Kent Current
@kentcurrent.news
Independent journalism helping you understand what’s happening across Kent. 📩 Free editions every Monday & Thursday. kentcurrent.news
Saturday’s far-right march at County Hall in Maidstone was presented as a protest against illegal migration. Its speakers demanded the removal of 15 million people, explicitly including legal migrants. We examine the shift and the false claims used to justify it.
From 'stop the boats' to expelling 15 million people
A far-right march on County Hall uses false claims about Kent County Council to demand the removal of 15 million people from Britain
kentcurrent.news
The Gravesend to Tilbury ferry crossing dates back to Roman times. Gravesham MP Lauren Sullivan wants it restored. In our interview, she also discusses parliament, AI and her route from science to politics.
“We need to make sure that Parliament looks like the places that it represents”
What we asked Dr Lauren Sullivan, Labour MP for Gravesham
kentcurrent.news
International rail competition is finally coming, but Virgin’s planned Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam services would pass through Kent without stopping at Ashford or Ebbsfleet. We examine what happens next.
International rail competition is coming, but not to Kent
Plus Dartford drivers paying to go nowhere, Whitstable reaches peak oyster and an anti-migrant protest at a closed Pizza Hut
kentcurrent.news
Like many people, I only recently realised what a mess the water “grid” is, with the result (as set out here) that only portion of the residents of Kent have the misfortune to be obliged to pay for South East Water. The author is quite right that it is absurd.
Kent Current@kentcurrent.news · 2w agoKent has a drought, but no single hosepipe ban rules. Five suppliers, disconnected territories and nearly 200 years of inherited boundaries mean households a few miles apart can face very different restrictions.
Kent has a drought, but no single hosepipe ban rules. Five suppliers, disconnected territories and nearly 200 years of inherited boundaries mean households a few miles apart can face very different restrictions.
Kent’s drought and hosepipe bans expose a messy water map
Five drinking water suppliers, disconnected supply areas and decades of mergers leave neighbouring Kent households subject to different hosepipe rules
kentcurrent.news
Christine Rayner went from the Chatham News newsroom of the 1970s to editing six Kent papers and teaching journalism. In our interview, she discusses reporting, court coverage, political pressure and what has been lost as local newsrooms shrank.
“I'm forever curious about the world”
What we asked Christine Rayner, former editor of newspapers across Kent
kentcurrent.news
Conservatives, Reform and Restore Britain are fighting a rural Dover by-election, featuring John Cleese, AI cliffs and a debate over counties on envelopes. Plus the rest of the week across the county.
Three versions of the right fight for the White Cliffs
Plus a £50,000 toilet saga, Greens and Reform against solar farms, a delayed Leas Lift and the battle over a Walmer sauna.
kentcurrent.news
Kent’s proposed fire cuts have been defeated. The stations survive, politicians fight for credit, but do the underlying problems remain? Plus four new councils officially get the thrilling names of North, West, Mid and East Kent.
Kent’s fire cuts defeated as politicians fight for credit
The fire cuts are defeated but the underlying problems remain, plus Kent's four new councils begin to take shape
kentcurrent.news
Anton Vamplew went from Captain Cosmos on Radio Kent to Blue Peter astronomer. He discusses August’s eclipse and meteor shower, why Pluto is still a planet and how to start stargazing without wasting money.
“The universe goes on and on. It never stops”
What we asked Anton Vamplew, astronomer and creator of the Night Sky Club
kentcurrent.news
Northfleet was promised 3,500 homes, a stadium, parks and 1,500 jobs. An inquiry found little evidence that most would happen. Plus Margate’s art boom, a critical incident at East Kent hospitals, and lots more.
The Northfleet plan that promised almost everything
Plus Margate’s art boom, Dover’s unwanted political spotlight, a critical incident at East Kent hospitals and Costco coming to Aylesford
kentcurrent.news
KCC’s efficiency department is gone. DOLGE is now a council-wide strategy with no savings target, no new powers and closed “star chambers” at its centre. What changed, and how will anyone judge its success?
DOLGE is dead. Long live DOLGE.
KCC replaces its flagship efficiency department with a council-wide way of working with no savings target, no new powers and closed meetings at the centre
kentcurrent.news
For Reform run Kent County Council @kentcurrent.news are doing a good job. Obviously infinitely better than the local Reach Plc crap. Kent Online, which is Iliffe Media, is less bad but it's only the small independent outfit that's actually doing any proper political scrutiny
Margate writer-director Martin Stirling has made viral charity films and directed Javier Bardem. In our latest interview, he discusses purposeful filmmaking, his feature project, life in Margate and advice for young filmmakers.
“I always believed that there was power in brevity”
Our interview with Martin Stirling, writer and director
kentcurrent.news
KCC is seeking another £7.5m for its finance and payroll overhaul, taking the expected cost to nearly £38m. Payroll is still in testing, with no launch date, and nobody has begun assessing what happens to the system when KCC disappears in 2028.
KCC’s finance and payroll overhaul heads for £38m
Another £7.5m is needed, with payroll still in testing and the system’s future undecided
kentcurrent.news
More boys are passing the Kent Test around Maidstone than local grammar schools have room for, leaving KCC with a £7.2m problem. Plus a Folkestone-to-Sheppey council, six-hour border queues and a far-right Dover march that fell rather flat.
Kent’s grammar school system has a £7.2m maths problem
Plus a council stretching from Folkestone to Sheppey, six-hour border queues, Southern Water bosses facing trial and a far-right damp squib in Dover
kentcurrent.news
Writing about yourself is harder than writing about anyone else. @iaindale.bsky.social discusses his autobiography, Kent politics, his abandoned Tunbridge Wells candidacy, changing views on immigration and why he wanted to write about failure as well as success.
“I've never thought of myself as famous enough”
What we asked Iain Dale, radio broadcaster and author of his new autobiography
kentcurrent.news
KCC is keen to stress it did not approve quarrying in Oaken Wood. This is true. But it did vote to keep the site in its minerals plan, declaring it acceptable in principle for extraction. We explain what the close decision actually changes, and what happens next.
KCC didn't approve a quarry, but it did move one step closer
An argument over wording is obscuring what the council's close decision actually changes
kentcurrent.news
Rich Lehmann almost didn't agree to this interview. The former KCC Green group leader speaks publicly for the first time about the mental health crisis that led him to step back from frontline politics, and why he believes people shouldn't be shamed for talking about poor mental health.
“It had shamed me for having poor mental health”
Our interview with Rich Lehmann, former Green Group leader at Kent County Council
kentcurrent.news
KCC introduced the national anthem to council meetings. Councillors immediately found a loophole, sang four verses instead of one, and the live subtitles decided they were performing The Star-Spangled Banner. Plus missing documents turn up, another water failure, a £7m sewage fine, and lots more.
The anthem, the loophole and the American subtitles
Plus missing KCC documents reappear, another Tunbridge Wells water failure, a £7m sewage fine and a fight over ancient woodland near Maidstone
kentcurrent.news
Every council in Kent and Medway is being abolished. In April 2028, four new authorities will take responsibility for bins, roads, planning, schools, social care, and more. That will affect who makes decisions about your area and how much council tax you pay. The map is settled. Little else is.
Four new councils and a lot of unanswered questions
Four authorities, fourteen councils to unwind, and less than two years to build a new system of local government
kentcurrent.news
Breaking: Kent and Medway will be carved up into four unitary authorities, including a wild MidKent Council that spans from Sheppey to Romney Marsh.
Didn’t even make it 24 hours today before resetting the counter! I look forward to this being dealt with finally. Today’s reminder via @kentcurrent.news
Kate Bradley@katebradleyhistory.bsky.social · last mo.The intervals between resetting the Last Thought of the SS Richard Montgomery counter are getting shorter… today 33, after 63 and 183 days previously. Argh!! www.kentonline.co.uk/sheerness/ne...
For 82 years, Kent’s most famous wreck has mostly been left alone. The SS Richard Montgomery sits off Sheerness with around 1,400 tonnes of explosives aboard. In September, engineers will start removing the masts that have become part of the Sheppey landscape. Apparently, this is the safer option.
Taking apart Kent’s most famous wreck
For 82 years, Kent has mostly dealt with the SS Richard Montgomery by leaving it alone. Now, the masts are coming down.
kentcurrent.news
Hi @dailymail.co.uk - Define 'exclusive'.
Kent Current@kentcurrent.news · 2mo agoA field near Dartford was too rural for battery storage, apparently. Now the same developer is proposing a huge AI data centre campus in the same broad stretch of north Kent. We look at power, land, AI, local planning, and Britain’s need for very large sheds full of machines.
A Kent councillor briefly tried to save Clacton from joke candidates. Then a reality TV contestant entered, and enough seriousness had apparently been restored. Plus local government reform, Brock, fire cover and KCC’s flaky Pokémon Go for walking.
How a Kent councillor briefly tried to save Clacton
Plus Kent waits on local government reform, Operation Brock returns, fire cover struggles and a very broken walking app
kentcurrent.news
A village litter pick became a story about something much bigger. We investigate why a before-and-after photo appeared to show more than just litter being cleared, and what it says about AI, political imagery and whether photographs can still be trusted.
The Reform litter pick that edited reality
A routine Facebook post becomes a story about AI in political imagery and whether photographs can still be trusted
kentcurrent.news
A W Earl studies stories that refuse to stay still. We talk to the author and folklorist about Border ballads, vampire myths, Gothic fiction, gender fluidity, and why old stories keep changing depending on who gets to tell them.
“I like to hide from public view”
What we asked A W Earl, author and folklorist
kentcurrent.news
Kent built 7,660 homes last year, but nearly 48,000 approved homes are still waiting to be built. We look at why planning permission is only part of the housing story. Plus a quarry row near Maidstone, Dover border fears, Manston hydrogen plans, the Goodyear blimp and lots more.
Kent keeps saying yes to homes. So where are they?
Plus a quarry row near Maidstone, Dover border fears, the Goodyear blimp, influencers in a lavender field, and lots more
kentcurrent.news
A field near Dartford was too rural for battery storage, apparently. Now the same developer is proposing a huge AI data centre campus in the same broad stretch of north Kent. We look at power, land, AI, local planning, and Britain’s need for very large sheds full of machines.
The data centre that skipped Dartford
How a contested field became part of Britain’s AI infrastructure argument
kentcurrent.news
