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Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Kent Business Newsletter…

This week’s Kent Business Newsletter looks at the organisations strengthening Kent from the inside out.

Dover Counselling Centre is turning 40 years of experience into Hub & Spoke, a free support venture to help charities across Kent build stronger, more sustainable futures. In Medway, AliDeck is proving that low carbon manufacturing can be a serious commercial advantage, with independently verified aluminium products outperforming industry averages.

We also cover Fernham Homes’ latest global safety recognition, as the West Malling house builder adds another major award to its growing list of honours, and Avantis Education’s new VR wellbeing tool for South East classrooms, designed to help pupils feel calmer, more included and ready to learn.

Plus, this week’s business spotlight meets Michelle Sandys, the Cranbrook HR consultant helping small employers handle the people problems they would rather not face alone.

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Dover Counselling Centre is using four decades of experience in East Kent to launch Hub & Spoke, a free new venture designed to help other charities grow with more confidence and stability. Built as a support service for the voluntary sector, it offers practical help with governance, communications, crisis planning, volunteer management and long-term sustainability. The aim is simple but important: give charities one reliable place to turn when pressures build and internal capacity is stretched. For organisations dealing with rising demand and tighter resources, that kind of support could make a real difference to how they plan, operate and survive.

A key part of the launch is the appointment of Laura Hardy, a charity leader and fundraiser with more than ten years of experience helping communities through creativity, connection and sustainable growth. Since 2013, she has led a grassroots arts charity focused on wellbeing, confidence and community involvement, while also mentoring charities and CICs across Kent through Funding for All. Her work on Hub & Spoke brings together strategic growth, fundraising and hands-on delivery under one banner.

For Kent’s charity sector, this is more than a new service. It is an attempt to turn hard-earned experience into practical backing that could help more local organisations stay resilient when support is needed most.

➡️ Read what Dover is offering charities before challenges deepen.

Medway manufacturer AliDeck has been named the industry leader in verified low carbon aluminium products, giving the Rochester firm a strong commercial point of difference in a market facing tighter scrutiny on building safety, sustainability and product performance. Its Environmental Product Declarations, published through EPD Hub and independently audited by Blue Marble, show the embodied carbon performance of its aluminium products is up to 17% better than the industry average. For its 20mm aluminium board, the normalised Global Warming Potential is 5.6 kg CO2e/kg, compared with 6.5 for the best competing board. In carbon terms, lower is better, and AliDeck is ahead.

That matters well beyond one product line. AliDeck employs 92 people at Medway City Estate and makes balcony components for high-rise new build and remediation projects, including decking, balustrades, drainage systems and cladding. Verified EPDs give specifiers clearer evidence for BREEAM and other sustainability targets, offer contractors greater confidence on compliance, and help developers prove environmental claims to planners and stakeholders.

This is a clear example of local manufacturing turning environmental standards into commercial advantage. With 100% recyclable aluminium products and 67% recycled content already in use, AliDeck has shown how investment in UK production, traceability and material control can strengthen both credibility and competitiveness.

➡️ Read what gives this Medway manufacturer an edge.

West Malling house builder Fernham Homes has been awarded a RoSPA Gold Award, recognising its strong health and safety performance across 2025. The award reflects a consistent approach across its sites and wider operations, with clear attention on protecting employees, contractors and partners. Run by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, the programme is one of the most respected in the world and receives around 2,000 entries each year from organisations in nearly 60 countries. For Fernham Homes, the result underlines a simple but important point: health and safety is not treated as a box-ticking exercise, but as part of how the business works every day.

That matters for Kent because strong standards on site affect staff wellbeing, contractor confidence and the steady delivery of new homes. Managing director Sean Ellis said safety sits at the heart of the company’s culture and will remain there as the business grows. RoSPA’s Julia Small said awards like this reflect real hard work and help make workplaces safer for everyone.

The latest recognition adds to a run of major honours for Fernham Homes, including the WhatHouse? Gold Award for Best Small Housebuilder 2025, seven straight years of In-House Gold for customer satisfaction, and an Outstanding Achievement Award in 2024. Together, they show a Kent builder strengthening both trust and reputation.

➡️ See why safety standards are shaping Fernham’s next stage.

Avantis Education has launched EduverseTHRIVE, a new wellbeing and inclusion tool aimed at helping mainstream schools across the South East support pupils who need help with sensory regulation and emotional readiness. The launch comes during Mental Health Awareness Week, from 11 to 17 May, and follows a strong month for the company after it won the King’s Award for Enterprise 2026 for Innovation. Avantis, the firm behind ClassVR, says the new solution gives teachers a practical way to help students feel calm, confident and ready to learn without leaving the classroom.

The commercial need is clear. In 2025, the National Association of Head Teachers said 98% of school leaders lacked the resources to meet the needs of SEND pupils, while traditional sensory rooms can cost between £5,000 and £15,000 and are often beyond reach. EduverseTHRIVE uses ClassVR to give pupils access to interactive, customisable VR sensory rooms where they can adjust lighting, sound and animation intensity to suit their needs. Avantis says this can help students reset in minutes and return to learning with less disruption.

For South East schools facing pressure to improve inclusion with limited budgets and space, the launch puts a practical new option on the table.

➡️ Read what this means for SEND provision locally.

Kent-headquartered housebuilder Vistry has warned that first-half profits will fall significantly amid softer housing market conditions. The company said demand has moderated in recent weeks despite stronger year-to-date sales activity. Read more.

Redrow says its 295-home development at the former paper mill site in Maidstone is close to fully sold. The regeneration project has combined new housing with restoration of the site’s Grade II-listed chimney and industrial heritage. Read more.

Co-op has confirmed 24 new and refurbished stores will launch during the second quarter of 2026, with Kent included among the locations. The programme forms part of a wider push to open or refresh more than 40 stores in the first half of the year. Read more.

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