Catch up with all the news across the county with Cameron Tucker.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Kentonite Live on KMTV.
00:27I'm Cameron Tucker and here are your top stories of Wednesday the 20th of November.
00:32Lights on.
00:33Annoyed.
00:34At home.
00:35Folks and residents anger at bright school lights.
00:38We just think it's time the school took us into account instead of just going off like
00:43some sort of banana republic doing what they feel like.
00:46Banking on donations.
00:48Local food banks call for help amidst inflation increase and Christmas season.
00:52People think a food bank is only food.
00:54No.
00:55We've got overheads.
00:57We are not really being sponsored.
01:00Farming fallout.
01:01Kent's rural community reacts to government's inheritance tax changes.
01:05If we're going to have to lose half of it, which means losing the whole lot because it
01:10wouldn't be viable, just for a bit of tax, I'm afraid I'm very, very sad.
01:26Angry neighbors of a Broadstairs primary have likened the school's emergency lights to the
01:31Blackpool illuminations.
01:33They say the glare is visible late into the night and impacting their lives.
01:36Though staff are upped and junior schools say this is necessary for safety reasons.
01:41The local council is expected to give its ruling shortly.
01:44Local democracy reporter Gabriel Morris has been investigating.
01:47It's the sportal that's exercising neighbors' patience.
01:51These lights surrounding this primary school in Broadstairs are needed to meet building
01:55regulations.
01:57Residents surrounding the building are objecting to Upton Junior's bid to try and keep these
02:01lights on for longer.
02:03In the household opposite, their bedroom is some 50 meters away.
02:07Linda believes they shouldn't be this bright.
02:10Blackpool illuminations.
02:13That's how I describe it.
02:15Even when I have the curtains drawn, around the edge of the curtains, you can see it.
02:21They're very bright and totally unnecessary.
02:26When they're not on, there are green lights.
02:28You can still see what it is, but they're not bright.
02:32If a school is successful at the next planning meeting, it'll mean they can stay on till
02:3610pm on school nights.
02:38Currently, they're meant to be turned off when the center is not in use.
02:43The school says the agreement is problematic with community group hire, saying they can't
02:48expect them to leave and arrive in the dark.
02:51Upton Junior says motion sensors wouldn't be possible as a car park for swimming pool
02:55users would be in their range.
02:58But this still hasn't left neighbors happy.
03:00They say they understand the need, but their issue is the school just doesn't communicate
03:05with them.
03:07We understand it's a school.
03:09It was a school when we moved here, so we accept that.
03:11We accept the parking problems that there are in this street.
03:16But at the same time, we do feel that they are neighbors in the same way that I'm my
03:20neighbor and Levin's my neighbor, and so on.
03:24We just think it's time the school took us into account instead of just going off like
03:30some sort of banana republic doing what they feel like.
03:32In a statement, the school told us they're committed to engage fully in ongoing discussions
03:37about any subsequent issues raised, and that their major concern is for the safety of our
03:41children and other community users of the sports hall.
03:45The issue has previously been deferred by Fennett District Council's planning committee
03:48with concerns over the amount of light and the need.
03:52Officers are recommending approval, and tonight, councillors will make the final decision.
03:57Gabriel Morris in Broadstairs.
04:01Man's body's been found in woods close to the University of Kent's Canterbury campus.
04:05Police recalled to the site near the Canterbury Innovation Centre at quarter past seven this
04:09morning, where emergency services pronounced the man dead at the scene.
04:13Kent police say his next of kin have been informed, and the death isn't being treated
04:17as suspicious.
04:20Next night, while the temperatures plummet, businesses and customers here in Kent won't
04:24feel warmed by rising inflation figures.
04:27According to the Office of National Statistics, inflation is at its highest level since April.
04:32The sharp rise has been driven by an increase in household energy bills, and Kent and Victor
04:36the Chamber of Commerce CEO, Tudor Price, warns the effects could be felt pretty quickly.
04:42We are in a fragile environment from a business perspective at the moment.
04:47Post-budget, obviously, there was a lot of bad news for business.
04:50It was quite clear they're going to have to shoulder the burden of these public sector
04:54investment that's required, and I think that's caused a bit of anxiety.
04:58Now, we've also seen increased energy prices as well, so that started to have a knock-on
05:03effect.
05:04And I think what you'll find is actually that there may be some more shocks or surprises
05:08in the months ahead as businesses start to look at ways in which they can try and recoup
05:12or pass on those increases to the employer, National Insurance.
05:15What will our viewers expect to see in the short and the long term?
05:20Is there going to be spikes in prices in the weekly food shop?
05:24Are their fuel bills going to be going up soon?
05:28What can they expect to see shortly?
05:32Yeah, I think businesses have sort of run their coffers dry, trying to sort of weather
05:37the storm over the last few months, really.
05:40And so what we're going to see is that any increase either in supply chain costs or in
05:44wages costs is going to have an immediate impact on consumers, because those prices
05:49will be passed on directly to consumers.
05:51So yeah, I think in the new year, we will probably start to see some pre-emptive moves
05:56ahead of that tax increase in April.
06:00On the positive side, you know, if the government do deliver on their promise to give the go
06:05ahead to a number of capital projects, like a major infrastructure, then that will start
06:11to hopefully see order books start to fill up for businesses and therefore they may then
06:15be in a better position to absorb some of those costs moving forward.
06:17So it's a very, very delicately balanced picture at the moment.
06:21I think the Bank of England and the government have a part to play in trying to make sure
06:27they message correctly instead of the ship.
06:28So I think we're still not out of turbulent waters, but there is possibly calm, calm seas
06:35ahead. We're obviously coming into the cold weather period, coming into the Christmas
06:40period. What advice would you have for those at home?
06:44I think obviously it depends on the individual circumstances, I think.
06:49Understandably, individuals, consumer spend is likely to be sort of curtailed still over
06:56the Christmas period. People are a bit uncertain as to what the future may look like.
06:59And of course, their employer obviously will be signalling to them as to what the future
07:03is going to look like as well. So I would say that there are better times ahead.
07:08I mean, I'm ever the optimist, as you know, but I think we will see probably in the spring
07:13we'll see a more stable situation come to pass.
07:16Businesses will have already mapped their way forward.
07:19And that should then in turn mean there'll be confidence for consumers and employees to
07:24get back out and start to sort of think about their own long term plans.
07:28And as those latest inflation figures signal a growing strain on household budgets, Kent
07:33food banks are preparing for a challenging winter.
07:35New data from the Trussell Trust reveals that while food banks across the county distributed
07:403,000 fewer parcels this year compared to 2023, thousands of people still rely on their
07:46support. With the cold weather setting in and Christmas fast approaching, Finn McDermott
07:50has been to Gravesham and Medway to uncover how local charities are managing the increased
07:55demand.
07:57Some think that food banks are only accessed by a select few, but more and more people
08:01require the service to give them and their families the food they need.
08:04New statistics released by the Trussell Trust, a charity that supports food banks across
08:09the country, show that more than 18,000 parcels of food were distributed in five months in
08:14Kent. And according to the banks themselves, demand for them is increasing as part of a
08:19long term trend.
08:20Every year, tens of thousands of parcels of food are being delivered from right here in
08:25Kent. And even though statistics show that the slow increase is starting to flatline
08:30in 2024, they're telling me they're still struggling to keep up with demand.
08:35In 2018, a total of 9,000 parcels were delivered between April and September.
08:40But in 2023, that had more than tripled to 21,000.
08:44I went to Gravesend Food Bank and spoke to David, who'd worked there for 13 years.
08:49Yeah, we need financial, we need donations, we need financial, especially financial
08:54support. People think a food bank is only food.
08:57No, we've got overheads, we've got staff.
08:59We are not really being sponsored.
09:02And at the moment, one of our main sponsors is, they're struggling to talk about a new
09:10grant. And that grant ends in February next year.
09:13And if we lose that funding, I don't know how we're going to stay open.
09:16While Gravesend Food Bank was struggling to keep up with demand, being the main supplier
09:20in their area, Medway's food bank runs under a food voucher system and distributes food
09:25from their main warehouse out to nine different community hubs across the towns.
09:29Well, just in the last few months, there has been a slight decline in demand.
09:34We have sufficient stock at the moment.
09:35Donations have stayed steady.
09:37So we're obviously very pleased and grateful for the generosity of people in Medway for
09:41that. But we're incredibly busy.
09:44We're where we have nearly double the demand that we had back in 2019.
09:50Medway makes up a third of the total number of parcels delivered to the entirety of Kent,
09:54with more than 6,000 between April and September this year.
09:58Mike told us that the lack of affordable housing in Medway and the inflation of the cost of
10:02living was impacting the livelihoods of people in the Medway towns, leaving them with less
10:06money for food. Now, with inflation rising to its highest in six months, charities will
10:11worry that more might not be able to afford the groceries they need and put further strain
10:16on the service. Finn McDermid for KMTV.
10:20This evening, as part of a brand new Kent Tonight special, local democracy reporter
10:24Gabriel Morris has been finding out what farming inheritance tax reforms might mean for
10:29the county. In his special report, the agricultural community believes the government's
10:33decision will damage the industry, leading to an increase in mega farms, solar farms
10:38and new build developments.
10:40Here's a quick preview.
10:41The garden of England.
10:45There's a good chance that the apples you buy have been grown in an orchard just like this
10:50one. But with government reform shaking up inheritance tax, could all of this be about to
10:56change? I want to hand it over to my son.
10:59We just don't, you know, we don't make any money out of the place.
11:02And it's the whole purpose of being here.
11:04The incentive will become to sell off the countryside for housing.
11:08My great worry is essentially that the countryside effectively ceases to exist.
11:15And before we go, staff at Wildwood Trust say that a resident brown bear has made an
11:19unbearable recovery after groundbreaking surgery.
11:23Two-year-old Bucky had been suffering from debilitating seizures and had a stent fitted
11:27into his brain as a last resort to drain excess fluid.
11:31Six weeks on, keepers at the Canterbury Sanctuary say the cub is making good progress and
11:35back to his normal self.
11:37Well, that's it from us here at Kent tonight, live on KMTV.
11:41There's more news made just for Kent throughout the evening.
11:44We'll see you again tomorrow.
11:45Goodbye.