Vince Maple and Richard Hicks take residents' questions at Strood Sports Centre on 1 October. It is the first public session since reorganisation was paused.

Medway Council will take questions from residents in Strood on Thursday 1 October, and the timing has changed the meeting. When the council announced it on 1 September, the evening was billed as the first chance to hear about the North Kent Council that Medway was due to join in 2028. Six days later the government paused the whole reorganisation.

That makes this the first time anyone can ask the council’s leader in person what happens now.

The practical details

  • Date: Thursday 1 October 2026
  • Doors: 6pm, with council service stalls open until 7pm
  • Main event: 7pm to 8.45pm
  • Venue: Strood Sports Centre, Watling Street, Strood, ME2 3JQ
  • Cost: free, but you must book. Tickets are on Eventbrite
  • Access: email communications@medway.gov.uk for accessibility requirements, including British Sign Language support

The panel is Cllr Vince Maple, the leader of the council, and Richard Hicks, the chief executive. Both will give updates before the questions start. The host is Rob Smith, a Medway resident and former BBC South East journalist, who has fronted the series before (Medway Council).

Alongside the panel, the council says stalls will cover welfare and benefits, libraries, fostering and climate response, among other services.

What has changed since the council announced it

The council’s announcement on 1 September described the evening as “the first opportunity for residents to hear directly” from Maple and Hicks “following the July announcement about the restructuring of local councils across Kent and Medway in 2028, which will see Medway form a new North Kent Council with Dartford, Gravesham and Kent County Council” (Medway Council news, 1 September 2026).

On Monday 7 September, the Secretary of State told the Commons that Kent is one of 14 areas where reorganisation is paused and under review, and that “elections will go ahead in May 2027 on existing council boundaries” (Hansard). Cllr Maple called the announcement “very disappointing” the same afternoon, and said it was “unclear at this stage what the timetable and next steps will be” (Medway Council).

We set out what the pause does and does not change in Medway Council Abolition Paused: May 2027 Vote Goes Ahead.

Neither the event page nor the news release has been rewritten since. The council’s own listing still promises an update on “what comes next in the world of LGR and devolution”, which is now a rather different question from the one it was three weeks ago.

The sixth event, and the first in Strood

Medway Matters Live has run roughly twice a year since 2023, and the council has moved it around the towns each time (Medway Council):

  • 28 November 2023: The Howard School, Rainham
  • 12 November 2024: the Historic Dockyard, Chatham
  • 2 April 2025: The Hundred of Hoo Academy
  • 8 October 2025: MidKent College, Gillingham
  • 6 May 2026: the Rochester Corn Exchange
  • 1 October 2026: Strood Sports Centre

This is the first one held in Strood. Recordings of three of the previous evenings are published on the same page, so you can see the format before you decide whether to go.

What it means for you

  • Book first. The event is free but ticketed, and the council does not publish a capacity for Strood Sports Centre. Past events have filled.
  • The reorganisation answer will be limited, and that is not the council’s fault. The government has ordered a rapid review with no completion date, and no Structural Changes Order has been published. Anyone promising a firm 2028 date at this point would be guessing.
  • Bring the local question as well. The panel covers services, not only structures. If you want a specific answer, the council’s own records are the place to check first: our pages on bin collection days, council tax bands, parking and planning applications set out what the council already publishes.
  • Strood Sports Centre is on the A2 Watling Street. Check our roadworks and travel page before you set off; there are ten council road closures ordered across Medway between now and 10 October.

Sources