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00:30Good evening and welcome to Kent Tonight, live here on KNTV.
00:34I'm Oli Leder and here are your top stories on Tuesday the 3rd of February.
00:40Balancing the books. Parking charges on the rise as Medway Council announces its budget for the coming year.
00:46The budget for this Labour administration is about as gloomy as this weather today. It's a disgrace.
00:52Peddling for change. Meet the Maystone Father taking on a cycling challenge to break mental health stigma.
01:00You know, people talk about, oh, it's all about talking and talking is important. It's also about listening and people need to listen.
01:06I think Kelsey talked, but I don't think people listened enough.
01:09And bizarre, bizarre, largest second-hand bookstore in the country celebrates 40 years of serving Rochester.
01:16Lean time, but it's, you know, we've ticked over quite nicely.
01:22First tonight, dealing with the deficit. That's the key takeaway from Medway Council's budget,
01:39which they have asserted will be the last one to require government support to help lift them out of debt.
01:45With an almost £26 million gap to fill, Medway Council are aiming to raise income over cutting services to stay afloat.
01:54Alongside managing huge costs like adult social care, Council leader Vince Maple is set to hike parking charges to make up the cash,
02:03as Megan Shaw has been finding out.
02:05A £26 million black hole to fill and the last year of government support are the key takeaways from Medway Council's 2026 to 27 budget.
02:18We've done amazing amounts of work and I'm incredibly proud of the one Medway approach we've taken to get to where we are now.
02:24This was always going to be a three-year plan to use exceptional financial support.
02:29Government saw that from the first conversations we had with them.
02:33I'm very confident that when it comes to 2027-28's budget, we won't be seeking exceptional financial support.
02:39And our medium-term financial outlook shows that.
02:42The council spends £1.35 million each day on services for children, adult social care and housing.
02:50And so with this financial strain, the pressure is on to ensure other services, like libraries and leisure centres, still continue to serve the people.
02:59So there are some political choices.
03:01I would always look for income generation over cutting services because people deserve the services that they need,
03:09particularly those who are the most vulnerable in our community.
03:12Now, it's a wet and windy day outside Gunn Wharf.
03:16But will the council's budget decision be a ray of sunshine in an otherwise difficult financial year for the council and its residents?
03:24Well, Reform UK's deputy leader doesn't think so.
03:27The budget for this Labour and administration is about as gloomy as this weather today.
03:33It's a disgrace for two reasons.
03:35First, they've failed to actually balance and meet any of their own budgeting targets,
03:40meaning that they come up with a £10 million deficit.
03:43And for what? Potholes will still not be fielding properly, services are not getting better,
03:48people are not seeing the improvement for this extra money, they keep being asked.
03:52And the second reason is because the positive assumptions, as they say,
03:57they made about the cost of borrowing has not materialised.
04:00And that is why, for the third year in a row, they're going capping hand to their own government
04:04and begging them for exceptional financial support.
04:07It's no longer exceptional. Financial support has become the norm here in Medway.
04:11Raising income over cutting services does come at a price, with many car park tariffs set to rise.
04:19With the cost of living set to increase by 3%, will Medway Council be able to navigate the razor edge
04:26of balancing the books and placating the people?
04:30Megan Shaw for Kane TV, Gunworth.
04:32Well, our politics producer, Meg Shaw, joins us in the studio now.
04:38We heard from reform there, but we haven't heard much from Medway Council's main opposition, the Conservatives.
04:43What have they had to say about all of this?
04:45Absolutely. Of course, we reached out to them for the interview.
04:48They were unavailable for that, but we did get a statement through from the leader of the Conservative opposition.
04:53That's Councillor George Perfect.
04:54In fact, he drew attention to two things, and the quote here is higher charges and more borrowing, both of which he criticises there.
05:02He describes it all as unsustainable, this continued borrowing from Medway Council.
05:07He's also said the heart of the problem here is the failure of the Labour government's fairer funding review to deliver.
05:14He critiques that the fairer funding review was £8 million less than what Medway Council anticipated.
05:22He also comments upon the continued debt that the council is facing there.
05:26So lots of criticism from George Perfect.
05:29He also says he's set to set out an alternative budget, so something we'll be keeping our eyes on.
05:34Here's a real question, though.
05:35What does this mean for viewers at home right now?
05:38If we ignore the politicking at heart here, does this mean people in Medway are going to be paying more to Medway Council?
05:45Yes, there are two main points there.
05:47So, of course, something we already knew, council tax set to rise to almost 5%.
05:51But something I found out from Vince Maple today was that a lot of council-owned parking on-street and off-street are set to go up.
05:58So the tariffs are set to go up by 60p.
06:01So that's not per hour, that's just per block of time, per tariff.
06:05I suppose a small amount, but, I mean, it racks up if you need to park every day for work.
06:09If you're going, I don't know, you're going to the cinema in town.
06:12Those kind of things do kind of rack up.
06:14And a higher charge there is for country parks.
06:17They're going to go up by £1 to £3.50 for the full day.
06:21This is to subsidise another measure they've brought in where if you want to park your car somewhere in Medway in a council-owned space for less than half an hour,
06:29that will be brought down to just £1.00.
06:31That's gone down from £1.90.
06:33That's a fair amount there.
06:34And what this is meant to do, Vince told me, is that it's meant to encourage people to pop into town for that one thing.
06:41If that's the post office, if that's grabbing a coffee, if that's doing your local shop,
06:45rather than perhaps a convenience service where things come straight to your door,
06:49to try and encourage people to use their town centres a bit more and to kind of help those businesses.
06:55But will this work?
06:57We don't know.
06:58I mean, they can only predict will people be using this service more often, but, again, we don't know.
07:02Well, we will be following this very close at KMTV and probably on the Kemp Politics show as well.
07:08Thanks so much, Meg.
07:08Now, taxpayers could lose out on £120 million a year as a new firm is set to pocket all the toll money for the Darfur Crossing and upcoming Lower Thames Crossing.
07:21Profits from these toll charges have pretty gone to the Department of Transport,
07:25with concerns mounting that losing this cash could lead to less funding for local projects.
07:29But according to the Times, the government believes this will bring in higher investment needed for the crossing.
07:36The long-awaited project is designed to ease congestion on Kent's only road link with Essex,
07:40with the government already pledging £3.1 billion to the tunnel.
07:44Now, new research from the Taxpayers' Alliance shows Kent County Council have the highest asylum seeker bill in the country.
07:55Kent's spending on asylum seekers has tripled in five years,
07:58with data from the Pressure Group showing spending of £46.41.6 million.
08:04These figures come as Kent County Council leader Lyndon Kemkaron wrote to the Home Secretary,
08:10asking for further funding to care for young asylum seekers.
08:13The number of children who have arrived in Kent has quadrupled in the past 10 years,
08:18but the Home Office say it already provides additional funding contributions to help local authorities meet support costs.
08:25Now, a former barmaid from Canterbury is set to receive thousands in compensation after being wrongly accused of stealing.
08:32Katie Haynes had been working at the Thomas Beckett Pub in Canterbury for two years,
08:36when her manager made the accusations barring her for six weeks.
08:40The incident occurred weeks after Mrs Haynes questioned her manager about the pub's finances,
08:46but she didn't receive her wages in 2025.
08:49An employment tribunal has ruled that between unpaid wages, holiday entitlement and a basic award for unlawful dismissal,
08:57Mrs Haynes will be awarded more than £4,000.
09:00Caskaway Taverns did not respond for comment.
09:02Next, tonight, a Maidstone man bereaved by suicide is helping break the stigma around mental health through his cycling.
09:10Matt Evans' son took his own life at the age of 26.
09:13Now, to commemorate what would have been his 30th birthday,
09:16Matt is hosting a charity spin-a-thon this Saturday to raise money for Mid-Kent Mind,
09:20as our reporter Maisie Walker has been finding out.
09:2412 hours of cycling for Mind.
09:26So, team, bring all your best fancy footwork and all of your best singing voices,
09:31because they're about to be...
09:32Inside this gym, a man from Maidstone is taking on an impressive physical challenge to raise money for Mid-Kent Mind.
09:39In October 2022, Matt's son, Kelsey, took his own life.
09:45The Spinathlon, which consists of 12 consecutive 45-minute spin classes,
09:50held back-to-back over a 12-hour period,
09:53was created to raise money and awareness for mental health.
09:57Not just highlighting the suffering of young men,
10:00but also the detrimental effects it had on Matt's mental health too.
10:03Well, it started off, my son, Kelsey, took his own life four years ago.
10:09And I decided to do something for mental health.
10:14So, three years ago, in February, we did the first spin-a-thon here,
10:1725 bikes involved, and then the decision was to try and expand that further.
10:23Around 150 people are expected to take part in the event,
10:27with 50 static bikes set up across five locations.
10:31The event will be hosted in person at Lock Meadow Health Club on Barker Road in Maidstone,
10:36with additional participants joining remotely via a live stream.
10:41My experience and being bereaved by suicide has changed the way I feel about mental health,
10:45and subsequent to that, I've suffered my own mental health problems.
10:50And I think, you know, people talk about, oh, it's all about talking,
10:53and talking's important.
10:55It's also about listening and people need to listen.
10:57I think Kelsey talked, but I don't think people listened enough.
11:00So, I think it's a two-way street.
11:03We're saying men should talk, especially young men,
11:06and if they don't, or when they do, people don't listen.
11:09I think that's important.
11:11It's a challenge built not just on physical endurance,
11:14but on encouraging people to speak up and support one another.
11:18And while the challenge may be tough, the message behind it is a simple one.
11:22And if you were impacted by anything in that report,
11:33or simply just want to talk to someone,
11:36you can call the Samaritan's helpline on 116 123.
11:40That's 116 123.
11:43But that's all we have for now.
11:47But stay with us, because there's plenty more to come up after the break,
11:50especially from our sports producer, Fing McDermott,
11:53who has all the latest athletic headlines.
15:13hello and welcome back to kent tonight live here on km tv there's lots of sports news from across
15:24the county this week including a new signing of a defender for the deals as well as a chatham
15:30town women's player who put the gloves on when their keeper was shown a red card
15:34our sports producer phil mcdermott is here with all the latest
15:43first for your sports headlines and the jills have gone for experience in their back line with
15:54the new signing of defender omar beckles penn was put to paper on his deal just ahead of
15:59jillingham's defeat to bromley that saw conor masterson pick up an injury in the 4-1 thrashing
16:04the former layton orient captain started his career at millwall's youth setup before leaving the den
16:09for stints at boreham wood at kington stanley shrewsbury and crew and has also applied his
16:14trade in the county before with a spell on loan to margate he added the gaffer has played a big part
16:19in that and it's an amazing project to be part of next chatham town women's had a new face in between
16:25the sticks after their goalkeeper was sent off in their 3-0 win over cambridge lucy jones had to put
16:30on the gloves after abby barovic earned herself a straight red from a marauding challenge out of the
16:35box even though jones normally plays as a left back she kept a clean sheet throughout the fixture
16:39earning herself the player of the match award in the process manager keith bonus said it was an
16:44outstanding effort from the 10 on the pitch with hearts on sleeves for 88 minutes next dartford boss
16:50adi pennock has praised a teenage lone player for his efforts in a late winner against brentwood
16:54dan carter from layton orient set up a goal in extra time for eddie dasane to finish off to give
16:59the 10-man darts the win after a difficult match he had disappointed earlier in the match with a
17:04poorly delivered corner that led to a brentwood equalizer but made up for it with a great run
17:08and layoff for dasane to fire home pennock said it was exceptional for a young boy and that his move
17:13was leagues above next to cricket where zach mcdermott the son of former ashes player craig mcdermott
17:19has joined kingsill cricket club for 2026 the australian will hope to give the team a boost ahead
17:25of their 20th anniversary season with the 20 year old fast bowler arriving in april the side will start
17:30their league division one campaign in may with back-to-back local derbies against leeds and
17:34broomfield and the moat with the sides relegated from the championship captain jake bacon said zach
17:39is a brilliant signing for us and i've been getting lots of texts and messages from other clubs asking
17:44me how we managed to get him now to rugby where gravesend showed their fangs in a dominant win of
17:4937 to 26 against sutton and epsom the kent team started early when ned warren dived over following some
17:56pretty good forward play but it turned back in favor of sutton who scored two converted tries
18:01with a mounting injury list the g's should have been worried but instead fired back another try
18:05and penalty taking it to 14 to 13 by the break another penalty in the second half nudged gravesend
18:10ahead before more tries followed ending the fixture 37 to 26 and lastly a hern bay bowler hopes her
18:17legacy inspires her daughter after her fifth commonwealth games call up for england determined to show that
18:22anything is possible for her family shan honor juggles parenthood full-time work and an international
18:27bowls career having won medals at her four previous commonwealth games her dedication is proving to be
18:33worth it she said i don't think it's an understatement to say i'm in the chaos season of my life i've got
18:37two sons and a daughter and they're all into football and kickboxing that's all for your sports bulletin
18:42and if you enjoyed all of those sports stories you can find plenty like it on our website kmtv.co.uk
19:00including this one about an amputee embarking on an epic mountain expedition for most in canterbury the
19:08hill up to the university and the climb up the cathedral stairs tend to be the highest
19:12but after climbing the tallest peaks on each of the seven continents one local has made his
19:16triumphant return harry budamagar was a gurkha soldier who lost both of his limbs to an ied in
19:22afghanistan and now has completed the seven summits challenge after his climb of mount vincent in
19:26antarctica one of the most remote part of the world and there is no you know humans live um in um in
19:37antarctica so it's super cold and it's a long way as well so you can't uh expose any of our skins
19:46outside uh we need to cover everything up so it was tricky but uh just kept going uh one step at a time
19:56one camp a day and and we we made it to the top now harry by this point is no stranger to a tough
20:06mountain climb but for this antarctic one the main obstacle wasn't just the summit but the cold as
20:12well so to prepare he worked in collaboration with a company to create a new prosthetic leg
20:17and the best part about it it's electronically heated from the inside you know i don't have to
20:23worry about my toes sadly i can't able to afford more limbs so we design the heating system that
20:33protects my stump and also we also design my summit suit accordingly and so that if let's say heating
20:43system fails it's still we can able to put hand warmers on the small pockets around my stumps
20:48and still uh protects it and like i haven't lost any of those so that's good news it wasn't just a
20:57battle against the elements but the courts as well they stood in harry's way as he was banned from
21:02climbing any mountain over a certain height but he managed to file a case and win the right to climb
21:06he added that his story is a testament to dedication and passion and that if he could climb the seven
21:12mountains mount vincent everest blank kilimanjaro denali aconcagua and punchak jaya then so could
21:18anyone else and now he's returned home to canterbury i think he's deserved a long rest finn mcdermid for
21:24km tv in canterbury well let's hope the weather here is slightly warmer than everest here's the weather
21:33tonight we can expect a mostly cloudy evening with an average of six or seven degrees across the county
21:44into tomorrow morning that cloud sticking with us some sunshine sat down in dover and margate
21:49and into the afternoon royal tunbridge wells and maidstone getting a bit more sunshine a bit of cloud
21:56still around canterbury and the outlook for the rest of the week lots of rain on thursday and friday
22:02cloudy on saturday
22:03now a man from platts near west morling who turned his life around with a new passion for running
22:20has conquered his hardest ultra marathon yet chris slater who struggled for many years with a drug addiction
22:26has now completed the arc of attrition race a 30-hour marathon around the cornish coast
22:33to tell us more about his latest achievement chris joins us now chris thank you so much for joining us
22:40on the program this evening talk us through the arc of attrition what makes it such a challenging marathon
22:46especially given your newfound love for running yeah i don't really know where to start it's an
22:54incredibly um difficult course i think that's the first thing to say so it's a 100 mile race which
23:01for anybody that works in kilometers it's 164 kilometers and there's 7 000 meters of elevation
23:07and for anybody who doesn't know the cornish coast it is incredibly aggressive in terms of its rock
23:14its profile uh and in january as well it is um unpredictable weather so we were unfortunately
23:21it's the first time the race has ever been on during the middle of a named storm
23:25um so as well as the conditions underfoot the distance the duration uh we've also been attacked
23:30by the elements so it's incredibly challenging you see that picture on you on screen battling those
23:36elements as you say and i'm curious because obviously you have turned your life around partially
23:42through running these marathons doing these kind of extreme running events can you explain what
23:48running's kind of done to your life how it's kind of changed you as a person yeah of course i think
23:54um all of the things that i went through sort of in my personal life and with substance abuse
24:00and alcohol when i was going through the recovery process to get clean and you know open up about my
24:06mental health which i was really struggling with running is giving me a lot of direction and basically like a
24:11project and something to work towards and something that i've been very fortunate enough to travel
24:16uh to parts of the globe and compete in some really serious races with um so i think it's been a it's
24:23been a side hustle i guess and a hobby uh but that can never replace the actual recovery side of it
24:29can you talk through that process of recovery for us because i think lots of people will kind of find
24:35your story very inspiring becoming this kind of extreme athlete after all you've been through can
24:41kind of talk through that journey for us yeah of course i think for me i mean this is probably the
24:47best part five or six years ago i recognize i had a problem with what i was doing um and started to go
24:55through a bit of a realization process that um you know using uh drugs the way that i was
25:00um it was ruining my life basically and crippling me emotionally financially uh relationships
25:07and the the process first of all for anybody that that's going through this is first it comes from
25:13you you have to accept that you have an issue before you can really do something about it
25:18then beyond that it kind of becomes more about what help is there available and for me i tried
25:25everything i tried going to the doctors i tried speaking to um speaking to friends and family
25:31and ultimately that that path kind of led me to a rehab center um which was based on 12 steps
25:37of recovery which is um to anybody that doesn't know what that's about the best way to picture it
25:42is when you watch a film and you see the support groups that sit around in circles that's really what
25:48that's all based on i suppose what would your advice be for someone watching at home who's inspired by
25:54your journey what's the first step to getting to where you are today great question very hard to
26:02answer i think um one of the biggest reliefs i ever had was opening up to my friends and family
26:08about it and i was kind of forced into that corner if i was being honest things weren't adding up to them
26:13i was questioned on a lot of stuff um but ultimately as soon as i did that that started the process
26:20and it really wasn't as scary as what people think um and i had a very supportive you know god knows
26:27how but i had a very supportive family um who really helped me in that period chris it's been
26:33great speaking to you on our program this evening and good luck with future ultra marathons and
26:39running events i'm sure we'll catch up with you soon thank you very much
26:43well coming up after the break we'll be taking a closer look at the new medway budget our top story
26:51this evening and we're hearing from villagers in ham street about a fresh housing development stick with us
26:57yeah
27:01so
27:02you
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31:00You know, people talk about, oh, it's all about talking, and talking's important.
31:03It's also about listening, and people need to listen.
31:06I think Kelsey talked, but I don't think people listened enough.
31:09And bizarre, and bizarre, and bizarre, largest secondhand bookstore in the country celebrates
31:1440 years of serving Rochester.
31:16lean timers but it's you know we've we've ticked over quite nicely
31:22back to our top story this evening dealing with the deficit that's the key takeaway from medway
31:38council's budget which they have asserted we're the last one to require government support to
31:43help lift them out of debt with an almost 26 million pound gap to fill medway council are
31:50aiming to raise income over cutting services to stay afloat alongside managing huge costs like
31:57adult social care council leader vince maple is set to hike parking charges to make up the cash
32:03as megan shaw's been finding out a 26 million black hole to fill and the last year of government
32:11support are the key takeaways from medway council's 2026 to 27 budget we've done amazing amounts of
32:19work and i'm incredibly proud of the one medway approach we've taken to get to where we are now
32:24this was always going to be a three-year plan to use exceptional financial support government saw that
32:30from the first conversations we had with them i'm very confident that when it comes to 2027-28's budget
32:36we won't be seeking exceptional financial support and our medium-term financial outlook shows that
32:42the council spends 1.35 million each day on services for
32:47apologies about those technical issues you can find the full report on our website kmtv.co.uk you can watch
33:13back in the program later as well but let's take a look at our next story this evening
33:20as i scroll down on the auto-scroller ash villages and hamstreet say they're under attack again after
33:28plans were submitted for 75 new homes off marsh road near ashford the proposals target a 10 acre site
33:35at mountain farm where windsor food machinery currently operates the plans come with just three months after
33:41residents celebrated the rejection of a separate 140 home development locals are raising concerns over
33:49overdevelopment pressures on school and services and whether more housing is actually needed developer
33:56dean lewis estates have been reached for comment
34:02elsewhere in kent a driving school has been given me forced to shut down following complaints about noise and
34:08fees it could increase dangers on the road skids advanced driving school based at manson airport in
34:16ramsgate specialized in ski control and drifting sessions and was founded by warren lee in 2024
34:23early last year thanet district council deemed the project unauthorized have now closed the center
34:30supporters have been petitioning the council for skids reopening saying that closing the school removes the
34:35only safe and illegal venue for enthusiasts to develop driving skills thanet district council has not
34:41commented commented on the closure now a traveling couple who swapped australia for autumn to open their
34:49very own coffee shop say it was the community here in kent that brought them back olivio and aaron have
34:56previously run a popular coffee bar out of the back of a vw camper for they took off on their travels around
35:03the world but recently they returned to the uk with even bigger plans opening a pop-up shop in their
35:10local village hall chloe brewster went down to see how they were getting on
35:17having spent several years traveling australia asia and aaron's home country of switzerland
35:22couple olivia and aaron started to renovate a vw camper into their very own mobile cafe here in kent
35:28the business boomed with the pair traveling around tombridge and mauling serving their swiss hot
35:32chocolate and alpine inspired baked goods but recently they decided to put down their roots just
35:37outside maidstone in the quaint village of autumn while olivia and aaron absolutely love their van
35:42life autumn village hall here offers them a slightly bigger venue um we opened the cafe in july we
35:48actually had a camper van we had it in the camper van very similar to this one and we did that for
35:53about three years um around laybourne west morland area and we served out the back during lockdown and
35:59then yeah we went to australia came back i think last december and we were like right we didn't have
36:05the van at the time so we were like what are we gonna do like we miss doing it we love seeing everyone
36:09so we actually came we live here so we walked up one day and i was like oh the hall would be such a
36:13good space to like open up again just as a pop-up autumn is it looks tiny but there's so many like
36:19little side roads and loads of different houses that you wouldn't even know that are here so i think
36:23it's been so good for everyone to kind of have a space to come together and enjoy a coffee and a
36:28cake everyone loves a pastry all right so olivia comes always with those brilliant ideas she's like
36:34oh yeah let's turn the uh the van in a cafe business or even the village hall and she says like we need
36:40this this this and this and i'm just like yeah let me see what i can do so i i built from scratch a
36:46little uh coffee cart with all the equipment on it um which is completely movable so we can
36:53take it away and the village hall can be used for something else during the week whilst we're not
36:58trading oh it's crazy every day you sit in and think like oh yeah it's going to be a gray grim day no
37:05one's going to come but then you're going to be surprised by so many locals which travel miles
37:10sometimes just to come and see us it's literally every day it's brilliant yes the parish council
37:16told me hosting the little traveling bean was going amazing adding they've received nothing
37:20but glowing praise from residents like we come here friday saturday sunday every single week like we
37:25love it especially having a new baby it's something to do get out the house it's really nice it's nice
37:30to see how much they've grown the business you know from the van days to here um with the local
37:36community it's really lovely to see olivia and aaron hope to continue serving brews as well as the
37:41community far into the future chloe brewster for kmtv in autumn now as the local and national
37:50conversation around smartphones in schools continues around the country the house of laws has been
37:56debating an amendment that could introduce a legal ban in the education system for our children
38:03something we're following closely here on kent tonight with our reporter matie walker visiting a school
38:10in seven oaks as already has a ban in place and as always you can find all of our coverage on this
38:18issue on our website that's kmtv.co.uk
38:24education secretary bridget phillipson has said that all schools in england should comply with new
38:29government guidance by banning mobile phones for the entire school day it's expected for offset to be
38:35inspecting schools on the administration of their mobile phone policies going forward with teachers
38:41also being advised not to use their phones in front of pupils since introducing a smartphone ban in
38:47october a school in seven oaks has seen students reportedly benefit according to staff there is
38:53enough research now that shows the detrimental effect of social media of the reliance of mobile phones on young
39:02people's mental health how addictive they can be how they can affect students sleep patterns there's
39:11definitely a much higher engagement in lessons we know that students aren't distracted in any way we
39:20know that their mobile phone is not a device that they're going to think about or want to check because
39:27they can't and we've seen a massive decline in the amount of communication we're getting in school
39:35people bringing things like cyber bullying to us or social media bullying that's happening maybe in and
39:43around school time maybe just before school or just after school seen a huge reduction in that the
39:48initiative works by requiring students to place their mobile phones into sealed magnetic pouches at the
39:54start of the school day preventing access during lessons and social time at the end of every school
40:00day students will walk down this path and be met with devices such as this it will be opened and
40:05they'll be able to pop their phone out of its pocket but does this initiative have widespread support
40:12across kent well i would say the schools where access to phones is freer is where they're having
40:17the problems oh gosh not schools definitely not schools i think parents do have a lot of
40:22responsibility after all we're supposed to be preparing children for the world out there
40:27just i think um 16 is a bit um is old enough for the children to make decisions for themselves
40:33the most concerning things is not necessarily that young people are picking up phones and looking at
40:39information um i think it is the mental health effect on some of that stuff that they're getting access to
40:45these algorithms are so clever now and you don't even know if what you're being fed is real or not
40:52real and i think the effect of that is not just information overload but some of the material um
40:59feeds into insecurities and i think really for me it's not about banning something and it shouldn't
41:05really be a freedom issue at this point we've got an issue we've got a challenge where we need to start
41:11really helping young people with their mental health and i think this gives us a breather as
41:17phone-free policies are rolled out and enforcement becomes a focus for inspections schools may start
41:22to see changes in the classroom but whether these measures deliver lasting improvements remains to be
41:28seen maizey walker for kmtv 7x now it's time for our final break but stay tuned for the next couple of
41:36stories including a discussion with tudor price about the closure of the uk's oldest roller coaster down
41:43in margate as well as a look at baggins book bazaar a rochester second-hand bookshop known as the largest in
41:52england please stick with us
42:22牙-se-biz beach ballivia
42:23i'm gonna call me a move uh we're going to call you the mini-airiedisk ballpark
42:26in park yeah
42:28and i think that's really important for us to be in the most part of the day
42:30and to be in the most part of the story and brainwast the lungs in these days
42:34we'll have to take a close up to you and i'll see you next time
42:35in the morning you're going to like oh my god
42:37in the morning you're going to be as a treatment that was completed
42:39the morning you're going to be called
42:41in the morning so that you were almost the winter and a sleeper
42:43in the morning you were going to the morning you were going to be
42:46this morning and i'll see you a little bit
42:48in the morning you're going to be a little bit
45:56Well, Tudor, thank you so much for joining us.
45:59And there's been lots of outrage this week over the permanent closure of the scenic railway in Margate, the oldest roller coaster in the UK by Live Nation, who say it's no longer viable.
46:11Does this say something about the coastal economy and how it's changing at all?
46:16I think it reaffirms what we've already seen in terms of a trend, I think specifically in this case with the Live Nation situation.
46:28I think there is a good argument here for investment, not for commercial return, but for heritage value.
46:34I think that heritage value has an attraction element to it as well.
46:40And I think, you know, having those sort of attractions will be playing a wider part in sort of helping support the economy.
46:46So quite often, you know, this is really where you have a crossover between the public sector playing a part to try and help with that placemaking, but also recognizing that from a commercial perspective, it's not always a viable venture, but there is still value in it inherently.
47:01Because we have seen these heritage venues in places like Margate, such as the Winter Gardens, or now with the scenic railway not being open to the public, potentially being closed permanently.
47:16Do you think that these sorts of heritage sites or seasonal tourist attractions like the Dreamland Park are actually viable in the modern economy?
47:25Not on a commercial basis, no, but it's rather a sort of chicken and egg scenario because it's going to be the public sector or sort of social funds that will sensibly sort of provide the financing for these types of features, which then actually drives that placemaking, which then attracts the visitor economy.
47:50We've got infrastructure, certainly here in Kent, we're very lucky we'd have high speed and a number of other sort of connections.
47:55Which help address some of the accessibility issues, but you still have to have some fairly significant reasons.
48:02Turner Contemporary is a good example of that.
48:04You know, actually, it's supported by Excel funding, Arts Council funding, so it's not necessarily commercially viable in its own right.
48:12But what it does is it brings visitors down and that, of course, then generates the disposable income, consumer spend, which will actually drive the economy and commerce more realistically.
48:21Well, on the flip side, I suppose people could say, the Turner economy is a year-round attraction.
48:27You can draw people in the winter and the summer, same with Dreamland as a music venue.
48:33Do you think the visitor economy, which is worth £4 billion here in Kent, is diversifying to become more a year-round sort of economy,
48:42rather than relying on the summer or warmer months to bring trade or visitors in?
48:50I think we all need to respond to the changing environment.
48:53I mean that sort of in climate terms as well, and recognising that there are different types of attractions that can be posted throughout the year.
48:59Businesses have always struggled to try and keep out of that seasonality and essentially sort of have a consistent level of revenue throughout the year.
49:08But that's not always been achievable, and I think sometimes businesses will necessarily sort of spring up at certain times of the year.
49:15But really where it comes down to is, I think, is what the public sector can do.
49:19And of course, we know many councils are cash-strapped at the moment, but recognising they have a part to play in all of this,
49:25to sort of try and maintain their heritage sites, address that seasonality, and sort of try to smooth things out.
49:32Because you do need sort of a critical mass.
49:34It's about volume and scale.
49:36And I think, you know, when a location, a sort of seaside resort, starts to sort of fall below a certain threshold of footfall,
49:44you can start to see it become very, very difficult to try and stop that deterioration.
49:52And finally, a Kent Senhau bookshop known as the largest of its kind across England has reached its 40th anniversary.
50:00Rochester's Baggins Book Bazaar has collected a range of titles, from classics to modern works.
50:08However, the owner is soon retiring, is looking for someone to take over the business.
50:13Our community reporter, Henry Luck, has been down to find out more.
50:18It's fitting for the place with connections to Charles Dickens to have England's largest second-hand bookshop,
50:28Baggins Book Bazaar has just reached its 40th anniversary and is still trading stories,
50:37housing plenty of classics, fit for a lover of literature, here in Rochester.
50:46Yeah, yeah, it's done pretty well to do that.
50:50I mean, it's had some lean times, but it's, you know, we've ticked over quite nicely over all those years, yeah.
51:01Baggins has been collecting books for 40 years now,
51:06inviting everyone who is Tolkien to experience the shop.
51:12everything from mini pocket editions to massive jumbo-sized books like this.
51:20However, Yonah is looking to start a new chapter of his own life as he enters retirement
51:28and needs someone else to keep turning the pages.
51:33Yeah, right.
51:35Yeah, we need someone to take over this.
51:38They've got to be a book lover, essentially, really,
51:42because it's not, it's not really something that's a great investment, put it that way.
51:48It needs to be someone who's interested in it, or a community, you know, take over, maybe.
51:56But with this establishment still being visited by customers young and old,
52:01it's unlikely this barzer will meet a grim end.
52:07Henry Luck for Kane TV in Rochester.
52:11I wonder if any of you at home might want to give that a shot.
52:17But just before we go,
52:18John Owens runs wrestling programs here in Kent
52:21to help underprivileged young people to achieve their full potential.
52:25But it's not just medals that John wants them to earn.
52:29Because we, and we caught up with him earlier
52:32to find out exactly what it means to him and the people that he works with.
52:36So, John, thank you for joining me.
52:39And can you tell me a little bit about the recent successes of the wrestling club?
52:43You're aware a student recently won a competition
52:46after only three months of starting martial arts here.
52:51Thank you for having me.
52:53Wrestling has exploded since last we've spoken.
52:56At the moment, I'm in Carson, Gracie, Tunbridge in Kent,
52:59who I host Mary Half My Lessons.
53:02But one of the venues I just reach is at 7-7 Wrestling,
53:06which is in Greenheim,
53:07where a young student, 13 years old,
53:11with a lovely attitude and phenomenal patience,
53:15after three months training,
53:16took part in his first competition,
53:18the BJJ competition,
53:20where he got gold.
53:22He's showing phenomenal potential,
53:26bright attitude, trains every time,
53:28and keeps trying.
53:29So are many other young people.
53:31He's not just the only success.
53:33Since last time we spoke,
53:36we've had a club open up in Maidstone
53:37called United Wrestling,
53:39where one of their wrestlers came second in the British.
53:43A phenomenal result.
53:45And a lot of competitions.
53:47We've had a competition here in Tunbridge,
53:50a coaching course,
53:51a referees course.
53:52So we're doing very, very well.
53:54So we've got United Wrestling Club
53:56open up in Maidstone on Wednesdays.
53:58We've got Carson Gracie, Tuesdays and Thursdays.
54:02We have Canterbury Fridays and Wednesdays, wrestling.
54:06We have Greenhives, as I said already,
54:09and Irith as well.
54:11So right now, wrestling in Kent couldn't be stronger.
54:14We've now covered seven days a week of wrestling.
54:16These are children from underprivileged backgrounds
54:20a lot of the time.
54:21How does it make you feel to kind of see them
54:23really taking to the sport
54:25and succeeding so early on
54:28into picking up wrestling?
54:29It's over the moon,
54:32because life's always hard.
54:35It's been hard for my generation,
54:36the generation after me,
54:37but I think this generation has been the hardest
54:39because they get this social media pressure.
54:43They're convinced they're failing in a world
54:45that isn't real,
54:47but it's convinced them it is.
54:48So things are much, much harder.
54:50And to see young people
54:52put that torture to one side
54:55and come back and be at wrestling
54:58or BJJ as it is here
54:59and just get medals.
55:02As I tell people,
55:05I want you to be a champion.
55:06A champion isn't about getting a gold medal.
55:09It's doing your best
55:10because life will knock you down.
55:14And the word wrestling means grapple.
55:17You stay down or you get up.
55:19And wrestling teaches you to get up.
55:22And that's why I'm proud
55:22about all these young people.
55:24They get up, they keep trying,
55:26keep coming back,
55:28and they'll get success.
55:29It's not medals,
55:31success in mental health,
55:32physical health, and well-being.
55:34You're already having
55:35these early successes already.
55:37Where do you hope to go from here?
55:40Well, there's lots of projects.
55:41There's one in here
55:42that I'm looking at,
55:44I've only just started speaking to yesterday.
55:46A community project
55:47to help people
55:48from disadvantaged backgrounds
55:51who will probably get involved
55:52in knife crime, drug crime,
55:56to train in a wrestling
55:57and rugby environment.
55:59That's news.
56:00And hopefully that will be
56:01next time we speak,
56:03up and running.
56:04United Wrestling in Wednesdays
56:06with a guy who came 10th
56:08in the Royal Coaching there,
56:09a guy called Buster.
56:10So that starts Wednesdays.
56:12Young people at 5, 5.30,
56:15and older people at 7.
56:17We have Sheppie,
56:18another place we're getting wrestling.
56:20We're now trying to cover
56:21every part of Kent
56:23to make wrestling available
56:24to everybody.
56:26And that's my dream,
56:27make it available to everybody.
56:30That's fantastic.
56:31John, thank you so much
56:33for joining us.
56:34I'm sure next time
56:35we'll have you
56:36in our studio
56:37on the sofa.
56:39It was great to be with John there.
56:40He is a real wrestling pro.
56:43But you'll be watching Kent
56:43tonight live here
56:44on KNTV.
56:46We'll be back at 8pm
56:47with our evening bulletin.
56:48We'll see you then.
56:49We'll see you then.
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