Maidstone Asks Residents to Help Shape the Future of Lockmeadow

Maidstone Borough Council has launched a six-week public consultation on the future of Lockmeadow, asking residents, businesses and visitors what they want the riverside leisure and market site to become.

The consultation opened on 7 September and runs until 18 October through the council's Let's Talk Maidstone portal. Alongside the online survey, five drop-in sessions are planned where people can see the plans and ask questions: at Lockmeadow, outside Unit 10, on Wednesday 23 September (6pm to 8pm), Friday 25 September (noon to 2pm) and Sunday 27 September (2pm to 4pm); and at Jubilee Square on Wednesday 30 September and Thursday 1 October (both noon to 2pm).

The council says the exercise is about Lockmeadow "as a whole". It is asking for views on the overall design, green spaces and planting, seating and gathering areas, accessibility across the site, and the events and activities held there - including the Market Hall and the markets themselves. Residents are also being asked how they currently use Lockmeadow and what matters to them when they visit.

Ideas put forward for the site include more trees, planting and biodiversity, flexible space for events and community activities, new seating, improved riverside public space, and room for markets, cafes and local businesses. The consultation is backed by concept designs showing how the site could be reworked with stronger connections to the River Medway.

"Lockmeadow is already one of Maidstone's most popular destinations and we want to build on that success," said Councillor Stephen Thompson, Cabinet Member for Healthier Stronger Communities. He said the council wanted views "on everything from biodiversity and public spaces to events, accessibility and community uses so that local people can help inform the next stage of the design".

The markets have been the most contested part of the Lockmeadow question. In July the Cabinet agreed, under a decision titled "Lockmeadow Improvements", to serve notice on the market traders while it worked out the site's long-term future. That decision was called in and, in August, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee asked for the market hall building and the running of the market to be treated as separate questions, sent it back to Cabinet, and recommended a public consultation on the wider area. This is that consultation.

The council stresses that no decisions have been made and that responses will feed into design and implementation choices still to come. It says Lockmeadow has had significant investment in recent years, including work on the health club and the arrival of businesses such as Cycles UK and Cece's Nursery, and that footfall is currently running 4.4 per cent higher than the same point in 2025. Source: Maidstone Borough Council