Catch up on the latest environmental news from across the county with Sofia Akin.
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00:00 Hello and welcome to Kent on Climate live on KMTV. I'm Sophia Akin and in this show
00:21 we discuss all things related to environmental issues in the county. How is climate change
00:26 impacting Kent, what are communities in the county doing to tackle it and how can you
00:30 help at home. Each week we'll be taking a deep dive into a new environmental issue in
00:35 the county and I'll be joined by expert guests. Well in today's show we're talking about firstly
00:40 a Canterbury business battling single use plastic and the Favresham Woodlands at risk
00:45 of being lost to a housing development. Plus giving the latest updates on the Herne Bay
00:50 Plaza designed to increase cycling and walking. But first tonight a business in Canterbury
00:56 is calling on people in Kent to consider giving up unnecessary plastics one step at a time.
01:01 Catherine Parker set up the refillery last year in the hopes of filling a gap in the
01:05 market for a refillable household goods store. It follows her being recognised as a winner
01:10 at the 2023 Canterbury Climate Action Awards. Oliver Leader de Sacks went down to the store
01:16 to find out more. And the winner of the business of Canterbury of the 2023 Canterbury Climate
01:24 Action Awards is the refillery. This was the moment a year of hard work paid off for
01:30 Catherine Parker. It was only at the end of April last year that Catherine had set up
01:35 the refillery right in the heart of Canterbury to encourage people to shop more sustainably
01:40 and cut out plastics as much as possible. Now an award-winning business she hopes to
01:45 spread awareness of the dangers environmentally unfriendly packaging poses here in Kent. I
01:51 think it's this idea that I touched on before that people think putting plastic into the
01:54 recycling bin is a good job and job done. And really that isn't going to tackle what
02:01 is a plastic pandemic. So such a small proportion, it's less than 12% actually ever get recycled
02:08 and the rest is still going into landfill, being incinerated or shipped overseas. And
02:12 that's just unsustainable. So for other materials, recycling works, for plastic it simply doesn't.
02:18 And the only answer can be just to stop using as much plastic as we do as a society. From
02:24 washing up liquid to shampoo by way of honey and pasta, customers can bring in their own
02:29 jars, bottles and bags to restock on everything they need without the plastic packaging that
02:36 ends up in landfill. But during the economic downturn, there have also been additional
02:41 benefits to refilling groceries rather than buying them at the supermarket. So products
02:47 that we sell are good quality, very often organic, and you will be paying a premium
02:53 for that quality. The other flip side is that you only need to buy as much as you want by
02:58 weight. So in terms of managing your cash, I think, and that's partly why students find
03:04 us very helpful, they only need to buy as much pasta or lentils or rice, for example,
03:10 as they want week by week. With plans underway for an online store and greater community
03:15 outreach, Catherine hopes that plastic free Canterbury could be possible. And while I'm
03:21 here, I thought I'd get myself a nice pot of crunchy peanut butter. Would you look at
03:33 that? Entirely organic. Oliver leaves us a sack stocking up for KMTV. Catherine joins
03:41 me now to talk a little bit more about her business and some of the products you've bought
03:45 along. You slightly were speaking to Bartholomew just before in Kent tonight, but we'll have
03:49 a little bit more of a more in-depth chat. So first of all, tell me how did this all
03:53 start? It's still fairly new, but you've already won an award, haven't you? So how did it all
03:58 begin? Yeah, well, I opened the shop at the beginning of May last summer. So we've been
04:02 going just over half a year. And the impetus really was just me wanting to, first of all,
04:08 set up my own business and do something that was meaningful in terms of a community kind
04:12 of focus. And as a family, as a household, we'd really got concerned with the amount
04:17 of plastic waste in particular that we were generating and how unsustainable the plastic
04:24 consumption really is. So I thought I'd have a go and set up this shop as a refillery,
04:30 which means it's a way of helping Canterbury residents and the community to just rethink
04:37 the plastic waste that they're generating, the amount of single use plastic packaging
04:41 that's unnecessary, and to give them an option and another way of shopping in a more environmentally
04:46 conscious way. Yeah, I was really impressed. You said that actually your children had sort
04:50 of educated you a little bit about it. I think that's the great thing with the new generation
04:55 is we're learning more and we can teach others through it. So tell me a little bit about
04:59 some of these products. We saw Oliver enjoying some crunchy peanut butter, which I think
05:03 he's gone on to enjoy even more in the past couple of days. But it's not just food, is
05:08 it? You've got some washing up brushes and loofahs and all sorts. Yeah. So as well as
05:12 the idea of refilling dried goods, cereals and so on, and some liquids and honey and
05:21 things like that, we also do a range of accessories which are environmentally kind of responsible
05:27 and avoiding plastic. And these, particularly at this time of year, in January, it's a great
05:31 time to set new resolutions and set yourself some challenges. These are easy swaps in kitchen
05:37 and bathrooms to get rid of plastic scourers and plastic washing up brushes and convert
05:42 to more plant-based and compostable products like the loofahs and so on. So we do a whole
05:49 range of different sorts of accessories just to help that kind of minimal waste, low impact
05:55 kind of change of habits. Why do you think more people aren't taking this approach? If
05:59 it's quite an easy, accessible thing to do, why aren't we seeing more people? Do they
06:03 just maybe not know enough about this sort of thing? So I think when it comes to food
06:08 packaging, a favourite phrase of mine is that as a community, as a society, we're not addicted
06:13 to plastic, but we are addicted to convenience. And I think that's where the major supermarket
06:18 chains where you can pull up in your car, buy everything, grab off the shelf, all pre-packaged
06:23 in plastic. It's the way of life. We're all busy and we're running families. So it does
06:28 take that little bit more effort, a conscious decision to take a container along with you
06:33 to fill it up. So it's a different change in habit and a change in approach. And what
06:39 I wanted was to have a shop right in the centre of the city, in the high street, which means
06:44 that people can pass it easily and it can become a part of a routine to bring containers
06:49 into town with them. Can it sometimes be more expensive? Sometimes more sustainable products
06:55 you find you have to kind of pay a little bit, but then I guess the argument is that
06:59 it's an investment. Is it a little bit more expensive sometimes to buy things that are
07:03 better for the planet? Well, yes, you have to be careful that you're comparing like with
07:08 like. So you can buy cheaper, mass produced, large corporation type products more cheaply
07:15 than smaller family businesses or organic products. Yes, they will have an extra margin
07:21 on top. The flip side, of course, when you're paying by weight on our scales, you only need
07:25 to take as much as you want. So rather than paying for a large sack of lentils, you only
07:31 you can buy only what you need for your recipes and that can help your cash flow. So, yes,
07:35 there is an element of you pay what you get. And if you want to support organic and environmentally
07:43 friendly type of produce, then there's an element to avoiding the mass production kind
07:47 of products, which which will cost a bit more. And I guess you can make so much effort as
07:53 a business, but how do you ensure that your suppliers and kind of the whole supply chain,
07:58 everything is kind of being done as sustainably as you can do? So we only work with suppliers
08:03 that we have sort of fully vetted and audited. There are some wonderful wholesale suppliers
08:09 that are cooperatives. They are really passionate about all aspects of sustainability from workers'
08:16 rights and fair wages through to the ingredients they use and their production processes and
08:23 packaging and transportation. So you're right, every single step of that supply chain matters
08:28 because otherwise there's an awful lot of greenwashing, we call, where you can claim
08:33 to be very environmentally conscious, but actually behind the scenes, you're hiding
08:37 quite a lot of not so great practices. And one thing you have, which is particularly
08:43 interesting, I'm sure some of you will find intriguing, is you have wine on tap for refilling.
08:49 So how does that work? And does it save on emissions? Or how does that come into being
08:53 sort of more environmentally friendly? I think we've got some pictures coming up. Yeah, I
08:56 love my there's my tap wall there, which is great. Customers really love it. It's a great
09:00 talking point. And it's really common on the continent and not really common at all in
09:03 Britain. But yes, I buy wines from a sustainable wine sourcing company. They are continental
09:11 wines but are provided by growers who are really focused on organic and vegan wines
09:19 in particular. And I buy the kegs, which means that the transportation of glass bottles is
09:24 very much reduced. So it's better in terms of carbon footprint from that perspective.
09:29 And customers can bring an empty wine bottle in and fill it. It's cheaper by volume, but
09:33 it's also cheaper in terms of carbon footprint. And what makes the wine vegan? Because it's
09:37 something not many people would realise actually, you can get wine that isn't vegan. Yeah, so
09:43 there are some wines are produced, most wines are produced with an enzyme for the fermentation,
09:48 which is either a milk or fish based enzyme, whereas it's perfectly possible to produce
09:54 wines without that element. So very strict vegans will know the difference. And it's
10:00 been really popular to have that in our range. We also do cider on tap, which is a Canterbury
10:08 based cider. And that's really popular with students in particular. And the same concept,
10:13 so they bring kegs which they will collect and refill, and which we sell on tap. Yeah,
10:18 I was just looking at this is the cider here, isn't it? So you can also get this on tap.
10:23 That sounds like any student's dream. Yeah, my own dream. Yeah. So we sell those sort
10:29 of cider type bottles in the store, which are quite fun, they're attractive, and you
10:34 can fill them up on the tap. But you can also buy the bottles and then bring them back to
10:38 refill them. And we can cap them. And we have cork bottles, corks for the wine bottles too.
10:44 And also the loofahs and things like that are mostly made of wood. Do they, because
10:49 I guess the one benefit of plastic is it can last longer and be more durable. How do you
10:54 find the sort of the wooden products compares to that? Yeah, these last really well. And
11:02 that they are, they're robust, they're long lasting. But the most important thing is at
11:05 the end of their life, they will decompose and biodegrade in a way that plastic never
11:10 will. So in 50 years time, they won't exist, whereas plastic brushes are still there in
11:14 the system. Of course. Well, thank you very much for joining us today. Been so great to
11:18 find out a little bit more and congratulations on the award as well. Thank you for joining
11:23 us. Well, it's time for us to take a short break now, but coming up, we'll hear the story
11:27 about Woodland Wildlife Haven in Faversham, which could be turned into housing after it's
11:32 been auctioned. Plus, our climate reporter Daisy Page will be joining me to talk about
11:36 a controversial new one way system in Herne Bay that was introduced with the goal of making
11:41 the town more eco-friendly. All that and more very soon. See you in a second.
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15:06 >> Hello and welcome back to Kent on climate live on KMTV.
15:11 Now locals in Fathersham are fearing a woodland home to a
15:14 variety of bird species could be lost for good to a new housing
15:18 development.
15:20 The 1.5 acres is being auctioned next week but is protected
15:23 making it challenging to build on.
15:25 However the Labour Party has pledged to overhaul planning
15:28 laws if they enter government later this year.
15:31 Gabriel Morris reports.
15:33 >> A sanctuary for wildlife in Fathersham under threat.
15:37 This 1.5 acres of land is up for auction.
15:40 It has the label of excellent development potentials.
15:45 But this woodland has been identified as designated local green
15:49 space on the town's proposed neighbourhood plan.
15:54 This Fathersham town councillor is hopeful the land will remain
15:57 woodland because of this.
15:59 But the Labour Party say if they are in government they will be
16:03 changing planning laws in order to build more homes.
16:06 >> Labour as a party has respect for local democracy and local
16:13 planning regulation.
16:15 And I think a key thing that the position here shows is the
16:20 importance of local plans and of planning rather than just leaving
16:27 things open to developers to do whatever they want.
16:31 >> Local environmentalists say the knoll woodland is the green
16:35 lung of Fathersham.
16:37 A tree preservation order is in place but can that be overturned?
16:42 >> It would be quite a, I don't like to use the word battle, but
16:47 it would be for whoever wanted to develop it because there would
16:52 be a huge uproar locally.
16:54 It's a love place, even though people dump rubbish on it, you can
16:57 see how beautiful it is.
16:59 So therefore there would be quite a campaign to try and stop that
17:04 happening.
17:06 >> Apart from that fly tipping, the woodland is largely left to
17:09 nature.
17:11 You can hear the birdsong in the background.
17:13 There are no official routes through the woodland but if it is
17:17 sold to developers, some locals would like to see set pathways
17:21 being built to allow them to benefit more from their local
17:24 green space.
17:26 >> There are protections in place to stop houses being built
17:29 here.
17:31 However, there are calls locally for more affordable homes.
17:34 >> There is a desperate need for affordable housing and that's the
17:37 real problem.
17:39 There are over 1,000 people that are waiting for housing on
17:42 Swalebury Council's housing list.
17:44 There is the neighbourhood plan which we have been working with
17:47 the community to put together which looks at prioritising
17:50 building on brownfield sites as an example.
17:53 >> This woodland goes to auction next week.
17:56 The starting bid, a quarter of a million pounds.
17:59 But any sale will come with the challenge of convincing locals
18:03 that houses here would benefit the community.
18:06 Gabriel Morris for KMTV in Fabersham.
18:09 >> If you enjoyed that story, you can find plenty more climate
18:13 related content on our website like this one about a sustainable
18:17 brewery on a regenerative farm.
18:20 >> Tucked away in the rural edges of Upper Hauling, Moot
18:23 and Micro Brewery are working to ensure a sustainable future for
18:26 the farm on which they are located.
18:29 Founded in 2021 on a sustainable ethos, Moot was quite literally
18:33 built with the environment in mind.
18:35 >> Our plan from the very beginning of our business to be
18:38 as sustainable as possible.
18:40 So if anything, it's helped us to reduce our costs in certain
18:43 areas.
18:45 So in the upper brewery and tap room, we use majority recycled
18:48 materials.
18:50 We bought second-hand equipment rather than buying brand new
18:53 equipment which helped keep our costs down.
18:56 We use things like pallet wood broken down to refurbish the
19:00 tap room.
19:02 As you'll see, as you look around, most of the wood in here is
19:05 all made from pallets, recycled from somewhere.
19:09 So that's helped us reduce our costs.
19:12 >> The farm where they're based is a regenerative farm.
19:15 Regenerative farming is an approach to farming that focuses
19:18 on soil health and maintaining a balance with nature so as not
19:21 to drain away the fertility of the land.
19:24 They say their entire production process is designed to feed into
19:27 a regenerative farm on which it is based.
19:30 >> So when it comes to production in our brewery, we do a number
19:33 of things to mitigate or at least reduce our carbon footprint
19:37 locally.
19:39 So whether it's capturing our waste water and using it on the
19:42 regenerative farm that we're based on, or capturing our -- or
19:47 using our waste grain or spent grains, whether it's as livestock
19:51 feed or as compost to reuse on the farm, those things we do as a
19:56 matter of principle and a systemic practice as we produce our beer.
20:02 >> You may think this field here is to help with mooch production
20:05 process, but these aren't hops and barley.
20:08 This is paid for by Southern Water, these crops.
20:11 They stop nitrates and mud leaking into the river.
20:15 >> What we've got here is a multi-species cover crop in here.
20:19 There are about seven or eight different varieties from cereals
20:24 right through to mustard.
20:26 There's linseed in here.
20:28 There's vetch and there's various radishes and there is a bit of
20:32 buckwheat somewhere.
20:34 So there's all sorts going on here.
20:36 And Southern Water are paying me to grow this to protect the soil
20:43 and also to prevent nitrate runoff.
20:47 >> Keeping nitrates in the soil and away from the Medway is crucial
20:51 to keeping the land fertile.
20:53 >> Invariably, after a deluge, you look at your local river or
20:56 your local stream and you see it's brown.
20:58 That brown is topsoil.
21:01 We cannot afford to loot -- topsoil is still being lost from
21:04 farmland and that's across the world.
21:07 And that ultimately leads to desertification.
21:10 >> It's clear that both Moot Brewery and Court Farm are finding
21:13 innovative ways to work together and with nature to help make Kent
21:17 a better, greener place.
21:19 And these pints go down even easier knowing they're helping the planet.
21:23 Oliver Leeds-Saxe reporting for KMTV.
21:28 >> Now, a public meeting about a controversial new one-way system
21:31 in Herne Bay as well as a seafront plaza has to be abandoned
21:35 because too many people turned up at the meeting.
21:37 Residents in Herne Bay are furious at the new scheme,
21:40 introducing a Spanish-style plaza along the seafront that has the goal
21:44 of making the town more eco-friendly.
21:46 While it aims to reduce traffic congestion and boost emission-free
21:50 footfall, it sparked controversy at the introduction of a one-way system.
21:54 A number of one-way roads have been introduced between the Central
21:57 Parade and railway station, something locals have described as mayhem.
22:03 Herne Bay is first known for its seaside and pier, but now it's been turned
22:08 into a £200,000 Spanish-style plaza.
22:12 The project is only just kicking off, but in summer they hope the seafront
22:16 will be filled with thousands more and also boost tourism.
22:21 But also hopes to reduce traffic congestion by encouraging cycling
22:25 and walking between the railway station and the Central Parade.
22:29 While it may be nice to have a stroll along the beach, especially on a sunny day,
22:33 this isn't residents' main concern with the scheme.
22:36 The main concern is the one-way system along this road and up around the High Street.
22:39 They're saying it's not signposted well enough and most motorists don't even know
22:43 that this is now a one-way system.
22:46 It's a joke, and they're making it more for pedestrians.
22:48 There are sufficient walking areas around here.
22:50 You've got a nice park where you can walk right the way through.
22:52 We've just done it. There's plenty of pedestrian areas to walk through.
22:55 Stop mucking around with the motorists in our area.
22:58 I don't want a Spanish plaza. I live in England.
23:00 So please, let me have my bit of vote back.
23:03 We've got the plaza up in town. We've got the town that's cut off by cars
23:07 not able to go through during the daytime.
23:09 So in the summer this will be horrendous.
23:12 Absolutely horrendous, it will, just going up that little road.
23:15 If you've lived in Herne Bay for a while, you'll have got used to driving freely
23:19 in this area by the pier, as it was once a two-way street.
23:23 These are the roads where one-way systems have since been introduced.
23:27 The works themselves have created havoc within the town, but that's gone now.
23:32 So if they had started with the roadworks first and then done the plaza last,
23:41 they could have left this open all the way through and then joined into it.
23:45 We have got to make sure it stays a community area
23:48 and not become another pier-type thing.
23:50 That's different. That's like a commercial entity on the pier.
23:53 This actually needs to stay a community area where we have things passing through
23:58 that people want to see and draw even more people into the town.
24:02 The scheme has been met with vast opposition from residents,
24:05 with hundreds signing a petition urging Kent County Council to scrap it.
24:10 But it's not actually cost the council a penny,
24:12 as the funding has come from the government pot.
24:15 The plaza project, which has been a joint project between Canterbury City Council
24:21 and Kent County Council, is one that has only just been delivered.
24:28 Indeed, it's still in construction phase at the moment.
24:30 So residents who have got strong views about it already,
24:33 take a fresh look at it once it's completed.
24:36 On the 9th January, a public meeting will be held for residents and business owners
24:40 to voice any concerns they have about the plaza.
24:44 Sophia Akin for KMTV in Herne Bay.
24:47 Daisy Pays joins us now.
24:50 She's been covering this story a little bit more, haven't you, Daisy?
24:53 Tell us a little bit more. There's been some updates to this story, hasn't there?
24:56 Yes. As we heard in your report, Sophia,
24:59 this new scheme was implemented to create a new plaza along the Herne Bay seafront
25:03 near to the local businesses.
25:05 With this in place, there has been a new one-way system,
25:07 which we can see up there, installed.
25:10 This is along a stretch of the Central Parade.
25:13 This has now been shut off to cars and motorbikes.
25:15 The scheme was introduced as a progesterisation scheme
25:18 to boost the town's economy,
25:20 as our seaside towns can get busy during the summer months.
25:23 It's also been put in place to encourage walking and more cycling.
25:27 As mentioned in your report as well, the money has come from the government pot.
25:31 However, the one-way system has been confusing for many
25:34 and has caused issues in the last week with bin lorries driving in the wrong direction.
25:39 The project has received mixed reviews, with hopes of it picking up in the summer
25:43 and some people not being affected by it as they usually walk along the seafront anyway.
25:48 However, a petition has been going around and has received more than 1,200 people
25:53 to sign the petition for the Kent County Council to remove the project from the Herne Bay seafront.
25:59 These are the one-way roads we can see,
26:01 and this is the main concern residents have with the scheme.
26:05 This meeting was supposed to happen last night,
26:07 so what actually ended up happening with that meeting?
26:10 The meeting was meant to take place at 7pm last night,
26:14 and this was for residents and local businesses to come together
26:17 and discuss their concerns about this Herne Bay one-way system.
26:21 However, it was cancelled due to the number of people who arrived.
26:24 The meeting was being held at the United Reformed Church Hall in Herne Bay,
26:28 and many upon arriving were turned away.
26:31 Due to the unexpected turnout, the organisers have moved the meeting to a later date in King's Hall,
26:36 which is a larger capacity and is capable of holding 500 people.
26:40 Daisy, thank you. We'll have to see whether that meeting ends up going ahead.
26:44 Thank you very much for joining us.
26:46 So we've got time for on this week's episode of Kent on Climate.
26:48 See you at the same time next week. Good night from me.
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