As ministers demand fewer, bigger councils, Kent’s authorities struggle to agree on who goes where. Bob Collins digs into what's going on and where Medway might end up.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Council pledges to remove Medway's lamppost flags 🧑‍💻 Medway integrates more AI into services 🏗️ Brownfield scheme gets funding boost 🗞️ News in brief, and more

⛵ Barges find new life on the Medway ⚓ Festival of Chatham Reach returns ➡️ Reform school latest 🚜 Farmers' market turns 25 🐟 We review Fish at 55 🎟️ Our weekly events guide 🗞️ News in brief, and more

A Medway school is giving away a Reform football shirt as part of an essay writing contest on how the party has 'obliterated' the two-party system. They say this is all normal, and they do this for all parties. Students, parents, and other politicians disagree. Our exclusive story:

🎭 From page to stage - Medway author's book on Bosnian genocide is adapted into play 🎸 Theatre Royal at Three Sheets to the Wind 🍣 We review Boba Tigers 🎟️ Our weekly events guide 🗞️ News in brief, and more

My latest article for @localauthority.news is now out, and you can read it here: open.substack.com/pub/localaut... 🌱 #Gardening #UKGardening

🏠 The fight over Medway's HMOs 📍 Two Kent maps left standing 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 MP supports flag erections 🗞️ News in brief, and more

⚽ Gillingham are top of the league, but can it last? 🗳️ Results from yesterday's Grain by-election 🎟️ Our weekly events guide 🗞️ News in brief, and more

🗣️ Councillor found to have bullied nursery boss insists 'all is not as it seems' 🗳️ Democracy on a rota 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Flag wars keep raging 🗞️ News in brief, and more

For our weekend interview, Steven sat down with Phil Bungay and Martin Nagler of the Medway Neurological Network. They talk about their respective conditions, the upcoming conference Neuro-Tech 25 in Medway, and the work of the network.

🎭 Playtime for grown-ups - how one organisation is encouraging creativity through improv 🏗️ The bridge trust helping students into engineering 🎟️ Our weekly events guide 🗞️ News in brief, and more

In the latest in our series of columns by Medway's elected representatives, Gillingham and Rainham MP @naushabahkhanmp.bsky.social writes for us about flags, the challenges facing the constituency, and work to regenerate town centres.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 We have to talk about flags, apparently 💸 Medway debt surges 36% in a year 🏢 Council staff happy with pay but other problems linger 🗞️ News in brief, and more

It's fair to say that our interview with Medway Reform councillor John Vye has.. evoked some opinions. We sat down with him to discuss what brought him to Medway, why he joined Reform, being a councillor, and lots more.

💷 Medway Council requires 'exceptional' financial support for a third year running. 📍 Medway offers a future council map that manages to annoy everyone 🗞️ News in brief, and more

For our weekend interview, we sat down with Jacob Granger, who went from running a DIY music venue in Medway to becoming the community editor and podcast host at @journalismnews.bsky.social.

📖 A Medway activity book has become so successful that the creator now makes versions for new locales 🛗 Sun Pier House lifts off 🍲 We review Pam Exotic Jerk 🎟️ Our weekly events guide, and more www.localauthority.news/p/activity-b...

Forza @localauthority.news!

After a long wait, I finally interviewed River Medway for @localauthority.news We talked about their new musical 'Here & Now', how they became River Medway, and what people can look forward to at Medway Pride www.localauthority.news/p/just-becau...

We're lucky to have journalists trying different models of providing local news in Kent and Medway. This article is definitely worth a read. If you haven't subscribed to @localauthority.news, @kentcurrent.news or @folkestonedispatch.substack.com yet, take a look. pressgazette.co.uk/publishers/r...

For our big weekend interview, we finally got to sit down with River Medway, who catapulted Waghorn into the national consciousness by dressing as the iconic statue on RuPaul's Drag Race.

✈️ Restored floatplane goes on display in cathedral 💉 Low MMR vaccine uptake in Medway 📚 Medway libraries need security 🎸 Space at Platform 3 Club 🍛 Bollywood Buffet Club 🎟️ Our weekly events guide 🗞️ News in brief, and more

🚗 One Medway red route has gone from catching no drivers to issuing hundreds of fines every month, while some are still fining no one 🚫 Budgens refused licence for Chatham regeneration site over alcohol fears 🗞️ News in brief, and more

Our music correspondent Stephen Morris looks at three new Medway releases from The Penrose Web, The Spike Direction Effect, and the Guy Hamper Trio.

Thanks to everyone who joined us last night to celebrate the fourth birthday of Local Authority. Forever grateful for the generous, kind, and engaged community that we’ve managed to build around this new way of doing local news.

Happy fourth birthday @localauthority.news Erica joined the team to celebrate four years of providing independent news for Medway. It's pretty brave to launch a news website in this day and age but Local Authority is proving there is a demand and people are prepared to pay for local news.

🫂 Campaign to support unpaid carers in Medway 🇮🇪 Maria McCarthy learns to be Irish 🎨 New Mess Room exhibition at Rochester Cathedral 🎸 Music from the Penrose Web 🎟️ Our weekly events guide, and more

🏗️ Neighbouring council plans temporary accommodation complex on Medway's doorstep 🚢 Think tank proposes Thames Gateway development corporation to turbo-charge building 🗞️ News in brief, and more

✅ Medway Council approves Local Plan for the first time since 2003 🎨 Illustrated Lives exhibition 📜 Poetry in the garden 📚 Library news 🎟️ Our weekly events guide, and more

Medway Council will try to finally pass a Local Plan tonight. We're covering proceedings live over on our Substack Chat from 7pm. Join us as we find out whether Medway can finally have a Local Plan for the first time since 2011.

Medway Council has been operating without a Local Plan since 2011. Now, there might just be a chance to get a new version over the line. We've been looking at what the new plan means for our towns and the politics that will dictate its future.

🏪 Budgens comes (back) to Medway 🎖️ Medway figures get gongs 🐘 The elephant in the garden 🗞️ News in brief, and more

Stel Pavlou went from working in a Rochester off-licence, where he set up a fake production company, to making a film with Samuel L Jackson. He talks to us about that journey and what he's been up to since.

🎸 Bands come together for Medway Foodbank fundraiser ✒️ Medway artist illustrates David Lynch analysis 📚 Independent Bookshop Week 🍗 We review Sotto Lounge 🎟️ Our weekly events guide, and more

🚧 Medway Council plans to improve traffic flow by blocking main road 🚙 New B&M causes chaos 🛒 New discount store for Rainham 🗞️ News in brief, and more

We've had some great responses to our interview with Dalia Halpern-Matthews, Chair of Trustees at Chatham Memorial Synagogue. She talks about her family’s long involvement with the synagogue, the vandalism that has plagued it, Israel, and lots more.

Our columnist Zahra Barri spends the week getting stuck in at Medway's community theatre.

🐦 Nightingales may face fresh battle as government planning reforms might put Lodge Hill back on the table 🗣️ New public questions at Medway begins 🚧 Station road is closed for another 'emergency' 🗞️ News in brief, and more

⛴️ Challenge tugboat travels from Medway to Dunkirk 🎤 366 days of kindness 🎸 New music from Dead Blood Cells 🍔 We review Stacks 🎟️ Our weekly events guide 🗞️ News in brief, and more

Medway holds an impressive archive of ceremonial items that illustrate the history of our towns. We dispatched local anthropologist Chris de Coulon Berthoud to explore Medway's mayoral treasures.

🚐 Travellers win right to remain on Wigmore site 📄 Local Plan might finally get published 🏗️ Redevelopment of Gillingham gasholder site moves forward 🗞️ News in brief, and more

🎸 Medway stalwarts Theatre Royal are set to release their sixth album - we've been finding out more 📘 Book tells story of a unique Medway character 🎭 Documentary about play by Medway writer 🎟️ Our weekly events guide 🗞️ News in brief, and more

⚽ As the football season ends, we asked our Gills columnist Ben Hopkins to look back at the highs, lows, and middles of a rollercoaster season at Priestfield…

🚘 Medway Council issues over £2m in fines for traffic offences in first year of new powers 🚙 One third of blue badges found to be used wrongly 🎭 Brook Theatre might reopen two years late 🗞️ News in brief, and more

👨‍🎨 Billy Childish and Patrick Butler hold Medway exhibition ⚽ Royal Engineers celebrate 150 years since FA Cup win 🎭 Where the Wind Blows at Medway Little Theatre 🍳 We review Beantown 🎟️ Our weekly events guide 🗞️ News in brief, and more

We recently held our latest Medway Question Time event, where our readers had the chance to put questions to a panel of Medway figures. If you couldn't make it along, we've got the full audio from the event here:

🏠 As private rents hit new highs and the average mortgage now being 9x income, Medway's housing is more unaffordable than ever. 🧑‍💻 Efforts to make council digital services usable 🇬🇧 VE Day lights up the sky 🗞️ News in brief, and more

For our big weekend interview, we sat down with Medway Council Leader @vincemaple.bsky.social as he reaches the halfway point of his term in office. We talk about what powers he actually has to get things done, the future leadership of Labour in north Kent, getting a Local Plan done, and lots more.

🗳️ Reform takes control of Kent County Council - What does it mean for the future of Medway? 🚗 Innovation Park Medway to become a car park 📹 Auditor visits Medway Council 🏦 New bank branch to open in Chatham 🗞️ News in brief, and more

St Margaret's Church in Rainham is aiming to become the arts and culture heart of the town. We've been finding out more from the reverend behind the project.