Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Abby Hook.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Kentonite live on KMTV, I'm Bartholomew Hall.
00:29Here are your top stories on Thursday 6th February.
00:33Singing for safety, Broadstairs songwriter releases single about women's safety after
00:38being attacked in the street.
00:40No it's not all men but one's enough. One's enough for it to be an issue. You can only
00:44do so much as a woman to prevent it yourself.
00:48Medway decides voters head to the polls to elect new councillors in Rochester and Gillingham.
00:53With three seats up for grabs, I'll be breaking down a momentous night in Medway's politics.
01:01And aiming for the green, Hive Golf Club says sport and nature should go hand in hand.
01:07Placing bird boxes by our bug hotels in an effort to encourage and develop wildlife here
01:13and on the course.
01:24Good evening. A songwriter from Broadstairs who was attacked by a man as she walked home
01:28from university in 2023 has released a single. It's all in an effort to raise awareness of
01:34violence against women and girls.
01:36Daisy Forster says she's still looking for answers as police are yet to identify the
01:40suspect involved in her attack.
01:42Her song, Swan, or Safety for Women at Night, aims to share her experience.
01:47Abbey Hook has more.
01:50At least one in 12 women will be a victim of violence against women and girls every
01:55year. That's two million every year.
02:03And in 2023, Daisy Forster was one of them. And this is the song she's now written to
02:08raise awareness and hopefully find closure.
02:12You get taught certain things to try and prevent it or to protect yourself and in that situation
02:19I don't feel like we could have done more and again this is why we wanted to include
02:24these lyrics into the song itself because I feel like that is something that women worldwide
02:30are told and that itself isn't enough to stop this from happening so this is why we say
02:36we know that it's not in the lyrics it literally states we know it's not all men but one's
02:41enough one's enough for it to be an issue you can only do so much as a woman to prevent
02:46it yourself.
02:59The artist from Broadstairs was attacked in October 2023 when she was walking down a road
03:04in Birmingham. She went to university there and she was doing as all girls are told, walking
03:09home in a group.
03:11Daisy says one of her friends was grabbed by a man and she jumped to her defence. Daisy
03:16was then attacked.
03:17I had some injuries that I needed to get treated with in hospital but that was it. We got the
03:24police involved, they did a search of the area, nothing ever got found, never heard
03:29anything back from them really apart from the day after and that was the end of it.
03:35West Midlands Police said after investigating they weren't able to identify the suspect
03:40but said tackling this kind of violence was a priority. Daisy's swan song which stands
03:46for safety for women at night is key to the type of awareness she's trying to raise.
03:53We've decided to put all of the proceeds from the song towards the Nia project and when
03:58we were trying to find charities that we could put these proceeds towards nearly all of them
04:04were solely for domestic violence. It is a massive issue and of course they need the
04:08support but I think we need to see kind of an uprise of more charities that will support
04:14people that are harassed on the street, that need that kind of service.
04:19One of the only charities to offer this support and Kent's first and only of its kind is the
04:24Tunbridge Wells Reclaim the Night Walk, led by local councillors and activists.
04:29We can do all the right things and still be attacked. There is a commitment to bring down
04:36violence against women and girls by half in a decade which is really positive I do believe
04:45that there will be a cross government, cross department response to this and more policing
04:51is necessary, more community policing.
04:55Staying silent can often feel like the only choice but by Daisy sharing her story and
05:00giving her song such an elegant title, it highlights what can in reality be so brutal.
05:06It kind of hits home because for many women this could be their last moments or their
05:13final moments of the things that they remember.
05:14Abbey Hook reporting for us there now.
05:29Medway residents have been out to the polls today to have their say in by-elections for
05:34three new councillors.
05:36Voters in Rochester and Warren Wood and Gillingham South were given the opportunity to elect
05:40new representatives after the three MPs for the area announced they were stepping aside
05:44in December to focus on their roles in Parliament.
05:48Our politics producer Oliver Leeder-Desax is outside Gunn Wharf, the Medway Council
05:51HQ, for us now.
05:53Ollie, I know it is a cold night to this evening in Medway so we'll keep it nice and quick
05:57but just remind us why these elections are taking place.
06:03Well Bartholomew, by-elections are a bit of a weird one.
06:07It's what happens when a councillor steps down mid-term.
06:10And we were expecting in Medway there to be local elections in 2027 but that all changed
06:16last summer when three new Medway MPs were elected.
06:21That's Neshaba Khan, Chris Osborne and Lauren Edwards all for the Labour Party and they
06:27all made clear on the campaign trail they wanted to step down at some point in the near
06:33future.
06:34And that future came around December when they announced that they would be vacating
06:38their seats to focus on their parliamentary work, opening the way for the three seats
06:43to be contested over the campaign trail.
06:47And that has resulted in polling day today where people from across the five towns can
06:52make their voices heard in Rochester and Warren Wood and Gillingham South.
06:56Neshaba Khan's former council seats.
06:59Yeah, absolutely Olly.
07:00It's not the first time that we've seen such incidents where MPs have triggered by-elections
07:06in their council seats.
07:08But what can you tell us about, what more can you tell us this evening because really
07:12there's not much else we can say on TV whilst the polls are still open, is there?
07:16Bartholomew, you hit the nail right on the head.
07:20Basically KMTV, like all broadcasters, is bound by Ofcom regulation, particularly on
07:26an election day like today.
07:28We have disproportionate reach because of our platform and that could potentially swing
07:34an election if I start talking about the party, political points and the issues on voters'
07:39minds.
07:40So we can't really talk about the campaign trail or the parties and what they're promising.
07:45What we can talk about though is the polls themselves, which opened at 7am and will be
07:50closing at 10pm.
07:51So you still have a few hours to vote if you are in those eligible wards.
07:56As long as you bring the right ID, because that's what you need to do to vote now.
08:00You need a passport, a driving licence, an age certificate, something to prove that you
08:05can vote, you are who you are.
08:08So if you want to vote, still make your voice heard.
08:10You have a few hours too and it's really important given what elections like this can mean for
08:16your local community.
08:17Yeah, absolutely Oli.
08:19Anybody in those wards who still wish to vote, make sure to do that if they wish to.
08:24So we can't talk about the issues themselves, but when will we know the results?
08:28Well, Bartholomew, it's going to be a long night.
08:33As soon as polls close at 10pm, the box will be taken to Medway Park to be counted.
08:39And that ballot counting process will take a few hours and probably be wrapped up around
08:442am.
08:45I remember the general election last year, I was still awake at 7am waiting for results.
08:51It will be a lot earlier tonight, but we'll bring you all the results and all the details
08:56and all the analysis on Kent tonight and the Kent Poller Show tomorrow.
09:01All we know for now is it's going to be an interesting one and that all the candidates
09:05from all the various parties are available on the Kent online website.
09:09So if you want to visit there, you'll want to find out a tiny bit more.
09:13Oli, thank you very much for those details and as you mentioned, we'll bring you those
09:17results on tomorrow's programme.
09:20Kent Police is investigating after two men wearing balaclavas were filmed trying to
09:24kick down a door to a flat in Ramsgate.
09:28Security camera footage shows the two men in Albert Court with one pulling out a large
09:31knife in the process.
09:33Well, the tenant, who didn't wish to be named, said that they were even too terrified to
09:37report the incident.
09:39Officers are currently trying to establish what caused the situation and are also trying
09:42to locate the two men.
09:45A pub with a troubled past in East Farley is set to have a major revamp under new management.
09:50The bull suddenly closed back in 2022 whilst being under investigation into animal welfare
09:55concerns following calls from concerned neighbours.
09:58After years of uncertainty, including a year of being boarded up, the new owners are planning
10:02on putting the pub back on the map as a family-orientated business with a brand new patio and cocktail
10:07bar.
10:08The pair say they're taking the process step by step.
10:11Conservationists behind an ancient woodland near Maidstone say the site is under threat
10:15almost 25 years after it was first saved from becoming a car park.
10:19The volunteers who maintain Mangravatt Woodland have lost all their funding after the residence
10:24association that was set up to save it has disbanded.
10:27Kai Wei has more.
10:28Twenty-five years ago, Tesco's tried to turn the Mangravatt Woodland into a car park.
10:33Thankfully, this was prevented, but those who look after the wood say it's at risk yet
10:37again.
10:38So Northlews Limited looks after and maintains Mangravatt Wood.
10:43Prior to last May, Northlews Limited was associated with the Northlews Residence Association and
10:50whenever costs were incurred for maintaining Mangravatt Wood, we were fortunate enough
10:55to receive donations from Northlews Residence Association.
11:00But last May, all their funding was ceased and they're struggling to find the funds to
11:05maintain the land.
11:07We have a wonderful team of volunteers and are always looking for more volunteers.
11:13So we typically have manpower to carry out a lot of the work on the wood, but over the
11:21last few months, we've had to pay out nearly a thousand pounds for a tree survey.
11:29We are about to pay out about two and a half thousand pounds for a tree specialist company
11:38to come in and carry out a lot of the urgent work which we identified from that survey.
11:44The team, as it stands, is currently looking for more volunteers and possible grants that
11:49they can apply for.
11:54Apologies for some of the technical issues there.
11:56You can read more on that story at Kentonline.
11:58It's time now for a quick break, but coming up, a sweeping drug investigation.
14:58Hello and welcome back to Kentonite live on KMTV.
15:16Now, a Folkestone mother has warned of a drug epidemic sweeping the town after her 16-year-old
15:21son died of an overdose.
15:23Ben Davey took multiple MDMA pills with a friend at home on Marshall Street last summer
15:28where he was found unresponsive the next morning.
15:30His mother says she wants his death to be an eye-opener to young people who are considering
15:34drug use.
15:35The latest available figures show 23 people in Folkestone and Hive died from drug poisoning
15:40in 2023, more than the two previous years combined, and at least 10 more than any other
15:45Kent district.
15:46You can read more on that story at Kentonline where help and support is also available.
15:52Next night, from satire about war to documentaries about true crime, the Sundance Film Festival
15:58has come to an end in the US with many of the films that could be coming to our cinemas
16:01here in Kent shown to those who attended.
16:04Well, those who attended include our very own presenter of the Kent Film Club, Chris
16:08D.C., who joins me in the studio now to talk about the direction of the movie industry.
16:14But first of all, Chris, let's see how you got on in a very cold Utah.
16:18I'm off to see a film right now called East of Wall.
16:23We are here for East of Wall.
16:25Runtime is going to be 97 minutes.
16:27If you could please silence all your devices, we'd greatly appreciate it.
16:30Enjoy.
16:32So I'm approaching early evening here on, what is it, the fourth day of the festival,
16:38and I saw two British films this afternoon.
16:41You're watching Flameboats, directed by Cormen Emme.
16:45Runtime is 95 minutes.
16:48Yeah, having the most amazing time here at the Sundance Film Festival 2025.
16:54So, Chris, if viewers of the Kent Film Club didn't already know how much of a film fan
16:58you are, I think this proves it.
16:59Sundance Film Festival, it's a huge one in the sort of film space.
17:03Tell me, what were your sort of big picks, your favourite picks from the films you saw?
17:07Well, I saw 14, which I broke my own record.
17:11And I mean, actually, it was lovely to go all that way and then see a couple of British
17:16films that may or may not see the light of day, one with Benedict Cumberbatch, The Thing
17:21With Feathers, a horror film involving a giant crow that appears.
17:25It's very sort of grief-related.
17:27And that was filmed in London.
17:30But also, a film set on a fictitious Welsh island called The Ballad of Wallis Island.
17:36If you like films like Fisherman's Friends, you know, it's the sort of the outsider.
17:40They go to a new place.
17:41They're like, oh, I don't want to stay here.
17:42I don't like it.
17:43But then they become attached.
17:44I suppose like Groundhog Day has a similar element.
17:46But it's very much in the British tradition that you see like Saving Grace with Brenda
17:49Bletherd, who's from this very county, or Gregory's Girl, local hero.
17:54And it involves a pop star going to an island and realizing he's only performing for one
17:58guest.
17:59He may be offered half a million pounds.
18:01But he's like, oh, I'm not sure.
18:03You know, I'm used to big stadiums.
18:05But then you sort of see eccentricity and authenticity.
18:09You see this sort of deconstruction of a character.
18:11And you see why people do eccentric things.
18:14And you fall in love with the place and with the people.
18:16And I was in tears at the end.
18:18I wonder if it's because I was so far away from my homeland.
18:21So I wonder if I watch that again.
18:23It comes out at the end of March.
18:24So viewers in Kent will be able to watch that in the very near future.
18:27It's always interesting, isn't it, with these film festivals.
18:29Because these are the type of films that, without going to a festival, you might not
18:32have seen in the cinema.
18:34So I'm wondering, when you're going, you're kind of seeing the future of the industry.
18:37What kind of direction do you see films going in these days?
18:40Well, one thing I like about Sundance is that the films there are often low key, often low
18:44budget, very character driven.
18:46So it's almost like a respite from the sort of stuff that you see at the multiplex.
18:50Except for one thing.
18:51A lot of these films do make their way to the multiplex.
18:53Cat Person, two years ago, was showing in Cineworld.
18:57I saw it just up the road in Rochester.
18:59Also, two years ago, a film that I was surprised actually called, sometimes I think about dying.
19:05And it was very low budget, low key.
19:07But about a year later, it made its way into the Curzon.
19:10So it just goes to show that if the films are really good, and Sundance is competitive.
19:14There were film agents there in some of the screenings.
19:16It was quite frightening.
19:17It was almost like, you know, is this film going to make any money?
19:20Are they going to buy it here and there?
19:21It's a different side of the industry than I'm used to.
19:23Absolutely.
19:24Chris, a new episode of the Kent Film Club comes out next week.
19:26Thank you very much for joining us this week.
19:28We'll see you soon.
19:30Now, don't forget, you can keep up to date with all your latest stories across Kent by
19:33logging on to our website, kmtv.co.uk.
19:36There you'll find all of our reports, including this one about a derelict house in Canterbury
19:40known as the Elvis House, which is set to undergo an eco-transformation.
19:45Known as the Elvis Presley House, thanks to this poster, which was sat in the window for
19:49more than 40 years, this derelict two-bedroom home in Canterbury is set to be all shook up.
19:55The council has started work to retrofit the building to make it the city's first net zero
20:00social home.
20:01There was quite a long process to get to this point, i.e. putting the plans together,
20:06getting the funding, and then we had to find a contractor to carry out the works.
20:10Unfortunately, the first time round, we didn't find suitable contractors, so now we have,
20:16and the work starts today.
20:18You know, it's very visible.
20:20Everyone can see it, so it's going to be a bit of a landmark.
20:22We all know it's called the Elvis House.
20:24It's famous for that.
20:26So, you know, Elvis House, retrofit.
20:29This is the future.
20:30You know, hopefully people will be inspired by this as they drive past and do the same
20:34in their own homes.
20:35The poster of Presley mysteriously left the building three years ago after reports of
20:40anti-social behaviour.
20:41The windows and doors have since been boarded up.
20:44But what is a net zero home?
20:46Well, it's one that produces as much energy as it consumes through things like solar panels,
20:52heat pumps, and a heat recovery system to generate renewable energy.
20:56So, adding insulations to the floors, the walls, and the roof obviously makes it more
21:03efficient in that sense that it's not losing heat.
21:06Because it's having solar panels as well, it's going to draw its energy from the sun.
21:11And because it's only driven by electric, there's no gas on the property.
21:18In just six months, contractors hope that the work to make this home net zero will be
21:23finished, allowing for it to be used for social housing.
21:26But how much does it cost, and what do residents really think of the change?
21:31The scheme that will be part-funded by the government's UK Shared Prosperity Fund
21:36costs around £100,000 due to the amount of work that needs to be done.
21:40It's a particular house.
21:41It will be quite expensive just because there's so much work to be done.
21:45As you can see, it's a very old house.
21:48As well as just the retrofit side of things, putting in the heat pumps and all that,
21:52there's a lot of structure work to be done.
21:54And you can see that the ground is being dug up.
21:57Those things all cost.
21:58So I wouldn't want to use the cost of this house as an example of how much it might cost
22:02in anyone else's house.
22:04As I say, there was a grant to help.
22:08I've been here for 26 years.
22:09I just think that the old building's a bit of an eyesore.
22:13And it's not very nice inside, I understand.
22:16And, well, I guess families need somewhere to live.
22:21Yes, a family living there would be nice.
22:24With some suspicious minds over the change,
22:26the council hopes that it will create a little less conversation about its infamous looks
22:31and a little more action about their larger plans to decarbonise the district.
22:36Kristen Hawthorne for KMTV in Canterbury.
22:43Great stuff.
22:44Let's take a look at the weather.
22:45Tonight, it's going to be fairly windy with speeds of 12 miles per hour.
22:53Some rain to be expected on the western side of the county.
22:57Sorry.
22:57Then into the morning, some showers in Tunbridge Wells,
23:00but cloudy weather elsewhere with an average of 4 degrees, 5 in Dover.
23:04Into the afternoon, the wind will be picking up to quite high speeds of 18 miles per hour,
23:08joined by some rain.
23:09Temperatures staying much the same, though.
23:11Here's your outlook as we head into the weekend.
23:13Saturday brings rain and highs of 8, Sunday sharing the same,
23:16but luckily cooling down as we head into next week.
23:26Finally this evening, led by one of the country's youngest head greenkeepers,
23:30Hive Gold Club says it's adopting an eco-friendly approach to maintaining its course,
23:34all in an effort to reduce its impacts on wildlife.
23:38From switching to electric lawn mowers to installing bug hotels,
23:41the club hopes it's able to prove that both golf and nature can share the fairway.
23:46Kerry King has swung down to find out more.
23:53Golf courses are more than just fairways and greens.
23:56They're a haven for wildlife.
23:58However, maintaining them with outdated methods
24:01can harm the environment and put local species at risk.
24:05Here at Hive Golf Course, the management accepts the problem
24:09but is on a mission to make changes.
24:12Grass-cutting equipment is just one of the changes being made by the club.
24:17One of our ideals would be to use robotic electric mowers
24:22to cut all of our fairways and in time the rough as well.
24:26So how will a small members club fund such an ambitious project?
24:30We've been working on a crowdfunding bid.
24:35That bid will fund, we hope,
24:38that bid will fund, we hope,
24:42the mowers.
24:43It will fund other green initiatives that we're putting together.
24:46Led by one of the youngest head greenkeepers in the UK,
24:50the team prepares to place the newly built hotels on the course.
24:54So what we're doing is we're placing bird boxes, bug hotels
24:58in an effort to encourage and develop wildlife here on the course.
25:03Do golf courses truly benefit local wildlife?
25:06I spoke to a leading bug expert.
25:08But yes, we can all make a difference in the same way
25:11that by doing it in your garden you can make a difference,
25:13particularly if your neighbours do it as well.
25:15If we added all the gardens in the UK together,
25:17you've got half a Serengeti nature reserve.
25:20So these areas added up can make a huge difference.
25:24Records show that fewer than 1% of greenkeepers in the UK are female.
25:29What was it that attracted Holly Hurst to the profession?
25:34It's definitely not as hard as we think it is
25:37and you do build up your strength.
25:39But I think there's an idea that it is a man's job and only men can do it.
25:45But I've definitely proved that I can do it and females can definitely do it.
25:49It's really good fun.
25:50Green by name, green by nature.
25:52I'm assuming you welcome this type of project.
25:56Yes, absolutely.
25:57It's a terrific initiative that the golf course has kicked off.
26:02You know, golf courses take up a lot of land in this country
26:05and anything that they can do to make themselves more biodiverse
26:09and to welcome wildlife has got to be welcomed by everybody, I'm sure.
26:15The club's CEO is fully aware of the challenges that lie ahead.
26:20Yes, it's a bit of a leap in the dark because we're a small club, 250 members, just under.
26:27It is a big project with a challenging path ahead.
26:31But if successful, it will enable nature and sports.
26:35To live side by side.
26:37Kerry King, KMTV, Hithe.
26:42That is it from us this evening.
26:44Same time tomorrow.
26:44Good night.
27:05you