Whitstable Town Council? More Facts Than Fiction

07/06/2026

07/06/2026

How Maidstone Borough Council mislead the residents of Maidstone

This was their post.

“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”.

ONCE IN A GENERATION??????????

How strange then that the government say this

Community governance reviews should typically be carried out every 10 to 15 years .

Hardly a once in a generation, anyone would think the once in a generation comment was designed to install fear that if people didn’t do it now it wouldn’t happen for many many years.

Let’s not forget Maidstone Borough Council have stated the first years precept ( set by them )will be around £10.
What are they saying is going to be taken over by the new town council for that amount of precept- ALLOTMENTS.

So the services that the council tax payers of Maidstone are going to get in year one are allotments.

Question then, who is going to maintain the grass areas, cemeteries children’s play areas etc in the first year. After all Maidstone Borough Council won’t exist any more.
More importantly WHO is going to pay to have it done?
Could it possibly end up with the residents having to pay special expenses ( on top of the precept) to get the new unitary to carry it out.
How much would that cost?

The residents of Maidstone have no idea what services “their” town council will take on.What property they may buy etc . But most importantly how much it will end up costing them.

£10 was obviously used to make out that a town council would cost much extra.
Like some examples of what parish/ town councils in the Maidstone Borough area are actually paying in the way of precepts

Bredhurst-£218
Detling-£105
Farleigh East-£109
Farleigh West-£114
Harrisham -£139
Headcorn-£181
Leeds-£126
Lenham-£145
Marden-£104
Sutton Valance-£110

Quite a difference to the £10 being sold to residents of Maidstone.

More and more we see people being denied the information they need to make an informed decision.

07/06/2026

Town councils and planning.

Do Town Councils grant planning permission?
• Town and parish councils are not Planning Authorities. Town and parish councils are only statutory consultees in the planning process.
• This means that they only have the right to be informed of planning applications within the parish.
• THEY CANNOT APPROVE OR REJECT PLANNING APPLICATIONS.
• They can only comment on planning applications in the same way that individuals can comment.
• Consequently, the length of time taken to determine a planning application is governed by the local planning authority not the town council.
• The town council can request that it be given extra time to comment on an application.
• The decision whether this is granted rests solely with the planning authority and its own deadlines for decision making.

So town councils are statutory consultees and have no powers to approve or reject planning applications.

Not worth paying an uncapped precept for a town council that doesn’t have the final say on planning then.

07/06/2026

This was posted by a councillor from Maidstone on April 30th

“Maidstone residents are getting a town council despite less than 1% of responses to the consultation.

I’m in a parished area, I see the things that parishes can do (and can’t do) but my issue with this decision is that so many people are unaware of the precept that will be charged on your council tax on top of what you already pay.

MBC have literally just sent out council tax bills to everyone, why couldn’t a flyer have been put in them, explaining it all?

There’s online consultation overload at the moment, I’m not surprised the response was so poor but to go with it without even trying to ask again is madness in my book.

Town council precepts are on the whole, higher than parish precepts, if assets that are expensive to maintain are taken on these can be raised without a ceiling limit as needed. I’m just not sure town centre residents have any idea that this is coming…….”

We know we keep mentioning this but it is important that we all talk to,and explain to everyone we meet ( that would be affected by a town council).Regarding the impact of a town council.
Every no matters

04/06/2026

We have previously posted in regards to how people were “sold” the idea of a town council in Margate, Guildford and Maidstone.

Today its Bexhill

This was from their CGR info:

What would a town council cost me?
Having a town council would cost money. Although the 18 town councillors would not be paid, additional yearly costs would be incurred for hiring a parish clerk to manage the money, plus any extra staff, contracts and services, rent for offices and meeting rooms and day to day operating costs. The additional costs for a town council would be charged as a 'precept' through your council tax bill.
Rother has agreed that these basic costs for a town council would be £7.50 a year for a Council Tax Band D property, which is 14p a week.
Happily, Bexhill taxpayers already pay £37 a year for some services for Bexhill, such as some parks, allotments, the museum and other services. If these services were, by agreement, transferred to the town council, their cost would not change, making the precept £44.50, £37 of which residents already pay.

So a mere £7.50?????????
With residents also paying £37 in special expenses. - (This is money they were already paying on top of their normal council tax)
The Town Council for Bexhill was formed April 2021

Forward to 2026
The Precept is now £91.75. A 1100% rise on the original £7.50 .In 5 years.

The residents are still paying an additional £35.23 in special expenses on top of that.

Time after time people are being mislead by those proposing town councils.

Unless you want to join them and be trapped paying an UNCAPPED additional amount of council tax, to pay for a town council then make the effort to respond to CCC saying no to a town council.
Don’t forget family, friends, neighbours etc can all respond individually.

27/05/2026

Household energy prices will rise by 13% a year in July, as soaring wholesale costs caused by the US-Israel war with Iran hit bills for the first time.

How many pro town council people have shown any concern or consideration for those living in poverty.
The last thing people need is to have to pay for a town council.

Say no for yourself Say no for those a town council precept would creat greater financial misery.
Do it today.

27/05/2026

Todays Snippet

Under 5% of parish councillors are aged under 35

Despite the fact that adults in this age group make up almost a third of the population (31.9%)

The average age of a parish councillor is over
60

26/05/2026

Just an observation this morning.

When CCC posted about the CGR there were 25 comments.
When CCC posted about bus shelters there were just over twice as many 51
Now we are not knocking the need for bus shelters in any way.

But it shows that the CGR , that could end up costing the council tax payers of the district millions of pounds in additional council tax is far from being understood.

Please do your part and bring it up in conversations, so more people grasp an understanding of the implications and therefore respond to CCC.

22/05/2026

Proof that not all town councillors are democratically elected by the residents of the area they will represent

Current vacancy

“Town councillor vacancy

Become a Councillor!

Are you passionate about Broadstairs and St Peter’s? Do you have ideas, experience or skills to contribute? This is your opportunity to step forward and make a real difference.
The Town Council is inviting applications for one vacant position in the BEACON ROAD Ward to be filled by co-option.

Closing date Monday 22 June 2026”

Vacancy to be filled by co option not an election.

21/05/2026

Having looked at Guildford, we are now looking at Maidstone.

“A new town council will be formed to represent households in unparished areas of the County Town.
Maidstone council decided to set up the new authority in response to the major shake-up of local government that will see district and borough councils scrapped in the near future.

The decision, impacting about 60,788 voters and a population of around 89,000 people, was agreed at a meeting of the full council (Wednesday, April 29), but not everyone was in favour.

The borough had carried out a public consultation on the proposals and RECEIVED 600 RESPONSES, BUT THAT WAS LESS THAN 1% OF THE POTENTIAL ELECTORATE.

OF THOSE, ONLY 71% WERE IN FAVOUR OF A TOWN COUNCIL.

Cllr Claudine Russell (Con) who was not in favour of a town council,SUGGESTED THE RESULT WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE HAD FULLY REALISED THE COUNCIL TAX PRECEPT THEY WOULD HAVE TO PAY FOR A TOWN COUNCIL.

Cllr Stan Forecast (Con) said that with the tax burden on people already at an historic high, it was “madness” to add yet more. He asked: “How many people would vote for a town council if they realised they would have to pay an extra 200 in council tax?”
Cllr Forecast also made the point that the creation of a new council would “completely undermine” the whole thrust of Local Government Reorganisation, which was to create a single centralised voice”.

THIS WAS HOW THE PRECEPT WAS “SOLD “ TO THE RESIDENTS

“Given the scale of the proposed Maidstone Town Council it is anticipated that the precept in the first year could be of the order of £10 (for the year) for a household”

The above clearly shows that the cost of any potential town council needs to be given to people accurately.
Not based on maybe just allotments in year one when we all know it’s never going to stay that low and has a town council takes on more the cost is going to rise accordingly.

Please keep spreading the word.
Encourage people to read what is actually happening and get them to respond to the questionnaire.