Useful numbers in Whitstable

Police, fire, ambulance and coastguard

Emergencies only. For an incident at sea or on the shore, call 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard.

NHS 111

24 hours

Urgent medical help that is not an emergency. NHS 111 can tell you the nearest service and book appointments at east Kent urgent treatment centres; choose the mental health option for a mental health crisis.

Kent Police, non-emergency

Report crime that is not happening now. Relay UK 18001 101.

Samaritans

24 hours

Free, confidential listening support, day or night.

Release the Pressure, mental health helpline

24 hours

Kent and Medway's 24-hour mental health helpline, listed by the local NHS mental health trust alongside NHS 111 (mental health option) and the SHOUT text service (text STAND to 85258).

QEQM Hospital, Margate: nearest A&E

Ramsgate Road, Margate, CT9 4BG

A&E open 24 hours

The nearest A&E to Whitstable by road. The A&E entrance is on the Ramsgate Road side of the hospital; the urgent treatment centre on site is 01843 234239.

William Harvey Hospital, Ashford: A&E

Kennington Road, Willesborough, Ashford, TN24 0LZ

A&E open 24 hours

East Kent's other 24-hour A&E, a little further from Whitstable than Margate. Check in at the emergency department reception before using the urgent treatment centre on site.

Kent and Canterbury Hospital Urgent Treatment Centre

Ethelbert Road, Canterbury, CT1 3NG

Open 24 hours (GP and minor illness 8am to midnight; minor injuries 24 hours)

Walk-in urgent treatment centre with no A&E on site. Outside 8am to midnight it runs as a walk-in minor injuries unit. Hospital switchboard 01227 766877.

Estuary View Urgent Treatment Centre

Estuary View Medical Centre, Boorman Way, CT5 3SE

Mon-Sun 8am-8pm

Whitstable's own walk-in urgent treatment centre, run by Whitstable Medical Practice, open 365 days a year to everyone regardless of where they are registered, with X-ray on site. Sat nav CT5 3RL; parking is £1 per visit for up to four hours.

Herne Bay Urgent Treatment Centre

Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital, King Edward Avenue, Herne Bay, CT6 6EB

Mon-Sun 8am-8pm

Urgent treatment centre at Herne Bay's Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital, open daily including bank holidays; no appointment needed.

Power cut

Report a power cut or damaged electricity equipment to UK Power Networks, the network operator for Kent; 0800 31 63 105 also works.

Gas emergency

The National Gas Emergency Number to call if you smell gas. SGN runs the gas network across the south of England.

Southern Water, sewers and wastewater

Sewer flooding and blocked public sewers in Whitstable. Number as listed by a third-party directory; check your bill. South East Water supplies the drinking water, and leaks are reported through its website.

Floodline

24 hours

Environment Agency flood warnings and advice, including sign-up for free flood alerts; textphone 0345 602 6340.

Crimestoppers

Report crime anonymously, by phone or online.

National Highways

24 hours

Advisers answer day or night about England's motorways and major A roads, which National Highways operates and maintains.

Whitstable RNLI Lifeboat Station

The Harbour, Whitstable, CT5 1AB

Visiting: daily Easter to Christmas; Christmas to Easter Sat-Sun 10am-1pm

Home of the Atlantic 85 lifeboat Lewisco, launched from the beach by carriage, with a shop and viewing area. In an emergency at sea or on the shore, call 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard.

Whitstable Medical Practice, Estuary View Medical Centre

Estuary View Business Park, Boorman Way, CT5 3SE

Mon-Sun 8am-8pm

Main site of Whitstable's GP practice, which serves the whole town from three sites; nhs.uk shows the practice as accepting new patients. Closed on bank holidays for GP services; the urgent treatment centre on the same site stays open.

Whitstable Medical Practice, Chestfield Medical Centre

Reeves Way, Chestfield, CT5 3QU

Mon-Fri 8am-6:30pm · Sat-Sun closed

Branch surgery of Whitstable Medical Practice serving Chestfield and Swalecliffe; nhs.uk shows it accepting new patients.

Whitstable Medical Practice, Whitstable Health Centre

Harbour Street, CT5 1BZ

Mon-Fri 8am-6:30pm · Sat-Sun closed

Town-centre branch surgery of Whitstable Medical Practice on Harbour Street; nhs.uk shows it accepting new patients.

Boots

33-35 High Street, CT5 1AP

Mon-Sat 9am-1pm, 2pm-5:30pm · Sun closed

The High Street Boots pharmacy, closed for lunch from 1pm to 2pm.

PRX Pharmacy

115 High Street, CT5 1AY

Mon-Fri 9am-5:30pm · Sat 9am-5pm · Sun closed

Independent pharmacy on the High Street.

Tesco Instore Pharmacy

Tesco, Millstrood Road, CT5 3EE

Mon-Sat 8am-8pm · Sun 10am-4pm

Whitstable's late-opening and Sunday pharmacy, inside the Tesco superstore; it was the only Whitstable pharmacy open on the August 2026 bank holiday (10am to 4pm).

Tankerton Pharmacy

99 Tankerton Road, CT5 2AJ

Mon-Fri 9am-1pm, 2pm-6pm · Sat 9am-1pm · Sun closed

Pharmacy on Tankerton Road, closed for lunch from 1pm to 2pm on weekdays.

Tyrrell & Jones Whitstable

1A Tower Parade, CT5 2BJ

Mon-Fri 9am-6pm · Sat-Sun closed

Pharmacy on Tower Parade, sharing a phone line with its Seasalter branch.

Tyrrell & Jones Seasalter

28 Faversham Road, Seasalter, CT5 4AR

Mon-Fri 9am-6pm · Sat 9am-5pm · Sun closed

Seasalter's pharmacy on Faversham Road, run by the same independent group as the Tower Parade branch.

Swalecliffe Pharmacy

5-7 St Johns Road, Swalecliffe, CT5 2QT

Mon-Fri 9am-6pm · Sat 9am-5pm · Sun closed

Pharmacy on St Johns Road, Swalecliffe.

Kelvin House Dental Practice

Kelvin House, 2 Nelson Road, CT5 1DP

Nelson Road practice; nhs.uk shows it taking new NHS patients aged 17 or under when availability allows.

Whitstable Dental Centre

66A and B Oxford Street, CT5 1DG

Oxford Street practice; nhs.uk shows it taking new NHS patients aged 17 or under when availability allows.

Swalecliffe Dental Centre

90 Herne Bay Road, Swalecliffe, CT5 2LX

Swalecliffe practice; nhs.uk shows it taking new NHS patients aged 17 or under when availability allows.

Tankerton Dental Centre

244 Tankerton Road, CT5 2AY

Tankerton Road practice; nhs.uk has no recent update on NHS availability, so call to ask.

Chestfield Dental Practice

41 Chestfield Road, Chestfield, CT5 3LD

Chestfield practice; nhs.uk has no recent update on NHS availability, so call to ask.

Chopra & Associates, Canterbury

1 Military Road, Canterbury, CT1 1LN

The nearest practice in the nhs.uk Whitstable search showing adults as well as children: it takes new NHS patients when availability allows.

mydentist, Jubilee Way, Faversham

3 Jubilee Way, Faversham, ME13 8GD

Faversham practice that nhs.uk shows taking new NHS adults and children when availability allows.

Kent Community Health NHS FT urgent dental helpdesk

Mon-Fri 8am-4pm · Sat-Sun closed

Daytime route to urgent NHS dental care if you have no dentist; you do not need to be registered with a practice. Email kcht.dentalhelpdesk@nhs.net.

Dentaline Out of Hours (Kent and Medway urgent dental)

Mon-Sun 6pm-10:55pm · also Sat, Sun and bank holidays 8:30am-1:25pm

Out-of-hours urgent dental line for Kent and Medway residents, for severe toothache, abscesses, swelling or knocked-out teeth.

Canterbury City Council

14 Rose Lane, Canterbury, CT1 2UR

Phone lines Mon-Fri 8:45am-5pm · Sat-Sun closed

Whitstable's district council, covering council tax, bins, parking, beaches and the harbour. The Rose Lane offices open daily 10am to 2pm, by appointment booked on this number.

Council tax

Mon-Fri 8:45am-5pm · Sat-Sun closed

Council tax enquiries go to the main council number; bills, payments, discounts and moving home can all be handled online.

Bin collection day

Mon-Fri 8:45am-5pm · Sat-Sun closed

Enter your postcode on the council's bin collection dates page to see which bin goes out on which day; missed bins can be reported online.

Herne Bay tip (household waste and recycling)

Westbrook Lane, Herne Bay, CT6 8DD

Mon-Sat 8am-4:30pm · Sun 9am-4pm

Kent County Council's list of recycling centres has no Whitstable site; Herne Bay and Canterbury are the neighbouring ones. You must book a slot online (same day or up to two weeks ahead); entry without booking is not permitted, the height barrier is 2 metres and access is only via Westbrook Lane.

Canterbury tip (household waste and recycling)

Vauxhall Road, Canterbury, CT1 1HD

Mon-Sat 8am-4:30pm · Sun 9am-4pm

The other neighbouring Kent County Council recycling centre for Whitstable residents. Booking is required and the height barrier is 2 metres.

Whitstable Library

Kent County Council library in the town centre, also a venue for appointments to register a death. Check opening times on the library page.

Registering a birth or death

Kent's registration service books appointments online or by phone; Canterbury Library (The Beaney) and Whitstable Library are both listed as appointment venues. Deaths should normally be registered within 5 days.

Dog warden, lost and found dogs

Canterbury City Council's dog warden service, run by Animal Wardens, for stray, found or missing dogs. Email info@animalwardens.co.uk.

Report flytipping, noise or a road problem

Online forms cover flytipping, noise, car park faults, public toilets, street lights, road problems and more; the council aims to reply within 14 days.

Whitstable Harbour office

West Quay Building, Whitstable Harbour, CT5 1AB

Staff on duty Mon-Fri 8:30am-5pm, with a 24-hour call-out

Canterbury City Council's harbour and foreshore office. Email whitstable.harbour@canterbury.gov.uk; vessels call on VHF channel 9.

Council parking team

Mon-Fri 8:45am-5pm · Sat-Sun closed

For car parks, parking accounts, permits and fines. The council's online car park directory shows remaining spaces at its camera-controlled (ANPR) car parks.

Gorrell Tank car park

Off Harbour Street and Cromwell Road

Charged around the clock · £3.80 an hour · £30 cap per 24 hours

The main town centre car park, with number plate cameras: pay on exit, or register a council parking account and be charged automatically. Blue Badge holders park free for up to three hours once registered.

Keam's Yard car park

Off Island Wall, by the sea wall

Charged around the clock · £3.80 an hour · £30 cap per 24 hours

Small car park closest to the Horsebridge and the seafront, with fewer than 50 spaces.

Harbour car park

Whitstable Harbour, north of Harbour Street

Charged around the clock · £3.80 an hour · 2 hours maximum

On the harbour estate. Blue Badge holders get three hours in the marked disabled bays.

Middle Wall car park

Middle Wall, CT5 1BJ

Charged around the clock · £2.70 an hour (£2.40 residents' rate) · £20 cap

Pay-on-exit car park with number plate cameras, about 150 metres from the museum on Oxford Street.

Beach Walk car park

Beach Walk, by Whitstable Pools and Fitness

£2.70 an hour · £20 cap per 24 hours · pay by phone only

Small seafront car park on Beach Walk.

Victoria Street car park

Between Victoria Street and Albert Street, behind Harbour Street

£1.90 an hour · £15 cap per 24 hours

Small car park a short walk from Harbour Street and the Horsebridge, with fewer than 50 spaces.

Gladstone Road car park

Gladstone Road

£1.90 an hour · £15 cap per 24 hours

One of the cheaper council car parks in the town.

Shaftesbury Road car parks

Shaftesbury Road, behind Oxford Street

£1.90 an hour · £15 cap · 30 minutes free from 8am to 9:30am

Two small car parks behind Oxford Street, handy for the museum and the shops.

Tankerton Road car park

Tankerton Road at Pier Avenue

Charged 10am to 4pm, 1 April to 30 September only · £1.60 a day weekdays, £3.20 weekends

Tankerton's council car park, free outside the summer charging period, near the slopes and the beach huts.

Faversham Road car park, Seasalter

Faversham Road, Seasalter

Charged 10am to 4pm, 1 April to 30 September only · pay by phone only · 12 hours maximum

By the sea wall at Seasalter, for the marsh walk and the beach.

Whitstable station car park

Old Bridge Road, CT5 1RB

Daily £4.80 Mon and Fri, £5.30 Tue to Thu, £4.20 Sat, £4.80 Sun · from 10am £4.40

43 spaces run for Southeastern by APCOA, location code 2089. Pay by machine, the APCOA Connect app, the QR code on the signs, or by phone or text (07860 006000). Under 20 minutes free for drop-offs; Blue Badge holders free once registered with APCOA.

Railway Avenue car park

Railway Avenue, CT5 1LL

Weekdays £3.90 for 24 hours · weekends £3.60

A second APCOA car park by the station, with 72 spaces.

Whitstable Castle car park

Tower Hill, CT5 2BW

Free for up to 3 hours for visitors

Register your number plate at reception or in the tearooms within 20 minutes of arriving.

Whitstable Junior School charity car park

21A Oxford Street, CT5 1DB

Weekends and school holidays

Open to the public at weekends and in the school holidays, about 150 metres from the museum.

Blue Badge parking

Blue Badge holders park free for up to three hours in most council car park spaces (not permit bays or Park and Ride). In ANPR car parks you must create an account and register your badge before your first visit, and still display the badge.

National Rail Enquiries

24 hours, every day except Christmas Day

Train times, fares and live running for every operator; textphone 0345 60 50 600.

Southeastern

The train operator for Whitstable and Chestfield and Swalecliffe. Its WhatsApp line, 07866 002690, is staffed 24 hours a day; text relay 18001 0345 322 7021.

Whitstable station ticket office

Old Bridge Road, CT5 1RB

Ticket office Mon-Sat 6am-7:30pm · Sun 9:10am-4pm

Old Bridge Road. Both platforms are level with their entrances, but the footbridge between them has steps and there are no lifts. National Rail lists these office hours; Trainline gives 6:10am to 7pm, so allow a margin.

Chestfield and Swalecliffe station

Thanet Way, Swalecliffe, CT5 3JB

Station on the Thanet Way serving Chestfield and Swalecliffe. No step-free access to the platforms (category C) and no car park.

Stagecoach 400: Canterbury, Whitstable, Herne Bay

Roughly every 30 minutes in the day, hourly in the evening

Main bus link from Canterbury bus station via the University of Kent and Blean to Whitstable, Tankerton, Swalecliffe and Herne Bay (Greenhill). Contactless accepted; tickets and live tracking in the Stagecoach Bus app.

Stagecoach 401: Canterbury, Whitstable, Tankerton

About every 30 minutes on weekdays until early evening, then hourly to late evening

Canterbury bus station to Whitstable Harbour and Tankerton (Priest and Sow), via the University of Kent and Blean.

Stagecoach 5 and 5A: Seasalter

Route 5 runs Canterbury to Seasalter and Yorkletts; 5A runs locally from South Tankerton (Tesco) to Seasalter.

Stagecoach customer services

Mon-Fri 8am-6pm · Sat-Sun 9am-5pm

Timetables, tickets and lost property for Stagecoach buses in Kent.

Abacus taxis

One of three firms listed on Trainline's Whitstable station page. The rank is on Railway Avenue by Platform 2.

Whitstable taxis

Listed on Trainline's Whitstable station page; pre-booking is advised.

Roses taxis

Listed on Trainline's Whitstable station page, which says accessible taxis are available.

Whitstable Castle and Gardens

Tower Hill, CT5 2BW

Gardens daily 8am-6pm · tearooms Mon-Fri 10am-4pm, Sat-Sun 10am-5pm

Free gardens open every day, with tearooms in the orangery and free parking for visitors.

Whitstable Community Museum and Gallery

Foresters' Hall, 5A Oxford Street, CT5 1DB

Mon-Wed closed · Thu-Sat 10:30am-4:30pm · Sun closed

Community museum and gallery in Foresters' Hall on Oxford Street, open all year and also on Wednesdays in school holidays. Adults £4, over-60s £3, and free for under-19s, students and residents of CT1 to CT6 postcodes.

The Horsebridge

11 Horsebridge Road, CT5 1AF

Mon 9am-5pm · Tue closed · Wed-Sat 9am-5pm · Sun 10am-4pm

Arts centre by the sea with free exhibitions over three floors and a lift to every floor.

Whitstable Playhouse box office

104 High Street, CT5 1AZ

Mon closed · Tue-Sat 10am-noon · Sun closed

Whitstable's theatre on the High Street; the box office opens for two hours each morning from Tuesday to Saturday.

Whitstable Harbour

Working fishing harbour owned by the council, with the South Quay Shed open every day and the Harbour Market huts busiest in the warmer months.

Whitstable Pools and Fitness

Tower Parade, CT5 2BJ

Mon-Sun 6:30am-9pm

25 metre pool, learner pool, gym and classes, run by Active Life. Pool session times vary, so check the timetable. Its car park is £1 for up to two hours for users.

Whitstable Sports Centre

Bellevue Road, CT5 1PX

Mon-Fri 6pm-10pm · Sat closed · Sun 8am-4pm

Sports hall, badminton, gym and classes, run by Active Life.

Public toilets, Skinners Alley

Skinners Alley

Public toilets in the town centre, about 50 metres from the museum on Oxford Street. Report a fault with any council toilet through the council's online form.

Vets Now Herne Bay, emergency vet

Broadway Veterinary Group, Unit 1 The Links, Herne, CT6 7FE

Mon-Fri 6pm-8:30am · Sat noon-8:30am · Sun 8am-8:30am

Out-of-hours emergency clinic for dogs, cats and small animals, open overnight from the times shown until 8:30am the next morning, and on bank holidays. Vets Now's Canterbury listing leads to this clinic.

RSPCA

Report an animal in distress or cruelty. The RSPCA cannot take calls from withheld numbers, so dial 1470 first if yours is withheld.