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Welcome to the Website of Rolvenden Parish Council.
If there is anything that you feel the Parish Council should be aware of or there is something we can help you with
please contact Louise Goldsmith (Clerk)
email: [email protected] or call 07900 693572
The next Parish Council Meeting will take place on Thursday 26 November 2026 at 7.30pm
Members of the public are welcome to attend and there is an opportunity at the start of each meeting for parishioners to speak briefly.
The November edition of the Parish Magazine is available here
The village of Rolvenden dates from at least Saxon times. The Parish of Rolvenden comprises of the ward of Rolvenden (known locally as the 'Streyte') and the smaller younger (circa 1660) Rolvenden Layne. It is approximately ten square miles in area, given over largely to farming and rural activities, with a growing number of professional, craft and tourist services.
LOCATION
Rolvenden is located on the A28 Ashford to Hastings road, three miles south of Tenterden. It is roughly equidistant from the centres of Ashford, Tunbridge Wells, Maidstone and Hastings. The mainline railway stations are at Headcorn ,(20minutes) and Staplehurst (25 minutes). A Bus service is available to Tunbridge Wells,Hastings and Ashford.
Rolvenden lies within the jurisdiction of Ashford Borough Council and is also within the High Weald AONB and the South Kent development area.
email The Parish Clerk. [email protected].com or call 07900 693572
receive email notifications of Minutes and Agendas HERE
Tenterden Division Report — November 2026
Cllr Wayne Chapman
Kent County Councillor for Tenterden: Appledore, Biddenden, High Halden, Kenardington, Newenden, Rolvenden, Rolvenden Layne, St Michaels, Stone-cum-Ebony and Wittersham
Local Government Reorganisation and Devolution
In September the Government paused Local Government Reorganisation in Kent and Medway pending a review. That pause did not cancel the July decision, which would see KCC, Medway Council and all twelve district and borough councils replaced by four new unitary councils, with our division falling into a new Mid Kent council alongside Swale and Folkestone and Hythe. The decision still stands.
On 12 October our Leader, Linden Kemkaran, confirmed that KCC is going ahead with a legal challenge to that decision. Since July KCC has written to ministers again and again asking how and why the decision was reached, and those questions have still not been answered. With the legal deadline to challenge approaching, KCC has acted to protect Kent's interests. As the Leader put it, this is not about opposing change, it is about making sure decisions that will shape Kent for decades are properly explained and backed by clear evidence. The matter is now with the Government's legal department and the court. KCC's announcement is available from https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/kcc-steps-up-fight-for-answers-over-governments-kent-reorganisation-decision
Then, following the Budget at the end of October, the Government announced it will work with KCC and Medway Council towards a Mayoral Strategic Authority for Kent and Medway, with the ambition of bringing it into effect in 2028. This is devolution rather than reorganisation. A strategic authority would sit above existing councils and take on wider powers over things like transport, economic growth and strategic planning, and in a mayoral model it would be led by a directly elected Mayor for Kent and Medway. There is a great deal still to be set out, including how it would be governed, what it would cost, and how it fits with whatever happens on reorganisation. I will be watching closely to make sure any new layer delivers real value for taxpayers and genuine local control rather than more bureaucracy. The Leader's statement is available from https://news.kent.gov.uk/articles/leaders-statement-on-governments-announcement-on-devolution-in-kent-and-medway
Closer to my own work, the Kent Flood Risk and Water Management Committee, which I chair, meets on 4 November at Sessions House, where water resilience and the performance of our water companies and the Environment Agency remain firmly on the agenda.
In the meantime nothing changes for residents. KCC, Ashford Borough Council and your town and parish councils all continue to deliver services exactly as before.
Borough Elections, May 2027
Because reorganisation has been paused, there will be no shadow unitary elections next spring. Instead the ordinary local elections, expected on Thursday 6 May 2027, will go ahead on existing council boundaries, so Ashford Borough Council elections will take place as normal across all our villages and Tenterden.
This is a good moment to make sure you are registered to vote, especially if you have moved home recently. It only takes a few minutes, and you can also apply for a postal or proxy vote if you cannot get to a polling station. Official notices and confirmation of arrangements will be published by Ashford Borough Council's electoral services, available from https://www.ashford.gov.uk/your-council/register-to-vote-and-elections/
Remembrance
This autumn I have been proud to collect for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal in Tenterden and Hythe. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who stopped to give, and to the volunteers who give their time year after year.
On Remembrance Sunday, 8 November, I will join residents at the Tenterden War Memorial to lay wreaths on behalf of Kent County Council and Reform UK. Last year the parade formed up at Recreation Ground Road at 10.30am, with the service at the War Memorial starting at 10.50am, including the reading of the names and the laying of wreaths. Please check local notices for this year's confirmed timings, and do come along if you can.
We remember all those who gave their lives so that we might live in freedom, and all who have served and continue to serve. They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them. Lest we forget.
Roads and Highways Across the Division
Smallhythe Road, Tenterden. I am pleased to report that resurfacing and patching works have now been completed on Smallhythe Road, from the High Street junction down to Tesco, and along the stretch by Smallhythe Place, the Ellen Terry museum. My thanks to KCC Highways and to residents for their patience during the night works.
Colonel Stephens Greenway, Tenterden. The £150,000 Active Travel funded improvement of the Greenway between St Michaels and the town centre is now due to start on 18 November and run for 22 working days. The gravel section from Colonel Stephens Way to Drury Road will be surfaced to create a three metre wide shared path for walking, wheeling and cycling. The route will be closed while the work is done, with diversions through the nearby estate roads.
Newenden Bridge, A28. The bridge remains open, with the planned maintenance closure still scheduled for June to September 2027. I will make sure residents and businesses get plenty of notice.
With the clocks now back and darker evenings and wetter weather here, potholes, faulty street lights and blocked drains can become a real hazard. If you spot any potholes or other highway problems, please report them in the first instance through KCC's Report an Issue page, available from https://www.kent.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/report-a-problem
Community News & Whats On
Tenterden Leisure Centre has reopened following its £2.6 million refurbishment by Ashford Borough Council, with a Big Open Weekend held at the start of October. However, I have serious concerns about one part of the new design. The swimming pool now has mixed changing only, with no women only changing area at all. Women, men, young boys and young girls are all changing in the same space with no other choice, and a local woman has already cancelled her membership because she does not feel safe. At a time when the NHS has confirmed that hospital wards and staff changing rooms are single sex, and the Supreme Court has ruled that a woman means a biological woman, it is hard to understand why a newly refurbished public facility has taken safe, single sex changing away. Women and children have a right to privacy and a right to feel safe when they change. I have raised this publicly and a number of residents have come forward in support. So far neither Ashford Borough Council, which owns the centre, nor Freedom Leisure, which runs it, has responded. I will keep pressing for single sex changing rooms to be restored at the pool, and if this affects you or your family, please do get in touch with me.
KCC has partnered with the Royal British Legion to launch this year's Poppy Appeal across the county, and the appeal in Tenterden and St Michaels has once again been well supported, a real reflection of the generosity of our community.
Tenterden Town Council has agreed a budget for specialist support to prepare a full planning application for improvements to Tenterden Recreation Ground, expected to be lodged in early 2027.
Rolvenden History Group meets on Friday 6 November at 7.30pm.
Saturday 7 November is a busy day in Tenterden, with the Weald of Kent Art Society Art Sale at St Mildred's Church and the Tenterden Repair Cafe in the afternoon. Across Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 November the Kent and East Sussex Railway holds its Southern Through the Ages Gala at Tenterden Town Station, with an intensive timetable of Southern Railway trains. It is billed as the last chance to see the much loved Terrier locomotive Knowle before it is withdrawn for a major overhaul.
Remembrance Sunday services take place on 8 November, as above.
On Saturday 14 November St Michaels Primary School holds its Out of This World Fireworks at the school on Ashford Road, from 5pm to 7pm with the fireworks at 6.45pm. Tickets are £7.50 and must be bought in advance, as there are no sales on the door. They are available from Biddenden Post Office, St Michaels Post Office and Brunch and Brew on Tenterden High Street.
The Tenterden Christmas Market returns to the High Street from Thursday 19 to Sunday 22 November and is free to attend. It opens from 12pm to 7pm on the Thursday, 9am to 7pm on Friday and Saturday, and 10am to 5pm on Sunday. The Kent and East Sussex Railway's Santa Specials begin on 29 November. Looking a little further ahead, the town's Christmas tree will be blessed in front of the Town Hall from 5.15pm on Friday 4 December, opening Christmas Late Night Shopping from 6pm to 9pm.
I could not find confirmed November listings for Appledore, Biddenden, High Halden, Kenardington, Newenden, Stone-cum-Ebony or Wittersham. If your parish, church, hall or club has something coming up, please email me and I will include it next month.
KCC General Advice and Support
Winter readiness. As the colder weather arrives, please look out for elderly or vulnerable neighbours, keep an eye on Kent Highways and gritting updates before travelling on icy mornings, and keep a winter kit in the car.
Flu vaccinations. Flu jabs are now available for everyone who is eligible. With winter pressures building on our GPs and hospitals, please book yours through your GP surgery or a local pharmacy if you have been invited.
Help with the cost of living. With heating bills rising, the Crisis and Resilience Fund offers short term help for households facing hardship, and KCC's cost of living pages bring together advice on benefits, energy bills, food and council tax.
Bring back Euro trains. No international train has stopped in Kent since Eurostar withdrew its services from Ashford and Ebbsfleet in 2020. KCC is backing a campaign to bring them back and is asking anyone who would use them to complete a short three minute survey, so operators can see the demand. The survey is available from https://bringbackeurotrains.com/campaigns/register-your-demand/
Fly-tipping. Kent's councils are working together to tackle fly-tipping, with incidents across the county now topping 23,000. If you see waste dumped on a road or verge, please report it to Ashford Borough Council.
Kent Test. A new provider has been appointed to run the Kent Test as the current contract comes to an end. Parents of children in Year 5 should look out for updated information from KCC ahead of next year's test.
Further information is available from the KCC Website https://news.kent.gov.uk/
Get in touch
As always, if you have a local issue please in the first instance report via the KCC portal and for all other issues please send me an email https://www.kent.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/report-a-problem
email: [email protected]