THE BRIEF
📍More Time For The Local Plan: The council has extended its call for sites for the next Local Plan. Residents, landowners and developers can now put land forward until 28 September. The review will set the framework for how the borough grows between 2029 and 2044. It follows the current Local Plan, adopted in December 2025, which runs to 2038. That plan committed the council to starting a review within six months of adoption. The new review follows government plan-making rules that came into force in March 2026. Details on how to submit a site are on the council's website. Read more here.
🚌 Bus Routes to Stop: Bus services across Kent will be cut from late August. Operators blame falling passenger numbers and rising fuel and staffing costs. In the borough, the Maidstone to Hawkhurst service loses capacity at school times, and its Saturday buses drop to one every 75 minutes from 30th August. The Saturday service between Tonbridge and Paddock Wood stops from 1st September.
The operator said it had run the route for many years but could no longer cover the cost on a Saturday, and that weekday buses will run as normal. County councillors called the wider cuts damaging for older and vulnerable passengers. The county council says it cannot force operators to keep commercial routes running, and already spends around £13m a year supporting about 150 services that would not otherwise exist. Read more here.
💧 It's Going To Be Fine: The new head of the region's water company has promised a £1.9 billion investment programme. John Halsall took over as chief executive this month, replacing a boss who resigned after months of pressure from MPs and residents. The money will pay for more storage tanks and reservoirs, better treatment works, and changes to how water moves through the network.
He also set out shorter steps over the next nine months, including a focus on fixing leaks faster and a programme of free water butts for customers. He pointed to failures in Tunbridge Wells, where thousands of people were left without water for days. The town's MP said he had met Halsall, thought he could work with him, and would hold him to account. Read more here.
⚡Toxic Algae Warning: People are being told to keep out of the water at several spots in Tonbridge after blue-green algae was confirmed in the River Medway, Haysden Water and Barden Lake. The algae can produce toxins that harm people and animals after only brief contact. It can look like scum on the surface, cloudy or green-tinged water, an oily slick, or paint-like streaks.
Contact can cause skin rashes, headaches and dizziness, and in some cases stomach pain, vomiting or diarrhoea. It can be far more serious for dogs and can kill them. The council has asked people not to swim or paddle in the affected water and to keep dogs out of it. Anyone who feels unwell after contact should seek medical or veterinary advice. Conditions are being monitored with the Environment Agency. Read more here.
😷 Dr Software Breakdown: GP surgeries across Kent and Medway have been hit by problems with their clinical software, leaving staff unable to open patient records or log details. One doctor said the software ran extremely slowly and was hard to operate, with records failing to load during consultations. Several practices told patients they had lost internet connection across all their sites and warned of delays.
The health service said a network provider was urgently investigating an issue stopping a number of practices connecting to the internet, and that affected surgeries remained open. Doctors say outages have become a regular problem in recent months. One described the effect as doubling the day's workload, because the same work has to be done twice. Read more here.
