Councillors put weight behind four unitary council plan for Kent
Canterbury City Council has given its backing to a four-unitary council option for Kent and Medway, with some changes to boundaries, as part of the government’s biggest shake up of local authorities in 50 years.
Under the current system, Kent County Council (KCC) delivers some services such as education, social services and roads, and district or borough councils deliver others like emptying your bins and providing housing services.
Under the proposed system, unitary councils would deliver all council services in one area. Medway Council operates in that way today.
The Leader of the Council, Cllr Alan Baldock, said: “During the General Election campaign and after it was elected, the government recognised local councils had been hollowed out and were broken beyond repair in their current form.
“No amount of money could fix them and reorganisation was essential.
“The direction of change was then set – two tier systems will be replaced with unitary authorities and mayoral strategic oversight.
“Councils in Kent and Medway have worked closely together to create a set of options that are viable and deliverable but, ultimately, it will be for the Secretary of State for Local Government to decide which option we pursue.
“The whole point of reorganisation is eventually to facilitate the creation of an overarching strategic mayoral authority and deliver devolution for Kent which comes with the prize of greater independence from the shackles of Whitehall, greater decision-making and self-determination and money flowing into Kent to be spent in Kent by those that know it best.
“I am confident and enthusiastic about the future. This is the start of a new era and the creation of new opportunities to work smarter and to allow people to walk through one door to seek help with life’s challenges reassured the public services they desperately need and deserve will be there.”
The council’s Cabinet threw its weight behind option 4d (see map below) after listening to councillors debate the pros and cons of all the options that were on the table at a meeting of Full Council earlier in the evening yesterday (Thursday 20 November).
Option 4d will reorganise Kent and Medway into four new unitary councils.
North Kent would bring together Medway, Gravesham, Dartford, most of Swale, and small parts of Tonbridge & Malling and Maidstone.
East Kent would combine Canterbury, Thanet, Dover, eastern Swale and part of Folkestone & Hythe.
West Kent would unite Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge & Malling and Sevenoaks.
Mid Kent would cover Maidstone, Ashford, southern Swale, parts of Tonbridge & Malling and part of Folkestone & Hythe.
Councillors felt 4d guaranteed effective service delivery in the future, created councils at a sensible scale, avoided an excessive burden on the council taxpayer, preserved familiar ties between communities, built on existing networks among councils and the rest of the public sector and matched the physical infrastructure already in place.
It was also felt that it kept councillor-to-resident ratios low, making local elected representatives accessible and accountable to their communities.
Plus, 4d did not reinforce inequalities between east and west Kent with a greater parity in terms of population and the estimated earnings of their populations.
All 14 councils in Kent and Medway need to let the government know their preferred option for reorganisation by submitting detailed business cases.
The deadline for submission is Friday next week (28 November).
Ministers are then expected to analyse the proposals and launch a public consultation early in the new year.
A decision by the government on the final structure of unitary councils is expected in the summer of 2026.
Published: 21 November 2025