Sittingbourne

Report by Mike Green

Sittingbourne kept up the pressure on leaders Ramsgate on Saturday (22nd march) afternoon with quite possibly as comfortable a 2-0 win over Eastbourne Town anyone will see this season, courtesy of a goal in each half from Troy Howard and Ade Azeez.

Howard put the home side in front following a fabulous ball from Bagasan Graham and the home side should have been out of sight by the time that Azeez netted the second in stoppage time at the end of the game as they struck the frame of the visitor's goal on five occasions!

Sittingbourne's Aldi store re-opened it's doors at 8:00am this morning (Thursday 13th March) following a two month extensive referbishment and upgrade.

The store, situated on East Street, has been there since 2005 and has finally seen a long anticipated expansion scheme completed over the last two months.

The plans were approved by Swale Borough Council in May 2024 and included an increase in floorspace.

The Mayor of Swale Cllr Ben Martin cut the ribbon earlier today with with two of the store's managers and welcomed the first customers through the door.

A three-month inquiry regarding the two applications known as 'Highsted Park' commenced at 10am this morning (Tuesday 11th March) at Swale House here in Sittingbourne.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service have confirmed that they were called at 5.31am this morning (Friday 7th March) to reports of a fire at a paper mill in Kemsley.  

It's believed that at the height of the fire six fire engines attended and crews, wearing breathing apparatus, used main jets to put out the flames.

There were no reported injuries and the cause is not yet known. 

Investigators are appealing for witnesses and dashcam footage following a report of a serious assault in Sittingbourne in the early hours of this morning (Thursday 27th February).

Patrols were called to an injured man near Rectory Road shortly after midnight. Officers and South East Coast Ambulance Service attended the scene where the victim, who is in his late teens, was treated for an injury consistent with a stab wound. He was taken by air ambulance to a London hospital where he remains in a serious but stable condition.

After nearly four years in the heart of Sittingbourne High Street's community The Swale Media Art Centre (SMAC), at number 34, is set to close on Friday 4th April.

(Stock Picture)

Another dispersal order is in place for two days, as Kent Police target those responsible for incidents of antisocial behaviour in Sittingbourne.

The enforcement started at 7.30pm last night (Tuesday 18th February) and has subsequently been extened to operate until 7.30pm on Saturday (22nd February) evening.

It encompasses the town centre including the A2, West Street, High Street, East Street, the Sittingbourne Retail Park, Eurolink Way, Mill Way and Albany Park.

Earlier this week the Lloyds Banking Group announced that 136 of it's various high street branches will close by March 2026.

They have confirmed that whilst the Sittingbourne Lloyds Bank bramch will remain the Halifax branch at 70-74 High Street Sittingbourne will close.

They confirmed to SFM News that the date for this closure will be  Wednesday 15th October.

Lloyds announced a few weeks ago that customers of Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland will now be able to use any of the branches across any of its brands for in-person banking.

More cameras have been added to Swale Borough Council’s CCTV network to help tackle crime and keep people safe. 

Six cameras have been installed in Sittingbourne and Sheerness town centres, bolstering the existing network of more than 300 cameras across the borough already being monitored 24/7 by the council’s CCTV control room. 

An additional three rapid deployment cameras, which are mobile and can be installed in the event of an emergency or in locations that see a spike in crime, have also been purchased.  

A dispersal order will be in place at the weekend as part of the latest enforcement action to tackle antisocial behaviour in Sittingbourne.

The town centre order will operate between from 3pm tomorrow (Friday 24th January) until 3pm on Sunday (26th January).