Dartford Council say unitary authority merger will be 'a shame'
The changes were announced earlier this week
Dartford council leader Jeremey Kite has spoken out against the plans for Kent to be split into four unitary authorities, replacing current local councils.
Dartford Council is set to be combined with combined with Gravesham and Medway to form North Kent by April 2028.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Kent, Council Leader Jeremey Kite said:
"In Dartford, everything we do here is for people.
"We don't sort of say 'we're going to do this to you', and so I think the thing that I feel most upset about in this is that there's been so little interaction with local people, asking what they want.
"And it's a great shame because we've got a very conversational relationship with people, we do great things, we have a lot of fun with people and I'm afraid I just don't see that continuing afterwards.
"A lot of the events we do, all the free stuff, I can see that being at threat because a council, quite a long way away from us, will now be involved in perhaps making those decisions.
"So I'm quite sad but I've had a great time and it's been a privilege to lead Dartford and I really forward to defending it and looking after people going forward.
On being part of a wider authority he added:
"When you've got a big council it has big council mentality and what that will mean is those crazy decisions that councils make locally which are full of character and idiosyncrasy, they're not really based upon the balance sheet or the return.
"They're based just on a feeling that you want to do something good for your town.
"We've got statues of Keith Richards and Mick Jagger there. I can't see a big mega council ever prioritising that kind of spend.
"But we did because we knew it was celebrating great Dartfordians.
"It's not about rich people and rich musicians, it's about saying to people you can be anything you want to be if you come from Dartford.
"So I worry about that loss, and I do worry that we're handing a lot of life over to the bureaucrats and the administrators and the accountants and that's a very sad day for me."