Your councils - change is coming
Councils from across Kent and Medway have today (Wednesday 5 November) published a series of draft business cases to help inform the next steps in the government’s biggest shake up of local councils in 50 years.
The cases, compiled with the help of experienced advisers KPMG, explore different options for the number of unitary councils in Kent and the areas they should cover in the future.
Under the current system Kent County Council (KCC) delivers some services like education, social services and roads, and district or borough councils deliver others like emptying your bins and providing housing services.
In the proposed system, unitary councils would deliver all council services in one area. Medway Council operates in that way today.
In September, councils chose two options to explore in more detail using government money.
The first was three unitary councils consisting of Dartford, Gravesham, Medway and Swale in the north; Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Malling, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells in the west and Ashford, Canterbury, Thanet, Dover and Folkestone and Hythe in the east.
The next was four unitary councils consisting of Dartford, Gravesham and Medway in the north; Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Malling, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells in the west; Swale, Ashford and Folkestone and Hythe in the middle of Kent and Canterbury, Thanet and Dover in the east.
Councils across Kent kept the option to pay for and submit business plans for alternative options themselves using the KPMG data.
Medway Council is proposing a four-unitary model with changes to existing council boundaries.
Gravesham Borough Council and Dartford Borough Council have developed proposals for a five-unitary model also including a number of boundary changes.
KCC announced its intention to explore the case for a single unitary council covering Kent and Medway supplemented with three area committees covering the north, east and west of the county.
Throughout November, each individual council will use its own decision-making process to confirm its preferred model and associated business case.
Business cases then need to be submitted to the government by Friday 28 November.
In the new year, the government is expected to carry out public consultation with all Kent residents on the preferred options.
A decision by the government on the final structure of unitary councils is expected in the summer.
Meanwhile, the results of a public and stakeholder engagement exercise held to find out from people living, working and studying in Kent about what is important to them in reorganising councils has been published.
It found the public wants the new arrangements to focus on the quality of the services provided, ensure efficiency and value for money and to solve people’s problems quickly.
The public saw opportunities in simplifying local government structures, clarifying responsibilities and making the most of economies of scale to streamline operations, reduce bureaucracy and deliver better value.
You can read the results here Public Survey Report - Kent Council Leaders
KCC also ran its own engagement exercise asking for views on its proposals.
Posted on 05 November 2025