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The latest Dartford news: planning decisions, council and crime updates, business and community stories, each linked back to its official source.

Top story Dartford Food Hygiene: High Street Fishmonger Rated Zero Shan's Fishmongers & Butchers on Dartford High Street holds the borough's only zero hygiene rating. Four more are rated 1, and all 20 September inspections scored 5. · 5 min read

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Business Dartford New Companies: 57 Formed in a Month, 8 in Food 57 companies were set up with a Dartford address from 24 August to 24 September, eight in food and drink. Plus the Gazette notices, including Made In Kent Radio. · 7 min read Housing Dartford Temporary Accommodation: 518 Households, Up 20% 518 Dartford households were in council temporary accommodation at the end of June, up from 433 a year earlier. 219 were placed outside the borough. · 5 min read Council Dartford Museum Shuts 1 October for £562,100 Redesign Dartford Museum closes on 1 October for a £562,100 redesign, 84 per cent of it riding on a developer levy bid with no published decision. Reopening hoped for autumn 2027. · 5 min read What's On Dartford Bear Hunt: Free Farewell Weekend, 26-27 Sept All 80-odd Bears and Cubs are together at Bluewater for the last time on 26 and 27 September, 10am to 5pm. Free, but the timed ticket must be booked first. · 4 min read Business St Paulinus Pre-School in Crayford Goes Into Liquidation The company behind the 32-place Crayford pre-school resolved to wind up on 14 September, six months after Ofsted judged it to be meeting the expected standard. · 4 min read House Prices Dartford House Prices Down £7,043: Worst Fall in Kent The average Dartford home is £347,773, down £7,043 in a year. That is the biggest annual fall of any council area in Kent, and flats dropped 4.7 per cent. · 6 min read Business Dimples Day Nursery Darenth Is Now Employee-Owned The founders of the Darenth nursery handed majority control to a trust for its staff on 4 September. It has been Outstanding at its last two Ofsted inspections. · 5 min read Dartford Crossing Dartford Crossing: Seven More Months of Night Closures National Highways intends to close A282 carriageways overnight for about seven months from 7 October, with a new 50mph limit. Estimated end: 7 May 2027. · 6 min read Dartford FC Dartford FC Come From 2-1 Down to Win 4-2 in FA Cup Dartford trailed 2-1 at Princes Park before beating Hayes & Yeading United 4-2 to reach the FA Cup third qualifying round on 3 October. Max Fiddes scored twice. · 4 min read Dartford town centre Hythe Street Dartford: £3.2m Rebuild Due January 2027 Cabinet is asked on Thursday to tender a £3.225m rebuild of Hythe Street: wider footways, a two-way cycle lane, main works from January 2027. · 6 min read Bins and recycling Dartford Food Waste Collections Start November 2026 Dartford houses get food waste caddies this autumn and weekly collections from November 2026. Flats follow in early 2027. What goes in, and what it costs. · 5 min read Crime Dartford Shoplifting Up 69% as Town Centre Violence Falls Shoplifting in central Dartford rose 69% in the first seven months of 2026 while violent crime fell 24%. Police figures, month by month, and the outcomes. · 4 min read Air quality Dartford Air Quality: Council Plans to Lift 3 NO2 Zones No Dartford monitor broke the nitrogen dioxide limit in 2025, so the council plans to lift its three NO2 zones. East Hill still read 39, against a limit of 40. · 5 min read Fly-tipping Dartford Fly-Tipping: 2,583 in a Year, and the Worst Streets Dartford recorded 2,583 fly-tips in the year to July 2026. Green Street Green Road and Knights Manor Way had 39 each, and 30 of 158 fly-tipping fines were paid. · 4 min read Crime Dartford High Street Stabbing: Two Men Charged Two men are charged over Friday's Dartford High Street assault and a knife and baton were recovered. The injured man in his 40s has left hospital. · 6 min read Planning Dartford HMO Rules: 10% Cap Within 50m Now in Force A new HMO is refused if 10% of homes within 50m are already HMOs. Mid-terraces are out, and two and three-bed homes near a school are protected. · 8 min read Dartford Crossing Dartford Crossing: Both Tunnels Shut 8pm Tonight Both Dartford tunnels close 8pm tonight to 5am Sunday, with a one-lane contraflow across the QEII Bridge and three slip roads shut for a 999 exercise. · 6 min read Dartford Larder Dartford Larder One Year On: 300 Households, £4.50 a Shop Dartford Larder has supported more than 300 households in its first year, the council says. How the £4.50 social supermarket works and who can join. · 5 min read Planning Woodman Pub Dartford: 5-Year HMO Backed, Bar Protected Officers back a five-year HMO above The Woodman on East Hill, with 87.3 sqm of ground floor kept as a pub. Councillors vote 17 September; 11 object. · 6 min read Planning Roots Allotments Hawley: 7.4m Tipi and Containers Backed A 7.4m tipi and three containers at Roots Allotments, Hawley, are 'not inappropriate' Green Belt use, officers say. Eight objections; vote 17 September. · 5 min read Dartford FC Dartford FC 2-0 Westfield: Hayes & Yeading Next, 19 Sep Dartford won their FA Cup replay 2-0 and host Hayes & Yeading United at Princes Park at 3pm on Saturday 19 September. Winning is worth £3,375 to the club. · 3 min read Local government North Kent Council Paused: Dartford's 2028 Date in Doubt Ministers paused the North Kent merger on 7 September and told councils to stop implementing it. Dartford's May 2027 borough elections are back on. · 7 min read Fairfield Leisure Fairfield Leisure Dartford: New Gym Open, £923k Pledged The upgraded gym at Fairfield Leisure is open. It is the visible part of £923,000 the operator promised Dartford's council for a five-year contract extension. · 7 min read Planning Bluewater EV Charging Approved, Solar Carport Plan Pulled Six DC charging upstands are approved for the Village car park, at the cost of three parking spaces. A second, bigger scheme was withdrawn on 1 September. · 5 min read Dartford town centre Dartford High Street: One Empty Shop in the Core, 2% One empty unit in Dartford's core High Street, a 2% vacancy rate against 13.7% nationally. Primark has stood empty since January; the Priory Centre is at 10.3%. · 6 min read Local government North Kent Council: Dartford Asks for 19 Seats, Not 18 Dartford and Gravesham found 16% electoral inequality in the plan for North Kent Council and asked for 84 councillors, not 81. Dartford has put £1.5m aside. · 5 min read Roads Dartford Street Lights: 28 Replacements Are Overdue Kent Highways lists 56 street lights and signposts in Dartford that failed structural testing. Twenty-eight are past their date, one since September 2025. · 5 min read Planning 45 High Street Dartford: Heritage Group Urges Refusal The Georgian Group asked Dartford council to refuse eight flats at Grade II* 45 High Street without a proper heritage statement. Comments close 11 September. · 7 min read Planning Hythe Street Dartford: Fifth Storey Would Make 26 Flats A fifth storey at 11-27 Hythe Street would take the old Post Office to 26 flats. The Environment Agency puts it in Flood Zone 3a. Comments close 3 September. · 7 min read Food hygiene Dartford Food Hygiene: 19 Fives, One Care Home Got 2 Dartford Borough Council published 20 food hygiene ratings in August. Nineteen were top marks, from Bluewater to a Longfield pub. One care home scored 2. · 5 min read Travel Dartford Station Closed All Day Sunday 6 September No trains at Dartford, Stone Crossing, Greenhithe for Bluewater or Swanscombe on Sunday 6 September. Buses replace them, and Victoria services are off too. · 4 min read Planning Swanscombe 229-Home Plan: Just 11 at Affordable Rent Countryside wants 229 homes at Ashmere Phase 5, Swanscombe. Just 57 are affordable and 46 of those are shared ownership. Comments close 10 September. · 6 min read Dartford FC Dartford Women's First Win: 4-1 After Going Behind Lelia Awan scored twice in seven minutes and Jade Charlton saved a penalty as Dartford beat Crystal Palace PGA 4-1 for their first win of the season. · 3 min read Schools Dartford Grammar School 8-Classroom Block: Comments to 5 Sept Dartford Grammar School wants a three-storey block of eight classrooms beside the Becket Sports Centre, plus a dance studio for hire. Comments close 5 September. · 4 min read Planning Swanscombe's 70 Affordable Homes: Sage Asks to Rewrite 106 Terms Sage Homes wants the lender clause on 70 affordable homes at Tiltman Avenue, Swanscombe, rewritten so a bank could sell them freely after three months. Comments to 11 September. · 4 min read Bins Dartford Bin Collections After the 31 August Bank Holiday Every Dartford bin round moves a day later from Monday 31 August: Monday's rubbish goes out Tuesday 1 September and Friday's on Saturday 5 September. All five days listed. · 3 min read Dartford Crossing Dartford Crossing Fines Now Out-Earn the Toll: £128.4m Audited accounts show Dart Charge fines raised £128.4m in 2024-25, more than the £126.5m in crossing charges. Dartford residents can cap their bill at £25. · 6 min read Orchard Theatre Orchard Theatre Dartford Reopens 12 December with Cinderella The Orchard reopens on 12 December with Cinderella after RAAC removal and an £11.6m budget. Orchard West's last listed show is Al Murray on 4 September. · 4 min read House Prices Dartford House Prices Jump £9,550 in a Month to £351,594 The average Dartford home reached £351,594 in June, up £9,550 in a month, the 8th biggest rise of 295 English areas. Sales, though, keep falling. · 6 min read Jobs Dartford Benefit Claims Hit 2,645, Highest Since 2021 2,645 people in the Dartford borough were claiming out-of-work benefits in July, the most since October 2021. Under-25s are up 20 per cent in a year. · 4 min read Dartford FC Dartford Women's Keeper Scores to Rescue Debut Point Jade Charlton turned in a 91st-minute equaliser as Dartford drew 1-1 before 305 at Princes Park. A day later co-manager Martin McCarthy stepped down. · 3 min read Bluewater Bluewater Winterland Opens 7 November, Approved to 2029 Winterland returns to Bluewater's West Car Park on 7 November, with permission now running to January 2029. The dates, the 9pm curfew and 413 spaces lost. · 5 min read Planning Lidl Plan for Horns Cross: 40 Jobs, Comments Close 1 Sept Lidl wants a 2,184 sq m store on London Road at Horns Cross, with 117 spaces and up to 40 jobs. Eleven objections lodged; comments close 1 September. · 5 min read Planning Littlebrook Power Station Site: Lorry Charging Hub Planned A lorry charging and HVO refuelling hub is planned for 3.3ha of the former Littlebrook power station. The council says it needs no environmental statement. · 5 min read Dartford Borough Council Dartford Council Abolished 1 April 2028: What Happens Next Dartford Borough Council goes on 1 April 2028; North Kent Council, 81 councillors for Dartford, Gravesham and Medway, replaces it. Key dates, money and Monday's deadline. · 7 min read Swanscombe Galley Hill Road: the £50m repair bid is now with the DfT Kent has spent £1.186m keeping the collapsed A226 safe and puts the rebuild at about £50m. Bids closed on 3 August and a government decision is due this autumn. · 6 min read Schools Dartford Ofsted 2026: two schools graded Exceptional Four Dartford schools now have new-style Ofsted report cards. Dartford Grammar for Girls and Leigh UTC took top grades. Here is every area graded, and what the words mean. · 5 min read Business Anthony Jones, Dartford insurance broker, ceases trading The Crossways firm, trading since 1984, has ceased trading and faces an HMRC winding up petition on 19 August. What policyholders and creditors do next. · 3 min read Business Pro Futures Soccer Schools to wind up, creditors meet 12 Aug Both companies behind the Dartford children's football coaching business meet creditors on 12 August to wind up. Claims are due by 4pm on 11 August. · 3 min read