Dartford Conservative Councillors and Reform Councillors joined forces to block Labour’s HMO Plan which was debated at Dartford Council on Monday evening (28th)
Residents have told Labour Councillors they want to see action on the growth of HMOs across Dartford. In response, Labour brought a plan to Council that would deliver tougher HMO controls to support tenants, stop overcrowding and protect Dartford communities. Our plan would have seen –
– Planning Permission required for all HMOs
– Action to identify properties operating as HMOs without the proper permission
– Consideration of a cap on the overall number of HMOs
– Engagement with residents on the impact of HMOs in their area
– A HMO policy for the Borough.
Despite the Leader of the Council Jeremy Kite telling the Dartford Messenger last week that he believed HMOs “have no place at all in our housing economy”, he refused to put his words into action.
These much needed reforms were disgracefully and needlessly blocked by the Tories and Reform who voted against taking action now, in favour of kicking action into the long grass.
This Conservative Council have had years to bring forward a plan. They have failed to do so and after this vote there is still no plan. Labour has a plan – and the Conservatives are welcome to use it. Cllr Jonathon Hawkes, Labour Leader
Speaking after the meeting, Dartford Labour Leader Councillor Jonathon Hawkes said
“Tonight we had an opportunity for the Council to adopt a plan that would have delivered tougher HMO controls to support tenants, stop overcrowding and protect Dartford Communities. Instead the Tories and Reform joined forces to vote against taking the action that is needed. Labour proposed action, the Tories and Reform voted for delay. They want to kick the problem into the long grass. That’s not good enough for Dartford residents who tell us they want to see the growth of HMOs tackled now.
This Conservative Council have had years to bring forward a plan. They have failed to do so and after this vote there is still no plan. Labour has a plan – and the Conservatives are welcome to use it. We will continue to push the Conservatives to take the action needed”
“People will wonder exactly what Dartford Conservatives and Reform are up to together. The Tories are bending over backwards to defend Reform – too scared to even defend their own environmental record in public. The Tories are trying to dodge holding Reform to account. Labour in Dartford won’t ever hesitate to hold Reform to account and walking back from Net Zero commitments is the wrong choice for Dartford.”
“Abandonment of environmental responsibility by one local authority in Kent places an unfair burden on other Councils like Dartford who are working proactively to deliver net zero. Cllr Alina Vaduva
Dartford Labour’s spokesperson for the Environment and Net Zero Cllr Alina Vaduva said “Climate leadership requires vision, responsibility, and partnership at every level of government. The threat by Reform to abandon environmental commitments is short-sighted, irresponsible and does not support the long-term wellbeing of our environment, our local economy or Dartford communities.”
Most vulnerable residents paying the price for the Conservatives failure to manage housing maintenance contract.
Labour Councillors have told the Conservative administration to urgently address a backlog of urgent work to make homes fit for disabled residents. Breyer, the maintenance contractor responsible for repairing social homes in Dartford went into administration in April 2025.
It was then revealed that an internal audit report in November 2024 had found there was only limited assurance in managing the Breyer contract and that“despite the value of the contract, the risk register had not been maintained to help the service identify and manage risks to contract delivery.”
In a report to Council this week, it was disclosed that the budget for disability adaptations of council housing stock was underspent by £95,000 despite a sizable waiting list. The Conservatives blamed delays and cancellations due to the contractor (Breyer) performance issues.
It’s clear that it’s our most vulnerable residents who are paying the price for the failure of the Breyer contract and the failure of this Conservative administration to adequately manage that contract. Cllr. Kelly Grehan
Dartford Labour Deputy Leader, Cllr Kelly Grehan said: “Lessons need to be learned and this needs to be fixed, so the big backlog of disability adaptations is cleared, and so our disabled residents can live with dignity”
Dartford Conservatives bend over backwards to defend Reform
Labour tabled a motion criticising the Reform administration at Kent County Council for abandoning vital environmental commitments. The Conservatives sought to amend the motion to remove any criticisms of Reform.
The Reform UK administration at Kent County Council has announced a set of cuts to its net zero programmes and abandoned a plan to transition to electric vehicles. In an interview last week, KCC Leader Linden Kemkaren confirmed that she’s believed that net zero was “absolute nonsense” and that her Reform administration would be doing “nothing” to tackle climate change.
Labour’s motion invited the Council to come together to condemn Reform’s policy and defend our own commitment to achieving Net Zero by 2030. The Tories voted against Labour’s motion – proposing to replace the motion with a bland statement removing any criticism of Reform. At one bizarre moment in the debate, Council Leader Jeremy Kite claimed that public statements from the Reform Leader of Kent County Council should not be treated as Reform’s policy position !
