ShepwayVox Dissent is not a Crime

High Court Rules Environment Agency Can Prosecute Former Southern Water Chief Matthew Wright for Conspiracy to Defraud

July 22, 2026 // 0 Comments

A former Southern Water chief executive has failed in a High Court attempt to establish that the Environment Agency had no legal power to prosecute him for conspiracy to [...]

Why It’s So Hard to Get a GP Appointment in Folkestone & Hythe

July 22, 2026 // 2 Comments

At the crack of eight, the scramble begins. Patients ring, refresh a webpage, fill in a form or wait for somebody to decide whether their problem merits an appointment. By [...]

Folkestone and Hythe Council’s Unfulfilled Promise to Investigate Sewage Pollution

July 21, 2026 // 0 Comments

On 1 April, Folkestone & Hythe District Council agreed that possible human faecal contamination across Romney Marsh and the East Stour needed investigating “as a matter [...]

Folkestone and Hythe District Council: Officers Must Declare Freemasonry, Councillors Don’t

July 21, 2026 // 0 Comments

When Folkestone & Hythe District Council meets tomorrow, 22 July, councillors will consider a constitutional overhaul containing two codes of conduct. Tucked inside is a [...]

Ship Street Folkestone: Enabling Costs Could Reach £1.43m as Land Value Remains Hidden

July 20, 2026 // 0 Comments

Open Folkestone & Hythe District Council’s latest Ship Street report and one detail does all the talking: a blank where the developer’s calculated land value should [...]

Martello Lakes Pool Promise Replaced as Hythe Pool Refurbishment Could Cost £10.7m

July 20, 2026 // 0 Comments

When Folkestone & Hythe District Council’s Cabinet meets on 22 July, members will be asked to set two leisure projects moving. One involves spending £353,000 [...]

Southern Water 2025/26: Leakage, Pollution and £7bn Debt — Long Read

July 19, 2026 // 0 Comments

Southern Water cut leakage sharply during 2025/26, but still lost almost 90 million litres of treated water every day — enough over the year to fill Bewl Water reservoir [...]

Kent Local Government Reorganisation: Four Unitary Councils, Debt and Costs — Long Read

July 19, 2026 // 0 Comments

Kent knows where the new boundaries will run. It still doesn’t know who’ll inherit the mortgage. Steve Reed MP Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local [...]

Kent Coastal Housing Market Cools as Folkestone and Hythe Rents Soar

July 18, 2026 // 1 Comment

Kent’s coastal housing boom has cooled. That much is no longer seriously in doubt. The frantic bidding, sealed offers and London money that swept through Folkestone, Hythe, [...]

Kent Local Government Reorganisation: Four Unitary Councils and One Almighty Hangover

July 17, 2026 // 0 Comments

What follows isn’t a leaked meeting or a quotation from any named council officer. It’s an imagined pub conversation translating Kent’s local government shake-up into [...]

Folkestone A Brighter Future: £22m Project Delayed by at Least 17 Months

July 16, 2026 // 0 Comments

Folkestone & Hythe District Council says Folkestone – A Brighter Future is now “80% complete”. It’s a neat little figure, polished until it shines: the sort of [...]

Four Companies Registered at Folkestone and Hythe Council Homes Raise Tenancy Fraud Audit Questions

July 15, 2026 // 0 Comments

A new Cabinet Office agreement with Airbnb will allow participating councils to compare social-housing records with holiday-let listings to identify possible illegal [...]

South Brooks Solar Farm: FHDC Officers Raise Concerns Over Heathrow-Sized Romney Marsh Scheme

July 15, 2026 // 0 Comments

Back in May, The Shepway Vox Team wrote that Romney Marsh isn’t empty land beside a handy National Grid socket. It’s a vast, man-made water system held together by [...]

Exclusive: Royal British Legion Says Reform UK Fundraising at Hythe Armed Forces Day Was Unauthorised

July 14, 2026 // 2 Comments

The Royal British Legion says Reform UK wasn’t authorised to claim any connection with the charity or fundraise on its behalf at Hythe Armed Forces Day. The local branch [...]

Folkestone Footfall Data: FHDC’s Own Figures Show Visits Peaked in 2023

July 14, 2026 // 0 Comments

Folkestone & Hythe District Council says Folkestone’s town centre grew beyond the national trend, reached a five-year footfall peak in 2024 and then settled into a [...]

Saga Enbrook Park Housing Plan: Can Saga Fix The Pavilion Without Building Homes?

July 13, 2026 // 0 Comments

Saga wants residents at Enbrook Park on Monday 13 July 2026, from 4pm to 7pm, at the Main Reception, Saga Building, Enbrook Park, Sandgate. That’s the consultation, and if [...]

NHS Kent and Medway Job Cuts: 430 Posts Go as ICB Faces £50.8m Deficit

July 12, 2026 // 0 Comments

What follows isn’t Adam Doyle’s actual words, and it’s not some leaked chinwag from the snug. It’s our straight-talking take on NHS Kent and Medway’s board papers [...]

Former Aldi Hythe Plan: No Affordable Housing, 43 Parking Spaces at Risk – The Long Read

July 12, 2026 // 0 Comments

For seven years, Hythe has had a hole in its High Street where the old Aldi used to trade. The shutters came down in 2019, the supermarket moved to Kengate Industrial Estate, [...]

Ship Street Folkestone: Old Gasworks Still Looking For A Buyer While Affordable Homes Remain On Paper

July 10, 2026 // 0 Comments

Still for sale. Still fenced off. Still no affordable homes. Ship Street is one of those Folkestone promises that’s been round the houses without building any. The live [...]

Otterpool Park Update: Hillhurst Farm Homes Rise From 300 To 500 As Homes England Hides Land Price

July 9, 2026 // 0 Comments

In a response under the Environmental Information Regulations, Homes England has confirmed it has bought part of the Hillhurst Farm/Hillhurst Green land at Otterpool Park. [...]

Kent’s Housing Crisis: 47,839 Approved Homes, But Councils Still Fail The Delivery Test

July 8, 2026 // 1 Comment

Kent hasn’t run out of planning permissions. It’s got plenty of paper foundations. The latest Kent housing land supply audit shows 47,839 homes with planning permission [...]

Free School Meals In Folkestone & Hythe Rise From One In Five Pupils To Almost One In Three

July 7, 2026 // 0 Comments

The free-school-meals (FSM) line in Folkestone & Hythe doesn’t wobble. It climbs. All-schools district data shows the rate rising from 19.8% in 2020 to 32.6% in 2026. [...]

Folkestone & Hythe Council HR Reports Show Staff Sickness, Stress And Long-Term Absence Rising Under Green-Led Rule

July 6, 2026 // 1 Comment

Folkestone & Hythe District Council’s HR reports between 21/22 – 25/26 read like a match of two halves. The Conservatives left the pitch with a governance mess [...]

FHDC Public Money: 46 Contract Red Flags Raise Questions Over Council Spending

July 5, 2026 // 0 Comments

There’s no point dressing this up in committee-room cotton wool. Folkestone & Hythe District Council’s public data shows 46 confirmed 2025/26 contract red flags and [...]

Sunflower House And One Folkestone: Public Money, Vulnerable People And Missing Safeguards

July 3, 2026 // 4 Comments

Sunflower House says it’s about community. One Folkestone says it’s about partnership. Both talk in the soft language of help, hope, joining-up and civic renewal. But [...]

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