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Catch up with all the latest news from across our county with Chloe Brewster.
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00:20Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight live here on KMTV. I'm Chloe Brewster and here are your top
00:25stories on Wednesday the 22nd of July. Not giving up. Parents demand bus service for isolated
00:31school outside of Ashford. I genuinely believe if we don't do this quickly a child will be injured,
00:37potentially killed or even potentially abducted looking at the walking route. Under the spotlight
00:42Chatham's Brook Theatre two years away from opening its doors again. We thought we were coming in to do
00:47a straightforward refurbishment. Obviously it's had a massive impact on the project but we had to make
00:52the building safe. And beasts from the east, Wingham Wildlife Park cuts the ribbon to its new expansion.
00:58So in phase one we've, which a lot of people have been waiting for, is the tigers. So the tigers
01:03they
01:03were previously at Sandwich Wildlife Park. So it's been a long time since they've seen this many
01:08people which is really exciting for us as well.
01:19A campaign for a bus service to an isolated school outside of Ashford has reached more than 1,000
01:25signatures as safety demands intensify. Campaigners at Chilmington Green say the walking route to the
01:31school is too dangerous, despite Kent County Council saying its safety has been assessed twice.
01:37Local democracy reporter Olly Lieder caught up with councillors and disgruntled parents as the bell was
01:43sounded at the end of term.
01:47That's the sound of 30 parents and councillors who are not backing down over a lack of buses to their
01:55secondary school, which has no real public transport to speak of. Chilmington Green is in the middle of
02:03nowhere, slap bang in the heart of an as yet unfinished housing estate whose developers have been plagued
02:10with financial misfortune. Without any other way to get to school, children are forced to make their
02:18own way back to town along unlit pathways and country roads.
02:23No, it's not acceptable. We need a paid bus service so our students, our kids can get to school safely.
02:31There's no alternative routes really, unless you drive them here, which not all parents are able to do.
02:36HCC have given us a, what they deem a safe route, which is over three miles long from where we
02:41live and
02:42it's, in my opinion, it's not safe. There's no proper walkways, there's no lighting, you have to go on grass
02:49verges, it's not accessible. Kent County Council is the authority responsible for highways and education.
02:57They say the walking route has been assessed twice and found to be safe. But local counsellors say that's not
03:06enough.
03:07I genuinely believe if we don't do this quickly, a child will be injured, potentially killed or even
03:12potentially abducted looking at the walking route because I do not genuinely believe the walking route is safe.
03:17Many parents have been forced to pick up pupils themselves. A real challenge for those with disabilities.
03:26We're totally stuck. I can't pick him up in an emergency and I would love to go and pick him
03:32up in school sometimes
03:34and I would love to be able to take him to school. It's just one of those things that is,
03:40it's such a waste.
03:41We've been fighting it for five years now and not getting anywhere and it's awful.
03:45A petition by parents for a paid school bus has reached more than 1,000 signatures so far.
03:53But Kent County Council says buses are run by private operators.
03:57That funding for public transport was supposed to have been provided by the developers but has not yet materialised.
04:06So while school may be out for the summer, there's no sign of parents here resting until they get what
04:14they want.
04:18Tomorrow, voters in Cuxton and Hauling will go to the polls in Medway's first by-election since Andy Burnham became
04:25Prime Minister.
04:26Politically, not much has changed in the ward for decades.
04:29But with the Greens and Reform UK campaigning hard, could there be an upset in one of the sleepiest parts
04:34of the five towns?
04:35Local democracy reporter Olly Leader has the details.
04:41Cuxton, Hauling and Riverside certainly have a different pace of life from other parts of the five towns.
04:50But don't be fooled, a political upset could be coming downstream.
04:56This Thursday voters here will head to the polls to have their say in a by-election
05:03sparked by the death of long-standing and respected councillor Phil Filmer.
05:09Cuxton has always been a conservative ward at Medway Council.
05:14But we are living in the age where two-party politics is essentially a thing of the past.
05:21Could the other parties swing it this time around?
05:24I think it could be a close call.
05:28There's quite a lot of, I mean I've been seeing placards up outside people's houses for Green
05:34and I haven't really been seeing anything, you know, for Reform or Conservatives.
05:40The Greens did come close to electing a councillor here back in 2023, missing out by less than 50 votes.
05:49But they're not the only populists in town.
05:53Reform placards are dotted about if you're looking for them.
05:57And they have won two by-elections in Medway already.
06:01But for many, local issues matter more than party colours.
06:06Well, you know, we used to have a village policeman but we haven't got one of those anymore.
06:11Just things have disappeared.
06:13And is any party in particular that your feeling is going to deliver that?
06:18Or are you still undecided a few days before?
06:20Well, I really don't know. I'm a bit swinging two ways really.
06:24There's also the small matter of a new Prime Minister.
06:29The burn and bounce has already shifted the national pulse.
06:33Could it energise Labour voters here?
06:36Generally, I used to vote Labour.
06:41But yeah, if I do vote, I may vote Labour again.
06:46I've not voted the last two elections.
06:50Turnout was more than 30% at the last local elections in the ward.
06:56But less people do tend to vote in by-elections.
07:00Dozens of ballots here could make all the difference in the end.
07:05The full list of candidates for the Coxton, Hallingham, Riverside by-election on July 23rd are
07:15William Burville, Reform UK, Ian Childs, the Labour Party, Ronald Gillett, Liberal Democrats,
07:22Trish Marchant, Green Party, Richard Faun and the Conservative Party.
07:26Kent businessman James Ransley is among the 34 people running to win the Clacton by-election.
07:32The by-election was triggered when Reform leader Nigel Farage stepped down earlier this month
07:37and while he is standing again, the major parties have decided to boycott the event.
07:4139-year-old Mr Ransley runs a furniture-making business in Ashford
07:45and insists Essex residents would receive better from his consensus party
07:49than from the likes of Count Binface and Nigel Farage.
07:52He promises that he will move to Clacton within six months of the election if he is successful
07:57and labelled himself as a centre-right candidate.
08:02One man living in Maidstone says that he has witnessed so many instances of antisocial behaviour
08:06that he is worried someone will get hurt or worse.
08:10For his own safety, he is asked to remain anonymous and we sent our reporter to his flat
08:14to see how the town centre was on one of England's World Cup games.
08:19The McDermid has the story.
08:20Now here at KMTV, we get calls from all across the county, with people wanting us to cover all manner
08:26of stories.
08:26But when one man from Maidstone rang the Kent Messenger Group's offices,
08:30saying the antisocial behaviour on his streets had gotten so bad he was scared someone would die,
08:35me and my colleague Ellie from Kent Online went down to see what would happen on his doorstep.
08:40It was England's World Cup match against Norway and we arrived just after 9pm and joined Mike,
08:46that isn't his real name, in his flat in the town centre where he has lived for three years.
08:51Because of concerns for his safety, he chose to stay anonymous and requested his voice be changed
08:56as he told us about some of the violence he had seen before.
08:59There was literally a miniature riot outside and I did try counting and I got to about 150 people
09:07and there was more and there was five, six, seven different groups of people that had just...
09:14It was bizarre because it was...
09:19It was just groups of different people kicking off, just running around slapping the shit out of people for no
09:26reason.
09:26Mate, I saw a young lady get lifted off her feet.
09:30It was the night I won the old bill at 999.
09:32I said, you need to come down here, people are getting hurt.
09:37As the England game came to a close, we saw the nearby nightclub Ovation started to let people in.
09:42There were no issues so far, but Mike had expressed that the street is normally very busy
09:46and he's often woken up later in the night because of people causing trouble below.
09:50Again, it's, then you just get weeks and weeks of just violence, kick off, punch, people getting punched up.
09:56It's unbelievable.
09:58By this point, the streets had begun to fill, with the main street full of police fans and England fans
10:03celebrating.
10:04And by 3am, people were being released from the club.
10:07Although there were some who were getting rowdy, no one was doing anything too serious.
10:11I had sat myself nearish to the club, looking like I was waiting for a taxi, and I did see
10:16one woman in an argument with her boyfriend.
10:19Then I made sure to stay nearby just in case anything happened.
10:22I also, along with a group of strangers, managed to make sure that a girl got home safe after being
10:27particularly drunk.
10:29Superintendent Nick Sparks of Kent Police's Tactical Operations Department said our patrols focus on places where the demand is highest
10:35and calls are prioritised accordingly.
10:38Officers are on hand to deal with any issues and are also available to assist anyone who feels at risk
10:42or may become a victim of crime.
10:44Alongside this, the officers on patrol look for any signs of suspicious or predatory behaviour.
10:48This comes under Project Vigilant, which is a force-wide initiative to protect women and girls, particularly when they're socialising
10:54on a night out.
10:55Mike said he believes that some young people are going out on the street, not just to get into fights,
11:00but to seriously hurt people.
11:01And while I myself didn't witness anything on the night, it made me more aware of the potential dangers of
11:07a normal Kentish town centre late at night.
11:09Finn McDermott for Kame TV in Maidstone.
11:13We'll be back with more stories for you soon after a short break.
11:17We'll be showing stories including news about ongoing repairs and refurbishments at Brook Theatre in Chatham with its scheduled opening
11:23delayed for another year.
11:25We'll also be having a discussion with our resident health expert Julian Spinks all about bug bites of how to
11:31look after yourself at the beginning of summer and the increasing number of biting insects and what's the best thing
11:36to do if you get bitten.
11:37We'll also be looking at Wingham Wildlife, had a big announcement today as they welcomed more lions and plenty more
11:45as well like that.
11:46So much more coming after the break.
12:16We'll enjoy it.
12:34Local school, Orange.
12:36Paraganda, powers down.
12:37legislative brethren.
12:37Well, we'll be waiting for this.
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15:08Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight live here on KMTV.
15:12It's had its curtains drawn for five years now, but repairs are well underway at the Brook Theatre in Chatham.
15:18What started out as a quick refurbishment soon transformed into a whole makeover for the historic building,
15:25with its scheduled opening having to be pushed back another year, as our local democracy reporter Megan Shaw has been
15:31finding out.
15:32How can a 126-year-old building be fit for use in 2026?
15:38Or even 2028, when Chatham's Brook Theatre is set to reopen after it will have been shut for five years?
15:46The Grade 2 listed building was initially meant to undergo a makeover that would see it reopen in 2027.
15:53But structural problems were discovered that put a spanner in the works.
15:58Around Christmas last year we discovered some really serious structural issues with the building.
16:05And it started to make sense of some of the other structural things that we'd found.
16:08And our team here, Sindan, have worked through the first few months of this year,
16:13working out how we make sure this building is solid and stable for the next 100 years.
16:18Issues such as persistent damp in the basement and crumbling walls are on their way to being patched up.
16:25As well as two new accessibility lifts that, for the first time,
16:29will mean that wheelchair users can access all of the building.
16:33We thought we were coming in to do a straightforward refurbishment.
16:36Obviously it's had a massive impact on the project, but we had to make the building safe.
16:41And the degree of the problems, we had considerable concerns with,
16:47is this going to be the correct solution?
16:49So there's been an awful lot of detective work.
16:51The historian has helped out with historical facts as to why something failed.
16:56It was initially Chatham's Town Hall,
16:59before it was converted into a theatre in the late 1980s.
17:03With its renovation costing £21.5 million.
17:07Funds that have come from the government's levelling up scheme,
17:10Future High Street funds and Medway Council.
17:13But one of the biggest challenges has been how to balance refurbishment with remembrance.
17:19Anyone that's been in the building,
17:21especially people that have been into some of the dance studios,
17:23they would have seen the original air vents.
17:26And there's these tiny little fists that work to the original air vents.
17:31Every one of those has been removed.
17:33Every one of those will be refurbished.
17:35And every one of those will be reinstated.
17:38So that people will still have the opportunity to learn.
17:42It's a long way for theatre goers across the five towns to see their venue return.
17:47And to see if the Newbrook Theatre really will steal the show.
17:53Megan Shaw in...
17:55Summer is time to watch out for sunburn,
17:57but lots of people are also cautious about bug bites.
18:00As the weather gets hotter and more of us go outside,
18:03the life cycle of biting insects also increases,
18:06giving them more chances to feed.
18:08But what can you do to look after yourself?
18:10And what should you do if you get bitten?
18:12Our health expert, Dr Julian Spinks, joins us now.
18:20Now, Julian, I constantly get bitten in the summer.
18:24Every time I go out for a picnic, I come home and I look awful.
18:27Why do some people get bitten and some people seem to totally avoid it?
18:31Well, to put it politely, it's partly to do with body smell.
18:35Mosquitoes seem to like the smell of some people more than others.
18:37But the other thing is how much you react to the bites.
18:41It's quite possible to be bitten, have no reaction at all.
18:43You won't even see you've had one.
18:45At the other end of the spectrum, we get people who are very sensitised
18:48and they come up and they blister and so on.
18:49So it's much more obvious for them.
18:52And, you know, there's all these myths about how to treat bug bites.
18:56I tend to just try and avoid scratching them,
18:58but I've seen things about vinegar and toothpaste being good solutions.
19:01What is the best way to treat them?
19:03Yes, it's best to try and avoid scratching them
19:05because you get this sort of scratch-itch cycle that keeps going.
19:09There are certain things you can do.
19:12Cooling bites down, putting some ice or a cold pack on can make a difference.
19:17Things like hydrocortisone cream,
19:19which is a mild steroid cream you can get from the pharmacy.
19:22You can put on antihistamine cream,
19:23but also taking antihistamine tablets can make a difference
19:27because it stops that reaction.
19:29And the other thing, of course, importantly,
19:31is to try and avoid getting bitten in the first place.
19:33And do you see those sprays that you can get at the supermarket
19:36that say they prevent you from getting bug bites?
19:39Do they work?
19:39Are they worth putting on before you head out?
19:41Well, the thing to look for is DEET, D-E-E-T.
19:44You need 20% to 50% content.
19:47And those are the most effective ones
19:49at preventing mosquitoes from biting you.
19:53If that doesn't work,
19:54there are other things like eucalyptus and so on
19:56that they don't seem to like the smell.
19:57It maybe hides that smell that they like from you.
20:01And, you know, I don't want to scare anyone.
20:03Most of the time, bug bites kind of go away on their own.
20:05But what are some of the impacts
20:06that bug bites can cause on a more serious end?
20:09Well, the great news is that in the UK,
20:11we don't have malaria, we don't have dengue,
20:14we don't have all these other nasty things
20:16you can get from mosquitoes in other parts of the world.
20:19So the main thing that can happen is you get infection.
20:22Actually, it's more common if you're scratching at them
20:23because mosquitoes don't necessarily infect you when they bite.
20:27In those circumstances,
20:28instead of just having a small bite,
20:30you'll get redness that continues to spread outwards.
20:32You can start to feel unwell,
20:34you can get a fever and so on.
20:36And if that starts to happen,
20:38then that's where you need to seek medical help
20:40because you might need antibiotics.
20:41But the vast majority of bites,
20:43it's even ones that blister don't need antibiotics.
20:46And for anyone watching who's got young children or babies at home,
20:50is there a difference in how you'd treat them if they've got a sting?
20:53Most of it applies the same,
20:54particularly things like the creams and so on you can put on.
20:56There's a more limited range of things like antihistamines you can use.
21:00And so you may find you can't get that.
21:03It's worthwhile talking to a pharmacist about it.
21:05And something you can do as well with them is distraction.
21:08Making sure that they can't scratch themselves.
21:11So maybe putting some gloves on or something like that
21:13so they don't get that scratch itch cycle.
21:17And sometimes if you get stung by a wasp or a bee,
21:19they might leave a stinger in.
21:20What is the best way to get rid of one of those?
21:23Well,
21:23you can use the edge of a credit card to gradually push it away.
21:26What you don't want to do is to grab the sack
21:28because the bees leave that and that sack is full of poison.
21:30If you squeeze it,
21:31you're giving yourself an extra dose of the venom.
21:34So using that to just to push it away is the way to go.
21:37Thank you so much, Julian.
21:46Now let's take a look at the weather for the coming days.
21:54It will be a cloudy night across Kent
21:56with highs of 19 in Dartford
21:57and lows of 16 in Canterbury and Chambridge Wells.
22:00Clouds will also be partially covering the county tomorrow morning
22:03looking around 19 and 20 degrees around Medway and Maidstone
22:06around the same temperature around the coast.
22:08Going into the afternoon,
22:09a little bit warmer.
22:10Clouds are still sticking around though, unfortunately,
22:12but hopefully it will be looking better going into the weekend.
22:15They're getting a little bit hotter.
22:16Saturday is looking at 28 degrees,
22:18although still cloudy and 25 degrees on Sunday.
22:32Phase one of a major expansion to Wingham Wildlife Park
22:35has opened today,
22:36unveiling new habitats for the park's tigers,
22:38Kent's only Asiatic lions and a squirrel monkey.
22:42This morning saw dull drummers before the ribbon cutting
22:44with a tiger mascot meeting and greeting visitors.
22:47Kristen Hawthorne went to the opening facilities
22:49and to see what it's all about.
22:56At Wingham Wildlife Park,
22:57phase one of its multi-million pound expansion
23:00has just opened,
23:02inviting in hundreds of excited visitors.
23:07So you can already see just how busy
23:10and how excited people are to see the new facilities.
23:12We have got tigers in here.
23:15So to the left here,
23:16we should have a tiger that's sitting just over here,
23:19which you can see.
23:21And then towards the bottom,
23:23if you come with me towards the bottom.
23:29So you've got the tarantulas here.
23:31Now it's quite hard to find,
23:32but I do think that it's about there.
23:35And then over here,
23:37we've got some South Asian fish,
23:39which is quite exciting.
23:40But I mean, the whole thing is all brand new.
23:42But what do the people here think?
23:44Everyone seems to enjoy it.
23:46And it's got different features
23:47that I haven't seen in zoos before.
23:49I like that it's not just about the big cats.
23:52It's about like fish and different kinds of stuff.
23:56I really like it.
23:58It's just got so much to explore to other people.
24:02Probably been about 15, 16 years
24:04since I came here last.
24:06And it's brilliant.
24:08Yeah, I really like it.
24:10I've been here about three years ago
24:12and a lot has changed.
24:13And it's like, you can see all the work
24:15that's been done to it and everything like that.
24:17The brand new indoor area
24:19is the first stage of a major redevelopment at the park.
24:22It features purpose-built habitats
24:24for some of the park's most popular animals.
24:27We have really good winter trade
24:28because we have lots of areas now for the winter.
24:30So for doing us these big areas that we're doing now,
24:32it's nice.
24:33People can come in.
24:34And even when it's a rainy day or cloud,
24:35they can still come up here and enjoy it.
24:37It's been in plan for a long time.
24:39We've had the land now for,
24:40I want to say, three years
24:41and then all the planning and that and going through.
24:44And we are now,
24:44this is two years in the making, this park.
24:47Two and a half million pounds to build it.
24:49So it's a lot of money and a lot of time.
24:51And the great thing is,
24:51it's all done in-house.
24:52It's all done by our own team.
24:54Yeah, so it's Kingdom of the Big Cats.
24:55We played around for a long time with the name for it.
24:59Tried to combine sort of the fact
25:01that everything up here is from Asia.
25:04At the moment, it's all big cats.
25:06So in the house, it's all going to be big cats.
25:07But around, obviously,
25:09we've got other species as well,
25:09like the bears and things.
25:11So, but for the building,
25:13Kingdom of the Big Cats felt right.
25:15Park officials say this is just the beginning
25:18of an ambitious new chapter,
25:19with further phases of the development still to come.
25:22With the summer holidays now underway,
25:25the park is hoping this attraction
25:26will prove a hit with families.
25:29And as they prepare for winter,
25:30they hope it makes a difference come rain or shine.
25:34Kristen Hawthorne for KMTV, Wingham.
25:40You've been watching Kent Tonight Live here on KMTV.
25:44There's more news made just for Kent throughout the evening.
25:47Don't forget, you can always keep up to date
25:49with the latest news from across your county
25:52by logging on to kmtv.co.uk.
25:56There, you can keep us on your social timelines
25:58by liking us on Facebook,
26:00following us on Instagram,
26:01and don't forget about TikTok as well.
26:03We're on there as well.
26:04And if you have a story,
26:06if you have a story you think we should be covering,
26:09then please get in touch.
26:10You can get in touch by emailing us
26:11at kmtvdesk at kmtv.co.uk
26:14or messaging us on social media.
26:17We also have a series of special programmes,
26:19including Invicta Sport,
26:20based in Kent,
26:21Kent Film Club and the Kent Politics Show.
26:23I know the last one was a pretty dramatic one,
26:25so you can tune in on the website.
26:27You can also tune in to the Bulletin
26:29later on this evening,
26:30so that's at 8pm.
26:31And that's a recap of all our headlines
26:33from today's show.
26:34But from me, for now,
26:36have a very, very good evening.
26:37See you soon.
26:38Goodbye.
26:49Bye-bye.
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