music and Makers: Emmetts Garden's Autumn Festival Returns
Emmetts Garden's annual Autumn Festival runs from 9 October to 1 November, with a makers' market, two afternoons of live music, Halloween activities for younger visitors and a talks weekend featuring celebrity gardeners and a session on the science of magic mushrooms.
Offham: The Kent Village Whose Medieval Quintain Is the Last of Its Kind
Offham, a small village next to West Malling, is built largely of Kent's own ragstone and is reputed to hold the last English quintain still standing in its original spot - a medieval jousting-practice post that was hidden away for safekeeping during the Second World War and has just been restored again, this time for conservation rather than invasion.
Penshurst Place's Baron's Hall Stars in New Sense and Sensibility Film
Penshurst Place's medieval Baron's Hall was used as a filming location for the new Sense and Sensibility, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Caitríona Balfe and Fiona Shaw, which opened in UK cinemas on 25 September.
62 Homes South of Marden Road Recommended for Approval, Despite Sitting Outside Staplehurst's Boundary
Maidstone's Planning Committee will be asked on Thursday to approve 62 homes on land south of Marden Road, Staplehurst - a site outside the village's own settlement boundary and not allocated for housing, but recommended for approval anyway because the borough can no longer show a five-year supply of land for new homes.
Plans Submitted for 44 Homes in Chart Sutton - Nine More Than the Site Was Allocated For
Macar Homes has applied to build 44 homes on a field off Plough Wents Road in Chart Sutton - nine more than the 35 the site was allocated for in the village's own emerging Neighbourhood Plan - and Maidstone council's pre-application advice has already signalled the scheme would be looked on favourably.
The Chimney That Survived: Redrow's Maidstone Mill Scheme Nears Sell-Out
Redrow's The Mill, off James Whatman Way in Maidstone, is down to its final homes - built around a Grade II listed chimney that once stood on the site of the first paper mill in the world successfully powered by steam.
Council Cabinet Backs New Planning Controls on Small HMOs in Tonbridge, Snodland and East Malling
Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council's Cabinet has approved pursuing an Article 4 direction that would require planning permission for new small HMOs in parts of Tonbridge, central Snodland and one East Malling estate, and agreed to consult residents in those areas.
Not a Number Any More: Berkeley Homes Seeks to Change How Its 165 Hildenborough Homes Are Capped
A newly filed amendment at Oakhill House, Hildenborough, would strip the 165-home total out of the description of the site's planning permission and replace it with a capping condition instead - the latest of several tweaks to a scheme converting a Grade II listed former Fidelity International office into 138 apartments and 27 houses.
66 Homes, Not 100: What Taylor Wimpey's Barming P3 Scheme Actually Got Approved
The third and final phase of Taylor Wimpey's long-running Barming development has been approved for 66 homes - fewer than the "up to 100" the company's own marketing describes - with a pre-commencement habitat condition now being discharged ahead of building starting from 2027.
520 Homes Planned for Badsell Farm, Paddock Wood - and the Town Council Wants It Refused
Developer Dandara's application for 520 homes on Badsell Farm, part of Paddock Wood's adopted Local Plan expansion, has missed its own determination deadline by over a month - while Paddock Wood Town Council has formally objected, citing undelivered infrastructure from earlier phases and unresolved flood risk.
Lamberhurst's Chequers Inn Reassures Customers After Going Public With Energy Supplier Dispute
The Chequers Inn, a Grade II-listed 15th-century pub registered as a community asset, says there's an ongoing investigation into a dispute with its electricity supplier, Yorkshire Gas & Power - but wants regulars to know it isn't going anywhere.
£3m Padel Club Opens at Larkfield, With Three More Kent Sites Still to Come
Square One Padel has opened the first phase of a £3 million, 10-court club at Larkfield, near Aylesford - seven courts open now, with a gym, golf simulators, Pilates studios and a 200-seat restaurant still to follow.
How West Kent's Private Nurseries Compare: More Outstanding Ratings Than the National Average, in Three of Four Boroughs
An analysis of Ofsted's own open dataset shows 319 privately and voluntarily run nurseries and pre-schools across Maidstone, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge & Malling and Tunbridge Wells, offering around 12,700 childcare places between them - with three of the four boroughs beating the national Outstanding rate.
Top 10 Accountancy Firm Azets Opens Tunbridge Wells Office
Azets, a UK top 10 accountancy firm already serving West Kent clients from its Maidstone base, has opened a second Kent office at Lonsdale Gate in Tunbridge Wells, led by two partners with more than three decades of combined local experience.
Conveyancing Firm The Partnership Opens Third Office, in Tunbridge Wells
Property law firm The Partnership has opened an office on Mount Pleasant Road, its third after London and Guildford, aiming to work more closely with local estate agents and mortgage brokers.
Maidstone Businesses Do Fine for Two Years - Then a Third of Them Vanish
New ONS figures show Maidstone has the highest rate of new businesses opening of any West Kent borough, but also by far the steepest drop-off in year three, while Sevenoaks combines the best three-year survival rate with the highest concentration of businesses per resident.
West Kent Expo Returns to Tonbridge for a Fourth Year, Booking Now Open
The West Kent Expo, the region's main business showcase event, is back at Tonbridge's River Centre on Wednesday 10 March 2027 after last year's edition drew more than 500 attendees and over 60 exhibitors - with free attendance, paid exhibitor space and a new low-cost option for early-stage businesses.
Prost! Oktoberfest Comes to Tonbridge - and a Toast to West Kent's Own Beer History
Tonbridge Racecourse goes full Bavarian this month for Oktoberfest Tonbridge - the perfect excuse to dig into Oktoberfest's genuinely odd origins, beer's 4,000-year back-story, and the breweries flying West Kent's flag today.
Three Stops in West Kent on England's New County-Wide Wine Trail
Visit Kent has just launched The Kentish Wine Way, bringing together 30 of the county's vineyards under one tourism brand - and three of them are on our own doorstep, in Westerham, Staplehurst and Wateringbury.
Cheese, Cider and a Perfect Score: West Kent's Winners at the 20th Taste of Kent Awards
Kent's biggest food and drink awards handed out Gold across the county last week - and five of them went to businesses and makers in Maidstone, Tonbridge & Malling and Tunbridge Wells, from a farm shop with a flawless mystery-shop score to a cheese that's now won twice.
New Restaurant Yarrow Opens at The Willowbury in West Malling
Yarrow, a modern British restaurant open to the public as well as residents, has officially opened at The Willowbury retirement village development in West Malling.
New Ash Green's Spice Village Named Best Restaurant of the Year at National Curry Awards
Spice Village, the Indian restaurant on The Row in New Ash Green, has been named Best Restaurant of the Year at the Curry Life Awards 2026, the latest in a run of award wins for the BYOB restaurant.
Michelin-Starred Chef Atul Kochhar Set to Open Restaurant in Wrotham Heath
Essence Wrotham, a new pan-Indian fine-dining restaurant from twice Michelin-starred chef Atul Kochhar, is set to open on London Road in Wrotham Heath on 27 October - his second Kent restaurant after Essence at The Pantiles in Royal Tunbridge Wells, which has been open since 2024.
The Cozy Chapter: Maidstone's New Books-and-Coffee Spot With Gong Baths and Comedy Nights
A new bookshop and café has opened in Maidstone's Royal Star Arcade, already running comedy nights and a book club in its first fortnight, with a gong bath sound meditation evening booked in for 29 October.