Ashford to join new mid Kent council with Swale and Folkestone & Hythe

People living and working in Ashford, Swale and Folkestone & Hythe may eventually deal with one council for everything — planning, housing, highways, social care, education — after proposals emerged that the three areas could form a new mid Kent unitary authority. Right now, residents are served by two layers: their borough or district council handling rubbish collection and local planning, and Kent County Council covering the bigger stuff like schools and adult social care. That two-tier arrangement would be abolished under the proposed arrangement. No final decision has been announced, and this grouping remains one of several options being consulted upon — a position consistent with Folkestone & Hythe District Council’s own published stance.

The proposals follow a government-led process in which councils across Kent and Medway were asked to put forward proposals for how unitary authorities should be drawn up. Several competing models were on the table — three-unitary, four-unitary, different combinations of districts and boroughs. One option under ministerial consideration would put Ashford with Swale and Folkestone & Hythe, rather than grouping it with east or south Kent neighbours.

Ashford Borough Council had previously backed a four-unitary option involving boundary changes, and a mid Kent grouping of these three authorities was among the models formally explored. So it’s not entirely a surprise. But it does suggest Ashford’s future may sit apart from Canterbury, Dover, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells, which fall into other unitary groupings under the options being considered.

Under the proposed arrangement, the existing Ashford Borough Council, Swale Borough Council and Folkestone & Hythe District Council would be abolished. Kent County Council’s role across this part of the county would also change as its functions transfer to the new body. What that looks like in practice — and when — remains to be worked out. No specific timetable or cost figures were included in Ashford Borough Council’s official media release on the matter.

The government would need to work with the affected councils to set out the detailed transition arrangements. Quite the task.