West Kent Local NewsYour trusted source for local news and community updates
Maidstone News
Council decisions, crime, planning rows and community life in Maidstone - covered as it happens.
All Articles
104 total
Kent Police Shut Down 14 Maidstone Businesses in Six-Month Crackdown on Organised Crime
Maidstone neighbourhood officers have closed or evicted more than a dozen town-centre businesses and made nine arrests over the past six months, as part of an ongoing crackdown on organised crime, illicit tobacco and counterfeit goods.
Maidstone Planning Committee to Weigh Applications Across the Borough, Including Archbishop's Palace Dungeons
Maidstone Borough Council's planning committee has published its agenda for its next meeting, covering a wide spread of applications from Lenham to Yalding, plus listed building works at the Archbishop's Palace.
14 Streets in Maidstone's Fant and Oakwood Ward Could Drop to 20mph - Have Your Say by 5 October
Kent County Council is consulting on cutting the speed limit from 30mph to 20mph across 14 residential roads in Maidstone's Fant and Oakwood ward. The consultation opened on 11 September and closes at noon on 5 October 2026.
A New Welfare Row Has Broken Out in Parliament - What It Actually Says, and What Kent's Own Numbers Show
The Government has confirmed 200,000 UK families received more in benefits and tax credits last year than the average worker earns, reigniting the welfare debate at Westminster. There's no equivalent breakdown for Kent specifically, but the county's own claimant figures give a sense of the scale involved locally.
The Plan to Abolish West Kent's Four Councils Has Been Paused
The Government has paused its plan to scrap Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge & Malling and Maidstone councils and replace them with new unitary authorities by 2028, after new legal advice. Kent County Council had been due to consider suing the Government over the plan the very next day.
Petrol Prices Are Back at a Four-Year High - the Same Story That Started in West Kent Back in April
The national average price of petrol has hit its highest level since 2022, and diesel its highest since April, after a sharp rise in oil prices tied to the ongoing Middle East conflict. It's a continuation of the same spike we first reported on in West Kent five months ago - and this time a fuel duty rise is adding to it too.
Government Pauses Kent Council Shake-Up, Putting New West Kent Authority in Doubt
The government has paused and ordered a review of Local Government Reorganisation in Kent and Medway after new legal advice, throwing the timetable for a new West Kent unitary council - and the joint committee already being set up to prepare for it - into uncertainty.
Three West Kent Primaries Become Academies as New School Year Begins
Staplehurst School, St Francis' Catholic Primary in Maidstone and St Mark's CE Primary in Tunbridge Wells all converted to academy status on 1 September - each joining a different trust, in a reminder of how much of West Kent's primary sector has now moved out of direct council control.
Murder Investigation After Man Dies in Maidstone Town-Centre Stabbing
A man in his 40s has died after being stabbed at a property in Knightrider Street, Maidstone, on Monday night. A 26-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman were arrested at the scene and remain in custody.