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Catch up on all the latest news from across the county with Chloe Brewster.
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00:37Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight, live on KMTV.
00:40I'm Chloe Brewster with your top stories on Tuesday the 22nd of September.
00:45Six months on, scientists discover why meningitis outbreak was just so dangerous.
00:52I think it's really important that people take that preventative step.
00:55You know, it could make the difference between saving a life or not.
00:59Protest petition.
01:00Green Party councillor calls for scrutiny on Kent County Council's response to a recent Dover protest.
01:07The port of Dover, the busiest port in the UK for passengers, got shut for half a day.
01:12That's not normal. We need to take this very seriously.
01:15And mass support.
01:17Canterbury residents celebrate reopening of the UK's tiniest chapel.
01:21This is more than just a building. It's a collection of ideas.
01:24It's like stories of the past, aspirations of the future.
01:38First tonight, scientists have discovered why the bacteria that caused the meningitis outbreak in March this year was so dangerous.
01:47Six months have passed since the outbreak in Canterbury that caused the death of two people and at its peak,
01:53hospitalised 34.
01:54Naila Mohamed was back in Canterbury today with this update.
02:00This is where the UK's fastest growing meningitis outbreak began.
02:0418 people who contracted the disease were here at Club Chemistry over those three nights in March.
02:10Two people had died, including a University of Kent student and Juliet Kenny, a schoolgirl from Favisham.
02:16Researchers say that the meningoccal bacteria, which is a bacteria found in meningitis, picked up the genetic material of other
02:24bacteria naturally found in people's throats, causing a brand new strain, particularly one that causes severe illnesses.
02:32Scientists also say that it's these changes that stopped the outbreak from spreading once it had been contained.
02:38In a statement, Dr. Rodriguez from the UK Health Security Agency said,
02:42these changes meant that the bacteria was not able to continue transmission because it made people more sick.
02:49This kind of genetic exchange between bacteria is not unusual.
02:53But this particular combination resulted in an outbreak of this scale.
02:57While the outbreak had been contained, scientists are warning that this is not a one-off situation.
03:02The meningoccal bacteria can change suddenly and unexpectedly, meaning a brand new, more dangerous strain could emerge in the future.
03:12Here at the Canterbury campus of the University of Kent, thousands of students queued up to get the emergency vaccine
03:18that was offered following the outbreak.
03:21Now, I've had a quick walk around and I've not been able to see any students, but that's because university
03:26turn time hasn't started yet.
03:27So I took to Canterbury High Street to ask young people and young students how they feel about the MenB
03:33vaccine.
03:34Outbreaks happen constantly and it's just worth it for the sake of, like, I'm getting mine as soon as possible.
03:40I mean, it's each their own, really. I was just like, I'm not bothering because I was just like, I
03:44don't see the point in it.
03:45We never know if it's going to outbreak again and it's better safe than sorry. You'd rather get it just
03:52in case.
03:52In the long run, it works out a hell of a lot better from obviously not catching meningitis.
03:57Since the end of August, the NHS have given out over 240,000 doses of the vaccine, with thousands of
04:04students still eligible to get one.
04:05And this is a disease that can kill within 24 hours. One in 10 people affected may die.
04:12So the fact that there is a vaccine that's proven to work, it's safe and effective, I think it's really
04:19important that people take that preventative step.
04:21You know, it could make the difference between saving a life or not.
04:24So with the university season due to start very soon, health campaigners are urging students to get both doses of
04:31the vaccine.
04:32Nayla Mehamed for KMTV in Canterbury.
04:34Southern Water has been fined over £2.4 million for sewage spills in Flaversham and Whitstable.
04:42At Bromley Magistrates Court, the water company admitted to five environmental offences between 2019 and 2021,
04:50which killed 70 fish and forced beaches in Tankerton and Hearn Bay to close for a week.
04:57Environment Secretary Angela Eagle said that this sentence underlines that firm action will be taken against polluters who break the
05:05law.
05:05A spokesperson from Southern Water apologised and said that their sites have been upgraded since the pollution incidents occurred.
05:13The head of a new report into rising mental health issues in the UK has said he believes it's harder
05:19to be young now.
05:20Professor Peter Fonagy's review was ordered nine months ago by the then Health Secretary Wes Streeting,
05:26who claimed young people were being over-diagnosed with things like ADHD, autism and mental health illnesses,
05:32subsequently written off of work.
05:34More than 100 experts and families with experience with mental health problems have worked on their review.
05:40But do people in Rochester agree that life is in fact harder?
05:43We went to find out.
05:45Definitely. It's definitely a lot harder for young people today.
05:48I think they're not directly comparable.
05:51I think for a lot of young people today, it's probably worse than we experienced.
05:55But what we experienced was different.
05:58So I think we, because I'm born in the 60s, so we had to go through all the homosexuality laws.
06:04You couldn't be different.
06:06It was shameful to be a different person.
06:09Whereas for younger generations, that's more out there.
06:11Young people are told often that feelings that my generation would have just accepted as part of life,
06:17and got on with it.
06:18They're told, no, you shouldn't do that.
06:20You should seek help, which is great if there is help.
06:23But there isn't any.
06:25Yeah, I definitely can see the struggles in young people.
06:28Personally, I work in sport.
06:29So I see that as a big tool to be able to challenge some of these things,
06:35to support mental health in young people.
06:37So, yeah.
06:37I think things that would not have been diagnosed as mental health in the past are now.
06:44Therefore, people are told they need help and they go for it.
06:46It's a very difficult subject, and I'm not an expert on it.
06:50But I think it's very concerning that the numbers and the evidence appears
06:57to indicate a lot more people struggling than maybe 20 or 30 years ago.
07:03Today, there's a lot more guidelines and things for clinicians to follow.
07:08So maybe people are diagnosed earlier than they might have been 40, 50 years ago.
07:13But I don't know if that is a bad thing.
07:15The report will influence government policies on the kinds of support for young people
07:20who are not in education, employment or in training.
07:23That's why we spoke to Tudor Price of the Kent and Victor Chamber of Commerce earlier
07:26to discuss how Kent businesses can support young people into the workplace.
07:32So thank you so much for joining us, Tudor.
07:34One thing that this report touches on is this idea that there are a number of stressors on young people,
07:39one of those being more uncertainty around the economy and employment than past generations.
07:44Do you think that assessment of it being more uncertain is fair?
07:49I'm not sure there's more uncertainty.
07:51I think we're more aware of the uncertainty.
07:54And uncertainty has always been a feature of our existence.
07:59Economies, global economies, sort of rise and fall.
08:03Because of access to information through the internet, through social media,
08:07through other media channels, we are now so much more aware of what's going on,
08:11not just in our own village and community, but actually across the whole of the UK and globally.
08:16And I think that just gives us more to worry about.
08:19So, you know, it's probably we are made more aware and therefore more to be anxious about.
08:25So it's definitely a fact, but I don't know if there's any worse than it as it ever has been.
08:29It's just that we see and hear a lot more of it.
08:32And we've got those stats about NEATS.
08:36Is it really true that people don't want to work anymore?
08:39Is it a personality or generational issue or is it more of a wider problem?
08:47No, certainly the evidence and the employers that we talk to through our Chamber of Connections is that businesses are
08:54quite keen,
08:55that they are desperate for resource.
08:57They need people.
08:57Obviously, the economy is quite tough at the moment.
08:59So there's a bit of a sort of a lull at the moment.
09:01But, yeah, businesses want to take people on.
09:05Generally speaking, most employers have a good heart and they want to see people do well and succeed.
09:11So I don't know that there's, you know, that these young people aren't keen.
09:15I think it's finding the opportunities.
09:17Now, one of the challenges we face here in Kent is that we have a lot of smaller micro businesses
09:22and actually getting employers to create opportunities for young people to get work experience, work placements,
09:29internships, apprenticeships, all these sort of things that are actually essential part of a young person's development
09:34and getting them ready for work are very, very hard to come by at the moment.
09:38And I think this is something we're working with other providers, education providers,
09:43through the Local Skills Improvement Plan,
09:45and trying to encourage more employers to sort of make time for young people to give them that opportunity
09:51to sort of come in, experience the workplace, understand expectations, cultures, attitudes.
09:57And that, I think, will do a lot to sort of help reach the gap.
10:00But I don't think it's necessary that young people don't want to work.
10:03And in the Kent Skills Plan that was recently announced,
10:07we kind of saw a roadmap for Kent's economy to get more of us working and more people in training.
10:13What can be done now, do you think, to make young people feel as though they still have aspirations
10:18for things like a career and even owning a home in the UK?
10:22How do we keep those aspirations up?
10:26It's not easy.
10:27And I think trying to tackle it all in one go is not going to be realistic.
10:32I think, like anything, it's one step at a time.
10:36Now, the first step on the journey, really, is about just for getting into work.
10:40Getting into work, putting some money in your pocket, recognizing that it might not be your ideal career path.
10:46It might not be how you saw things playing out.
10:48And frankly, I'm nearly touching on 60 and things have not gone the way I thought they would at all.
10:52But I'm no less happy or fulfilled.
10:55So start that journey, get into employment, take a job.
10:59Because actually what that does, it gives you so many other aspects to developing your personality.
11:04It opens your eyes to new ideas.
11:06You're starting to discover skills and talents that you didn't necessarily have.
11:09And of course, like any subject, when you start to get underneath the skin of it, actually, it's a lot
11:14more interesting than perhaps you might have originally thought.
11:17So getting started, getting in, and this is why we've really got to provide these opportunities, because you never quite
11:21know where they're going to end up.
11:23Now, I think once you're on that journey, that then gives you a very different perspective on things.
11:28And I think quite understandably, if you sort of stand back and look at that thing as a whole, it's
11:34quite daunting.
11:35And it could be quite demotivating.
11:37I can understand that.
11:38So small steps, move forward.
11:40That progression will change your view on things.
11:42And actually, things that perhaps seem unattainable might seem a little bit more realistic.
11:47Thank you so much for that message of motivation there, Tudor.
11:52You're very welcome.
11:54Now it's time for us to take a short break, but don't go anywhere, because there's more news from across
11:58the county coming your way.
12:01Stay tuned.
12:01See you in a bit.
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16:42An inquest.
17:12The plans.
17:44See you in a bit.
19:29The plan.
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23:57The plan.
23:59taking centre stage. But hidden away in Hales Place is a very small Catholic building dating
24:06back to 1776. This was built as a Beldevere and the reason for that is because it is high
24:13and so at that time if you stood here where I am now and looked straight south east you could
24:21see
24:22the top of the cathedral because we're high. The building was located in the grounds of a
24:26mansion and was later turned into a chapel. After the mansion was demolished in the 1920s the chapel
24:33began to deteriorate. Now the friends of the building have worked with Canterbury City Council
24:39to restore it and they believe it's the smallest chapel in the UK. I looked online and currently
24:46the smallest chapel in the UK is in Wales and it is 13 feet in diameter and this is 9
24:53feet.
24:54So I am absolutely certain that this is the smallest chapel in the UK.
24:59Amid the excitement about the size of the chapel, residents in Hales Place are also excited about the construction itself.
25:08Before its restoration the chapel here was just another part of Hales Place. Now the local community are thrilled to
25:15see it back open.
25:16When nearly 32 odd years when I moved here from Canada while driving around this little place I spotted it
25:26and I said it's quite a fascinating building but going back nearly three decades back you know it was just
25:33like a direct building.
25:35And the local authority also share the view that the chapel will bring the community together.
25:40When you look around today you can see there's selling cake and there's curry over there. These are all residents
25:47who live here. I mean they've all come together because of this chapel and it's just a sort of focal
25:53hub of the community.
25:54The Lord Mayor of Canterbury also made an appearance to officially reopen the building.
26:00When you come to Canterbury everybody goes to the major sites but it's little sites like this, little secrets that
26:05residents know.
26:06So it's not massive but it is beautiful and it stands out. So hopefully people can come and visit. They
26:14can go to the Canterbury Cathedral and as they stop off come to Hales Place Chapel on the way.
26:19The Friends of the Chapel are now fundraising for the interior restoration and hope to open the inside of the
26:25chapel to the public soon.
26:28Justine Latter for KMTV in Canterbury.
26:32You've been watching Kent tonight live on KMTV. There's more news made just for Kent throughout the evening.
26:38Don't forget you can always keep up to date with the latest news across your county by logging on to
26:43kmtv.co.uk.
26:45You can also keep us on your social timelines by liking us on Facebook and following us on Instagram and
26:51on TikTok.
26:52And if you have a story you think we should be covering then please get in touch.
26:56Thank you so much for watching today and I'll see you very soon. Goodbye.
27:01Bye.
27:12Bye.
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