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Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Gabriel Morris.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight, live here on KMTV.
00:28I'm Finn McDermott and here are your top stories on Friday the 8th of August.
00:33Feeling drained, 16 years of sewage woes on Strudis State.
00:37You're kind of helpless really, you don't really know exactly what to do because you
00:41know when you call orbit you're not going to get the answer to what you need.
00:44Fenced off, Boat Club seeks funds for legal challenge after site access revoked.
00:49To get my boat off I would need a 7 metre tide which is possibly in October, we don't know
00:57yet but it won't be before that.
00:59And lending a helping paw. Cats Protection in Tentadon calls for more volunteers to support
01:04their feline friends.
01:05I've been volunteering with Cats Protection for a couple of months now and what I've
01:09found is when I just go and talk to people about it they just don't seem to know that
01:13we're here.
01:23First tonight, anger and frustration on an estate in Strud.
01:27As residents have been fighting for 16 years to have their sewage leaks dealt with once
01:31and for all. Those living in Kings Ware Gardens say they raised issues with housing association
01:36Orbit in 2009, adding they feel ignored. But Orbit say they're working towards a long-term solution.
01:43While our local democracy reporter Oli Leder visited the estate to find out more.
01:47It's getting worse.
01:49Sixteen years of sewage leaks and maintenance woes here in Kings Ware Gardens. Still no closer
01:56to a permanent fix from housing association Orbit.
02:00At one point when it first happened the water was coming streaming along here up to the light.
02:06Harua Simba is just one of the residents who has woken to sewage spurting out of his taps
02:13and mould riddling his ceiling. And this is far from a new occurrence with the father of
02:20two's complaints to Orbit starting way back in 2009.
02:26You know, you wake up and you wonder what the next thing is that's going to go wrong.
02:29And it's a worry. You know, it's a daily stress whether something's going to be contaminated,
02:35whether you're going to have that issue where it splurts up out of the sink and onto walls
02:39or onto the floor. Yeah, so, and you have a constant daily reminder of it, especially
02:45with sort of the cracks in the wall, things like that. You just have to deal with it every single day.
02:50Orbit says it's committed to a long-term solution, stating it's cleaned the drains
02:56and surveyed the area for further works, apologising for any inconvenience caused.
03:02But for Haru, communication blockages with the Housing Association are just as real as the ones in his pipes.
03:10When you call up, they'll tell you that's a 24-hour job and you're there in the thick of it, so to speak.
03:17And you're thinking, well, this is an actual dire emergency for me. I need someone out now.
03:22You're kind of helpless, really. You don't really know exactly what to do because you know when you call Orbit,
03:26you're not going to get the answer to what you need.
03:29Haru and his family aren't the only ones flushed with anger, however. Other residents fear for the health
03:37of their often vulnerable families.
03:40I've been hearing stories about residents with children with autism who've been unable to go to the toilet
03:48because the bathrooms are in an unhygienic state. It's clear that Orbit haven't been fulfilling their duties
03:59in terms of providing decent homes, safe, hygienic homes. And it's really just got to a point now
04:07where we really need Orbit to up their game.
04:10While Orbit say they will update residents as soon as they can, enough is enough for Haru,
04:17who is currently taking Orbit to the Ombudsman, yet more waiting in an ever-growing pipeline of reports and complaints.
04:27Oli Lieder in Stroud.
04:30In other news, a four-year-old boy from Margate was tragically killed after he fell under a bus.
04:37Police and paramedics rushed to the car park outside of QEQM Hospital at roughly 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon.
04:44The road was subsequently shut off for hours before being reopened with an air ambulance being spotted landing nearby to try and help save the child's life.
04:52Azaria Green, the mother of Zaheer Jahn, says her son died immediately and that she is completely devastated by the incident,
04:59saying he was a sweet boy and that she is lost without him.
05:02In other news, a Sainsbury's Inn Maidstone has seen its hygiene rating drop from five to two stars after black mould was found on food shelves.
05:15These shocking images reveal the various spots of mould and dirt seen throughout the Romney Place store.
05:21Inspections also stated the supermarket's internal bins were beyond cleaning and in need of replacement.
05:27Sainsbury's has stated that immediate action has been taken and the supermarket is currently awaiting a rescore.
05:33They have also mentioned this is a rare occurrence and around 95% of their stores hold a five-star hygiene rating.
05:40In more news, businessman and councillor Roger Knight has been left frustrated after Dover District Council reinstalled a public bike rack directly in front of a doorway to his new gallery.
05:51He had asked Dover District Council if they could move the rack about three metres along.
05:56But after months of waiting in July, he ended up moving it himself.
06:00But just this Tuesday, found it had been put back in front of the gallery.
06:03Well, to talk about this story more, I'm joined by Etelie Reynolds.
06:07So, Etelie, I suppose the first question really is why is this bike rack causing issues?
06:12So, the cycle station has actually been there for three years.
06:16But the crux of the issue that Councillor Knight says is that this bike rack, the location of it, obstructs a side doorway that he wants to use for his gallery, which is set to open in about two months' time.
06:28The gallery's aim is to contribute to the town's tourism.
06:31But with this area blocked off, he's worried that that may not happen.
06:35The building was an old bank and that specific door that it's blocking has actually been sealed for about 30 years.
06:41And Knight says that the Dover District Council's planning department has confirmed the change is classed as a permitted development.
06:49And Knight owns the whole building, the old bank, which includes a preschool on the first floor.
06:55If this bike rack isn't moved, Knight says it's possible people will have to access the gallery through the grounds of the preschool.
07:02We actually spoke to Roger to hear a bit more about his frustration and this preschool situation.
07:08For our use and to bring some culture and some investment into Dover, we need to open that door.
07:15Because on the ground floor, we have a children's play area and we're going to open up a gallery on the first floor, possibly the second floor.
07:25And in order to do that, we need access.
07:29Now, we can't have the public walking through a child's play area to access a gallery.
07:36I see. And Etali, tell us a bit more about what Dover Town Council have said about this.
07:41So they have released a statement saying that the cycle hub in the Market Square is on land owned by Kent County Council,
07:48with a licence for it to be there from the landowner.
07:52The town council informed Roger Knight of this both verbally and in writing.
07:56They've also stated that they cannot understand how Roger Knight thought it was justified in moving a public cycle shelter without proper permissions,
08:03simply in the interest of his own personal commercial benefit.
08:07They also say that Kent County Council will be seeking repair costs to the damage paving from his unauthorised drilling.
08:14They also say that little patience would have been both more professional and appreciated and less costly for Mr Knight.
08:21They had a long statement in response to this, which is available to read on Kent online.
08:27But yeah, the councillor, Roger Knight, is calling for this bike shelter to be moved just three metres as it restricts the access to his gallery,
08:36which is set to open in about two months' time.
08:39Right, I see. Thank you for bringing us this story, Italy.
08:42And as you mentioned, you can catch up and read more about this on Kent Online.
08:46Next, a boat club in Swanscombe has launched a fundraiser to help regain access to their club after the landowner restricted it.
08:54Broadness Cruising Club are not only facing a legal battle, but also a six-foot fence that's being built to keep them away from their boats.
09:01Well, to find out more, Daisy went down to speak to the club to see how this has come about and what they plan to do to continue.
09:08A boating club has been left frustrated after work on a six-foot fence is being built to keep them out of a creek they have had access to for decades.
09:18This comes after a decision by the new landowners, Land Logical, to revoke the gratuitous land access,
09:25which allowed members to cross for solely accessing the creek and launching vessels.
09:30The club is now raising £10,000 to mount a legal challenge against the decision,
09:35but some members have been left with concerns of what this means for them.
09:39When I joined this club, it was ideal for me. I could afford to come here. My moorings here is like £280 a year.
09:49If I have to move, the cheapest moorings I've found so far is £800 a year. They vary from £800 to £1,500 a year.
10:01For somebody like me that's retired, that's quite a lot of money to find in a year, plus maintain a boat as well.
10:11So, I don't know. Possibly I might have to sell my boat.
10:16Nicholas Katz, the head of Land Logical, commissioned a health and safety report
10:21which suggested the site was in a very poor state of repair.
10:25He added members, whoever they are, will not be able to access their boats until the area is cleared
10:31and a fresh health and safety report is commissioned, at which point the situation will be reviewed.
10:37But for now, a deadline of August 31st was given for all boats to be removed.
10:42But for residents of over 30 years to the site, this may not be possible.
10:46To get my boat off, I will need a seven metre tide, which is possibly in October, we don't know yet, you know, but it won't be before that.
10:56This place has become part of me, you know. I've got no neighbours. I'm the only one that lives here.
11:02The Broadness Cruising Club has been operating on the Swampskine Peninsula since 1991
11:07and is a part of the Save the Swampskine Peninsula campaign map for the vision of the future.
11:13And it just shows how important it is to people. When we go around, they associate Swampskine Peninsula,
11:18not just with, you've got wonderful biodiversity there, like I said, but the boat club itself is part of it.
11:24It just, people just know it. They walk by and they're very, they're engaged with community.
11:28You know, they look out for it. They do litter picks.
11:31But for now, the club is raising funds to challenge the decision.
11:34However, the new landowners say any legal action taken would be robustly defended.
11:40Daisy Page for KMTV.
11:43Well, it's now time for a quick break.
11:46But coming up, we'll take a look at a cat protection charity just after this short break.
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