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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 29/09/2026
Glyn Griffiths spent 30 years representing Twydall and helped create Medway Council. Now he chairs the board overseeing £20m of investment in the area. In our interview, he discusses how it should be spent, what austerity changed, and why he moved from the SWP to Labour.
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“We’ve got to try and give an agenda of hope”
What Steven asked Glyn Griffiths, new chair of the Pride in Place Twydall board.
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 25/09/2026
After two applications, a withdrawal, objections, a hearing, council refusal, and a court appeal, Tesco can finally open and sell alcohol at its planned Rochester store. Plus, new plans for Spembly Works, an unexpected cannabis delivery, falling museum visits, and more from Medway.
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Court overturns Rochester Tesco refusal
Two years of licensing drama, another future for Spembly Works, museum visits, and more
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 24/09/2026
September’s Culture Review begins with Adipat Virdi’s participatory performance about Sikh heritage, identity and belonging. From there, it takes in poetry at Chatham Library, Iain Lee in a Rochester pub garden, hidden gardens, mobile pizza and punk rock from Ranscombe.
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The September Culture Review
Sikh Heritage, Little Storping at the Medway Little Theatre, A Poet in Every Port, Iain Lee, Open Gardens and more
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 23/09/2026
Two previous attempts to turn the Great Lines into a major music venue produced licences but no music. Now a promoter linked to Rochester Castle Live wants up to six event days a year for crowds of 20,000. Plus five Medway Conservative councillors prepare to stand down.
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Another promoter wants to turn the Great Lines into a major music venue
Why this attempt might actually happen, plus five Medway Conservative councillors prepare to call it a day
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 21/09/2026
Anthony Martin put on the first Antfest in 2006 to raise money after a friend’s father died. Twenty years later, his events have raised over £100,000. In our interview, he discusses Medway music, the Dockyard’s legacy and the 200 copies of his debut album sitting in his garage.
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“We are literally part of the furniture in Medway”
What Steven asked Anthony Martin, musician and organiser of the 20th anniversary of Antfest
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 19/09/2026
In May, Medway was £8.4m from balancing next year’s budget. Four months later, the forecast gap is £65.9m. Care costs, rising demand and past borrowing help explain why. Plus 81 new council homes and 18 arrests during facial recognition use in Chatham.
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How Medway’s £8m budget gap became £66m in four months
Plus new council homes, facial recognition, the end of KentLive, and a particularly well-served house in Upnor
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 17/09/2026
What should Medway Council actually do about climate change and net zero? After a summer of record temperatures, we asked the leaders of all four political groups. Their answers, in their own words, are in the latest Voice of the Leaders.
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Voice of the Leaders
The leaders of Medway's political groups on Net Zero and climate change, and what, if anything, Medway Council should do about it
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 16/09/2026
Medway spent the past year preparing to abolish itself. Now it must carry on, hold elections next May and remain ready to start again. We examine what the pause means, the money already committed, and what could happen next.
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Medway Council is staying. Nobody knows for how long
What the government’s sudden pause means for Medway, the elections next May, and the millions already committed to reorganisation
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 14/09/2026
Esme Michaela founded Evulve Productions partly because chronic illness made the film industry’s standard 12-hour days inaccessible. In our interview, she discusses building accessible sets, feminist films and bringing more creative opportunities to Medway.
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“Just because it's not the norm doesn't mean we shouldn't be doing it”
What Steven asked Esme Michaela, actor, producer and founder of Evulve Productions
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 11/09/2026
Medway Hospital could lose almost one in seven roles under a draft NHS plan that assumes GPs, community services, and home care can support patients. The rather important question is whether enough care exists outside the hospital to make that work. We examine the plan.
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Medway Hospital could lose almost 15% of its workforce under NHS plan
Why Medway Hospital could lose almost one in seven roles, plus Sikh stories, 2,500 EV chargers and a very small brewery
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 11/09/2026
Supporting Gills briefly made sense at Rochdale, where James Brophy scored a Goal-of-the-Season contender and then a better one. After a month of home capitulation, youngsters and a growing injury list, Ben Hopkins decides whether Gills are incredible, terrible or fine.
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Gills are incredible. Gills are terrible. Gills are… fine
Ben Hopkins surveys a mixed opening month of spectacular goals, frustrating results and an increasingly achy Gillingham squad
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 10/09/2026
Colour-blindness has shaped Jonathan Ash’s distinctive art, while an autism diagnosis at 50 helped make sense of much of his life. We spoke about art as therapy, Warsaw, Medway’s creative scene and dressing as Scooby Doo.
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“I see them as my superpowers”
What Steven asked Jonathan Ash, the colour-blind artist
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 09/09/2026
One Luton terrace housed a fascist bookshop, Communist Party headquarters and a print shop producing a Medway fanzine. Another number 48 in Rochester held an insolvent rare-book business run by a prolific author. @panthropology.bsky.social explores Medway’s lost bookshops.
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Lost bookshops of Medway
Memories of the Medway book trade
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 08/09/2026
Fiona Goggin works in Medway’s libraries and has just published her Victorian Gothic debut novel. In our interview, she discusses the years she thought her opinion didn't count, brutal course feedback, seeing her book on shelves, and why she still finds beauty in rambling.
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“I still think there's beauty in rambling”
What Steven asked Fiona Goggin, debut author of The Silver Bones of Frances Winter
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 08/09/2026
Medway councillor Andrew Lawrence has left the Conservatives to launch Medway First, a local party aiming for at least ten seats next May. We talk to him about why he thinks Medway needs another party, what it will stand for and whether he can build one in eight months.
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Why a former Medway Conservative is building a party of his own
Andrew Lawrence has spent months preparing Medway First. Now he needs candidates, supporters and votes before next May
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 07/09/2026
BREAKING: Medway Council will not be abolished. The government is withdrawing plans to merge it with Gravesham and Dartford. Normal Medway Council elections will be held next May, less than two months after ministers approved the reorganisation.
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Medway Council will stay as government withdraws reorganisation plans
Medway will now hold normal council elections next year after plans to replace it with a new North Kent authority were withdrawn
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 04/09/2026
For ten days this month, doors usually closed to the public across Medway will open. We go through more than 40 free Heritage Open Days events to find the places you can rarely visit. Plus a £9.25m tunnel bid, a viral rat, and lots more.
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Medway briefly opens its doors
Inside Medway’s usually closed buildings, plus a £9.25m tunnel bid, a viral rat and 237 years of baking
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 03/09/2026
Five years ago, we sent the first Local Authority to 154 people. We had no office, budget or certainty that anyone wanted it. Somehow, thousands of you now subscribe, and we’re in print. We’ve looked back at what readers helped us build, and why we hope there’s a next five.
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Five years of Local Authority
Five years of independent reporting on Medway, and why we need your support for the next five
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 02/09/2026
August’s Culture Review begins with murder over breakfast in Brompton and ends with cake-making in a pub on the Hoo Peninsula. In between, there's Medway Pride Fringe, art in Rochester Cathedral, a play about violence against women, Victorian Gothic fiction and a very good naan.
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The August Culture Review
Medway Pride Fringe, Plays, Victorian Gothic fiction, Art on the Delta, and more
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 01/09/2026
Rodney Chambers led Medway Council for 15 years and helped define the authority in its formative period. Following his death, we examine the regeneration plans, unfinished business and local rootedness. Plus Chatham’s almost world champion and a new Pentagon supermarket.
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The man who ran Medway
Remembering the council’s longest-serving leader, plus Chatham’s almost world champion and a new kind of supermarket for the Pentagon
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 01/09/2026
Roy Smith runs Medway Council’s Youth Service and trusts a 16-year-old to make political decisions as much as any adult. In our interview, he discusses votes at 16, Medway’s youth provision, his route to a PhD and why experimental music has something to do with democracy.
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“I trust a 16-year-old to make a good decision as much as I trust a 30-year-old”
What Steven asked Dr Roy Smith, Service Manager for Medway Council's Youth Service
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 21/08/2026
Rainham has a 52-page regeneration plan, 39 possible projects and a promise of “several improvements” by March. Medway Council cannot yet name any. We ask what will actually be delivered.
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Medway Council cannot say what Rainham regeneration plan will deliver by March
Rainham gets a 52-page vision, Medway’s finances wobble again, and Pride returns to Rochester
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 20/08/2026
Medway’s political leaders agree North Kent is happening. Agreement mostly ends there. In our first Voice of the Leaders column, the Labour, Conservative, Independent and Reform group leaders set out what reorganisation means for Medway.
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Voice of the Leaders
The leaders of Medway's political groups on the local government reorganisation decision and what it means for Medway.
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 18/08/2026
A speculative Medway tram map looks fanciful until you discover how closely it resembles the network the council once planned. With 24,540 homes proposed and its critical rapid-transit scheme still marked TBC, we ask what Medway actually needs.
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From Medway Metro to TBC
A speculative tram map looks fanciful until you discover how closely it resembles the public transport network Medway once intended to build
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 17/08/2026
William Burvill is Reform’s new Cuxton, Halling and Riverside councillor and deputy group leader. In our interview, he discusses social care, keeping Reform local, reorganisation and why his ward feels ignored.
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“What you hear about Reform, I shouldn't fit the brief”
What Steven asked William Burvill, the new deputy leader of the Reform group on Medway Council and newly elected councillor for Cuxton, Halling and Riverside
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 14/08/2026
The ONS has removed 964 Medway residents from last year’s population estimate. Nobody moved. We examine what the revision says about growth, births and migration, plus a £43m social care problem.
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Government misplaces nearly 1,000 Medway residents
Medway’s changing population, plus a £43m social care problem and some very expensive tours of the Pentagon
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 12/08/2026
Medway’s GP services are improving overall, but the experience still depends heavily on which surgery you use. Some Rainham practices score above 90%, several elsewhere are below 50%. See how yours compares 👇
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Medway’s GP services are improving. Depending on where you live
We dig into the latest patient survey to see which Medway GP practices are improving and where patients are still struggling
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 10/08/2026
Rachel Lowrie is a Chatham-born songwriter-singer, voice specialist and member of South Shore and the Ashen Keys. She talks Chatham Skies, the River Medway, faith, local music and why music evolves rather than progresses.
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“I will talk to the river”
What Steven asked Rachel Lowrie, songwriter-singer with the Ashen Keys and South Shore
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 07/08/2026
Rochester’s Nucleus building is being sold after April’s fire, leaving the café and another permanent arts space facing uncertain futures. Plus £15 hospital parking for staff, Grain on fire, and the cut off residents of St Mary's Island. www.localauthority.news/nucleus-buil...
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Nucleus building to be sold following Rochester fire
Town loses another arts space, Grain catches fire, expensive parking charges, and the Odeon’s smallest customers return
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 06/08/2026
Terrible news: football is almost back. Gillingham have rebuilt their squad, still need somebody to score ten goals and may require another goalkeeper before Saturday. Our Gills columnist Ben Hopkins previews the season while dressed like a tube of toothpaste.
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New season, familiar questions
Gillingham have rebuilt their squad, but concerns over goals, experience and injuries remain as the opening games approach
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 05/08/2026
Medway smells like crap again. We investigate the annual mystery pong and find the answer may be less dramatic than the aroma. Plus a £27m council budget gap and demolition at last for Chatham’s remarkably combustible former school.
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Why does Medway smell like crap?
The annual mystery pong returns, Medway's finances are already under pressure, and the former St John Fisher School is finally coming down
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 03/08/2026
Vince Maple says there is “no secret deal with Lewisham” over Medway housing and wants a Chatham Business Improvement District before the council disappears. Plus mayoral rules, potholes, faith and karaoke in part two of our interview with Medway Council's leader.
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“I'm quite boring”
What Steven asked Vince Maple in the second of our two-part interview with the Leader of Medway Council
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 31/07/2026
Medway tried to evict travellers from Wigmore. A year later, it wants to borrow up to £2.7m to make the site permanent. Plus, plans for a Chatham GP surgery and Avenue Tennis begins the awkward transition into David Lloyd.
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Medway tried to evict Wigmore travellers. Now it wants to make their site permanent
From eviction attempt to £2.7m investment, plus council meetings, planning applications, property and events
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 30/07/2026
Older, tighter and much better rehearsed, The Libertines lead a July Culture Review spanning tactile art at Rochester Cathedral, model railways in Chatham Dockyard, a Hoo safari and Turkish grills at Dockside.
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The July Culture Review
WHOOP!, Libertines, trains, Turkish grills, and more
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 29/07/2026
Medway Council will disappear in 2028. But with 48 of North Kent’s 81 councillors expected to come from Medway, its replacement could look rather like an enlarged version of the council it abolishes.
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Medway prepares for life after Medway Council
Gun Wharf is being prepared for a new North Kent authority, even if nobody yet knows who will run it or what exactly North Kent is supposed to be
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 27/07/2026
Medway Council leader @vincemaple.bsky.social says he will stand for the new North Kent authority in 2028. In our latest interview, we discuss becoming Medway’s last leader, the future of Gun Wharf and his “weak and complex” relationship with KCC’s leadership.
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“I've got more to offer”
Our interview with Vince Maple, leader of Medway Council
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 24/07/2026
Reform has now taken council seats from both Labour and the Conservatives in Medway. Its latest gain came in Cuxton, Halling & Riverside last night, where first-time candidate William Burvill won by 112 votes. We examine how the result changes Medway politics.
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Reform wins Medway by-election and takes its first seat from the Tories
What the Cuxton, Halling & Riverside result tells us about Medway politics, plus news in brief, planning, events, and more
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Ed Jennings @edjennings.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
Cuxton, Halling & Riverside (Medway) result: ➡️ William Burvill (Ref): 838 🌹 Iain Childs (Lab): 269 🔶 Ron Gillett (LDem): 35 🟢 Trish Marchant (Grn): 482 🌳 Richard Thorne (Con): 726 Ref GAIN from Con Turnout: 37.5%
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 22/07/2026
The Greens came within 44 votes of winning in Cuxton, Halling & Riverside in 2023. Now Reform could split the vote on the right. @medwayelects.co.uk founder @alancollinsrosell.uk explains why tomorrow’s by-election may be far less predictable than it first appears.
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A perfect storm gathers over the Cuxton, Halling & Riverside by-election
A strong Green challenge and the arrival of Reform UK could combine to overturn a long-held Conservative seat
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 21/07/2026
The Brook Theatre was meant to reopen last year after a £6.8m refurbishment. Instead, it is now a £21.5m restoration involving five miles of scaffolding and 126 years of problems. We went inside to see why the project has become a detective story.
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Why restoring the Brook Theatre became a £21.5m detective story
Five miles of scaffolding and 126 years of problems stand between Chatham and its theatre
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 20/07/2026
After losing three family members within three years, Nikki Price began exploring how creativity helps people navigate life after a death. We spoke about grief, photography, memory, her PhD, and the mysterious Weetabix tin she found in her father’s home.
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“I had no compass with which to navigate my life after my family members died”
What Steven asked Nikki Price, PhD student, creative tutor and photographer.
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 17/07/2026
Medway Council now has fewer than two years left to exist. We explain what the government’s reorganisation decision means locally, plus a council meeting held together by one handheld microphone, HMS Saxifrage’s departure, planning news and more.
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Medway’s future is North Kent
What the government’s decision means for Medway, plus a chaotic council meeting, HMS Saxifrage’s departure, planning, events, and more
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Ed Jennings @edjennings.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Breaking: Kent and Medway will be carved up into four unitary authorities, including a wild MidKent Council that spans from Sheppey to Romney Marsh.
Kent map showing the four new unitary authorities.
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 15/07/2026
MHS Homes owns more than 10,000 homes, including around one in every 12 homes in Medway. We spoke to CEO Marie-Claire Delbrouque about housing and health, investing in existing homes, building more, Right to Buy, and why social landlords should stop being so paternalistic.
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“We don’t have to impose ourselves on people”
What Steven asked Marie-Claire Delbrouque, CEO of the MHS Homes Group
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 14/07/2026
The Royal Function Rooms was still hosting events until its operators were told to leave in 2022. Now the Theatres Trust has called the case for conversion “wholly inadequate,” with other heritage bodies asking the same question: has anyone proved it can no longer work as a venue?
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Theatres Trust calls Royal Function Rooms plans ‘unserious’
Heritage bodies say the case for conversion has not been made, and the final stop for Medway’s missing rail monument
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 10/07/2026
A row over who chooses Medway’s final Mayor may also have revealed that next year’s expected council elections are not happening. Labour wants to scrap rules it restored two years ago, stopping the Conservatives from taking their turn as the council winds down. Plus HMS Saxifrage latest and more.
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Labour wants to scrap the mayoral rules it restored two years ago
Proposed rule change offers a clue about 2027 elections, plus HMS Saxifrage, planning rows, events, and more
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 09/07/2026
Adrian Bawtree is the Director of Music at Rochester Cathedral and Musical Director of Rochester Choral Society. We talk to him about cathedral organs, choral singing, music and dementia, HMS Victory, Nelson’s flag signals, and how to join the choir.
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“I'm fascinated by the figure of Jesus as a disrupter”
What Steven asked Adrian Bawtree, Director of Music at Rochester Cathedral and the Musical Director of the Rochester Choral Society
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 08/07/2026
For more than 20 years, Medway has had a university campus. Thousands of students study here every day. So why doesn’t Medway really feel like a university town? We look at what became of the original vision for Universities at Medway, and what its new strategy says about its future.
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Medway’s university dream becomes a skills strategy
For more than 20 years, Medway has had a university campus, thousands of students, and ambitions that stretched well beyond simply training the local workforce. A new strategy for Universities at Medw...
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 06/07/2026
A nice way to end the week. Ed received a Highly Commended for Story of the Year at the Kent Press & Broadcast Awards for his reporting on a Rochester school offering a Nigel Farage t-shirt as an essay contest prize, which started in Medway before becoming a national story.
Ed, awkwardly receiving an award from a nice man from Stagecoach.
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Local Authority @localauthority.news · 03/07/2026
One of Britain’s rarest surviving First World War warships has spent almost a decade hidden inside Chatham Docks. Now campaigners say HMS Saxifrage needs a new home within weeks. We look at the ship’s history, the campaign to save it, and Medway’s changing waterfront.
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Medway’s hidden First World War ship faces uncertain future
The campaign to save HMS Saxifrage, plus care home for Innovation Park site, active travel proposals and a busy events weekend
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