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Catch up with the latest news from across the county with Finn Macdiarmid.
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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.
12:27Thank you very much for joining us.
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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 recycling plant in Sittingbourne.
15:32We can see the videos of the fire here at Sweep Kusakoski Recycling Centre.
15:37The smoke can be seen as far away as Rodmersham, about three miles away.
15:41A commercial manager at the firm said we're pleased to confirm no injuries and our site remains operational during this
15:46contained fire incident.
15:47People living or working near Gas Road are being advised to close their windows and doors due to the smoke
15:53and are asked to share this advice with anyone in the affected area who may not have access to the
15:57internet.
15:59A woman from Dover who had a fatal allergic reaction to a test die while in an Ashford hospital had
16:05been given the die just four weeks before.
16:07Susan Sharp had been staying at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford when she had the severe reaction to a
16:12type of contrast die used for CT scans.
16:14The reaction caused her to have a cardiac arrest but the relationship was never established despite the information being apparently
16:20easily accessible.
16:22Just four weeks later she was given the die again triggering a second cardiac arrest due to a non-resuscitation
16:28order proved fatal.
16:29Following an inquest at Oakwood House in Maidstone, the hospital has moved to a new pathology IT system to improve
16:34the system.
16:37A social media video has sparked unfounded asylum seeker speculation after the sudden closure of a travel lodge near Fabersham.
16:43Craig Williams from Wakefield posted the video to Facebook sharing his experience of being relocated while staying in the hotel.
16:50He said he was told it was due to a water supply disruption but Mr Williams posted a video blaming
16:55the hotel for housing asylum seekers in spite of this.
16:58The video attracted more than 114,000 views and hundreds of comments.
17:02But it was later verified with South East Water the closure was due to water supply issues and travel lodge
17:07confirmed 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 holiday.
17:23Let's have a look.
17:25Everyone loves a trip to the seaside and one foster carer in Medway wants to make these trips more common
17:32for children in foster care.
17:34Claire Bird owns the Lady Bird Hub, a small charity providing short breaks for foster kids in Medway and she
17:41does it all from a caravan in Sheppey.
17:43One day I came home and I said to my husband I've just bought a caravan and I'm going to
17:49fill it full of children and I'm going to give them little holidays and he said why and I said
17:53because they need them.
17:54They need these little short breaks and even if they just come down on park for a day they can
18:00have these little mini adventures.
18:02Now Claire has been a foster carer for 25 years but has had this caravan for one year and she
18:07brings the kids here almost every single weekend.
18:10But now she's fundraising 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.
18:19So this is just some of the comments that the children have put in the visitor's book.
18:27Now Claire wants another caravan so she can build a community and take more foster kids on little holidays with
18:34the aim for every foster child in Medway to have this experience.
18:38While on their short break the foster kids take part in multiple activities, painting, pottery, swimming, even football by the
18:47River Thames.
18:48This is the kitchen. Kids are more than welcome to do their own cooking so we've got some children's cooking
18:55equipment, we've got some children's cooking utensils, we've got a variety of plastic cups, plates and bowls.
19:02We also get the children to make their own cup or glass when they come here so I buy them
19:08plain acrylic paints and they can decorate their own glass and they can take that home as a little memento.
19:14But the caravan acts as more than just a holiday. For many foster children, the caravan is a much needed
19:21space.
19:22He was quite angry, getting a little bit volatile so I took him and did activities with him for a
19:29couple of days and I put the carers and the birth children here to have a break.
19:34Sometimes the child will think, well I will reject you before you reject me and that becomes a vicious cycle.
19:42So by doing this, it improves placement stability.
19:48With the fostering system in Medway facing growing demands, will Claire be able to fund the village she believes the
19:55kids need?
19:55And Naila Mohamed for KMTV in Sheppie.
19:59Chart Hills Golf Club in Ashford will host some of golf's past heroes in a Legends Tour this summer that
20:05will see pros face off against amateurs.
20:07The tournament will see major champions, Ryder Cup players and tour winners take it to the green to battle it
20:12out for higher prizes and further qualifications.
20:15I went down to Chart Hills to find out more.
20:18Unlike football, tennis or basketball, golf isn't the kind of sport you can just pick up and play in the
20:23park.
20:23But at the Chart's Hill course in Ashford, they're planning a summer tournament that will break down barriers between the
20:29pros and the public.
20:30The Legends Tour will see former major winners and Ryder Cup competitors over the age of 50, alongside amateur golfers
20:36for top prizes and qualification for further competitions.
20:39You become a legend or eligible to play on the Legends Tour when you're 50 in professional golf.
20:44So think of all your players that have played on the European Tour, DP World Tour, major winners.
20:49So if you play well on the Legends Tour, you can make your way into the Seniors Open Championship.
20:53There are three majors in Seniors Golf, the US Open, the US PGA Seniors and the Seniors British Open.
21:00So for sure the players that perform better over the course of the Legends Tour season make their way into
21:06those major championships.
21:07Golf as a sport is often criticised for its accessibility because you have to pay for private memberships, initial equipment
21:14costs or even green fees.
21:16And it's hoped that the Legends Tour is a way to bring more people into the sport since it is
21:22a free event.
21:23But what can be done off the fairway to help more people get involved?
21:27I remember sitting in a meeting in Zambia, in Lusaka, a couple of years ago with the Golf Federation there.
21:33And they said, why are we going to do an event with 50-year-old men coming to play?
21:37We need to grow the game.
21:38The answer was, well, use our guys to grow the game.
21:41That really inspires that next generation of golfers for the younger generation.
21:45But in terms of amateurs coming to play, they'll realise that they don't get intimidated by these guys for the
21:52tee.
21:53But the sharpness around the greens and the iron play is incredible to watch.
21:56You really can learn.
21:57And they're very accessible as well.
21:59You know, any questions, these guys will help you out.
22:03And then they'll have a pint of you in the bar afterwards.
22:04It's all good fun.
22:06Those competing at the Legends Tour have played across golf's very best fairways
22:10and are a walking trophy cabinet of international victories.
22:13So, could Charts Hill become one of the next great golfing grounds?
22:17Joining the likes of St Andrews or Royal County Down?
22:20Maybe.
22:21But first, it'll have to see if it's green can handle former legends returning to tee off.
22:25That wasn't a bad three, was it?
22:26Finn McDermid for KMTV in Ashford.
22:30Well, hopefully the weather is a lot better in August when they actually hold the tournament.
22:34And let's see how the weather's treating us over the next few days.
22:42This evening, we'll be seeing partly cloudy skies across the county.
22:45Average temperatures of 13 degrees.
22:47Wind speeds of 11.
22:48Into the morning, we'll be seeing the clouds continue.
22:50Averages of 15 degrees.
22:52Heading into the afternoon now.
22:54Clouds, clouds and apparently more clouds.
22:56But a slight rise in temperatures with 16s and 17s and 118 there.
23:03And as we go into the weekend, lots of rain on Saturday.
23:07A cloudy day on sunny.
23:08More rain returning for Monday.
23:10Highs of 21 degrees on Sunday.
23:19A cricket club in Dartford are appealing for help after thieves cut through their perimeter fence
23:25and stole an entire children's play area that was paid for by the local community.
23:29The Horton Kirby Cricket Club have been fundraising for a new play structure and to improve security.
23:36They're currently £2,000 towards their goal.
23:39Darren Bull, the chairman of the club, joins me now.
23:42Thank you so much for your time, Darren.
23:45First of all, tell me a bit about the moment that you realised the play area was stolen.
23:50Yeah, our treasurer went to the ground on Monday morning and she noticed that the fence had been driven through,
23:59basically.
24:01When she went down to look at the ground and the clubhouse, noticed that the climbing frame had been taken,
24:10the whole thing.
24:11I see. And when did you decide to make this a community fundraiser?
24:16Because if I'm correct, the original play area was also community funded. Is that right?
24:22Yeah. So the previous two years, we'd been doing sort of quiz nights and the usual thing to raise funds
24:29for a local community like us.
24:34And it was sort of after putting out on Facebook and Instagram about what happened, the local community said,
24:42if you held any fundraisers or they advised us to do it, go fund me and people would support.
24:49And it's been overwhelming, really, the amount of support we ever had from the local community.
24:54Yeah, I was just going to touch on that.
24:56I believe you're £2,000 towards your £3,000 goal.
25:01I mean, we can see some of the pictures here now of that broken fence.
25:05What was the reaction like within the club?
25:09It's heartbreaking for the members.
25:12No one at the club gets paid for their roles and we do everything ourselves, putting the fencing up just
25:19to save the money.
25:20Because a small club like ours, along with hundreds of thousands across the country, everything is self-funded.
25:27So the guys that we just had a work party a few weeks ago, painting all the fences, the ground,
25:35making it look presentable for all the sorts of kids
25:38and other people representing the club to come down and enjoy.
25:42And it's really like a kick in the teeth for the hard work all the boys have done.
25:48Absolutely. We can see some pictures here of the before and after with the area where the play area was.
25:54Tell me a little bit about the community response.
25:57Did this surprise you how much outpouring of support there was for Horton Kirby?
26:02Well, yeah, we started off the year as a club where we wanted to make ourselves more known in the
26:10community
26:11because we felt like we had lost a bit of touch with everyone.
26:14So we've been doing a lot of turning up to fates, a lot more social media presence, inviting people down,
26:21trying to make our junior section bigger.
26:23And it was just, like I said earlier, overwhelming the amount of people that reached out to us on Facebook
26:30to say we'd support you.
26:32You always want to be part of the wider community, but it's nice to see that we do have such
26:40a following in spirit.
26:43And one person can cause such damage, but it takes the community to get together.
26:48And it really does show that we can sort of stand against it.
26:51Absolutely. Thank you so much for joining us. And that's all the time we have.
26:55Thank you so much for watching, everyone. Good night.
27:22Good night.
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