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00:35Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight, live here on KMTV.
00:39I'm Finn McDermott and here are your top stories on Thursday, the 4th of June.
00:43Sign of the times, Medway High Street's hit with dozens of closures.
00:47Footfall is down, especially through the alleyway here, people are just not spending money.
00:53Fighting back, Kent Police announce new measures to crack down on anti-social behaviour after
00:58Broadstairs chaos.
00:59We're ready for it, we're prepared for it, we're planned for it and we'll be really
01:03robust in our activity to prevent and deter it.
01:06And old guard back on the green. Golf legends appear at Ashford Course ahead of Over 50's
01:11tournament.
01:12You become a legend or eligible to play on the Legends Tour when you're 50 in professional
01:16golf. So think of all your players that have played on the European Tour, DP World Tour,
01:21major winners.
01:32But first tonight, Medway's high streets are some of the most at risk in the entire country.
01:37This is according to data from the Office of National Statistics. Of 310 local authorities,
01:42Medway came 308th, with retail floor space, units and shops dropping sharply. Our local
01:48democracy reporter, Oli Leder, went out into the heart of Medway to see the struggle traders
01:53face every day for himself.
01:55Vacant shop fronts, dog-eared to let signs and more closures on the cards. It's little
02:02wonder Medway has some of the weakest high streets in the entire country, with just 33
02:07shots per 10,000 people, far below the national average of 41.
02:12High streets have got this added burden of having a building. We've got certain issues like increased
02:19parking prices, anti-social behaviour, increasing business rates.
02:25Between 2024 and 2025, 40 retail units closed across the five towns. Businesses here in Struth
02:35say they're still struggling.
02:37Footfall is down, especially through the alleyway here. Just people are just not so
02:42spending money. Or people are just going to the bigger retail parks where things are cheaper
02:48and they can save money.
02:50The difficulties here are part of a wider national trend. Nearly 3,000 local retail units were
02:57lost across England and Wales between 2024 and 2025.
03:02I think definitely we've talked about downsizing the size of the high street presence just because
03:09of the expenses of the expense. You know, you've got to staff it and you have to have the right
03:15amount of staff just because of the stealing and all of that aspect. So if you had a smaller
03:21premises, it would be easier to support. And I think the online, as I say, is so much stronger
03:27than the shop premises. There are local issues at play. Parking charges have risen across the
03:35five towns for the last two years. But Medway Council says car park upkeep is needed and that
03:41there needs to be an authority wide approach to regeneration. Added to that, we've got general inflation
03:48inflation because of the war in Iran and wars in Russia, fuel increases, these are all feeding
03:54through into energy prices that's really affecting businesses and it's affecting not just businesses
04:01but also public bodies like Medway Council ourselves.
04:04It's not all doom and gloom. The little shop opened on Rochester High Street three months ago
04:10and is still going strong. Something they attribute to keeping costs low and finding a gap in the market.
04:18I think people want to come out. There's a need for it still. It's all well and good buying stuff
04:22online
04:23but you can't get all these little local bits and you don't get the experience of having to look around
04:28a shop like this. A miniature success then. But with slumping footfall and increasing costs,
04:35there's no sign things are set to get any easier or that closures will let up. Olly Leader in Medway.
04:45Plans for an AI data centre in Canterbury will be decided by councillors amid concerns over water use.
04:52AI data centres are often criticised due to the amount of water needed to cool the high-powered
04:57computer servers. Two local councillors have requested the decision goes before Canterbury
05:01City Council rather than offices. This comes as parts of Canterbury have been
05:05without water for several days due to issues with south-east water. But developers say the
05:09scheme would be powered by a neighbouring landfill site and solar panels. It's not yet known when
05:14Canterbury City Council's planning committee will meet to discuss the scheme.
05:24Apologies for the technical difficulties there. Cleve Solar Park in Graveney is facing backlash
05:29after using tens of thousands of litres of water from its roadside standpipe to wash its panels
05:34as homeowners and businesses ran dry. To tell us the details our reporter Kristin Hawthorne joins me now.
05:40So, Kristin, what exactly has happened here? Well, now you'll remember that just last week we had
05:49widespread water outages across Kent because of the heat wave. Thousands of homes and businesses,
05:55particularly in areas like Whitstable and Hearn Bay, were left without running water. And
06:00South-East Water said the problems were caused by a high demand on the network. They were being urged
06:05not to fill paddling pools, water plants or use unnecessary water. But while that was happening,
06:11Kent Online revealed water was being taken from a roadside standpipe in Graveney and that water is
06:16being used to wash panels at Cleve Hill Solar Park near Faversham, Kent's biggest solar farm. And they,
06:24I mean, they were cleaning their panels and they have hundreds of thousands of solar panels. So,
06:29the anger from residents and businesses is around the timing of this. And, you know, cafes, restaurants
06:35were forced to close because they could not operate without running water. Residents and traders have
06:40called it disgraceful and we can hear from them now. It's disgraceful. There's residents all around this
06:46area that need water. Cleaning solar panels isn't why. I get why the solar panels are up, but I think,
06:53you know, priority, prioritisation needs to come first. There's been, obviously,
06:59the water shortage in Whitstable and obviously, you know, the solar farm using their bowsers to trek up
07:07and down the 60,000 litres away or whatever it is a day. And then people can't even brush their
07:12teeths.
07:13Obviously, they've got to get the electricity in and keep the panels clean. But when there's,
07:18you know, there's water coming, it should be coming from other places that it should be,
07:21it should be, you know, going to the people that need it, you know.
07:25And, Kristen, what have officials said on these solar panels?
07:28Yeah, so this is just a picture of the 550,000 solar panels. Southeast Water told Kent Online it had
07:35approved the use of the water, but now the solar park bosses have apologised and said they've
07:40stopped using it after getting feedback from the community. Kent Online asked if this was appropriate.
07:46They had put that question to Southeast Water and they said it was appropriate at the time,
07:50but they're going to look at better ways of water usage.
07:53I see. Thank you for your time, Kristen. A Reform UK councillor who said IVF is a lifestyle
07:58choice compared it to different enhancements has come under fire. We can hear a little bit
08:04about what councillor Bridget Porter said at Kent County Council. We should not be, if people are
08:11on a low income, they should not be bringing babies into the world if they can't afford them.
08:19They must cut their garment according to their cloth. These treatments are not health,
08:27they're not health necessities. Thank you. I mean, I just want to say how appalled I am at the comments
08:35by Ms. Porter. The idea of the, that poor people shouldn't be able to have babies and this is a
08:44lifestyle choice. Can I suggest you do some diversity and inclusion training perhaps because clearly your
08:51understanding of the world is, is, is quite revolting. Thank you.
08:57Kent police have vowed to crack down on antisocial behaviour this summer as part of plans to keep
09:02disruption to a minimum. Neighbourhood policing teams from across the county have been preparing
09:06for an expected increase in reports of antisocial behaviour between June and September, traditionally
09:11when there are higher numbers of visitors to beaches, parks and town centres. Naila Mohammed has more.
09:22Last year, Kent police received over 10,000 reports of antisocial behaviour between June
09:29and August, including multiple reports of the same incident. That's around eight reports per
09:35policing district per day. And with temperatures already soaring, large crowds are quickly making
09:43their way to the beach. Thousands of people will be flocking to Kent's coast to enjoy this lovely
09:49weather, which is why Kent police say they'll be cracking down on antisocial behaviour this summer.
09:54And they're doing this by using data from last year to target known hotspots across Kent so that
10:00residents, businesses and tourists can all feel safe over the busy period. We know that particularly
10:06in some of the coastal towns, when the weather's nice, we're going to see perhaps increases in
10:10antisocial behaviour. And we've made sure that we've catered for it with policing response to that.
10:16So we've increased our resourcing, we've looked at changing shifts, we've made sure that officers
10:20have the powers to deal with it really, really robustly should it occur. Antisocial behaviour also
10:26spans the neighbouring towns, with Kent police focusing on preventative measures with young people.
10:32So some of the issues we have in Herne Bay and Whitstable are the social inequalities that we see
10:36with unemployment and some of the issues with health as well. So what we're working on towards
10:43is focusing on towards those children to try and get them away from committing criminality,
10:47getting them into different outlets through our partners, through Sports Connect and other
10:53agencies to divert them away from committing the crime and antisocial behaviour that we see.
10:57Where people commit crime, where they do step out of line and take their behaviour too far,
11:02they will be held to account. And that can be either through the issuing of community protection
11:06notices or it will result in arrests. But what do residents in Margate think?
11:12I don't witness too much of it, I guess. I think most of it is probably drinking related,
11:18if anything. But in all honesty, I don't see too much.
11:23Do you think enough is being done to tackle antisocial?
11:25Not really. When you want the police, they're not there.
11:30If we take, for example, the incidents that happened in Broadstairs over the half-term week
11:34and over the bank holiday weekend, over 90 dispersals were issued as a result of some
11:40of the behaviour of some of the young people.
11:42With summer arriving sooner than expected, will Kent police be able to crack down on antisocial behaviour
11:48after all. Naylan Mahamud for KMTV in Margate.
11:54Now it's time for a quick break. Join us after just a few short minutes.
11:58We'll be back with more news from across the county.
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15:23Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight live here on KMTV.
15:27Kent Fire and Rescue are continuing to battle a fire at a
15:30recycling plant in Sittingbourne.
15:32.
15:33.
15:34.
15:34the fire here at sweep kusakoski recycling center the smoke can be seen as far away as rodmersham
15:40about three miles away a commercial manager at the firm said we're pleased to confirm no injuries
15:44and our site remains operational during this contained fire incident people living or working
15:48near gas road are being advised to close their windows and doors due to the smoke and we're asked
15:53to share this advice with anyone in the affected area who may not have access to the internet
15:59a woman from dover who had a fatal allergic reaction to a test die while in an ashford
16:04hospital had been given the die just four weeks before susan sharp had been staying at the william
16:09harvey hospital in ashford when she had the severe reaction to a type of contrast die used for ct
16:14scans the reaction caused her to have a cardiac arrest but the relationship was never established
16:19despite the information being apparently easily accessible just four weeks later she was given
16:23the die again triggering a second cardiac arrest due to a non-resuscitation order proved fatal
16:29following an inquest at oakwood house in maidstone the hospital has moved to a new pathology it system
16:33to improve the system a social media video has sparked unfounded asylum seeker speculation after
16:41the sudden closure of a travel lodge near faversham craig williams from wakefield posted the video to
16:45facebook sharing his experience of being relocated while staying in the hotel he said it was he was told
16:51it was due to a water supply disruption but mr williams posted a video blaming the hotel for
16:56housing asylum seekers in spite of this the video attracted more than 114 000 views and hundreds of
17:01comments but it was later verified with southeast water the closure was due to water supply issues
17:06and travel lodge confirmed they don't have any contract to house migrants
17:12as always you can check out our website for more of our pieces and you can check out this one
17:17all about a woman raising money to afford a caravan in which she would take young foster children on
17:23holiday let's have a look everyone loves a trip to the seaside and one foster carer in medway wants
17:30to make these trips more common for children in foster care claire bird owns the ladybird hub a small
17:37charity providing short breaks for foster kids in medway and she does it all from a caravan in sheppi
17:43one day i i came home and i said to my husband i've just bought a caravan and i'm going
17:49to fill
17:49it full of children and i'm going to give them little holidays um and he said why and i said
17:53because
17:54they need them they need these little short breaks and even if they just come down on park for a
17:59day
17:59um they can have these little mini adventures now claire has been a foster carer for 25 years but has
18:05had this caravan for one year and she brings the kids here almost every single weekend but now she's
18:11fundraising for another caravan because she wants to build a village a community to stick with the
18:16mockingbird ethos that it takes a village to raise a child so this is just some of the comments that
18:21the children have put in the content in the visitors book now claire wants another caravan so she can
18:30build a community and take more foster kids on little holidays with the aim for every foster child in
18:36medway to have this experience while on their short break the foster kids take part in multiple
18:42activities painting pottery swimming even football by the river thames this is the kitchen kids are more
18:50than welcome to do their own cooking so we've got some children's cooking equipment we've got some
18:56children's cooking utensils we've got a variety of plastic cups plates and bowls we also get the children
19:04to make their own cup or glass when they come here so i buy them plain acrylic paints and they
19:11can
19:11decorate their own glass and they can take that home as a little memento but the caravan acts as more
19:17than just a holiday for many foster children the caravan is a much needed space he was quite angry
19:24getting a little bit volatile so i took him and did activities with him for a couple of days and
19:31i put the
19:31carers and the birth children here to have a break sometimes the child will think well i will reject you
19:38before you reject me and that becomes a vicious cycle so by doing this um it it improves placement
19:47stability with the fostering system in medway facing growing demands will claire be able to fund the
19:53village she believes the kids need nayla mohammed for kmtv in sheppie chart hills golf club in ashford
20:01will host some of golf's past heroes in a legends tour this summer that'll see pros face off against
20:06amateurs the tournament will see major champions rider cup players and tour winners take it to the
20:11green to battle it out for high prizes and further qualifications i went down to chart hills to find out
20:17more unlike football tennis or basketball golf isn't the kind of sport you can just pick up and play in
20:23the
20:23park but at the charts hill course in ashford they're planning a summer tournament that'll break
20:27down barriers between the pros and the public the legends tour will see former major winners and rider
20:33cup competitors over the age of 50 alongside amateur golfers for top prizes and qualification for further
20:39competitions you become a legend or eligible to play on the legends tour when you're 50 in professional
20:43golf so think of all your players that played on the european tour dp world or major winners so if
20:50you
20:50play well on the legends tour you can make your way into the the seniors open championship there are
20:53three majors in in seniors golf the us open the us pga seniors and the seniors british open so for
21:01sure the players that perform better over the course of the legends tour season make their way into
21:06those major championships golf as a sport is often criticized for its accessibility because you have to
21:12pay for private memberships initial equipment costs or even green fees and it's hoped that the legends
21:18tour is a way to bring more people into the sport since it is a free event but what can
21:24be done off
21:24the fairway to help more people get involved i remember sitting in a meeting in zambia in lusaka a
21:31couple of years ago with the golf federation there and they said why are we going to do an event
21:35with
21:3550 year old men coming to play we need to grow the game the answer was well use our guys
21:40to grow the game
21:41that really inspires that next generation of golfers for the younger generation but yeah in terms of
21:48amateurs coming to play they'll realize they don't get intimidated by these guys for the tea but the
21:53sharpness around the greens and the iron play is incredible to watch you really can learn and they're
21:58very accessible as well you know any questions these guys will help you out and then they'll have a
22:03pint you in the bar afterwards it's all good fun those competing at the legends tour have played across
22:08golf's very best fairways and are a walking trophy cabinet of international victories so could
22:14charts hill become one of the next great golfing grounds joining the likes of st andrews or royal
22:19county down maybe but first it'll have to see if it's green can handle former legends returning to
22:24tee off that wasn't a bad three was it finn mcdermid for km tv in ashford well hopefully the weather
22:31is a
22:32lot better in august when they actually hold the tournament and let's see how the weather's treating
22:36us over the next few days this evening we'll be seeing partly cloudy skies across the county average
22:45temperatures of 13 degrees wind speeds of 11 into the morning we'll be seeing the clouds continue
22:50averages of 15 degrees heading into the afternoon now clouds clouds and apparently more clouds but
22:57a slight rise in temperatures with uh with 16s and 17s and 118 there and as we go into the
23:05weekend
23:06lots of rain on saturday a cloudy day on sunny more rain returning for monday highs of 21 degrees on
23:11sunday
23:19a cricket club in dartford are appealing for help after thieves cut through their perimeter fence and
23:25stole an entire children's play area that was paid for by the local community horton kirby cricket club have
23:31been fundraising for a new play structure and to improve security they're currently two thousand
23:37pounds towards their goal darren bull the chairman of the club joins me now thank you so much for your
23:43time darren uh first of all tell me a bit about the moment that you realized the play area was
23:48stolen
23:50yeah we um our treasurer was uh went to the ground on monday morning
23:55um and she noticed that the fence had been driven through basically um when she went down
24:02into where the uh to look at the ground and the uh clubhouse noticed that the uh climbing frame had
24:09been taken the whole thing i see and uh when did you decide to um make this uh a community
24:16fundraiser
24:16because if i'm correct uh the original play area was also community funded is that right
24:21yeah so uh the previous two years we'd um been doing sort of quiz nights and and the usual thing
24:29to raise funds for a for a local community like us um and um it was sort of uh after
24:36putting out on
24:37facebook and and uh instagram about what happened the local community said if you held any fundraisers or
24:44or or they advised us to do a go fund me and and people would support and it's been uh
24:50overwhelming
24:51really the amount of support we ever had from the local community yeah i was just going to touch on
24:55that i believe you're two thousand pounds towards your uh your three thousand pound goal i mean we can
25:02see some of the pictures here now of that broken fence what what was the reaction like within the club
25:09uh it's it's heartbreaking for the members um no one at the club um gets paid for their roles
25:16and uh we do everything ourself putting the fencing up just to save the money because a small club like
25:21ours along with hundreds of thousands across the country um everything is self-funded so um the guys
25:28that would we just had a work party a few weeks ago painting all the fences uh the ground making
25:35it look
25:36presentable for all the sorts of kids and uh other other people representing the club to come down and
25:42enjoy and it's it's really like a kick in the teeth for the the hard work all the boys have
25:47done
25:48absolutely we can see some pictures here of the before and after with the area where the play area
25:53was tell me a little bit about the community response uh did this surprise you how much outpouring
25:59of support there was for horton kirby well yeah we we started off the year as a
26:05as a as a club where we wanted to um make ourselves more known in the community because we felt
26:11like
26:12we had lost a bit of touch with everyone so we've we've been doing a lot of um turning up
26:16to fates a
26:17lot more social media presence inviting people down trying to make our junior section bigger and um
26:24it was just over like i said earlier overwhelming the amount of people that reached out to us on facebook
26:30say would support you um you always want to be uh part of the wider community but it's nice to
26:37see
26:38that we do have um such a following in in spirit and um one person can cause such damage but
26:46it takes
26:47the community to get together and it really does show that we can sort of stand against it absolutely
26:52thank you so much for joining us uh and that's all the time we have uh thank you so much
26:55for watching
26:56everyone good night
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