Hadlow Parish Council

West Kent councils to form new unitary authority under Government reorganisation plans

Hadlow PC — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 11:06:32 +0000

Government ministers have decided Kent and Medway will be served by four councils from April 2028, in the biggest shake up of local authority arrangements in 50 years.

The government is replacing Kent County Council, Medway Council and the 12 district, borough and city councils that currently deliver services in the county with four new unitary councils. 

Those councils will deliver all the services in their area, much like Medway Council does today, including education, social services, highways,  libraries,  emptying bins, leisure centres and housing services. 

Following a government consultation which attracted around 3,000 responses, the Secretary of State has opted for 4b: 

a unitary council covering the areas currently served by  Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Malling,  Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells in the west.
A unitary council covering Dartford, Gravesham and Medway in the north.
A unitary council covering Swale, Ashford and Folkestone and Hythe in the centre of Kent.
A unitary council covering Canterbury, Thanet and Dover in the east.

Leader of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council, Matt Boughton says:

“We welcome ministers’ decision to move forward with a four unitary council model for Kent and Medway. Throughout this process, Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council has consistently supported an approach based on strong independent evidence that offers the best balance of high-quality, cost-effective services and alignment with local communities. We will now continue to work constructively with partners to ensure a smooth transition and the best possible outcomes for our residents.”

In a statement, Kent and Medway’s council leaders said: “We want to reassure our residents that not one of our services will change overnight – you will still be dealing with the same council staff tomorrow and the day after that. The new councils will come into effect from 1 April 2028. 

“All of the councils in Kent and Medway have a long history of working closely together to do the very best for the people we serve and that will not change one bit. 

“This is the start of the process of bringing our different teams together with the aim of designing then delivering the best possible services for the people we serve. Of course, this change affects the thousands of council staff across the county who work incredibly hard day in and day out. Our focus will be supporting them through this change while helping them to carry on delivering our business-as-usual services seamlessly. 

“There is a lot of work to do but we will make sure we take every opportunity to make our services the very best they can be.” 

Read the background to local government reorganisation:-https://kentcouncilleaders.org.uk/

The post West Kent councils to form new unitary authority under Government reorganisation plans appeared first on Hadlow Parish Council.

Memories Café – running from 2nd February

Hadlow PC — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 15:41:20 +0000

Football and Sporting Memories Café – A warm, welcoming space for those who are isolated or living with moderate or minimal memory loss. Join us for relaxed conversation, refreshments, and support in a calm, understanding environment. Drop in, connect with others, and enjoy a friendly moment in your day.

Running from 2nd February 2026 11am – 12:30pm. Then running on the 1st and 3rd Monday of every month.

The 1948 Suite, Yeomans Community Stadium, Tonbridge Angels FC, TN10 3JF.

Contact: johngarwood@hotmail.co.uk for more information.

The post Memories Café – running from 2nd February appeared first on Hadlow Parish Council.

Design Reveal For New Angel Centre

Hadlow PC — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 12:16:03 +0000

The post Design Reveal For New Angel Centre appeared first on Hadlow Parish Council.

Tonbridge and Malling Local Plan 2024 – 2042: Regulation 18 Public Consultation

Hadlow PC — Wed, 12 Nov 2025 23:39:43 +0000

Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council is preparing a new Local Plan. The Local Plan will look ahead to 2042 and will provide a long-term vision and growth strategy for new development in the borough, providing a policy framework to help guide and shape the future of Tonbridge and Malling.

We are seeking your views to help shape how our borough grows and changes. It is our second formal consultation and the last chance to offer comments to help shape the Plan before it is finalised for publication at Regulation 19 stage with further consideration next year. After the Regulation 19 consultation, we are not able to update the Plan, and comments submitted are sent to the Planning Inspectorate to be considered during the Local Plan Examination.

We encourage everyone to take part in our consultation, which will run from 10 November to midnight on 2 January 2026. This is your opportunity to help shape how our borough grows and changes.

To read and comment on the Local Plan, as well as other supporting documents, or find out more, please visit our consultation https://www.tmbc.gov.uk/localplan where you can explore the emerging Local Plan and share your feedback.

We are also holding ‘drop in’ sessions where you can find out more about the consultation or you can visit our virtual exhibition: https://tmbclocalplan.exhibition.app/

‘Drop in’ session venue	Date	Time
Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council Offices, Committee Room, Gibson Building, Gibson Drive, Kings Hill, ME19 4LZ	Tuesday 25^th November 2025	4pm – 7pm
Tonbridge Castle, Castle Street, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 1BG	Thursday 4^th December 2025	4pm – 7pm

The post Tonbridge and Malling Local Plan 2024 – 2042: Regulation 18 Public Consultation appeared first on Hadlow Parish Council.

Government Open Consultation: Reforms to the statutory consultee system

Hadlow PC — Mon, 24 Nov 2025 22:48:01 +0000

From GOV.UK

We encourage residents to complete the survey.

Your planning concerns might be prevented from being presented by your Parish and Borough Members if this is passed.

The scope of this consultation is to see views on the following proposals:
1. Removing statutory consultee status from certain bodies
2. Reviewing the scope of what statutory consultees advise on
3. Improving performance management across existing statutory consultee bodies in the planning system more widely

The post Government Open Consultation: Reforms to the statutory consultee system appeared first on Hadlow Parish Council.

Kent Country Parks Survey

Hadlow PC — Mon, 27 Oct 2025 00:50:36 +0000

Good evening,

KCC’s Country Parks team would like to hear residents’ views on their managed country parks and sites. They want to know what you love and how they can be improved.

The survey is open to current and past users and those who have not visited before.

It is being run on behalf of KCC by Lake Market Research and should take around 10 to 15 minutes to complete depending on your answers.

Take part at: www.lake-research.com/kccparks or if this link doesn’t work for you visit our homepage directly: https://letstalk.kent.gov.uk

Survey closes 14 November 2025.

Kind regards,

KCC’s Engagement and Consultation team

The post Kent Country Parks Survey appeared first on Hadlow Parish Council.

Tonbridge Ramblers – group walks

Hadlow PC — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 10:20:07 +0000

For full details see the link to Upcoming Walks at The Tonbridge & Malling Ramblers website.

Our friendly group is one of 13 Ramblers groups in Kent and part of the national Ramblers walking organisation. We explore the beautiful countryside of Tonbridge and Malling and surrounding areas.

You don’t have to be a Ramblers member to try out a couple of walks with us, to help you decide if you’d like to join. Advance booking is not required; you can just turn up on the day. If you are new to our walks, it’s a good idea to contact the walk leader beforehand to check that their walk will suit you. Always check our website for latest details, including any late changes due to weather or other conditions.

We look forward to welcoming you on a walk soon!

June Walks

Thursday 4 June – Brenchley Circular – mix of quiet lane walking and some potentially muddy fields, paths and farmland. The walk will pass through the grounds of Sprivers (a National Trust property) and will also come onto a part of the High Weald Landscape Trail. Moderate difficulty; some stiles. (6.2 miles)

Sunday 7 June – Oldbury Hill – Step Back in Time for a walk up to the ridge above Stone Street, around to the medieval fish ponds, then around the circumference of the ramparts of the Iron Age hill fort. The south half of the hill fort is owned by the National Trust. We have permission from the private land owner to walk around the northern half. Moderate difficulty; two short climbs; no stiles. (4.5 miles)

Thursday 11 June – Birling Church to Holly Hill View Point – climb up past Birling Place to the North Downs Way and on through Holly Hill Woods. Return via Birling Place Farm. Some steep slopes and one set of steep downwards steps. No stiles; moderate difficulty. (5.3 miles)

Sunday 14 June – Otford and the Darent Valley with the London Blind Ramblers. See www.tonbridgeandmallingramblers.org for information on this special walk and how you can help guide our guests from the London Blind Ramblers. (6.5 miles)

Sunday 21 June – Westerham Wander – circular walk over the hills from to Chartwell with good views of the North Downs on the return. Nibble break overlooking Chartwell House. Moderate difficulty. (5.5 miles)

Sunday 28 June – Shipbourne to Underriver with far-reaching views of the quiet countryside between the villages. Head south-west through farmland, woodland and Twelve Acre Plantation, now a Christmas tree farm on the edge of the Fairhill Estate. Return to Shipbourne past Budd’s Green and Cold Blows Wood. Moderate difficulty. Up to 19 stiles, some are high and some are in poor condition. (6 miles)

Thursday 2 July – Early Bird walk from Ightham Mote through shady woods and fields including great views from One Tree Hill. The emphasis of this walk is on the late dawn chorus so there will be some stops to look and listen to the birds. Moderate difficulty; two stiles and two steep ascents. (5.3 miles)

Walks usually start mid-morning. There’s a short break half-way through the walk (bring refreshments) and we usually finish near a pub. For start times and walk leader contacts, see Upcoming Walks at The Tonbridge & Malling Ramblers website, view our Facebook page or email info@tonbridgeandmallingramblers.org.uk.1 M

The post Tonbridge Ramblers – group walks appeared first on Hadlow Parish Council.

Telephone scammers alert

Hadlow PC — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 18:04:31 +0000

We have received reports of telephone scammers once again calling what appears to be elderly people. The caller says they are from English Power and they want to visit to assess their power usage and if there is anyway they can help the occupant with ways of saving money. They then arrange a home visit.

This is a scam.

Phone scams are a common way for criminals to con people out of money using various tricks to get your personal or financial information.

What to do:

Do not accept these cold calls. Hang up and don’t return their calls.
Do not engage in appointments and home visits.
NEVER disclose any personal information such as bank details or date of birth, no matter who the person claims to be.
If you have already given money to scammers, contact Kent Police by calling 101 and you can also report it to Action Fraud. The information you give to Action Fraud can help track down the scammer.

For advice and to report issues to KCC Trading Standards contact Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06 Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

The post Telephone scammers alert appeared first on Hadlow Parish Council.

National Highways and Transport Network – Public Satisfaction Surveys

Hadlow PC — Mon, 28 Jul 2025 22:06:06 +0000

This year, for the eighth year running, Kent County Council is taking part in the NHT Public Satisfaction Survey on highways and transport services.

There are six web-based surveys on specific issues:

Highway maintenance
Accessibility
Walking and cycling
Public transport
Road safety
Tackling congestion

These surveys are publicly available online and will remain open until the end of February 2026. They may be accessed via our website using this link:

National Highways and Transport Survey 2025-26 | Let’s talk Kent >>

The greater the take-up of the surveys, the more useful they will be in helping us to understand the priorities and concerns of people who live or work in Kent, so please feel welcome to complete any of the surveys which interest you, and to use your work and personal contacts to publicise them and to encourage other people to take part.

The post National Highways and Transport Network – Public Satisfaction Surveys appeared first on Hadlow Parish Council.

Hosepipe ban message from South East Water

Hadlow PC — Tue, 15 Jul 2025 08:40:45 +0000

Demand for drinking water in Kent and Sussex has reached record levels since May – with the ongoing warm and dry weather, we’re all using far more water than usual.

This situation has left us with no choice but to restrict the use of hose pipes and sprinklers, so we can help our reservoirs and underground water storage recover.

See the notice from South East Water here >> (which includes information about watering gardens and allotments)

See the South East Water website for more information >>

The post Hosepipe ban message from South East Water appeared first on Hadlow Parish Council.