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The gift of climate and ecological emergency is that we all get to work together. Ordinary citizens and community groups naturally share what they learn, and what they know of what helps. Everyone can help, everyone has something to offer, everyone is welcome. We all need to design, make and grow a better future for ourselves, our communities and our world. Together we CAN. Yes we CAN.
The aim of this page is to recognise, celebrate and encourage the self-empowerment of community agency networks (CANs) and community groups' activism for climate, environment and many other sustainability topics across Malling. It's an introduction to local networks, groups, and events.
- Malling community resources, Malling community climate and environment action and Neighbourhood Plan for West Malling are separate pages.
Video
Each week 3 different short videos from across the UK or world.
Northern Ireland community action, Haringey community action, West Midlands community action / ...This week's featured Global videos / ... read more about Cosmolocalism
| Map | |
|---|---|
| Location | West Malling, Kent, United Kingdom |
| Coordinates | 51° 17' 43.45" N, 0° 24' 34.06" E |
News
60 homes proposed by Vita Group at Belvidere House in East Malling close to rejected Ivy Farm site, kentonline.co.uk (Jul 28, 2025) — “The whole battle between locals trying to protect their area from over-development and the developers starts all over again. It’s relentless.” Gary James- Community groups call for locally-owned solar farms in Kent, BBC News (Jul 23, 2025)
- Planning free-for-all as Maidstone council misses five-year housing target, kentonline.co.uk (Jul 05, 2025) — “Horrendous... Developers will now rule the roost”, Cllr Valerie Springett
- Nearly £500k funding offered for green projects, BBC News (Nov 09, 2025) — Maidstone Borough Council is offering nearly £500,000 worth of funding to support environmental initiatives to combat climate and nature crises in the borough
- Kent GPs under 'unsustainable pressure', BBC News (Sep 30, 2025)
- Food banks warn demand has reached crisis point, BBC News (Sep 23, 2025)
- ‘Robot’ buses could bring more environmental benefits than public transport with drivers, theconversation.com (Nov 20, 2025)
- How heat from old coal mines became a source of local pride in this northern English town – new study, theconversation.com (Nov 20, 2025)
- Beth Mead: ‘If we don’t adapt to climate change, football becomes a privilege, not a right‘, theguardian.com (Nov 19, 2025)
- Sharing soil, sweat and tears, ffcc.co.uk (Oct 30, 2025) — Are farm partnerships the future? We talk to the team behind Abunda to find out
- Renewable energy investment should come from defence budgets, say retired military leaders, theguardian.com (Oct 23, 2025) — Former European officers say spending on low-carbon power would make nations more resilient to threats from potential aggressors
- Green to Grey, How Europe is squandering the little nature it has left, greentogrey.eu (Oct 01, 2025)
- ‘Robot’ buses could bring more environmental benefits than public transport with drivers, theconversation.com (Nov 20, 2025)
- The Cambodian women rising up to protect their communal land, positive.news (Nov 20, 2025)
- Bees, Community, and Shared Futures, grassecon.substack.com (Nov 20, 2025)
Networks, sustainability initiatives and community support
- Kings Hill and West Malling Eco Community, private group on facebook.com, link checked 08:43, 2 November 2025 (UTC)
- Friends of the Earth Kings Hill, private group on facebook.com, link checked 08:36, 2 November 2025 (UTC)
- Tonbridge and Malling Friends of the Earth on facebook, link checked 08:41, 2 November 2025 (UTC)
- West Malling Parish Council
Events
Nov 15, 2025 (Sat) — Malling and District Repair Café, Larkfield Village Halll, mallingrepaircafe.co.uk- Nov 16, 2025 (Sun) — West Malling Christmas Festival, see High Street posters
- Nov 23, 2025 (Sun) — West Malling Farmers Market, westmallingfarmersmarket.co.uk
- Dec 14, 2025 (Sun) — West Malling Farmers Market, westmallingfarmersmarket.co.uk
Regular events
- Malling and District Repair Café, usually 3rd Saturday of the month, mallingrepaircafe.co.uk
- West Malling Farmers Market, usually on the 4th Sunday of each month, but may be different in December
- Aylesford Farmers Market, usually 3rd Sunday each month. Aylesford Farmers Market on facebook.com
UK events
- Nov 10 - 16, 2025 (Mon - Sun) — Living Wage Week, livingwage.org.uk
- Nov 13, 2025 (Thu) — Kindness Day UK, Nov 13 annually, aiming to increase the value of kindness in society as well as increase the amount of kind acts that take place, making kindness a greater part in our daily life, kindnessuk.com
- Nov 16 - 22, 2025 (Sun - Sat) — Road Safety Week, brake.org.uk
- Nov 22 - 30, 2025 (Sat - Sun) — National Tree Week, The Tree Council's annual tree celebration. People across the country planting thousands of trees to mark the start of the winter tree planting season. "Trees and hedgerows are some of the most powerful tools we have in the fight against climate change.", treecouncil.org.uk
Global or international events
- Nov 05, 2025 (Wed) — Media Liberation Day, Change the Media, Change the Future, mediarevolution.org
- Nov 06, 2025 (Thu) — Outdoor Classroom Day, celebrating and inspiring outdoor learning and play, outdoorclassroomday.com
- Nov 13, 2025 (Thu) — World Kindness Day, Nov 13, annually, highlighting good deeds in the community focusing on the positive power and the common thread of kindness for good which binds us, randomactsofkindness.org
- Nov 16, 2025 (Sun) — International Day for Tolerance, Nov 16 each year, fostering respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world's cultures, our forms of expression and ways of being human, unesco.org
- Nov 19, 2025 (Wed) — International Men's Day, Nov 19, annually
- Nov 28 & 29, 2025 — Buy Nothing Day, en.wikipedia.org
2021-2030, UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, International community action events
Communities online
- eastmalling.net, independent project providing information and news for residents and visitors of East Malling
Local concerns
Overdevelopment
In common with many areas across the the South East, the constant threat of overdevelopment or inappropriate development, for example locking us into yet more car dependency, pollution and carbon emissions, loss of green space, lack of genuinely affordable housing and imbalances against community interests in the current top down planning system is a concern for many people locally.
14% of Tonbridge and Malling is 'Built on', compared to 6% nationally, Nov 9, 2017...bbc.co.uk. Because of recent and planned new housing the disparity is likely to be growing, with even more of a disparity for some parts of the Borough. It wold be interesting to know what the figure is for Malling and how this has increased over recent years...
New: Via this Land Cover Explorer map, you can see changes in land use / land cover, for example the built up area, 2017-2023: livingatlas.arcgis.com, added 14:41, 8 September 2024 (UTC)
Campaigns
- Kent quarry extension is one of the biggest threats of the 21st century. Hermitage Quarry expansion plans: If approved, the loss could even surpass ancient woodland losses from the Lower Thames Crossing and HS2 schemes combined, woodlandtrust.org.uk, added 14:04, 9 August 2023 (UTC)
- Broadwater Action Group, based in East and West Malling,...Press release, broadwateractiongroup.co.uk, added 12:35, 27 August 2021 (UTC)
- Protect West Malling, public group on facebook
- Ryarsh Protection Group, an action group working alongside Ryarsh Parish Council. "Our priority currently (2018) is to object to the proposed 'West Malling Sandpit' which is a large sand quarry located in Ryarsh."
see also: Towards a more democratic and climate friendly way of meeting housing need across England#Campaigns
About Malling
West Malling is an historic mediaeval market town based in West Kent. Malling, West Malling and hinterland consists of the parishes of Addington; Birling; East Malling; Kings Hill; Larkfield; Leybourne; Mereworth; Offham; Ryarsh; and Trottiscliffe.
The area is unusual in that East Malling, Larkfield and Kings Hill are substantial communities with their own shops and facilities – however they provide the main commercial and industrial estates, leaving West Malling as a traditional market town offering retail shops, services and hospitality to the surrounding area. There are more than 500 businesses in the Malling area.
The parishes are within the Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council (offices at Kings Hill). The town is actually closer to Maidstone, County Town of Kent, than to Tonbridge; however both are substantial centres accessible to West Malling car drivers, but Tonbridge much less so for car-free households...MAP Action plan 2009-2011, Introduction (link no longer available).
West Malling archive
Past events
- Nov 5 - 27, 2021, Kings Hill and West Malling Eco Hub's Pledge tree. Every small change we make has a ripple effect influencing and inspiring our friends, families, colleagues and shops and businesses.
- Our Eco Hub is creating a pledge tree in West Malling Library. We hope to get lots of schools, businesses and groups involved to make a pledge to take one step greener and be part of a bigger community movement.
- Make your leaf or leaves from some waste paper or card (preferably in autumn colours!) Write your pledge on it and post the leaf into the library during November.
- We will add the pledges to the tree and share how the tree is growing on our Facebook page @KingsHillandWestMallingEcoHub. Kings Hill and West Malling Eco Hub on facebook.com
See also
- Towards a more democratic and climate friendly way of meeting housing need across England, Housing UK news
- Housing, Housing news
Near you
Gravesham - Maidstone - Medway - Sevenoaks - Tonbridge - Kent
| Authors | Phil Green |
|---|---|
| License | CC-BY-SA-3.0 |
| Cite as | Phil Green (2014–2025). "Community action/Malling". Appropedia. Retrieved November 28, 2025. |