News Unique Opportunity For Maidstone Residents To Help Shape Their Communities
Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) is inviting residents to take up a once-in-a-generation opportunity to share their views and help shape the areas they live in.
The Council is conducting a Community Governance Review (CGR) to find out if new parish or town councils should be created to represent the unparished areas in the borough and give the chance for residents in Grove Green and Bearsted Park to share their views on the community governance in their area.
Community Governance refers to the way in which a local area is run, how its residents are represented and how they can have a say in how decisions affect them.
A CGR can form, change, or alter parish and town councils in the area under review, as well as consider other arrangements for community governance. MBC conducted a CGR of the whole borough in 2022/23 and is now focusing on the unparished part of the borough in Maidstone Town, and the neighbouring area of Grove Green and the adjacent parish ward of Thurnham West. This includes Bearsted Park and the area between Weavering Street and Ware Street.
MBC wants to know from residents in these areas what options they would like to see taken forward to the next stage of the review. This could include having one or more parish or town councils, having particular areas of the Town identified as distinct communities, or taking forward the whole of the unparished area as a Maidstone Town Council. Grove Green and Bearsted Park could be part of those arrangements or have their own; either remaining as part of their existing parishes (Boxley and Thurnham) or changing entirely. This could include forming their own parishes or joining with another neighbouring parish.
There are a range of benefits that being in a parish brings, including community representation, access to community funding, local project delivery, and greater local accountability. Access to these benefits is funded through a precept determined by the parish council and is added to council tax bills. If introduced, this precept would be paid by the residents living in these areas. MBC wants to know from residents which options are right for their communities.
Maidstone Town has seen growth and change over the years, and the area under review currently has an electorate of around 64,000 people, and this review will consider the projected growth in the area up to 2030. The CGR also incorporates the potential impacts of upcoming Local Government Reorganisation, including keeping a Mayor for Maidstone and establishing the identity of the Town and the areas surrounding it. Given the potential scale of change, it is even more important for residents be involved and to help shape their communities.
Cllr Clive English, Chairman of Democracy and General Purposes Committee, commented on the importance of this Review, saying:
Local government is on the brink of a historic new chapter and we, as residents, have a unique opportunity to shape how our communities will look in the future. It is incredibly important for everyone in these areas to share their thoughts and help the Council to create a borough that represents everyone.
The Community Governance Review Stage 1 consultation opens on Tuesday 22 July and closes Tuesday 30 September 2025. Residents can share their views using the Let’s Talk Maidstone platform. The Council will be holding several engagement events in the town centre and Grove Green during the consultation period to reach as many people as possible and give them the opportunity to share their views in person. The details of these events will be shared on Let’s Talk Maidstone.
Once the Stage 1 consultation has closed, this will inform the proposals presented at Stage 2, in which MBC will invite residents to comment on these, directly. The outcome of the review will be decided by Full Council in April 2026.
Check your parish using the information on the MBC website.