Tunbridge Wells Borough Council leader Ben Chapelard has called the Government’s decision to pause Local Government Reorganisation in Kent “very frustrating”, with no timetable given for when the review will conclude.
Residents in Tunbridge Wells and across West Kent will see no change to their local council services for now, after the Government put the brakes on reorganisation plans that would have merged several councils into a single “super council” for the area. The pause means borough and district councils carry on as they are — the proposed shake-up in limbo while ministers review the plans. No timetable has been given for when the review will conclude.
What the council leader said
Cllr Ben Chapelard, Leader of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, said: “The government’s decisions to pause and review Local Government Reorganisation plans in Kent is very frustrating. Together with our West Kent partner councils, we have put in significant time, energy and money to shape a new super council for our area.” The absence of any timetable, he added, made the situation “disappointing”.
But Chapelard has not abandoned the project. “I am optimistic that if the review is quick and the Government allows us to get on with it, I think with the additional time we can make an even better start,” he said in a statement issued on 10 September 2026.
Chapelard said the council’s focus remains on “delivering the services our residents rely on every day” and on “continuing to work constructively with our local partners”, promising to share updates “as soon as we hear more.”
Background
The thinking behind reorganisation was to sweep away the current patchwork of smaller councils and replace them with one larger authority — the kind of structure local leaders argued would be better placed to deliver services and make a genuine difference to people’s day-to-day lives. Tunbridge Wells had been working alongside West Kent partner councils to develop the proposals when the Government stepped in.
Kent Local News reported on the Government’s pause on 8 September: Five months of asking under what law. Then the Government stopped to check.
What happens next
The Government has not indicated when the review might end or provided a timetable for next steps, according to Chapelard’s statement.
The council will update residents once the Government confirms its next steps on Local Government Reorganisation in Kent.
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