Sittingbourne

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.

Report by Mike Green

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).

Two teenagers have been charged following a serious assault in Sittingbourne last week.

Kent Police was called to an address in Murston shortly before 9pm on Thursday (16th January) following reports a 16-year-old boy had been assaulted and had sustained an injury consistent with a stab wound.

It was alleged that a group of people had arrived and left the scene in a car during the incident.

The New House Youth and Sports Centre on Chalkwell Road, closed as a result of Kent County Council budget cuts in late 2023, has gone up for sale.

The Freehold building is For Sale by Online Auction set for Thursday 6th February by Clive Emson Land & Property Auctioneers, based in Maidstone. They have the property listed with a guide price of £500,000. 

Sittingbourne's Aldi supermarket is set to close for two months from 4pm this coming Sunday (12th January).

The popular budget store, situated on East Street, has been there since 2005 and will see a long anticipated expansion scheme finalised. The plans were approved by Swale Borough Council in May 2024 and the branch is set to be re-open at 8am on Thursday 13th March.