Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Oliver Leader de Saxe.
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00:00Hello, good evening and welcome to Kenton Online.
00:29Tonight live here on KMTV, I'm Oliver, leader of the set and here are your top stories on
00:35Friday the 21st of March.
00:39Housing havoc, 200 new homes given green light in Whitstable despite local anger.
00:45Mapping Kent's future, how will our councils be merged as the local governments shake up.
00:52And heaven is a place in Kent where you find out the county's best towns to live.
01:00Houses are being dumped in our community, that's the feeling amongst some Whitstable
01:04locals that another development has been approved.
01:07200 homes have just been given the green light on the edge of the town after a battle of
01:13four planning meetings.
01:15Residents say the Ben Acre View development will destroy a prized view of the seaside
01:19area as our local democracy reporter Gabriel Morris has been finding out.
01:26It's one of the best vantage points of Whitstable but here at the top of the hill more than
01:30200 homes are set to be built following a recent planning meeting.
01:35It's an absolutely stunning view from Baker's Top and like I said I don't think the people
01:41that voted here tonight have been there or if they have they just don't appreciate what
01:48they've just voted to destroy, Whitstable has just been dumped on.
01:52In Kent there is a huge demand for new homes but in Whitstable there have already been
01:58many developments which have seen hundreds of homes added to the local area.
02:03This is Greenfield land and it's incredibly controversial to build on.
02:08Something planning officers said they've considered at length.
02:10The need for housing in the district including the provision of affordable housing outweighs
02:15the harm to the landscape character of this undesignated landscape.
02:20Canterbury City Council's planning committee has been debating the developers' plans to
02:23put 220 homes, a park and ride and highway improvements to the land south of Old Fannet
02:30Way.
02:31Home to one person tilts one way, home to another tilts the other way and I think that
02:38one is the problem when you get people who admire the views, who walk through these areas,
02:47who enjoy these areas, for them the tilt will always be in favour of keeping the landscape
02:53as it should be.
02:55The same application for homes in this field was originally approved two years ago when
03:00the council had to favour development after failing to demonstrate a five year housing
03:05land supply.
03:06It was then lifted coming back to planning but now that phase is back and after the latest
03:13meeting the plans for the development have been discussed four times.
03:18We understand there are a lot of concerns about the site and a lot of concerns because
03:22we're making decisions when we're in presumption and it's not part of a local plan that's actually
03:27been passed.
03:29However I think the committee carefully considered all the options and came to a decision today
03:35so we finally have determined the application.
03:40It seems the development will go ahead.
03:43Local campaigners saying these crops will now make way for commuter homes, for developers
03:48saying they'll be amongst the most environmentally friendly in the area and potential new residents
03:53will benefit from a new bus route to the train station.
03:57Gabriel Morris in Whitstable.
04:00Now a quiet cul-de-sac in Broadstairs became the scene of a major emergency response last
04:04night after a woman in her 20s was stabbed at her home in Guy Close.
04:09Emergency crews including paramedics and an air ambulance rushed to the scene shortly
04:13before 7pm.
04:14The victim was taken to a London hospital where she remains in a serious but stable
04:18condition.
04:19A woman in her 50s who was known to the victim was arrested in connection with the attack
04:24and remains in police custody.
04:26More on Kent Online.
04:28Now alarming dash cam footage shows the moment when an Ashford schoolgirl came within a split
04:33second of being run over by a car after it failed to stop at a red light.
04:37Alicia Atkins, 15, escaped with just minor injuries after the driver of the vehicle slammed
04:42on her on their brakes at the final moment, colliding only with the teenager's leg.
04:47You just saw the shocking moment right there.
04:49The girl's mother has now demanded the driver take responsibility for their actions with
04:53Kent Police saying they have been made aware of the incident and are investigating further.
04:59Now a key airport for Kent holidaymakers is still closed after a fire which crippled
05:03the energy supply broke out on Thursday night.
05:07More than 83.9 million passengers travelled through Heathrow in 2024 with the airport
05:13saying it hopes to run a full operation tomorrow.
05:16I spoke to Maisie Walker earlier for all the details.
05:20Well Maisie it's been a big day at Heathrow airport.
05:23Lots of delays for holidaymakers from Kent.
05:26Lots of delays for people here in the county.
05:29Can you tell us about the airport's closure?
05:31Yeah that's right.
05:32So Heathrow is Europe's busiest airport and it had to shut down after a fire broke out
05:38on Thursday night due to a power outage.
05:42This has caused major disruption for many people across Kent as Heathrow is easily accessible
05:48by residents through public transport like trains and buses.
05:53This makes it quick and easy to travel there for flights.
05:57A lot of passengers were hoping to fly home, attend important events or visit family but
06:03now they're left frustrated, confused and annoyed about the closure.
06:07On top of this some are facing the risk of huge financial losses as they're having to
06:13pay for new accommodation or cancel their pre-planned activities.
06:16You can see the pictures on screen at the substation which has caused so much chaos
06:22at the airport.
06:23Dramatic footage of the fire from the early hours of this morning.
06:28What can you tell us about this?
06:29Why has it caused such a major disruption at the UK's busiest airport?
06:33Yeah so the fire started at North Hyde substation in Hayes West London which caused the outage.
06:40While counter-terrorism police did open a fire inquiry earlier today the Metropolitan
06:46Police have said that there's currently no indication of foul play.
06:51Still many are wondering why Heathrow, the UK's busiest airport, was completely shut down.
06:57National Grid have said that though Heathrow does have multiple power sources the fire
07:02hit a particularly important bit.
07:05Despite this its backup power systems did work as expected but these are only designed
07:11to help land planes and evacuate passengers, not for full airport operations.
07:18And it is a big issue for holidaymakers ahead of this weekend.
07:23Will they get on their flights?
07:24Will they go on holiday?
07:25Will they get around Europe and the rest of the world?
07:29When is Heathrow going to reopen?
07:31Yeah so that's an excellent question.
07:34Passengers are currently being warned that disruptions could last for several days.
07:39Many planes and flight crews are now stuck in the wrong locations due to the fire.
07:44A recent update shared that while the power has been restored to Heathrow the airport
07:48remains closed.
07:50National Grid have said that they've found an interim solution to bring power back to
07:54the airport and has resumed some flights but their focus is and always is on the safety
08:01of their passengers.
08:02Obviously the airport has apologised for the disruption and we follow this one very very
08:07closely.
08:08Maisie thank you for joining us.
08:10What will the future hold for Kent's political landscape?
08:13Well we now have a sneak peek into what local government reorganisation might look like
08:18under interim proposals submitted to government today as councils are set to be axed.
08:25Let's take a look.
08:26Today council leaders from across the county will be submitting interim proposals to government
08:32mapping out Kent's political future quite literally.
08:37Months ago the government announced plans to simplify local authorities.
08:41No more districts, boroughs or Kent County Council, instead replaced by a handful of
08:47unitaries that would do everything.
08:50And in those interim proposals there are several different options for what Kent's political
08:56landscape could look like.
08:59One model would see just three big new local authorities splitting the county between north,
09:05west and east with larger populations per area.
09:10Councillors want four, though how they look is very different indeed and where Maidstone
09:16and Swale would find themselves in Kent's new political geography is hard to tell.
09:23There's logic behind all of these options, from which councils work the closest with
09:28each other to how population balances out.
09:32But while Kent may not be on the priority list for these changes, reimagining what our
09:37politics looks like will be at the top of the agenda for whoever wins big in May elections.
09:45Oliver Luther-Sacks for KMTV.
09:50And just before the break, this week is Food Waste Action Week, which is the UK's biggest
09:54annual food waste reduction campaign.
09:57And our reporter Daisy Page has been taking part in it all throughout the morning show.
10:01Here's a little recap of how she's got on.
10:04Which bin is for which?
10:05So this one's general food waste, so this is what the food bin men pick up, and then
10:09this is to go out into your compost.
10:11OK, well I'm going to pick up cheese straight away.
10:13I'm going to say this is going into my general waste, not into my compost.
10:16Leaves.
10:17So these are dried leaves from the garden?
10:19Dried leaves, so yeah.
10:20Our dead leaves, obviously we can put green leaves in.
10:22Where do you want to put them?
10:23Into my compost.
10:24Brown leaves are part of our brown material, so these are carbon rich.
10:28What we use leaves and cardboard for is to stack and layer.
10:31So we add our green material, which can be our fruit and veg, and then we put those in
10:35and then we add our brown material, just to help decompose that down there.
10:38OK, and part of that is this, the middle of the toilet roll.
10:42It's going in there as well.
10:43I will admit, one of these has gone past its best before date.
10:47Yes, but we trust you that you're not giving us anything now.
10:50I have tried all of these.
10:51Those have got like a nice firmness to them still.
10:55They're quite sour.
10:56The cucumber, I'm not going to lie, it doesn't look the most, it looks a little bit gone.
11:00Those blueberries are sweet, lots of sour.
11:02Yummy.
11:03Yeah, it's all right actually.
11:05What's our verdict?
11:06I'm going to go with cucumber because it's already my enemy.
11:08OK.
11:09I'm going purely on aesthetics, on the visuals of it, the cucumber.
11:14Cucumber, so the one that is actually out of date is the blueberries.
11:19So just drying them out.
11:21Another way, you don't necessarily need to put these straight into the soil.
11:24You can use these towels, dampen the towels, put the seeds in the damp towels,
11:30put them in a plastic bag and keep them.
11:32Abi's making a mess.
11:34She's moved away from the thing.
11:36I didn't find the gloves.
11:38Those are, they are quite...
11:40Now it's underneath my nails.
11:42And you can then seed straight in.
11:44Great work there by Daisy.
11:47But we have a short break now.
11:49Coming up though, where's the best place to live in Kent?
11:52We'll find out in a few minutes, shall we?
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15:28across social media, SEND Help believes the launch will help to widen its free support.
15:33Nathan Howard and Sharon O'Connor, who set up the charity following their own
15:38personal experiences with ADHD and autism, joined us earlier on The Morning Show.
15:43As a parent, as a carer, as an advocate,
15:45you're so passionate and want the best, but you don't always know the right route.
15:49So what we're hoping is to be a one stop app where people can come and get free advice.
15:57You know, basic, basic advice.
15:58We're already doing that now.
16:00We're sort of supporting different people,
16:01whether it's with the education health care plan and with the right to choose.
16:06I know that Nathan's done some support with that.
16:09And just sort of being we want to create a community where people can talk
16:14because you can feel really isolated when you've got a child with special
16:18educational needs, it's hard work, you don't get to sleep,
16:22you don't you know, everything is a challenge.
16:24And we want people to feel isolated and you you get spoken to by a lot
16:29of professionals, you feel lost, you feel not heard, not listened to.
16:33And we want to change that and support people.
16:36Yeah, we speak to a lot of parents and families here in the county who have
16:40echoed exactly the sort of things you've just said there.
16:43And tell us exactly what the app is then
16:46when you go on to it being launched today.
16:49What what sort of things will you say?
16:51So the first thing you'll see is a community where everyone that joins
16:55the app will be able to have like a sort of like a Facebook feed where you've got
16:59like a wall where you can post things and share things.
17:01And you can also got a chat where everyone can talk to each other.
17:04You can also find people that got similar,
17:06so similar diagnosis and stuff and chat to them individually.
17:10So that'll be like the hub at the beginning.
17:11Also at the beginning that we've launched,
17:13we've got like an introduction to ADHD, autism, PDA, dyslexia.
17:18So just general information about these
17:19diagnoses, which we'll add to as the weeks go on.
17:23And also we're going to be giving obviously
17:25videos, weekly workshops, questions and answers, monthly lives.
17:29So quite a bit of everything we'll develop.
17:31What's on there now is just a start.
17:33It's going to get bigger and better as we go on.
17:35Yeah, of course.
17:36And it's incredible to see such such a good community,
17:39that such a good sort of response from people able to talk with each other.
17:43What's been the kind of response that you've got from your community
17:45in the build up to releasing this app?
17:49It's been great.
17:50Yeah, what Nathan did, because he's got such a big following
17:54on social media and sort of put it out to people who would like to try.
17:58So we built up quite a big rating list.
18:00Yeah, over 100 people on the waiting list
18:02to help develop it, to shape it, to get to the point it is now before the release.
18:05Yeah, because we wanted to get feedback from people because, again,
18:09we want it to be from real life experiences.
18:11Yes, we've both got our background, but we're also both living it as well.
18:15So we wanted it to be really accessible
18:17and understandable.
18:18And the worst thing is when you get a diagnosis, whether it's for you or your
18:23child, you basically get given a leaflet and then and it's overwhelming and
18:28it's it's horrible and it's tough and it is the isolation.
18:32So I think the main thing we want to get
18:35from the app is the community, is that people don't feel isolated,
18:39that they can drop us an email, they can ask for different advice
18:44and just talk to other people.
18:46Presume this app will be available to all
18:48families or anybody who wants to access it and goes through the process up and down
18:52the country, but particularly here in Kent, how do you think this is going to help
18:55the county here and the community and families facing challenges day to day
19:01with special educational needs and disabilities?
19:04I think it's going to what it's going to do is that it seems there's a waiting
19:07list for most things at the moment and we can kind of offer support in that gap
19:11where families are waiting for diagnosis or even after they've got a diagnosis,
19:15we can kind of help.
19:17So already we're having an effect of even getting people diagnosed through
19:20Rightochoose. So a lot of work I've done locally has been getting people that have
19:23been on a waiting list for three plus years on the NHS to go to Rightochoose.
19:27And I've had someone's just got gone through it and got the diagnosis now
19:32within three months. So already having the impacts of the waiting times around here.
19:37So we're just hoping that we can kind of just be a one stop shop for anything,
19:40anything anyone needs in the support.
19:42We can assist anything.
19:43We've also got, we forgot to mention that Sharon's going to be a therapist in June,
19:47qualified therapist. We can offer that as well.
19:49So it's kind of, we'll be adding more professionals.
19:52We've got a speech and language person we're speaking to,
19:54clinical psychologist that's going to come on board.
19:56So we can hopefully have everyone there
19:58that everyone can get support from what they need.
20:00Really fascinating work there.
20:03Now, don't forget you can keep up to date with all your latest stories across Kent
20:06by logging on to our website, kmtv.co.uk.
20:10There you'll find all our reports, including this one.
20:12A new initiative to get young people into basketball is a fantastic watch.
20:25Basketball is one of the most widely
20:27recognised sports around the world, with the infamous NBA being watched by millions.
20:32But here in the UK, it's much harder to pursue basketball professionally.
20:37So a former NBA draftee from Kent has made
20:40it his mission to help young players break through.
20:42Yeah, I think there's not a lot of opportunities in the UK for basketball
20:45players. You know, it's taken me around the world.
20:47I've been over to 60 plus countries now.
20:49I've managed to retire very young.
20:51I'm very fortunate there and, you know,
20:53managed to make connections and relationships that I never thought I would
20:56being a boy from Seymour and basketball did that for me.
20:58I think for me, this is a, you know, a politics free environment.
21:02It doesn't matter what you have done.
21:03It's what you do on the day.
21:04And from that, you'll be selected and given a chance.
21:07Giving young basketball players a chance to shine.
21:09Richard's Ali are looking for their
21:11newest team members to take to an international competition in the summer.
21:15These players will get a chance at worldwide
21:17recognition and even win a share of a million pounds.
21:20In 2016, I was lucky enough to win the tournament at two million.
21:24So this year I have my own team and I can do the same thing.
21:27I think, you know, it's a big thing is recruiting.
21:29It's also being in front of the right eyes.
21:31And with this tournament and this event,
21:32you're going to be right in front of the right people.
21:34And hopefully an opportunity comes of it.
21:36So we go around the country and we're
21:37holding events, 16 to 20.
21:40We take in one MVP from the 17 to 20 and one MVP from the 21 plus.
21:45From there, we trickle down to a main event and from there,
21:48a selection of players will be flown out to the States to compete in a tournament.
21:52Being from Sittingbourne himself, Kent holds a special place in Ryan's heart,
21:56which is why he decided to hold the first tryouts here in the county.
22:00Yeah, so I'm doing it all around the country,
22:01but I wanted to do the first couple in Kent to give back.
22:04So we'll be going to Nottingham, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds,
22:08more in Kent and more in London, Brighton.
22:10And we finish up at the Copper Box in London.
22:14He also disclosed the type of players
22:16he's looking for and the fighting spirit he wants in his new team.
22:19It's the ability to adapt.
22:22These guys will come in and some of them know each other, some of them don't.
22:25So it's meshing together
22:27and it's doing plays and doing things to win games.
22:29We're fine over there.
22:30We need to win six games to win the tournament.
22:31So winning plays and winning mentality definitely comes to part of the selection.
22:36You know, I've won it before.
22:37I've got experience of winning it.
22:38You know, other players that I know that are going to be on the team.
22:41You know, we're not fine all that way over there just to be a part of it.
22:44We're going there to win the whole thing.
22:46Kai Wei for KMTV in Jonningham.
22:55So will it be basketball weather this weekend?
22:57Let's find out.
23:02Tonight, the weather is looking mostly the same across the county.
23:06Temperatures at 13 degrees.
23:08Some light rain across Kent into tomorrow morning.
23:11Clouds, some sunshine peeking through.
23:13Temperatures between 12 and 13 degrees into the afternoon.
23:17Highs of 16 over in Maidstone and Ashford.
23:20Lows of 15 in Margate.
23:22And that cloud sticking with us through to the beginning of next week.
23:27Some sun on Monday.
23:28Temperatures rising to 13 by Tuesday.
23:30A cold Sunday by comparison.
23:39And finally, the Sunday Times has ran the best spots to settle down in the country.
23:43But Severn Oaks was the only Kent representative.
23:47But is it all that is made out to be?
23:49Well, Finn McDermott went down to find out more.
23:52You are in the most beautiful part of the country
23:55and you're within striking distance of London.
23:58What is your favourite thing about Severn Oaks, sir?
24:01The independent shops, the people that live here.
24:07We feel very comfortable.
24:09I've lived in Severn Oaks for a very long time.
24:11Oh, I'd have to say Lomanica, wouldn't I?
24:13Where the shop I work in.
24:16We are the champions of the county.
24:19That's what Severn Oaks locals can say after the Sunday Times ranked where in
24:23the UK was the best to live and Severn Oaks was the only one on the list from Kent.
24:28The paper's guide says that excellent schools,
24:30a buzzing community and its medieval deer park,
24:33Noel Park, are all rewarding reasons to live in the area.
24:37People have been telling us all the things they like about their local town,
24:40but it can't be all sunshine and rainbows.
24:43So let's find out what they maybe don't like so much about Severn Oaks.
24:46And who would know better than Catherine
24:48and Prilla, who have worked in the town for most of their lives?
24:51I think
24:53it's a lovely place, you know, but
24:57it's sad that some of the places that were
25:00individual places are sort of dying out really now.
25:04And what else could make Severn Oaks even better?
25:08I would reduce the parking fees.
25:10It rather lacks a sort of dynamic
25:14compared to, say,
25:16even not so large of towns like Tunbridge.
25:20It's an endless stream of traffic and it's very narrow,
25:25sometimes a little dangerous when you get to the other end of the high street.
25:28So, yeah, the traffic needs to be sorted out.
25:33But with concerns about local businesses,
25:35one of the best rated restaurants in the town say that Severn Oaks will only
25:39improve as the weather gets better.
25:41I mean, obviously, we were going through the Christmas period and things.
25:44There was a lot of pressure to deal with.
25:46But, you know, since we're coming into
25:48the warmer weather, it seems to be smoothing out.
25:51I think because where we're a less of a busy area,
25:54I think people might be quite attracted to that rather than going to London,
25:57where it's a bit overpowering with all the people and things like that.
26:02So I think it's yeah, no, it's a nice little nice little spot, actually.
26:06On Severn Oaks, locals say they like its quiet nature,
26:09scenic sights and how close it is to London, but admit it does still have its
26:14issues from high house prices to expensive parking.
26:17Now, despite all that and the fact it no longer has all of its Severn Oaks,
26:20it's still managed to earn a spot in the Sunday Times Best Places to Live in the UK.
26:25Finn McDermid for KMTV in Severn Oaks.
26:31Well, maybe worth a visit this weekend then.
26:34But that's all we have time for again tonight, this evening with more news
26:38throughout the evening, and of course, you can check out all our stories
26:42on our website and social media, too.
26:44I'll see you next week. Take care.
26:50Take care.