Swale Borough Council invites comments on the Regulation 18 stage of the Local Plan. A refreshed Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report is also being consulted on. This consultation will be open until Monday 23rd February 2026 at 5pm.

You can view the draft Local Plan Regulation 18 document and the refreshed Sustainability Appraisal Scoping Report and evidence documents at swale.gov.uk/lpr-consultation

Please respond to this consultation via our consultation portal swale-consult.objective.co.uk Hard copies of the Local Plan Regulation 18 will be available to view at Swale House, East Street, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 3HT – open 10am to 12 noon, Monday to Friday also at Swallows Leisure Centre reception. Central Avenue, Sittingbourne, ME10 4NT as Sittingbourne library is undergoing refurbishment.

You can also email or post any comments (referring to the question number you are answering) to Lpcomments@swale.gov.uk or Planning Policy, Swale House, East Street, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 3HT.

All comments must be provided by 5pm on Monday 23rd February 2026 - please submit them earlier if you can.

Announcing Iwade Film Club absolutely free! Family film every fourth Sunday of the month 3pm All Saints Church and older generation film every second Wednesday of the month 3pm. Send your film request to film@iwadevillage.co.uk kingdomclown@gmail.com or WhatsApp Film Club and keep an eye on the church noticeboard for the film that will be shown. Starting Sunday 22nd February 2026 3pm watch this space and the IWADE WHATS ON!

Claire and Susie Colston are raising money for Headway the brain injury association and will be making the journey from Lands End to John O Groats at Easter.

Full details are on their JustGiving page above just click through on the image.

The Sidecar Saturday Headway fundraiser on Saturday 21st February will include a Raffle draw with some fabulous prizes.

Tickets are just £1 each and can be bought on the day or in advance on justgiving.com just pop a note in the donation to say what it's for!

If you have a prize to donate, please don't hesitate to get in touch with Claire or Susie Colston.

Iwade Tours are a non-profit making village-run organisation, with a simple mission: bringing villagers, their family and friends together for comfortable, enjoyable, and worry-free outings. And they add a few luxuries along the way.

A recent tour to Essex enjoyed by Erika and Faye included a stop at Thaxted to see the church where Gustav Holst played the organ and other historical buildings. It also passed through the beautiful Essex Rodings before visiting the Lodge Family Coach Museum for lunch and a ride on a vintage coach.

The organisers Elizabeth and Matthew join every trip and make everyone feel looked after as well as making sure that everything runs smoothly. Visits are well planned with a good balance of beautiful scenery and fascinating history.

There is a wide range of complimentary hot and cold drinks and snacks on offer onboard and the Tour Guides are entertaining and full of interesting tales about the places visited.

You can find Iwade Tours dates and trips in the IwadeVillage WHATS ON and get in touch to get booked on! Erika and Faye highly recommend!

Following September Parish Council, IPC have written to object to the application to build 156 residential dwellings as follows:

• Swale Borough Councils 5 year housing target is 5,502. Planning applications for 7,000 new homes in Swale have already been approved.
• The proposed Highsted Park development, if approved, would supply 8,400 new homes.
• Iwade Parish Council are in the process of organising an independent traffic survey to assess how the increase in housing in Iwade will impact traffic in the village.
• The proposal includes 40% social housing. The plans show they are all allocated in one area together, social housing should be spread throughout the estate.
• The proposed housing mix plan shows apartments to be built at the entrance of the housing development adjacent to Sheppey Way. This is not in keeping with the character and appearance of the local area.
• The local infrastructure cannot cope with increased housing; nurseries, schools and the GP surgery.
• Iwade Stream runs between these two developments and any increase in surface water runoff/allowing water into this waterway, will increase the risk of flooding in the centre of the village.
• With climate change and increased rainfall during winter developers should be doing all they can to protect existing properties from flooding and not exacerbate the risk. There is no water attenuation provision in the Sheppey Way section.
• This land is not allocated on Swales Local Plan for development.
• Swale Borough Council have already approved 512 new homes to be built in Iwade.

On this basis Iwade Parish Council would like to call this planning application into the planning committee and ask that the decision on the above application is delayed due to the above factors.

It was lovely to meet Iwade Friendship Club at Iwade Barn this week what a welcoming group of ladies. Would you like to join them? Every other week at Iwade Barn on a Monday from 10.30am to midday just £1 which includes a hot drink. Often a speaker and time for a chat. Keep an eye on the WHATS ON for the next date and pop along you will be made very welcome. You can also join their Facebook group if you would like to. And you can find them in the DIRECTORY under CLUBS and ACTIVITIES >>

Iwade Health Centre welcome new patients according to the banner outside telephone 01795 413100 or pop in to the centre in Monins Road

The development of 466 properties including a new village hall and a country park is now much more evident as the development area has been fully fenced off both at the Wigeon Road end and at the back of Woodpecker Park. If you have noticed a planning application to demolish the current village hall we understand that this will not be done until the new village hall in a different location is ready but we will investigate further. You can view the planning application including all the drawings and documents on this link. Watch this space for more information as we get it.

If you have internet access, please visit Ofcom’s Mobile Coverage Checker and enter your postcode to view the current mobile signal strength in your area. You’ll also find an option to submit feedback. I strongly encourage you to report them through this feature. Your input will help to ensure that problems are addressed more effectively.

I’d really appreciate it if you could let me know once you’ve done this (my email is kevin.mckenna.mp@parliament.uk), along with what the mobile signal is like in your area. This will help me build a campaign to push for better mobile coverage in Iwade and nearby areas, so local residents get the mobile coverage they need.

The more people who report issues, the stronger our case becomes. Let’s work together to get this fixed and ensure no one is left in digital darkness.