WEST KENT NEWS

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The MP for Tunbridge Wells, Mike Martin of the Liberal Democrats, has said local government reorganisation in Kent will overall be "a good thing."

The leaders of Kent's local authorities have sent the government four options for how they want the county's political map to look after reorganisation.

A banking hub will open in Tonbridge within three months.

Two Liberal Democrat Borough Councillors in Tunbridge Wells have resigned and are leaving the council.

The Conservative Kent County Councillor, Becki Bruneau, has defected to the Heritage Party and criticised her former Conservative colleagues.

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A Labour Tunbridge Wells Borough Councillor has called the mass tree planting scheme of the ruling Liberal Democrats "an expensive distraction."

Annual school bus passes in Kent will go up to £580 a year, prompting more parents to consider driving their children to classes.

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A Conservative councillor has warned that a plan for 3,000 new homes near Capel, which was dropped last year, could be considered again by the council.

The historic clock chimes of St Peter's Church in Southborough are ringing out once again over the common every quarter hour.

The Tonbridge MP, Tom Tugendhat, has said he will continue to campaign against what he calls "damaging expansion" at Gatwick Airport.

The Organic Village Market grocery store in Tonbridge has improved its food hygiene rating after an earlier inspection found rotting food there.

Kent County Council is putting up council tax by 5 per cent from April.

Seventy motorists are still being fined every day for straying into the prohibited traffic zone in the centre of Tunbridge Wells.

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Tonbridge is to get its own Town Council if most voters in the Tonbridge town area want one.

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The Green Party Councillor, Mark Hood, has attacked what he called Labour's "bonfire of regulations" after news of plans for a new Heathrow runway.

Local Liberal Democrats say a tree planting scheme which was promised at the last local elections has got underway.

The Labour government has announced that Kent will not be "fast-tracked" for a mayor and devolution.

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The Tunbridge Wells heritage railway has begun running events to raise £300,000 to replace a corroded bridge.

The suffragettes are among those to be honoured in a new set of heritage plaques for Tunbridge Wells.

The MP for Tonbridge, Tom Tugendhat, has said South East Water's handling of the break down of drinking water supplies has been "unacceptable. "

The 16th Century "Weavers" building which was most recently a tea room, pub and restaurant is set to be converted into a family home.

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A new leisure hub for Tonbridge will be built close to the existing Angel Centre.

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The Liberal Democrat Leader of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, Ben Chapelard, has welcomed as "exciting" aspects of the radical changes planned for Kent's local government.

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The Conservative leader of Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council, Matt Boughton, has said Labour's planned reorganisation of local government is "deeply regrettable".

There's concern about traffic gridlock if two new housing developments in Pembury go ahead.

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The Green Party County Councillor for Tonbridge, Mark Hood, has attacked the government's planned council changes as a "concentration of power".

Water bills in West Kent are to rise by around 50% over the next five years.

The next Black Deer American music festival has been cancelled but organisers hope the event will return in 2026.