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00:00Hello, good evening and welcome to Kentonite live on KMTV.
00:29I'm Abbey Hook, here are your top stories on Thursday the 1st of August.
00:34Don't tear apart our community.
00:37Amargate Children's Centre's heartbreaking plea to council to avoid closure.
00:42I just feel like this building and everyone within it
00:46has been here for such a long time it has become the heart of
00:50Neilmead.
00:51Rural crime crisis.
00:53Thefts cost Kent farmers nearly two million pounds.
00:57Seriously, livestock, machinery, vehicles, fertiliser, anything.
01:03They will take anything they can pick up.
01:05Chartered to Chatham.
01:06Replica of the first ship to sail the world.
01:10Docks in Medway's Maritime Arena.
01:12It was first built for a museum and then three businessmen said
01:16like let's do the trip again.
01:28First tonight, heartbroken and angry.
01:31The reaction from a single mother of three from Amargate
01:34as her local children's centre is under threat from closure.
01:38The Neilmead family hub could lose more than 50% of its funding.
01:42As the cash strapped, Kent County Council battles to balance its books.
01:46But users of the centre say it's become the heart of one of Kent's most deprived areas.
01:51Our local democracy reporter Gabriel Morris has more.
01:55The future of Neilmead family hub in Amargate is under threat.
01:59For more than 20 years, it's been a centre for parental,
02:02mental health and domestic abuse support.
02:05Kent County Council fund more than 50% of the operations here.
02:09But in a bid to save cash, they're looking at not renewing the contract.
02:15Chloe is a single mother of three.
02:17She first came here as a child but now works in the pantry.
02:20She says the family hub is crucial with it supporting her through her teenage pregnancy.
02:26I just feel like this building and everyone within it
02:30has been here for such a long time.
02:31It has become the heart of Neilmead.
02:35Like Neilmead has been a big area that's always looked down upon.
02:39It's always judged and it's really not as bad as anyone says it is.
02:44But here makes it warm.
02:46It makes it welcoming.
02:47It makes it homely.
02:49And how did you feel when you heard about this consultation?
02:52Yeah, I cried to my line manager.
02:55I think it would have a massive impact.
02:57There are so many families in this community that do
03:02rely on the centre for so many different reasons.
03:06Staff only found out about the consultation last week.
03:09KCC listing Neilmead and another hub in Sheerness because they're externally managed
03:15and there are other hubs run by the authority nearby.
03:19I think one is 1.5 miles.
03:23I think that people misunderstand what poverty does.
03:27Very often they won't be able to do that because they're looking after their children
03:33and they're tired.
03:35Very few people have cars and the bus service is appalling here.
03:40Neilmead's in Dane Valley, one of the highest areas for poverty in the whole of Kent.
03:46The cash-stripped authority says they don't want to close it
03:49but by not renewing these contracts when they naturally come to an end in March 2025,
03:54we can make a much-needed efficiency saving
03:57whilst continuing to provide essential services for families and young people in these areas.
04:02They give £225,000 and that's a bargain
04:07because if this shuts, it's going to cost much more than that in safeguarding issues.
04:13It's going to cost the NHS millions of pounds
04:16because people, this is their first call if there's a problem.
04:21Even though there's a consultation, staff here believe a decision has already been made
04:26and they fear for the impact it'll have on the community
04:29but are determined to get many locals and users to share their views.
04:33Gabriel Morris in Margate.
04:36Next tonight, a survey by Kent County Council
04:39has found a rise in racist behaviour from children in schools.
04:43More than 900 incidents were reported across the county from 2022 to 2023.
04:49One of the areas not included is Medway as a separate local authority
04:53but Carol Stewart from the Medway African and Caribbean Association
04:57says it's just as prevalent in Medway schools too.
05:01Racism here was much more overt.
05:05It was really, really in our faces.
05:07People would call us names when we're walking down the street.
05:11They had it in schools, everywhere.
05:15And I worked in places that couldn't even say the word black.
05:18They couldn't describe me because they felt it was offensive.
05:21Nobody is born with any prejudice or hatred in their heart.
05:28It's nurtured either within the home environment or the community environment.
05:33I think social media as well.
05:35We're seeing an increase in cyberbullying with the growth of social media.
05:40Now Kent is one of the worst counties in England for the cost of rural thefts
05:44according to a new report from NFU Mutual.
05:47It comes amid concerns from farmers that criminals are becoming increasingly opportunistic
05:52and it's something Kent's Police and Crime Commissioner says he's making a priority.
05:57Oliver Leeder to SACS reports.
05:59Heavy machinery, fertiliser, livestock.
06:03For Steve Jones who runs Commority Farm in Mepham, this is a way of life.
06:09But increasingly these objects have found themselves a target for the county's criminals.
06:16They'll take anything.
06:18Seriously, livestock, machinery, vehicles, fertiliser.
06:23We never used to take the keys out of any vehicles.
06:25When I was younger every vehicle had the keys in it
06:28because somebody might need to move it or somebody might need to borrow it.
06:31So you didn't think.
06:32But you couldn't do that now even if we're out in the middle of a field.
06:35We can't leave a tool now.
06:37If we're using tools we can't leave them.
06:41If you're moving something you've got to pack everything away and lock it up
06:44or just somebody will take it.
06:47Rural crime is costing Kent farmers nearly two million pounds a year.
06:53For farmers like Steve, that's a huge impact on their bottom line.
06:58Kent is the fifth worst impacted county in England for costs of thefts based on claims,
07:05according to a new report from insurance firm NFU Mutual.
07:10It comes as the wider South East saw farmers reeling from nearly
07:15nine million pounds of financial damage in 2023.
07:20Given the economic costs, the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner says
07:25tackling rural crime is a top priority for the force.
07:30I know that farmers are already investing in protection.
07:33So they are, you know, they're installing CCTV.
07:36Our new rural PCSOs are visiting them to help them implement smart water
07:41in order to protect their equipment and using various tracking devices
07:46so that if something does get stolen we have a better chance of recovering it.
07:51You'll see a lot more of that in the coming months.
07:52We're keen to invest in supporting our rural community.
07:56The farmers are doing their bit and the police are doing theirs
07:58and we just have to keep up that momentum.
08:01With the cost of crime being so evident in the garden of England,
08:05it's clear Kent police need to continue to find new ways to tackle farmers' fears.
08:12The alternative is being left behind in the dust by the county's criminals.
08:17Oliver leaves the sats for KMTV in Mepham.
08:21Next tonight, a Medway GP says he's not surprised as doctors in England have voted
08:26to take collective action for the first time in 60 years.
08:29It's because of a row about contracts and now GPs will be able to choose from a series of actions
08:35after more than 98% of those who took part voted in favour.
08:39Doctors have said the action could last for months
08:42and bring the NHS to a standstill very quickly.
08:45Medway GP Dr Julian Spinks joins me now.
08:48Julian, the number one thing our viewers will be thinking right now
08:51is the impact on the patients.
08:53What's it going to be like?
08:54It's very difficult to predict because, as you said,
08:57this is a sort of pick list of things that the BMA have suggested we might be able to do
09:02but not every practice is going to do anything.
09:05The big headline is some practices will reduce the number of consultations a day per GP
09:10down to the recognised safe level of 25 when most of us are doing 30, 40,
09:14sometimes 50 consultations a day.
09:17There's other things like returning work back to hospitals
09:19which we've been given unpaid and so on.
09:21So it's a work to rule we can't strike.
09:24If you're reducing the amount of appointments a day,
09:27surely you have to then increase the doctors.
09:29Will that be part of the negotiation?
09:32Certainly that's part of it.
09:33We desperately need more GPs.
09:35Last year we've lost about 500 across the UK
09:37and it means that the list sizes are getting bigger,
09:40it means people are really struggling to get appointments
09:43and on top of that the big problem we have is the funding has been eroded over years.
09:48So we get about £107.50 per year per patient.
09:52That's £60 less than a TV licence and so on.
09:56We've reached the stage where we can't afford to employ the number of staff
10:00and in particular the number of doctors we need to provide the service.
10:03Would you say doctors are now at breaking point?
10:05Are you as a GP here in Medway at breaking point?
10:0840 years of being a GP today yourself.
10:11Absolutely.
10:12When I started 25 consultations a day was normal.
10:16We're now as I say up to 40 and we're really struggling to keep going.
10:21We don't have the money to expand and yet we need to
10:24because we've got more patients in the population
10:26and they're older and more complex.
10:29And this comes during a week where we've seen junior doctors
10:31being given an offer by the government.
10:33After such a long dispute, a new government, let's add to that.
10:38How reassured are you that this will then be made a priority?
10:42Is this why it's crucial that GPs are making this action now
10:46when they haven't in 60 years?
10:48Absolutely.
10:48There's been some positives from Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary.
10:52He's already said that we can have some extra money
10:55and use money from a scheme which is used to employ staff
10:59in primary care networks to employ GPs.
11:01And that's the first time they've allowed us to do that.
11:04But it won't be for individual practices.
11:05It will be shared GPs.
11:07But it shows that they're starting to think about what they can do
11:10and I hope we don't have to carry on taking action.
11:13It must be that we get through this very quickly.
11:16And very quickly, what are some of the other things
11:18you'd like to see implemented
11:19other than reducing the amount of appointments?
11:22I would like to see some of the work that's been given to us
11:25without the funding for us to be able to do it
11:27that we're actually subsidising, taken away,
11:29or at least we're funded and our contract really to be altered
11:32to reflect what we do now rather than 20 years ago.
11:35Julian, a very important discussion
11:37that we'll be talking about a lot on this programme.
11:40Thank you very much.
11:42Now, time for a very short break.
11:44But when we come back, we'll have more news
11:45from right across the county,
11:47including a very exciting docking in Medway's Maritime Arena.
14:57Thank you.
15:13Hello and welcome back to Kentonite live on KMTV.
15:17Now, one for the history and geography books today
15:20is a replica of the first ship
15:22to circumnavigate the world dropped anchor
15:24in Chatham's Maritime Arena.
15:26The original made the voyage in 1519 from Seville,
15:30taking four ships with it and more than 200 crew members
15:34under the command of explorer Ferdinand Magellan.
15:37505 years later, the closest replica ever made
15:41did its own round-the-world trip.
15:43Finn MacDermid reports.
15:45Yachts, cabin cruisers, barges,
15:47and now the Chatham Maritime Arena's waters
15:50host a piece of history.
15:51Over 500 years ago, Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan
15:55set off from Seville to the Moluccas,
15:57a group of islands now known as Indonesia's Moluku Islands.
16:01The now Victoria became the first ship
16:03to circumnavigate the world,
16:05and its closest ever replica
16:06is now docked right here in Chatham.
16:09Well, the ship under my feet might just be a replica,
16:11but it also has the distinction
16:12of having circumnavigated the entire world.
16:15The replica started its own journey around the world
16:17in 2004 and finished by 2006,
16:21sailing nearly 27,000 nautical miles
16:24and visiting 17 different countries.
16:26It's manned by Spanish naval students
16:28earning credits for their courses and volunteers.
16:31This ship is now 33 years old, right?
16:34So it was first built for a museum,
16:36and then three businessmen said,
16:38like, let's do the trip again
16:40because it was back then also
16:41an international crew, European.
16:44And then they made the trip in 2004 around the world.
16:49And now we stay a bit more closer to,
16:52in Europe, a bit close to dry docks.
16:54So we go a bit between Scandinavia and Morocco.
16:58The boat is specifically a Carrack,
17:00a three to four masted ocean sailing ship.
17:02It's reportedly difficult to control
17:05despite it having an engine
17:06unlike the original from the 16th century.
17:09It would be in today's sort of pilots,
17:11I think a bit of a cow to handle.
17:14It rolls, I know it rolls an awful lot
17:16when there's a two meter wave.
17:19The first mate over there was telling me
17:20the top of that mast moves 30 feet.
17:24And people have to go up there and hang on,
17:27which is quite an event.
17:28But yeah, it would be an interesting trip.
17:32Nowadays, the ship serves as a floating museum
17:34travelling from country to country
17:36to tell people of its exploits.
17:38Yeah, I think it's exciting.
17:39I think it's really cool
17:40that it's come all the way to Chatham
17:42and that it's come here in our home.
17:46And this is the place in England that it's come to.
17:49Yeah, it's impressive.
17:50When you think something this size
17:52and made, you know, out of wood
17:55would sail all the way around the world.
17:57It's a very nice ship
17:58and I'm very interested in the history.
18:02After the public walked the plank
18:03to board the ship,
18:04they could listen to an audio tour
18:06and read plaques,
18:07making the vessel almost a floating museum.
18:09The ship will remain moored
18:11until the 4th of August
18:12when it will set sail to its next dock.
18:15Finn McDermid for KMTV.
18:18Now, don't forget you can keep up to date
18:20with all your latest stories across Kent
18:22by logging onto our website,
18:23kmtv.co.uk.
18:25And with Olympics fever in the air,
18:27let's take a look back at this report
18:29about the young BMX racer
18:30hoping to emulate what success
18:32our Team GB athletes
18:33are having over in Paris.
18:35Kieran Riley secured a BMX freestyle silver
18:38in quite a dramatic final.
18:40A medal Danny Jake here from Tambridge, Wales
18:42could only dream of.
18:44I'm passionate about the sport.
18:45I want to be there.
18:47That's really all I train for,
18:49race for, and it's everything.
18:51That's what I want to do.
18:56Danny Jake has just finished his GCSEs,
18:59but unlike his classmates,
19:01he won't be spending the summer
19:02swanning off in the sun.
19:04In fact, it's straight back to work
19:06and straight back on his bike
19:07as he follows his dream
19:09to one day be part of the Team GB BMX racing squad.
19:13First picking up the sport at the age of eight,
19:15thanks to the encouragement of a family friend,
19:17Danny quickly fell in love with the speed,
19:20adrenaline and fearlessness required
19:22to take on tracks like these
19:24and hasn't looked back since.
19:26Yeah, I just like going fast.
19:27I like the adrenaline,
19:28going around, jumping all the big jumps.
19:30Yeah, it's good.
19:31There's a lot of hard work put into it,
19:34going from gym to doing sprints.
19:37It's a dedicated sport you have to be into.
19:39So yeah, just before I go,
19:41I'm thinking tunnel vision straight,
19:44wanting to get to the corner first
19:46and get as quick as I can.
19:50Danny Jake has already won major national competitions,
19:53with the most recent being in Cumbernauld in Scotland,
19:56where he took the top spot in the junior men's race.
20:04BMX racing isn't just about shooting it down the track
20:07as fast as you can.
20:08There's a huge amount of control that comes into it,
20:11especially on these jumps.
20:13Eight riders launched themselves
20:15from the top of an eight metre hill
20:16to try and stay in close formation
20:18as they navigate a variety of dirt jumps
20:21and banks turns to come out in front.
20:23The sport first appeared at the Olympics in Beijing 2008
20:26and has remained one of the most popular fixtures.
20:29It's since gone on to become notorious for its crashes
20:32and at Tokyo 2020,
20:34was considered the most dangerous sport
20:36with athletes picking up more injuries
20:37than any other event.
20:40But even the prospect of a crash
20:42doesn't slow down Danny Jake's determination.
20:56Danny Jake's main track is at Peckham BMX Club,
20:58but he takes himself a weekly practice
21:00here at CycloPark in Gravesend,
21:02where the track itself is named
21:04after one of Team GB's greatest BMX successes,
21:07gold medallist Beth Schriever.
21:10During the Olympic season,
21:11the excitement here only grows.
21:13It's definitely an increased participation,
21:15especially when the Olympics is actually on.
21:16I think people start to see the sports on the telly
21:19and thinking I'll have a go at that
21:20and Beth Schriever had quite a long time riding here
21:22and some of that started off the few of the local clubs
21:24and to see her go on to do amazing things
21:27has actually been a crazy experience as for the venue.
21:30And like I say, seeing Danny Jake
21:31and some of the likes of the other riders
21:32that have been coming through,
21:34we know that we can kind of allow those people
21:37to have that pathway.
21:38So as he follows in the tyre tracks
21:40of the legends before him,
21:41perhaps one day we'll all be cheering on Danny Jake's name
21:44as he gears up for a future of success.
21:47Bartholomew Hall for KNTV in Gravesend.
21:52As Bartholomew said,
21:53I'm sure we'll be supporting him at the next Olympics.
21:56Now, as a yellow heat health alert continues in Kent,
21:58people are increasingly looking for help
22:00and advice against the heat.
22:02The NHS are even reporting that their website
22:05has tripled in views on the heat health advice section
22:07over the past few days.
22:09As the UK records its hottest day of the year
22:12back on Tuesday,
22:13the alert is expected to last until Friday.
22:15And there's also a thunderstorm warning
22:18lasting until midnight.
22:19Well, let's take a look at the full forecast
22:21where you are.
22:28Well, this evening's looking cloudy
22:29right across the board.
22:30Some rain over in Tunbridge Wells there.
22:32Lows of 17, highs of 19 degrees.
22:35By Friday morning, drying up right across the county.
22:37Sunshine in most parts except North Kent there.
22:40Highs of 23.
22:41And that thunderstorm warning coming into force
22:44Friday afternoon over in Margate.
22:45Highs of 27 elsewhere.
22:48And here's your outlook for Kent.
22:49Staying nice and dry right up until Monday.
22:51A mix of cloud and sun.
23:03And finally, straight after Kent tonight,
23:05we have a brand new episode of Kent Film Club.
23:07It's the show where we find out
23:09what films have impacted our guests' lives.
23:11And the presenter, Chris Deasy,
23:13is here to give me an idea
23:14of what's to come on tonight's show.
23:17Before we get into what's coming up, Chris,
23:20earlier in the show, we saw Finn's piece
23:21all about a replica of the first boat
23:25that circumnavigated the world.
23:27Pretty great to have right here in Chatham in Medway.
23:30But it got us wondering in the newsroom,
23:32got us discussing,
23:33could we be inspired to watch
23:35a pirate-themed film tonight perhaps?
23:37Well, it's funny you say that
23:39because last night is the 25th anniversary
23:42since Deep Blue Sea.
23:43So not really a pirate film,
23:44but it's all about underwater sharks.
23:47So funny I saw that.
23:48Now, I'll be honest with you,
23:5025 years ago, I didn't think it was that brilliant.
23:52To be honest, it did feel very generic.
23:54But how lovely to sort of watch a film back.
23:56And they're using like hard copy disks.
23:59So, you know, so it's not a film about pirates
24:01or I suppose pirate copying
24:02is a completely different issue.
24:03But yeah, watching a film that's 25 years old
24:06and sort of seeing how the technology evolves,
24:08a film like The Meg couldn't have been made
24:10if it hadn't been for those predecessors.
24:11And of course, Jaws itself going back to 1975.
24:14Definitely.
24:15Well, let's hope for none of that in Medway's waters.
24:18Now, I want to go to a very important story
24:21within the film industry
24:22that we've discussed with you many times.
24:24A survey of TV and film staff here in the UK
24:26has actually found that more than half
24:29are still out of work.
24:30And that's a year on
24:31from those infamous Hollywood strikes.
24:34Does this reflect just how challenging
24:36the industry can be?
24:37I suppose it's notorious
24:38for being a really difficult industry
24:40to get into and to stay in.
24:42But now a year after those strikes,
24:43more than half here in the UK.
24:45Because we thought last year
24:46that there were glimmers of hope
24:47when the strikes,
24:49and of course, they were the two Hollywood unions
24:51that were on strike
24:51and they were resolved by the end of the year.
24:53And so, I mean, to see that as well,
24:55particularly ethnic minority
24:57and disabled actors as well,
24:58people in the industry
24:59have been particularly affected by this.
25:01And as you say, you know,
25:03only five or six percent of people
25:05saying that they actually have recurrent work
25:07and that things are actually back
25:09to the levels that they were pre-pandemic.
25:11So it also shows the underside
25:13because obviously we watch the films
25:14and, you know, great to watch those films,
25:15whether they're new films or 25 years old,
25:18doing the rounds in the cinemas.
25:19But behind the scenes, you know,
25:20and AI, which is one of the reasons
25:22they were on strike in the first place,
25:24of course, that itself
25:25raises all sorts of questions
25:26about the future of the industry.
25:27So these are quite tumultuous times.
25:29And the knock-on effect it has here in the UK,
25:31but here in Kent too even,
25:33we look at the Kent Film Office
25:35and how that's impacted.
25:36Do you think the industry
25:38is resilient enough
25:40in looking back at that past year?
25:41Do you think it will pick up from now onwards?
25:43Well, the bit of hope that I have
25:45is that so many films in recent years
25:47are made not far from here,
25:48of course, at Chatham Maritime.
25:50So there is that sense
25:51that the actual locations are so important.
25:54And I really hope they will continue to be
25:56because I don't think we want to see
25:57too many films with green screens.
25:59So we want to see the locations
26:00and they still exist.
26:01And some of those key ones here in Kent,
26:03just where we saw from Finn's report there.
26:06And finally, what's coming up
26:07in tonight's episode of Kent Film Club?
26:09Well, we have Leah Batchelor.
26:10And amazing because she's very local.
26:12She lives around the Folkestone area
26:14and does a lot of work
26:15in environmental work and media.
26:17And three of her films
26:19have a very key environmental theme.
26:21Some of them are documentary based.
26:22And also she chooses a Darren Aronofsky film.
26:25Now, Darren Aronofsky has come up
26:26quite a lot in Kent Film Club.
26:28In fact, next week's episode as well
26:29may have one as well.
26:30But Requiem for a Dream,
26:31if I'm allowed to give that one away.
26:32So a wonderful film.
26:33And Leah is very energetic
26:35and passionate about film and documentaries.
26:37Definitely. We spoke to her
26:38plenty of times on the show.
26:39She's a great one to watch.
26:41Thank you very much.
26:43Don't go anywhere.
26:44Kent Film Club coming right up
26:46after the break.
26:46That's all from me.
26:47Bye bye.
27:01you