Local Authority
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Medway smells like crap again. We investigate the annual mystery pong and find the answer may be less dramatic than the aroma. Plus a £27m council budget gap and demolition at last for Chatham’s remarkably combustible former school.
Why does Medway smell like crap?
The annual mystery pong returns, Medway's finances are already under pressure, and the former St John Fisher School is finally coming down
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Vince Maple says there is “no secret deal with Lewisham” over Medway housing and wants a Chatham Business Improvement District before the council disappears. Plus mayoral rules, potholes, faith and karaoke in part two of our interview with Medway Council's leader.
“I'm quite boring”
What Steven asked Vince Maple in the second of our two-part interview with the Leader of Medway Council
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Medway tried to evict travellers from Wigmore. A year later, it wants to borrow up to £2.7m to make the site permanent. Plus, plans for a Chatham GP surgery and Avenue Tennis begins the awkward transition into David Lloyd.
Medway tried to evict Wigmore travellers. Now it wants to make their site permanent
From eviction attempt to £2.7m investment, plus council meetings, planning applications, property and events
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Older, tighter and much better rehearsed, The Libertines lead a July Culture Review spanning tactile art at Rochester Cathedral, model railways in Chatham Dockyard, a Hoo safari and Turkish grills at Dockside.
The July Culture Review
WHOOP!, Libertines, trains, Turkish grills, and more
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Medway Council will disappear in 2028. But with 48 of North Kent’s 81 councillors expected to come from Medway, its replacement could look rather like an enlarged version of the council it abolishes.
Medway prepares for life after Medway Council
Gun Wharf is being prepared for a new North Kent authority, even if nobody yet knows who will run it or what exactly North Kent is supposed to be
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Medway Council leader @vincemaple.bsky.social says he will stand for the new North Kent authority in 2028. In our latest interview, we discuss becoming Medway’s last leader, the future of Gun Wharf and his “weak and complex” relationship with KCC’s leadership.
“I've got more to offer”
Our interview with Vince Maple, leader of Medway Council
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Reform has now taken council seats from both Labour and the Conservatives in Medway. Its latest gain came in Cuxton, Halling & Riverside last night, where first-time candidate William Burvill won by 112 votes. We examine how the result changes Medway politics.
Reform wins Medway by-election and takes its first seat from the Tories
What the Cuxton, Halling & Riverside result tells us about Medway politics, plus news in brief, planning, events, and more
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Cuxton, Halling & Riverside (Medway) result: ➡️ William Burvill (Ref): 838 🌹 Iain Childs (Lab): 269 🔶 Ron Gillett (LDem): 35 🟢 Trish Marchant (Grn): 482 🌳 Richard Thorne (Con): 726 Ref GAIN from Con Turnout: 37.5%
The Greens came within 44 votes of winning in Cuxton, Halling & Riverside in 2023. Now Reform could split the vote on the right. @medwayelects.co.uk founder @alancollinsrosell.uk explains why tomorrow’s by-election may be far less predictable than it first appears.
A perfect storm gathers over the Cuxton, Halling & Riverside by-election
A strong Green challenge and the arrival of Reform UK could combine to overturn a long-held Conservative seat
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The Brook Theatre was meant to reopen last year after a £6.8m refurbishment. Instead, it is now a £21.5m restoration involving five miles of scaffolding and 126 years of problems. We went inside to see why the project has become a detective story.
Why restoring the Brook Theatre became a £21.5m detective story
Five miles of scaffolding and 126 years of problems stand between Chatham and its theatre
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After losing three family members within three years, Nikki Price began exploring how creativity helps people navigate life after a death. We spoke about grief, photography, memory, her PhD, and the mysterious Weetabix tin she found in her father’s home.
“I had no compass with which to navigate my life after my family members died”
What Steven asked Nikki Price, PhD student, creative tutor and photographer.
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Medway Council now has fewer than two years left to exist. We explain what the government’s reorganisation decision means locally, plus a council meeting held together by one handheld microphone, HMS Saxifrage’s departure, planning news and more.
Medway’s future is North Kent
What the government’s decision means for Medway, plus a chaotic council meeting, HMS Saxifrage’s departure, planning, events, and more
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Breaking: Kent and Medway will be carved up into four unitary authorities, including a wild MidKent Council that spans from Sheppey to Romney Marsh.
MHS Homes owns more than 10,000 homes, including around one in every 12 homes in Medway. We spoke to CEO Marie-Claire Delbrouque about housing and health, investing in existing homes, building more, Right to Buy, and why social landlords should stop being so paternalistic.
“We don’t have to impose ourselves on people”
What Steven asked Marie-Claire Delbrouque, CEO of the MHS Homes Group
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The Royal Function Rooms was still hosting events until its operators were told to leave in 2022. Now the Theatres Trust has called the case for conversion “wholly inadequate,” with other heritage bodies asking the same question: has anyone proved it can no longer work as a venue?
Theatres Trust calls Royal Function Rooms plans ‘unserious’
Heritage bodies say the case for conversion has not been made, and the final stop for Medway’s missing rail monument
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A row over who chooses Medway’s final Mayor may also have revealed that next year’s expected council elections are not happening. Labour wants to scrap rules it restored two years ago, stopping the Conservatives from taking their turn as the council winds down. Plus HMS Saxifrage latest and more.
Labour wants to scrap the mayoral rules it restored two years ago
Proposed rule change offers a clue about 2027 elections, plus HMS Saxifrage, planning rows, events, and more
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Adrian Bawtree is the Director of Music at Rochester Cathedral and Musical Director of Rochester Choral Society. We talk to him about cathedral organs, choral singing, music and dementia, HMS Victory, Nelson’s flag signals, and how to join the choir.
“I'm fascinated by the figure of Jesus as a disrupter”
What Steven asked Adrian Bawtree, Director of Music at Rochester Cathedral and the Musical Director of the Rochester Choral Society
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For more than 20 years, Medway has had a university campus. Thousands of students study here every day. So why doesn’t Medway really feel like a university town? We look at what became of the original vision for Universities at Medway, and what its new strategy says about its future.
Medway’s university dream becomes a skills strategy
For more than 20 years, Medway has had a university campus, thousands of students, and ambitions that stretched well beyond simply training the local workforce. A new strategy for Universities at Medw...
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A nice way to end the week. Ed received a Highly Commended for Story of the Year at the Kent Press & Broadcast Awards for his reporting on a Rochester school offering a Nigel Farage t-shirt as an essay contest prize, which started in Medway before becoming a national story.
One of Britain’s rarest surviving First World War warships has spent almost a decade hidden inside Chatham Docks. Now campaigners say HMS Saxifrage needs a new home within weeks. We look at the ship’s history, the campaign to save it, and Medway’s changing waterfront.
Medway’s hidden First World War ship faces uncertain future
The campaign to save HMS Saxifrage, plus care home for Innovation Park site, active travel proposals and a busy events weekend
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Simon Mills has been painting for nearly 60 years. Ahead of Medway Open Studios, we ask him about landscapes, Chatham Intra at night, beauty versus prettiness, autobiography, and why inviting strangers into your studio is less terrifying than it sounds.
“I decided I'm going to be a painter and that's it”
What Steven asked artist Simon Mills
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Medway Council leader Vince Maple writes about Labour’s change of leadership, local government reorganisation, and the charities working across Medway in his latest Voice of the Leader column.
Voice of the Leader
Medway Council leader Vince Maple on the Labour Party leadership, local government reorganisation, and Medway's charities
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Very informative and wry reporting on a #Medway council by-election in a village seat, where there appears to be three way possibility, Green, Conservative or Reform
Local Authority@localauthority.news · last mo.A rural Medway by-election has become a useful little stress test for local politics. Conservatives defending old ground. Greens chasing a first Medway Council seat. Reform seeking another breakthrough. Labour oddly quiet. Lib Dems technically involved. Five parties, one ward, lots of doorbells.
A rural Medway by-election has become a useful little stress test for local politics. Conservatives defending old ground. Greens chasing a first Medway Council seat. Reform seeking another breakthrough. Labour oddly quiet. Lib Dems technically involved. Five parties, one ward, lots of doorbells.
Five theories of local politics
A rural by-election becomes a test of old loyalties, new momentum and tactical voting
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June’s Culture Review is here, bringing together reviews of Medway music, poetry, theatre, talks, pubs, food and drink. This month: Nigel Kennedy, IntraFest, Rainham Poetry Festival, Prince of Ales, food at the Dead Pigeon, Medway Little Theatre, folk tales at the Glassbox and more.
The June Culture Review
Nigel Kennedy, IntraFest, Rainham Poetry Festival, food and drink reviews, and more
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Grain and Cliffe fire stations are still at risk, but the closure process has been paused for now. Councillors have delayed plans to consult on closing five on-call stations while they examine the proposals in more detail.
Councillors halt consultation on Grain and Cliffe fire station closures
Plus Innovation Park, planning latest, Dickens’ chalet, and IntraFest
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Medway wasn’t discovered. It was created. Nearly 30 years after a bitter political battle brought the towns together, local government reorganisation is forcing an old question back into view: What exactly is Medway?
Does Medway exist?
Medway was created after a bitter 1990s battle over whether the towns were one place at all. Nearly 30 years later, that argument is back.
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A huge thank you to everyone who joined us at Sun Pier House as part of Indie News Week. We also spent the day talking to readers about Medway, local journalism, story ideas, what we’re missing, and what independent local news should look like in 2026.
Lauren Edwards is using her Private Members’ Bill slot to bring assisted dying back to the Commons. We look at why the Rochester and Strood MP has taken it on, and the campaign and arguments now gathering around the bill. Plus council by-election latest, planning, events, and more.
Rochester and Strood MP takes on assisted dying battle
A Westminster fight with a Medway front line, plus by-election candidates, planning applications, weekend events, and more
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Today’s the day. As part of Indie News Week, our Open Newsroom is now open at Sun Pier House between 10am and 5pm. Come and meet the team, ask questions, suggest stories, or tell us what we’re missing.