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Catch up with all the latest news in the county with Kristin Hawthorne.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Kintanite Live on KMTV.
00:24I'm Kristen Hawthorne and here are your top stories on Tuesday the 18th of November.
00:30Stopping the stigma, Canterbury donor demands change to paid leave laws for IVF treatment.
00:36It's something that women should be allowed paid leave for, but you may feel a little bit like you're being discriminated against.
00:43Livid in Lenham, residents protest 5,000 home development.
00:48What's at stake here is the fabric and community cohesion here in Lenham.
00:52And how's it going? Canterbury Hospital opens therapeutic space for reflection and recovery.
00:59So this is a great resource. It's one that we've been really needing for a long time.
01:03But our first top story, an egg donor in Canterbury has nationwide calls for fair workplace treatment for others involved in IVF.
01:22In the UK, there's no legal requirement by employers to offer paid leave to those attending appointments for the procedure.
01:28The move comes as part of a wider initiative to tackle the stigma around fertility in the workplace, as Megan Shaw has been finding out.
01:37Imagine spending two weeks injecting yourself with hormones before undergoing a surgical procedure.
01:44All while needing to go to work, as usual.
01:47This was the experience of Canterbury resident Olivia France, who has donated her eggs twice this year.
01:54Two weeks of injecting, sort of twice a day, with the different hormones.
01:59And then you'd book in for your procedure.
02:02I had to go up to London for that.
02:05So that was, yeah, going up early morning, having a procedure, which was just a day procedure, under sedation.
02:13And then, sort of, they check you a couple of hours later, then just, you know, head home.
02:21One in 153 children in the UK are conceived using donors.
02:27And yet, there are no legal rights around seeking fertility treatment, and therefore no paid leave by law for those like Olivia with extra appointments and circumstances.
02:38She feels this needs to change.
02:40Do I take sick leave? Is there paid leave for this?
02:45And I find it quite a difficult one to navigate, sort of, reading all the procedures and policies and going through all the fine print of, like, well, where do I actually fall in and can I take, you know, paid leave for this or not?
02:56And absolutely, I think it is something that women should be allowed paid leave for.
03:01But for employers, is implementing robust company policy for those like Olivia a viable option?
03:08The answer really is that employers are often reluctant to give rights where they don't exist in law from fear of creating precedence and, you know, sort of perhaps enabling someone to ask for time off for a different reason.
03:27For Olivia, who donates some eggs to a clinic and freezes the rest for a possible future, and for others undergoing IVF treatments, the movement might be about more than just pay.
03:51It is a shame that we are not understanding this big change in society, because we all should look at women in a different way now.
04:00We should give them the freedom to get pregnant when they think is the right time for them.
04:06And they need to be supported, and it shouldn't be a way to hide themselves.
04:13With the government's Employment Rights Bill in its final stages, and with its emphasis on a flexible working environment, this could be fertile ground for the kind of change these advocates might want to see.
04:27Megan Shaw for KNTV in Canterbury.
04:30And Megan actually joins me now with more. So Megan, in your report there, you mentioned that women don't get paid leave for IVF treatment.
04:37What do they have to do then? Do they have to go after work or during their lunch? What do they have to do?
04:41Well, exactly that, yeah. So a lot of women were finding kind of ways to attend these appointments, and there are quite a few when you're kind of undergoing these procedures, whether that be for IVF or just donating eggs in their lunch after work.
04:56And that's not only because of not having paid leave, but also because of kind of the stigma there of not wanting to seem unprofessional or seem like, you know, they're not prioritising their job and trying to make sure that maybe colleagues don't find out.
05:10Women can also take, might also be forced to take their sick leave or their holiday pay, which some of you might not want to do.
05:17So these kind of calls to have paid fertility leave and paid leave to be able to go to these fertility treatments was quite important to some of these people because they didn't want to kind of dip into these other sorts of leave that they might have.
05:30And then, of course, the other side of this is actually the employers. I mean, what's the benefit of this for them? Because, you know, they would have maybe difficulties as well if they have a small team or things like that. What's the benefits for them?
05:42Well, in the report there, it says kind of the difficulties employers might might be facing. It might be quite tricky to to implement something like this, especially because it's not the law.
05:52Maybe I was speaking to that solicitor there. He was saying that a lot of employers were kind of hesitant to implement something that wasn't a legal necessity.
05:59But there are kind of benefits. There are reasons why employers might want to implement something like this. There are financial reasons for that.
06:08So they did the the the the campaign group Fertility Matters at Work did a study and they found that companies that don't offer this fertility support for their employees could be losing 217.3 million out of sick leave or other leaves that their employees are taking because they don't have a designated kind of leave for that.
06:29And also employees that do offer this support are maybe more attractive to quite a large number of their of their employees.
06:36A lot of people are conceiving or want to turn a bit later. So it's definitely a fact that you might want to work somewhere, of course.
06:43And we have run out of time. But I think it's very interesting here as well that there's recent data that's fine that there's a shortage of black and Asian egg donors.
06:51So, well, hopefully we will discuss that later in the show. But I thought that was worth mentioning. Very interesting. Thank you, Megan.
06:57Now, a father of five is facing prison after dragging a police officer along a road in Chatham while he clung on to the driver's door as he sped off.
07:07Tony Atherton was spotted by police behind the wheel of a Ford Puma driving dangerously in the town on Halloween.
07:14After stepping out of the vehicle during a stop, Atherton got back in and drove off at the speed at speed while the officer held on to the door.
07:22The officer avoided serious injury. Atherton pleaded guilty to all the charges and has been remanded in custody.
07:30The case has been sent to Maidstone Crown Court for sentencing.
07:33Next, plans for a controversial 24-hour alcohol delivery service at a corner shop in Canterbury have been approved following a licensing meeting.
07:42The application from Wine Mart on St Dunstan Street drew objections from police and local councillors who raised concerns about potential noise and late-night disturbance.
07:52Shop owners, though, say the service will operate with stricter controls and dedicated overnight staffing to address those issues.
07:59Approving the move, Councillor Mike Bland said the council hopes it works and that they know it's going to be something new in the area.
08:06Next, weather conditions have extended major roadwork closures in Sittingbourne.
08:12The multi-million pound scheme working to transform the Grovehurst roundabout has been in construction for more than two years.
08:19Parts of the junction have been shut since the start of the month and were expected to reopen yesterday.
08:25But due to those weather conditions, these closures have extended to Thursday.
08:28Queues were trailing back for three miles on the A006 last Thursday morning and with a number of other closures also being pushed back, more delays are unfortunately expected.
08:42The B0026, I forgot that right now, plans for a 5,000 home garden settlement in Lenham have been coming under renewed scrutiny.
08:51Members of Save Our Heathlands campaign have voiced growing concerns about the scale of the project in the village.
08:59They say infrastructure, transport links and local services simply aren't ready for it,
09:03while council leaders insist the scheme is needed to help them meet, to help meet housing demand, as Henry Locke has been reporting.
09:10This is the sound of the people of Lenham who are opposing 5,000 new homes being built in their area.
09:23Part of the Save Our Heathlands group, these residents gathered outside a public consultation
09:30to express why these new houses would not be suitable for the area.
09:36What's at stake here is the fabric and community cohesion here in Lenham for a small medieval village
09:44that will be completely overwhelmed by this monstrous new town that will be put on our doorstep.
09:52Dozens of Lenham residents turned up to this protest to express why they feel this housing plan isn't suitable for the area.
10:03It's not the only place in the county where this sort of development is creeping through and quite frankly it's not good enough, Lenham deserves better.
10:10I think someone who's lived in this village for their entire life deserves to live out the rest of their life in peace and tranquillity
10:17and I think this is really going to disrupt that and for the majority of people here it will be a very painful and prolonged experience and painful experience for them.
10:28There is no way we can understand how it affects our community, we need that before anything goes in or even if it's the right thing to do.
10:36Midstone Borough Council have said these sites have been approved as part of its local plan
10:43and that these consultations give members of the public a chance to offer feedback on the project.
10:53The council adds that this will allow people to ensure the plans reflect local needs and minimise environmental impacts.
11:03It looks like these new homes will be making their way to Lenham but residents and members of Save Our Heathlands argue these plans will be too big for this little farmland.
11:19The consultation will be open until midnight on Monday the 15th of December.
11:27Henry Luck for KMTV in Lenham.
11:30Listen to the community, listen to the community, say no to Heathlands, listen to the community.
11:37Time for a quick break now but coming up I was speaking to a 22-year-old Letty McMaster from Tunbridge, Wales
11:43who became the legal guardian of nine Tanzanian children.
11:46All of that and more after this break. Bye-bye.
12:00Bye-bye.
12:30Bye-bye.
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14:30Bye-bye.
15:00Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight Live here on KMTV.
15:13Now a woman from Tunbridge Wells who became the legal guardian of nine children while volunteering in Tanzania has told us about her plans to expand her life-changing work.
15:22Letty McMaster took the children in after the orphanage she was working at closed amid reports of abuse and neglect, relying at first on her own student loan to support them.
15:32Fast forwarding to today and the 31-year-old has raised 15 children and helped more than 100 young people facing homelessness with her own charity called Street Children Orynga.
15:42We spoke to Letty earlier on Thanks so much for joining us this evening, Letty.
15:47Can you tell me first of all what's the process in becoming a legal guardian to nine children at the age of just 22 and how long, I mean what was the process that got you to that moment?
15:58So I first went out to Tanzania when I was 18 and I just went out on like a normal volunteering gap year trip and when I was out there I came across an orphanage
16:08that was, it turned out to be a very abusive orphanage with many street children living here.
16:13So when I was there and witnessed the abuse that they were going through, I was determined to give them a place to call home where they could be safe and receive the love and care that they deserved.
16:23So I spent the most of the next few years, next three years out in Tanzania learning the language and raising funds to support children at this orphanage.
16:31And then when I was 22, the orphanage was shut down by the government and the local social welfare registered me as the legal guardian of nine children who were left homeless and I then opened a home to raise them in.
16:44And then what was it like for you? Did you find it to be quite difficult at the time?
16:47I can imagine maybe your other friends were having quite different lives.
16:51Maybe what was it like kind of being such a young woman doing this, doing this incredible thing?
16:55Um, I mean, obviously it was difficult, of course, but at the time I kind of was just so determined that I was going to, I loved those children so much and I saw them as a family, like a second family to me.
17:09I saw them as my younger brothers and sisters and I was just determined to get them out of that situation.
17:15Okay. And then tell me about the charity itself and the work that you do in Tanzania and kind of the projects that you've been working on within that charity as well.
17:24Yeah, so I set up my charity Street Children Oringa after opening the home in order to support the home and all the children living in it.
17:33And so over the past nine years, I've raised 15 children and young adults through that home.
17:39And that's completely changed their lives with children going on to become professional boxers and footballers and some are now in employment or at university.
17:47And so I set up my second home called The Safe House, which supports current street children that are living on the streets right now and helping them with support and guidance in a life away from the streets.
17:59And that helps 100 children per year.
18:02But over the past nine years, the children that I've helped through the home have all gone on to do so well.
18:09And one of the boys who I actually found at the abusive orphanage when he was just 10 years old and I became his legal guardian when he was 12 and we moved into the home together.
18:18After supporting him through my charity over the past nine years, he ended up getting the best A-level results in Tanzania and is now studying at the best university in Africa, the University of Cape Town.
18:30So they've all done so well.
18:32But that's what my charity does.
18:34It supports the home, the safe house.
18:36And now I'm actually on to opening my third house, which is supporting young mums and their babies off the streets.
18:42And I'll be opening this in a different region to help them with a life away from the streets.
18:49I mean, it's an incredible story.
18:51It really is.
18:52And I'm just sort of wondering, what would you say to other women who are maybe the same age as you who are thinking of doing this, but maybe don't feel like they can or they have the right resources?
19:01I don't know what I'd really suggest, just because it is a very specific thing that I've done.
19:08And I don't really know how I would suggest someone else would go about it.
19:10But I would say, like, obviously, if you are able to help people, then it doesn't have to be going over to Tanzania and setting up something.
19:17But you can help people just around you in day to day life.
19:21I think if you are fortunate enough to do that, then we can always help other people around us.
19:26And is there anything anyone can do to help you in that?
19:29I mean, is there anywhere people can donate or fundraise or leave in and maybe things that you might need?
19:35I mean, donations, obviously, are the most helpful thing possible.
19:39And anyone can like monthly donations or corporate sponsors, anything like that is so helpful.
19:44And anyone can donate via the website, which is streetchildrenoringa.org.
19:48There's a donate page there.
19:50And there's also if you type into Google Total Giving and Street Childrenoringa, there's a link that any donations go directly to the charity account.
19:58So all of that would be so helpful.
20:01And, like, for example, it was actually a corporate sponsor, a children's salon who were in Tunbridge Wells, who raised £30,000 in order for me to set up this young mum's home, which I'll be setting up in the new year.
20:12So all of that support is incredibly helpful.
20:16Always good to have a positive story in the news.
20:18But now it's time to take a look at the sports news from across the county.
20:21Here is your sports news for the evening.
20:33Starting off at the football, as Chatham Town are set to make history as they make it to the FA Cup third round for the first time ever with a win over Wimbledon Town last Saturday.
20:41Tensions were high as the game looked to be a 0-0 staleming.
20:44However, Chatham scored in the 90th plus 10th minute to grab the win.
20:48This has been a successful season for the Chatham, beginning with their qualification for the FA Cup first round for the first time in a century, to now performing well in the Isthmian League as they are currently third.
20:57Chatham will go on to host Plymouth Parkway next month for their third round draw.
21:01Over to the rugby, as the Tunbridge Judians fell narrowly short last Saturday after attempting an impressive comeback in their National League 1 game against Sale FC.
21:10The Judians struggled in the first half as a couple of defensive lapses put them down 14-0 within the first 17 minutes.
21:17The tides would change in the second half with points from Tom Kendrick and Tom Mannix closing the gap to just two points.
21:22But this was not enough as Sale FC took control of the game once more, ending the game with a 33-26 victory.
21:28This leaves the Judians 8th in the table with their next game coming against 11th places Leeds Tykes next Saturday.
21:35Next in the world of motorsport, Dover's Jake Dixon wrapped up his final Moto2 race with a nail-biting 6th place comeback, wrapping up the season 5th in the championship.
21:43It was a tall task for Dixon last weekend at Valencia, as he could only qualify for 17th place with a best lap of one minute at 32.527 seconds, but clawed his way back up to 6th with an impressive comeback performance.
21:56This will be his one and only season with the Elfmark VDS Racing Team, as he looks to move to Honda in the World Superbikes Championship next year.
22:03And finally, Minster's three-time Paralympic medalist, Ross Wilson, has announced his retirement from table tennis last week due to a series of injuries.
22:10In 2011, after a diagnosis of epiphyseal diphtagia, a condition that affects the growing ends of the bones, he joins the GB Parity.
22:18His illustrious career included medals won at three consecutive Paralympics starting at London 2012, with further wins at the Commonwealth Games in Australia 2018.
22:27Wilson says that injuries have definitely been the biggest challenge through his career, but that he is really proud of what he's accomplished in that time.
22:34That's all for your Sports Bulletin this evening. Daniel Ward, KMTV.
22:46But now, don't forget you can keep up to date with all our latest stories across Kemp by logging on to our website, kmtv.co.uk.
22:54There you'll find all our reports, including this one, where a storm left residents' homes in Hoo littered with sewage.
23:01I just can't imagine even gardening being the same. You just keep thinking about the smell and the state and the mess of paper and everything everywhere.
23:12Helen Bruce's garden contaminated with waste, a sign of the stink that's come after the storm in the Hoo Peninsula.
23:21It was on the 20th of October, the 80-year-old saw sewage leaking down her drive after heavy rainfall, ruining a space she says was sculpted by her husband, who now has dementia.
23:37When my husband was at home, he broke the drive and everything, and it's just sickening seeing it all.
23:46Just everything he's done, made the drive, the steps, he's even run down the path.
23:53It just makes me feel ill, the fact that things that he's done have been ruined with actual sewage.
24:01You can see Southern Water hard at work behind me, clearing up some of these sewage overflows, but people living in the property say this isn't enough.
24:12It's absolutely disgusting. This shouldn't be happening. They should have sorted the problem out.
24:18They've had three weeks to sort this out, but they've done nothing.
24:21Tracy and Stephen Medhurst live two doors down on Marley Road.
24:27They've had to clear out their garage after what they say is the second bout of flooding in recent weeks.
24:34The last three weeks, we've had a horrible stench in the house. It's just permeating through the house.
24:39We cannot get rid of the smell. And no mention of any possible compensations.
24:44I can't see them ever doing anything. I don't even know what channel we could go through to actually try and get compensation, to be honest.
24:52Local councillor Michael Pearce has already written to the water company on the matter,
24:59saying this should never have happened in the first place.
25:04There is a lot. There are many elderly residents here who have suffered a lot of distress from this situation,
25:10which has been ongoing for some weeks now. This isn't the first time it's happened.
25:14And as we're entering the winter period, we're likely to see more heavy downpours of rain,
25:19which is just going to exacerbate the situation.
25:22So this needs to be resolved quickly.
25:24And my residents need to be compensated for the distress, and I will push that quite hard.
25:29In a statement, Southern Water said its teams found blockages in underground pipes along Marley Road,
25:36and removed unflushables, wet wipes, fats, oils, and grease, which caused external flooding,
25:44while also blaming heavy rainfall.
25:46But despite the company saying they've provided online forms as regards any customer compensation,
25:54the distress here is hard to put a price tag on.
25:58Olly Lida in who?
26:01But what will the weather look like over the next few days? Let's take a look.
26:04Later tonight, we will see that chilly trend continue with an average of 5 degrees and partly cloudy skies across the board.
26:17Into tomorrow morning, things are staying about the same, with temperatures reaching 3 degrees,
26:20some light rain across the county as well.
26:23There will be improvements by the evening, though, with rain clearing up and some sun peaking through,
26:28wind speeds reaching up to 23 miles per hour. Not that bad.
26:31And here is the outlook. The brisk weather will continue into Thursday, with partly cloudy skies.
26:366 degrees on Friday, clear skies, and 9 degrees on Saturday, cloudy skies.
26:40Well, it's time for a quick break coming up, but we'll be back in a few minutes. See you then. Bye.
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30:00Bye.
30:08Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight Live on KMTV. I'm Kristen Hawthorne and here's
30:14a reminder of your top stories on Tuesday the 18th of November.
30:20Stopping the stigma. Canterbury donor demands change to paid leave laws for IVF treatment.
30:26Livid in Lenham. Residents protest 5000 home development.
30:34And how's it going? Canterbury Hospital opens therapeutic space for reflection and recovery.
30:41But a reminder of our top story tonight. An egg donor in Canterbury has nationwide calls
30:45for fair workplace treatment for others involved in IVF. In the UK there's no legal requirement
30:51by employers to offer paid leave to those attending appointments for the procedure. But the move
30:56comes as part of a wider initiative to tackle the stigma around fertility in the workplace
31:01as Megan Shaw has been finding out. Imagine spending two weeks injecting yourself
31:06with hormones before undergoing a surgical procedure. All while needing to go to work as usual.
31:14This was the experience of Canterbury resident Olivia France who has donated her eggs twice
31:20this year. Two weeks of injecting sort of twice a day with the different hormones and then you'd
31:28book in for your procedure. I had to go up to London for that. So that was going up early
31:35morning and having a procedure which was just a day procedure under sedation and then they'd
31:42check you a couple of hours later then just head home.
31:47One in 153 children in the UK are conceived using donors. And yet there are no legal rights
31:56around seeking fertility treatment and therefore no paid leave by law for those like Olivia with
32:02extra appointments and circumstances. She feels this needs to change.
32:07Do I take sick leave? Is there paid leave for this? And I found it quite a difficult one
32:14to navigate, sort of reading all the procedures and policies and going through all the fine
32:18print of like well where do I actually fall in and can I take paid leave for this or not?
32:24And absolutely I think it is something that women should be allowed paid leave for.
32:28But for employers is implementing robust company policy for those like Olivia a viable option?
32:35The answer really is that employers are often reluctant to give rights where they don't exist
32:43in law from fear of creating precedence and you know sort of perhaps enabling someone to ask for
32:52time off for a different reason to say it's a point at an individual and say well you allowed for
32:57time off um on you know that occasion for someone's IVF treatment why can't you allow me
33:03paid time off for you know let's say some other. For Olivia who donates some eggs to a clinic and
33:10freezes the rest for a possible future and for others undergoing IVF treatments the movement might
33:16be about more than just pay. It is a shame that we are not understanding this big change in the society
33:23because we all should look at women in a different way now. We should give them the freedom to get
33:29pregnant when they think is the right time for them and they need to be supported and it shouldn't be
33:37a way to hide themselves. With the government's employment rights bill in its final stages and with
33:43its emphasis on a flexible working environment this could be fertile ground for the kind of change
33:50these advocates might want to see. Megan Shaw for Kane TV in Canterbury.
33:56Next a sitting born delivery driver who was beaten up while at work has said the attack forced him to
34:03adopt a body cam. The attack which took place outside of a shop on Railway Street in Chatham three years
34:08ago left Stephen Golding fearful for his safety. His attacker has now been sentenced but Stephen says
34:14it's not enough. Not enough is being done to tackle everyday violence. Our reporter Chloe Brewster is here
34:20with me now to tell us more. So tell us what happened. So Stephen Golding as you can see there
34:25with his lovely wife. He'd been going out working as a courier in Chatham. So he was delivering a parcel
34:31as normal before he went to approach a shop where shopkeeper Tazeem Chowdhury was inside. He told Chowdhury that
34:41he was unable to deliver the parcel inside the shop because of his insurance and Chowdhury responded by hurling
34:47threats and following Stephen as he went back to his car. He actually then ended up punching Stephen
34:53who ended up with severe bleeding and bruising. So Balby can't actually show the pictures and Stephen
34:59was then out of work for a month and says the incident really impacted him. And I mentioned
35:04there at the start that he did get justice but he doesn't feel like it's enough. Can you explain a bit
35:10about that? So the incident happened in 2022 so a while back and sentencing was actually earlier this
35:15month. The 24 year old Chowdhury pled guilty and was handed a 12 month sentence which was suspended
35:21for 18 months and he then has to also complete a rehabilitation course. Stephen says the incident
35:27left him feeling like he had to look over his shoulder all the time and he now wears a body cam
35:31regularly when he goes out to work. So he says that sentence just isn't enough. And I mean is violence
35:38really on the rise? I mean will more people start to have to wearing body cams? So looking at the Kent
35:44police stats, Chatham, the levels of violence and sexual violence has actually decreased from
35:52September 2024. So there were 63 incidents last year in September and 48 this year. Actually we
36:00very recently saw a crackdown against violence in Chatham High Street but we have to see whether
36:08that's actually going to come into force and if people in Kent will be able to see a difference.
36:12Yeah hopefully. Thank you so much Chloe. Now an abandoned garden centre and cafe near Canterbury could
36:19be transformed into a multi-million pound healthcare residency. The Priestin based establishment was shut
36:26in August last year after its owners won a bid to build five new homes on some of their land. The former
36:33garden centre was put on the market for nearly one and a half million pounds and purchased by Superior
36:40Healthcare who specialises in supporting those with complex needs. The company is looking to change
36:45the site into residential accommodation to support patients and their families, a community hub and
36:51also plans to refresh and reopen the Copper's Bistro to the public. Next, families in Sheerness have been
36:58living in what they call hellish and horrendous conditions after neighbouring properties in Alma Street
37:04were converted into HMOs without warning. They say the change has led to constant noise,
37:09anti-social behaviour and a deterioration of their quality of life. Council officials say the conversations
37:16were approved under existing planning rules but residents argue those rules don't protect communities,
37:22as Joe Crossley has been reporting.
37:33This is the noise that fed up families living in Sheerness have had to put up with for more than two
37:38months. Neighbours have been telling us that it has been hell living next to the 20 Alma Street,
37:43a Victorian terrace house being converted into a six bed house of multiple occupancy. Normally planning
37:49permission is not needed to turn a building into a HMO for less than six people. But as the house is
37:54in the Marine Town Conservation Area, the landlord should have got approval from Swale Council before
38:01starting the work on September 8th. Since then, residents say they have been having sleepless nights
38:07because of the construction work which includes a roof extension. Grandmother of one, Anne Tiller,
38:13lives next door and says it has been hell. The last two months in my little house has been hell. I've had holes
38:21in my wall, holes in my bedroom, water down my front porch by my electricity cupboard and the noise has
38:29been horrendous. The past eight weeks, near enough, all the work has been completed and today we all had
38:37an email saying planning permission has been put in. Now to me that that don't sound right. It don't
38:44sound right. We've been put through hell, ringing, sending emails, messages and we've just got that
38:52confirmation now. Swell Council says it has received complaints about the possible breach of planning at
38:5920 Alma Street and informed the owner that their plans for the home did not fall under the permitted
39:06development. The landlord has submitted a retrospective planning application on October 24th which will
39:13be considered by the authority. When I visited the property on Monday November 1st I knocked on the
39:20door twice in an attempt to contact the landlord. We got no answer and left a note for the owner.
39:26Jo Crossley for KMTV in Sheerness. Now with the United Nations meeting in their annual climate change
39:34conference, COP30 has been taking place in Brazil where world leaders hold a summit discussing important
39:40change that needs to be made in order to tackle climate change. We spoke to the people of Medway to
39:45get their thoughts. I know that COP30 is I think it's you know like a meeting of all the different leaders
39:53around the world who you know have agendas in in climate and how it may affect their own countries
40:02and they need to sort of discuss what they can do moving forwards trying to decrease the temperature
40:08global temperature and things like that. Very much for environmentalism and sustainability we should
40:13be pursuing green energy and healthy environment for sure. Stopping any form of climate change then I'm all
40:19for it. You know we've always been raised upon go green save what you can when you can. Absolutely
40:27yeah we should we should like we should be transferring to like renewable energy we should be trying to
40:32keep the environment clean between all of us like yeah that's that is very important I think yeah we
40:37should be sometimes it makes me sad seeing how much the world is concretified or industrialized it's
40:44we need more nature. In a way I think the best thing you could do for climate change is to uh
40:51adopt a simpler life which we should we have to learn to do with a lot less electricity and a lot less
41:00consumerism. A simpler life is the only solution. In terms of it public transport where you can is always a
41:06good shout yes it's expensive but I suppose the more demand for it the less expensive it can be
41:12in some cases. Coming up shortly after the break Phu McDermott joins us to tell us more about Cambridge
41:19Dictionary's word of the year parasocial and house builder Red Row has teamed up with Kenton Medway NHS
41:26Trust to create a relaxation space at St Martin's Hospital in Canterbury and you can find out more
41:32with Henry Luck which will be coming up after the break and we'll also be taking a look back at a story
41:36I did where a new law stops landlords from banning pets without a good reason. All of that and more
41:42to come in just a few minutes so I'll see you back here in a few in the I'll see you back here then.
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44:54Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight Live on KMTV. Now, Kent and the country have been
45:15given the news that Cambridge Dictionary have named their word of the year which is parasocial.
45:21This describes a relationship characterised by a one-sided, unreciprocated sense of intus-me,
45:27intus-me, int, why can I not say that word, int, I'll have to get Finn to help me, felt
45:31by a fan or a follower of a well-known or prominent figure. And joining us now is Finn to tell
45:36us more. So, what is the meaning of the word parasocial and how do we, yes, intimacy is
45:43the word you're looking for there. Why has it been given the win? It's been given the
45:47win because it's following this trend of words that have kind of worked their way into the
45:52cultural zeitgeist, meaning they kind of sum up the times, really. So, parasocial actually
45:58means involving or relating to a connection that someone feels between themselves and a
46:03famous person they don't know, such as a character in a book, film, TV series, etc., or even artificial
46:09intelligence. Now, it's not a word that many people would hear and instantly recognise, you
46:14know, I don't use parasocial too much in my day-to-day, but it tends to be, like I say,
46:18that the word relates to the year itself. And we've seen a huge surge in AI and fan culture,
46:25I mean, Swifties at the Super Bowl, this sort of thing. I think it was Chapel Rhone at the
46:30VMAs last year when she basically had a go at one of the photographers who was being rude
46:34to her and she said, well, just because I'm a celebrity doesn't mean people think they
46:36can just yell at me and that sort of thing, which is fair enough. And with the increase of AI,
46:40we've had AI companions and all that sort of thing that's really added to the idea of
46:44this parasocialism, this one-way relationship between whether it's people and celebrities
46:48or people and their, you know, AI companions.
46:51Yeah, I mean, it's quite heard of on YouTube as well. Lots of YouTubers say some of their
46:57subscribers maybe think that they're quite close friends just because you get to know
47:00so much about the person. But of course, they don't know much about their fans. What
47:04kinds of words tend to be word of the year? I think we had six, seven last week, didn't
47:09it.
47:10Well, that's actually not quite right. That was new words that are being added to the
47:15dictionary. I believe the Oxford, but I'd have to be checked on where exactly six, seven
47:19went.
47:20OK, so it's a bit different.
47:21Yeah, it is slightly different. But we've seen loads of different words, whether it's
47:24austerity, populism, nomophobia, which means the fear of not having your phone, upcycling,
47:29and obviously words like quarantine and things during those kind of years.
47:33OK, well, very interesting. Thank you so much, Finn. Next, a place for reflection and
47:38recovery. That's what a new summer house at St Martins Hospital in Canterbury is hoping
47:42to offer to those patients most in need. House builder Redrow has teamed up with the Kent
47:47and Medway NHS Trust to create the space. Henry Luck has been speaking to those behind the
47:52project about the difference they hope it will make to the hospital community.
47:56While we're all in the thick of autumn, St Martins Hospital is aiming to bring some sunshine
48:05to its patients here in Canterbury. Together with Redrow, they've just revealed a brand
48:13new summer house, complete with activities designed to help patients relax and de-stress.
48:22This new summer house has all sorts of activities to help patients relax from painting, yoga to just
48:33having a good conversation. So this is a great resource. It's one that we've been really needing
48:39for a long time. It's something that we couldn't do on our own. And working in partnership with Redrow has
48:44allowed us to get this opportunity so people can come here, patients and staff can come here for art
48:50therapy, for meditation, for yoga, which is outside of their normal wards that they're being treated in,
48:58to really grab that opportunity to do something different while they're with us.
49:02Well, we would absolutely love for it to be expanded upon, but the project itself has been an incredible
49:08success. I mean, right from the very conception of the project and all the way through, it's been a pleasure
49:13to work on. Redrow have been so much fun to have alongside us. The patients have really enjoyed seeing
49:19it being built as well. They've really enjoyed seeing everyone at work and having chats with people and just
49:26having the time of their lives. And we've had the time of our lives working with them too.
49:31And of course, there are plans to make use of this new facility in the new year.
49:38I think it provides a space for them to actually have time to themselves. I mean, clearly, you know,
49:44when the weather's better, they can come down here, they can use it, you know, to chat, to, they can have
49:50events down here, which they've talked about to us, you know, next year. They've talked about having
49:54Halloween events here and some events here as well. And I think it's just a great space for the patients here.
50:01With Christmas closing in, St Martin's Hospital and Redrow are determined to help patients beat the winter blues.
50:12Henry Luck for KMTV in Canterbury.
50:17Now, don't forget you can keep up to date with all our latest stories across Kent by logging onto our website
50:22KMTV.co.uk. There you'll find all the reports including this one, where a new law means
50:28landlords are no longer allowed to ban pets without a good reason.
50:33A new law has been passed to make it easier for tenants in private rental properties to keep pets,
50:39by preventing landlords from denying responsible renters without a valid reason.
50:44Dee Bonnet, whose campaign led Maidstone Council to allow pets in temporary accommodation,
50:50knows firsthand the difference this kind of change can make.
50:54Some people don't want to be pet owners, they don't want that responsibility, but they love pets.
50:59So, the guy or Rocky's dad obviously owns Rocky and the other two guys here, they may not want that responsibility,
51:09but they love having Rocky around. So, you know, if one of them's left in the house and they're with Rocky,
51:16that's the company, the love and, you know, Rocky doesn't want anything apart from being fed, being warmed and being loved,
51:24you know, and he gives so much love back as you've seen this afternoon.
51:28He's been really good for my recovery. Yeah, if I didn't have him, I'd feel worthless, you know,
51:39because I've lost everything and it's basically my family.
51:43But is this new law something that everyone agrees with?
51:46Yeah, I think renters should definitely have the right to have an animal or a pet.
51:50It's good for wellbeing, it's good for the children and I think it's part of your rights as a tenant to be able to have a pet.
51:59Definitely.
52:00It's the case for a conversation, really. I know now things are so impersonal because you go through the agents and so on
52:06and the agents do most of the vetting before you actually even have a chance to talk to the prospective tenant.
52:14I agree with that. I was going to say my mother lived in a ward and assisted place and they weren't allowed to have pets
52:23and I thought that was a bit terrible as she owned the property as well.
52:29Although people say that this is a positive change, those at the Kenwood Trust say that while it is a step in the right direction,
52:35that there's still a long way to go.
52:37For us, we would be keen to explore other ways of increasing the amount of supported accommodation,
52:42social housing where pets are able to access that sort of accommodation.
52:47It's really important that people can access the accommodation, all types of accommodation,
52:53whether that be private rented, social housing, supported accommodation and have access to their animals still.
52:59It's really important for us all to consider ways that that can be improved moving forward.
53:05While the new law has been welcomed by campaigners and animal charities, questions remain over how it will work in practice.
53:11But for those like Wayne, having a pet is already making a world of a difference.
53:16Kristen Hawthorne for KMTV, Maidstone.
53:20Now, time to take a quick look at the weather.
53:23Later tonight, we will see that chilly trend continue on an average of five degrees and partly cloudy skies across the board.
53:34Into tomorrow morning, things are staying about the same with temperatures reaching three degrees with some light rain across the county as well.
53:41There will also be improvements by the evening with the rain clearing up and some sand peaking through.
53:46Wind speeds picking up to 23 miles per hour though.
53:49Thursday, partly cloudy skies, four degrees.
53:52Friday, clear skies, six degrees.
53:54And Saturday, nine degrees, cloudy skies.
53:58And after the break, there will be a new episode of News Nuggets covering important topics all across Kent for primary school children.
54:11News Nuggets tackle stories about local politics and democracy and allows our younger generation to explore the importance of our local area.
54:18From elections to food waste to who runs our sports clubs, each episode takes a deep dive into anything and everything about how our county runs.
54:27Here's a sneak peek into episode three.
54:30Hello, I'm Abi and welcome to News Nuggets.
54:33This week, we'll be learning about health and the NHS.
54:37So let's meet this week's News Nuggets.
54:40Is this your favourite one to go on?
54:42No!
54:43Me neither!
54:44So why are Fletcher and Nala so important to your school?
54:47I think it's really nice having the dogs around. They make everyone feel so happy.
54:51What about for your mental health too, Lorenzo?
54:53Well, sometimes it just makes people's day.
54:56What is the NHS and how does it work?
54:59The National Health Service was created in 1948 so that people in the UK wouldn't have to pay to get help with their health.
55:07It's funded by tax. Tax is something grown-ups pay so we get public services.
55:13This is my room, I know because it's got my name on it.
55:16What even is a GP?
55:18How many people come to the doctors a day?
55:21You'd be very surprised how many.
55:23I normally see 30 to 40 people per day.
55:27And if you look across Kent, there are a million appointments a month.
55:32This is our class!
55:34Hi!
55:36Today we're joined by two very special guests.
55:39We have a doctor and someone in pharmacy too.
55:42What's the difference between a pharmacist and a doctor?
55:46Well, actually there's less of a difference than there used to be.
55:49Whereas before, perhaps if you had a sore throat or an earache, you'd have to come to me first and then go to the pharmacy to the chemist to get them things.
55:56Now you can go to a pharmacist and they can do all of that themselves.
55:59Let's round up what we've learnt today.
56:01We've learnt what a GP is and how lots of people can help us to stay healthy.
56:07Well, joining us in the studio is Charlie and Dave from The Dog Mentor.
56:12Dave's job is to help children in the school that I work in if they're a bit anxious about coming into school.
56:19How do you think mental health and physical health are linked?
56:23Well, that's it then. You've been watching Kent Tonight Live on KMTV.
56:33But there's more news made just for you throughout the evening at 8pm where we'll have our round up of everything discussed today.
56:39And don't forget news nuggets after this short break. Bye-bye.
56:53Bye-bye.
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