Our Community

Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF)

In September 2022, the government launched the REPF prospectus as an addition to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. We were allocated £539,728 to spend between 2023 and 2025 on capital interventions in our rural communities as part of the REPF. We were allocated £134,932 to spend between 2023 and 2024 and £404,796 to spend between 2024 and 2025. All money must be spent by 31st March 2025.

The REPF in Maidstone aims to support rural communities to modernise and improve their assets to provide multiuse spaces that improve health, wellbeing, reduce rural loneliness, while having a positive impact on the local environment, contribute towards net zero, support the local rural economy, and promote community cohesion.

In 2023 we awarded the first phase of the REPF to communities across the borough. Grants of £50,000+ were made available by the Council to eligible organisations who were invited to apply in June 2023. The first four successful projects that have been allocated funding by MBC are:

Staplehurst Free Church (SFC); the SFC sought funding to install solar panels onto a large roof. Energy supply to the building is only electricity as gas is not installed. Commenting on their funding a representative of the church said: “We are very grateful for this award as it will be transformative in providing energy to our ‘all electric’ building and help us contribute to sustainability of the environment.”

Teston Parish Council; the Village Hall’s annual energy costs, particularly electricity, have been considerable over the years and, due to recent world events, have increased greatly. Gas usage has also been significant and getting significantly more costly. This award will help reduce energy costs, funding the installation of solar panels and a more CO2 efficient heat source.

Hollingbourne Parish Council; in their application the Parish Council said that "the village hall/ community centre is the Cardwell Pavilion, which was built over 40 years ago. The facilities within the Centre have not been updated in over 30 years and consequently, the community centre is not a facility used by the villagers. This award will make such a positive difference to our little community."

Boxley Parish Council; in their application the Parish Council said that they would like to improve the energy efficiency and sustainability of our community hall. A recent heat loss survey identified that most of our heat is lost through the windows and doors so we would like to replace them with more thermally efficient ones.

A second phase of funding has recently closed and we will announce who we have awarded funding to in 2024 in the coming months.

Love Where You Live Grant

'Love Where You Live' was a funding initiative aimed at supporting small-scale environmental projects that encouraged a sense of civic pride across communities; meeting a desire not only to live in clean and attractive places, but also to actively contribute to transforming, enhancing and maintaining those spaces for both the community and local biodiversity. 'Love Where You Live' aimed to enable local communities to take positive action. Maidstone Borough Council wanted to encourage individuals and organisations to work in partnership within neighbourhoods to raise awareness and educate others about wider environmental and sustainability issues.

Applications were welcome from any non-profit making constituted group, such as a 'friends of' or community group. Organisations could apply for grants of between £500 and £5000 and we received a large number of excellent applications. In total, £35,000 of funding was awarded to groups in Maidstone. We are aiming to showcase some of the projects the fund has supported later this year.

Borough Insight Magazine: Environmental Special

In spring 2023, over 82,000 residential properties in Maidstone received a special environmental edition of the Maidstone Borough Council 'Borough Insight' magazine. Included in this issue was Litter Heroes, local environmental stories, a focus on The Queen's Green Canopy, energy saving tips and help, MBC sustainable projects and a competition giving readers the chance to win a compost bin. To view the magazine online click here.

The magazine also included an eight page pull-out section dedicated to waste and recycling. The pull-out includes advice and information on what items should be recycled in each bin, how best to recycle specialist items, the issue with contamination and where your recycling goes to. Our aim is for all residents to keep this waste and recycling pull-out and use it to recycle right in Maidstone. Download your copy of the waste and recycling pull-out here.

New Biodiversity and Climate Change Engagement Officer

In 2022, Maidstone Borough Council created a new full-time position and hired Gemma Bailey as our new Biodiversity and Climate Change Engagement Officer.

As an interdepartmental role working between the Climate and Biodiversity, Parks and Open Spaces, and Waste Management teams, Gemma is co-ordinating awareness-raising events and outreach opportunites through schools and community groups, newsletters and social media. Gemma is also supporting residents to understand the changes that they can make to mitigate and prepare for the impacts of climate change, while reducing energy consumption. Gemma additionally leads on community engagement with local green spaces, increasing biodiversity and connects existing volunteers and environmental groups together, while working to raise waste reduction awareness to improve recycling, reuse, circular economy, composting and reducing food waste within the borough of Maidstone. This is in order to achieve the objectives set out in the MBC Biodiversity and Climate Change Action Plan and Waste Strategy and to fulfil the Council's priority to make Maidstone a Safe, Clean and Green place to be.

Community Litter Picks

Our Street Scene team co-ordinates groups of litter pickers across the borough, providing them with all the equipment they will need to complete a successful and safe litter pick. If you think you could be a #LitterHero please contact us here and we will be put you in touch with your local team and provide you with tools, bags and equipment.

No Idling Campaign

An idling engine can produce up to twice as many emissions as an engine in motion. As part of our MBC Biodiversity and Climate Change Action Plan and local Air Quality Action Plan (AQA), we are committed to raising awareness of idling and engaging with the public to reduce emissions from idling.

To date, 31 signs have been placed on lampposts, in collaboration with Kent County Council, at key areas identified by our AQA and we have supported the ‘Clean for Schools’ scheme, reducing idling in areas on the local school drop off/pick up points.

Further engagement is planned to discuss the impact of idling with children, through school engagement, and to encourage them to reduce air pollution through games and activities, discussing clean air, climate change and sustainable modes of transport. At pick-up time, school staff will also inform parents about clean air and encourage idling vehicles around the schools to switch off when stationary.

Go Green Go Wild

In 2019, the Go Green Go Wild project was launched, aiming to engage and support schools, volunteers, and community groups in Maidstone and lead on raising awareness to tackle climate change and enhance biodiversity. A website was created and used as a coordination hub for events, networks and campaigns to support residents take part in everything from local litter picking and 'cycle to school' campaigns, to wilding events and tree planting. The network of sustainability and green-minded groups registered on the Go Green Go Wild website were encouraged to share resources, come together and support one another. We used the platform to inform, make connections and support groups financially. Content from the Go Green Go Wild website, including the events calendar and list of community groups, has been added to our new Climate Change website. We hope to use this platform to expand the network of community groups and volunteers, and establish a platform for groups to share resources, tools and knowledge

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Go Green Go Wild awarded £23,000 to 26 different school and community projects in Maidstone for green initiatives and planting projects.