Potential options

The first potential option was three unitary councils consisting of Dartford, Gravesham, Medway and Swale in the north; Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Malling, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells in the west and Ashford, Canterbury, Thanet, Dover and Folkestone and Hythe in the east.

The next was four unitary councils consisting of Dartford, Gravesham and Medway in the north; Sevenoaks, Tonbridge and Malling, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells in the west; Swale, Ashford and Folkestone and Hythe in the middle of Kent and Canterbury, Thanet and Dover in the east.

Councils across Kent kept the option to pay for and submit business plans for alternative options themselves using the KPMG data.

Medway Council is proposing a four-unitary model with changes to existing council boundaries.

Gravesham Borough Council and Dartford Borough Council have developed proposals for a five-unitary model also including a number of boundary changes.

KCC announced its intention to explore the case for a single unitary council covering Kent and Medway supplemented with three area committees covering the north, east and west of the county.

In Ashford, councillors felt the 4d model goes a step further than the other business cases on the basis that minor boundary changes are acceptable.

The potential changes represent a once in a lifetime opportunity to remodel the geographical areas that make sense of the developed communities of Kent reflecting their local identities, creating a sense of place, travel to work opportunities, balancing urban and rural across a four unitary model with strategic capacity.

There is lots of background information, including the detailed explanations for each option, which can be found via the Kent Council Leaders website.