Like us on Facebook
Monday, 12 October 2026
West Kent Local News

Your trusted source for local news and community updates

News

Council decisions, crime, community life and the stories shaping day-to-day life across West Kent.

All Articles

224 total
Sevenoaks Proposes Parking Charge Freeze, Weekend Fee for Gordon Road and End to Cash Payments
SevenoaksParkingCost of LivingSevenoaks District CouncilGordon Road

Sevenoaks Proposes Parking Charge Freeze, Weekend Fee for Gordon Road and End to Cash Payments

Sevenoaks District Council is proposing to freeze parking charges from April 2027 to help with the cost of living, while introducing a new weekend charge at the Gordon Road car park and phasing out cash payments, which now make up only a fraction of how people pay to park.

DuncanOctober 3, 2026
Man Jailed for Three Years After Air Rifle Attack During East Malling Disturbance
East MallingTonbridge & MallingKent PoliceCrimeMaidstone Crown Court

Man Jailed for Three Years After Air Rifle Attack During East Malling Disturbance

A 22-year-old has been jailed for three years after a violent disturbance in East Malling last October saw him threaten a woman with a wrench and knife, then return with a homemade flamethrower and an air rifle, shooting two people who tried to intervene.

DuncanOctober 3, 2026
Police Appeal After Car Fails to Stop Near Dunton Green, Later Hits Another Vehicle
Dunton GreenSevenoaksKent PoliceAppealCrime

Police Appeal After Car Fails to Stop Near Dunton Green, Later Hits Another Vehicle

Kent Police are seeking witnesses and dashcam footage after a car failed to stop for officers in Dunton Green, was allegedly involved in a collision with another vehicle in Lusted Road, and came to a halt in Hillfield Road, where the occupant ran off towards Chipstead Lakes.

DuncanOctober 3, 2026
MTW Hospitals Cut Hearing Aid Wait From 13 Months to Under Two Weeks
NHSMaidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS TrustHealthAudiology

MTW Hospitals Cut Hearing Aid Wait From 13 Months to Under Two Weeks

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust has slashed its audiology waiting list from 1,300 to 334 patients by posting pre-programmed hearing aids straight to people with mild to moderate hearing loss, cutting their wait from a peak of 13 months to under two weeks - a model NHS England and the RNID are now reviewing as a blueprint for the rest of the country.

DuncanOctober 2, 2026
Tonbridge & Malling to Write a New Air Quality Plan, Still Centred on Wateringbury
Tonbridge and Malling Borough CouncilWateringburyAir QualityEnvironmentClimate Change

Tonbridge & Malling to Write a New Air Quality Plan, Still Centred on Wateringbury

Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council has approved £10,615 to commission a new five-year Air Quality Action Plan, replacing one that expires in 2027 - the same Wateringbury crossroads pollution hotspot at the centre of a long-running Green Belt housing fight remains the reason the council needs one at all.

DuncanOctober 2, 2026
Sevenoaks' New Wheelie Bins Arrive From 12 October - Here's What Changes
Sevenoaks District CouncilRecyclingWheelie BinsWaste Collection

Sevenoaks' New Wheelie Bins Arrive From 12 October - Here's What Changes

Sevenoaks District Council will switch 45,000 households to wheelie bins and alternate-weekly collections from Monday 12 October, ending the green reusable sack scheme and collecting glass in with the rest of the recycling for the first time.

DuncanOctober 2, 2026
Appeal After Gang of Five Break Into East Peckham Business, Steal 100 Specialist Tools
Kent PoliceEast PeckhamCrimeBurglaryAppeal

Appeal After Gang of Five Break Into East Peckham Business, Steal 100 Specialist Tools

Kent Police are appealing for witnesses after five men broke through a brick wall to raid a business on the Branbridges Industrial Estate in East Peckham, stealing more than 100 specialist milling and drilling tools and over £5,000 of brass.

DuncanOctober 1, 2026
The Pantiles' Christmas Market Returns for 2026, With a New Nutcracker Trail
The PantilesChristmasTunbridge WellsEventsMarkets

The Pantiles' Christmas Market Returns for 2026, With a New Nutcracker Trail

The Pantiles' free Boutique Christmas Market comes back for 22 dates between 13 November and Christmas Eve, with wooden chalets, a Bandstand entertainment programme and, new this year, a Nutcracker Trail with a £150 prize draw.

MeggieOctober 1, 2026
Tonbridge Drug Dealer Stripped of £215,623 After Cocaine Network Conviction
Kent PoliceTonbridgeCrimeDrugsProceeds of CrimeHildenborough

Tonbridge Drug Dealer Stripped of £215,623 After Cocaine Network Conviction

A 29-year-old Tonbridge man already serving a five-and-a-half-year prison sentence for running a cocaine supply network across west Kent has been ordered to pay back £215,623 of his criminal earnings, after a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing at Maidstone Crown Court.

DuncanOctober 1, 2026