Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Abby Hook.
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00:00Hello, good evening and welcome to Kentonite, live on KMTV. I'm Abbey Hook, here are your
00:26top stories on Friday the 31st of January.
00:30Money for nothing? Chatham residents demand more transparency over estate management charges.
00:36We wouldn't have had to pay the £2,000 if the estate had been managed properly from
00:41day one.
00:42Running dry? Raynham landlord says pint costs will still go up despite alcohol duty cut.
00:49The reality is that the price of a pint's going to probably go up.
00:53And Elvis has left the building. Work begins to turn Canterbury's so-called Elvis House
00:58into the city's first net-zero social home.
01:02Elvis House, retrofit, this is the future, you know, hopefully people will be inspired
01:06by this.
01:16Good evening. Residents at a Chatham housing estate are demanding more transparency over
01:21estate management charges from Firstport. They have increased by a whopping £10,000
01:26over the last three years. It comes as the MP for Dartford is calling for an ombudsman
01:32to create more accountability in the sector, as Oliver Leader de Sacks has been finding out.
01:37Rotting balconies, rusted wash lines, overgrown trees. This is the experience for 19 flats
01:45here on Armada Way, who as a collective paid tens of thousands of pounds in maintenance
01:51charges to estate management company Firstport.
01:55OK, this area here, please be careful if you come in because the roots are coming out down
02:02the bottom there and you could easily trip. A bit of health and safety issue there.
02:07Bill Rice has lived on Armada Way for three decades and has seen these estate charges
02:13go up dramatically, rising from £30,000 to £41,000 over the last three years. But
02:23despite the fact he forks out around £2,000 a year on keeping the estate in shape, he
02:30doesn't know a detailed breakdown of where the money is going or how much is being spent
02:36to tackle his concerns.
02:38I feel ripped off and so do the rest of the residents. We wouldn't have had to pay the
02:43£2,000 if the estate had been managed properly from day one. We don't know how much we'd
02:49be in charge for guttering as opposed to what we'd be in charge for, say for example, fixing
02:56an electricity box. So there is no oversight into what our money is being spent on.
03:03Firstport have been approached for comment. This isn't an isolated case. Firstport manages
03:10300,000 properties across the UK and dozens of MPs wrote to the company last year over
03:19what they described as rip-off fees. Now the Labour MP for Dartford is going further, calling
03:26for a fully accountable process to better protect those living on estates like Armada
03:32Way.
03:33To have a much tighter legal framework, we'll be in that legislation and we'll be able to
03:38use that going forward to make sure Firstport perform better. And personally, one change
03:43that I think would be really important that I'm really pressing for is an ombudsman who
03:48can adjudicate where the managing agents have done their job and where they haven't, ensure
03:54that restitution is made for the resident who's been affected by that.
03:58But that may be cold comfort for those who already feel exploited. Oliver, leader of
04:04the SACs for KMTV in Chatham.
04:08Oliver joins me in the studio now, but we have actually had a statement come through
04:12from Firstport, so I'll take you through a few of those words. They say, ensuring that
04:16our developments are safe and well maintained is their top priority. They'll always work
04:20closely with homeowners to deliver a service that reflects value for money. That's a key
04:23thing for the residents. They said this year, significant tree works in that road have been
04:27planned following concerns regarding overgrown trees restricting light flow. So they say
04:32they are working on this, Ollie, and they've written to homeowners to explain it as well.
04:37That's what they've said in their statement. But this isn't the only area that are having
04:41these issues.
04:42That's right, Abby. I mean, we've heard a lot about Faversham Lakes, where residents
04:46actually axed Firstport for managing the area. And we've heard on the Care Politics Show
04:51just now, just before we went to air on Kent tonight, about some of the issues in Castle
04:55Hill and Ebbsfleet. We'll have a statement on that on the programme at some point next
04:59week. But what we've heard from Jonathan Hawkes and the local Ebbsfleet war councillor
05:04that there are big issues here, concerns around increases in charges, and there's really this
05:08transparency issue. Of course, Firstport have told other media that fee increases in recent
05:14years has been due to a rise in real estate insurance market changes, but prices are starting
05:20to come down. But is that fair? I think residents are concerned. They don't really know where
05:25the money's going, how it's being split up. I think it's quite interesting, actually,
05:30on the programme just before the Care Politics Show, that Jeremy Kite, the leader of Dartford
05:33Borough Council, said he don't like how a council changes estate management fees. You
05:38can just vote them out. You can't do that with a private company. So it'll be interesting.
05:43According to Jim Dixon, there will be legislation in the King's speech, the next King's speech,
05:48setting out what Labour are going to do about this. But until that happens, I think a lot
05:52of residents are going to be a bit wary around these fees.
05:56Well, it is thousands of pounds we're talking about as well, and affecting exactly where
06:01they live and what they see outside their window every day. Now, you were talking about
06:05the Kent Politics Show. Of course, you had two guests from Dartford on. What else did
06:09you discuss, some other key political issues?
06:11Well, Abby, it was a bit of a Dartford dust-up in some ways. Jeremy Kite is the leader of
06:15Dartford Borough Council, and Jonathan Hawkes is the opposition leader for the Labour group.
06:20And it's strange with local politics. People tend to agree a lot more than they disagree,
06:25because it's about local communities and local areas. And they sort of agreed on the Lower
06:30Thames Crossing. It was positive news from what they heard in the Chancellor's speech.
06:34Obviously, the government giving some backing to it. But obviously, it's not all positive
06:41for the Lower Thames Crossing. As Dr Laurence Salavun has spoken out about it this week,
06:47as have other Gravesham politicians, saying it's not really something they want to see,
06:52and it's not a done deal yet. We have to wait until May to get the government to approve
06:56it. So we're still going to be talking about the Lower Thames Crossing, Abby. We're never
06:59going to stop talking about it, I don't reckon.
07:01It doesn't end, does it? It's the story that keeps on giving. Oliver, thank you very much
07:05for that. And of course, the Kent Politics Show will be available to watch back on demand
07:09on our website, kntv.co.uk, later this evening. Oliver, thank you very much.
07:16Now, next this evening, a driver who killed a teenager as he drove nearly 120 miles per
07:20hour in Canterbury has been sentenced to six years in prison. James Cracknell, who was
07:2520 at the time, crashed into the Old Gate Inn as he lost control at a roundabout, killing
07:3018-year-old Lucy Billingham and injuring her friend as he gave them a lift in the early
07:34hours of December 2022. This was the moment police spoke to the man just after the collision.
07:40How fast were you going when it happened?
07:42Sorry? 120. 120?
07:53Cracknell went on to admit causing death by dangerous driving and causing serious injury
07:57by dangerous driving at Canterbury Crown Court, as well as receiving an eight-year driving
08:02ban, though Lucy Billingham's mother said she thought he would get a longer sentence.
08:08Next this evening, the government's reduction to beer tax will come into effect in February,
08:13having been announced last year, but it's not quite what some businesses in Kent hoped
08:17for. A single penny being taken off the price of draft beer. Well, small pubs and businesses
08:23in Kent are saying it isn't enough, with rising national insurance contributions, minimum
08:28wage and business rates all driving the price higher for us, the consumers. Firmint Dermot
08:34has more.
08:35Well, do you know, John, it's such a lovely day. I thought I might have a glass of beer.
08:42Oh, what a good idea. A nice, refreshing glass of crisp beer on a day like this. Just the
08:51job. Could we have two nice glasses of beer, please?
08:57Pints, is that?
08:59Ooh!
09:01If their pints are below 8.4%, which, let's face it, most are, they'll get a 1.7% reduction
09:07on their tax, as announced in last year's budget. But what does that mean for the actual
09:11price?
09:12Now, while the government's decision to cut beer duty is the first time they've done
09:16this in a decade, and it might sound quite good, it's not actually going to take as
09:20much off the price as you might think. 1.7% off the beer duty will only have about a penny's
09:25worth of impact on the price of the actual beer.
09:29That's right, just one penny off is the current number. But that's not where it ends, with
09:34a lot of pubs like the Macklind Arms in Raynham having more than just the beer duty to worry
09:38about.
09:39It's going to make a penny, take a penny off of most beers, but with everything else that's
09:44been loaded onto us, the reality is that the price of a pint's going to probably go up
09:49minimum 20 pence. Business rates, we used to have the 70% reduction, now that's been
09:55reduced to 40%, which is probably personally going to cost me an extra £1,000 a year.
10:03While pubs are saying the reduction is a good thing, it's just not enough to turn the tide.
10:07And it's not the only change, with wines and spirits getting a 3.6% rise in line with inflation.
10:12There's also an additional rise in national insurance contributions, and those are needed,
10:17according to the government, to fix public finances.
10:20The Exchequer's Secretary to the Treasury, James Murray, said,
10:23Through draft relief, small producer relief and expanding market access for smaller brewers,
10:27we will help boost sector growth and deliver our plan for change to put more money in working
10:31people's pockets.
10:33Last year, when the budget and the reduction were announced, we spoke to Britain's oldest
10:36brewer from right here in Kent.
10:39Pubs and small retailers and small businesses generally are the least able to absorb inflationary
10:45costs, and one of the great problems we have with all governments is we never get a joined
10:50up focus on the cumulative impact of all the policies that they have on small businesses.
10:56Small businesses just are not able to absorb all these costs.
11:00According to pubs, the British pint, while maybe not as flavourful as a Spanish one or
11:04strong as a German one, may need more than just a one-penny reduction to keep them in
11:08business.
11:09Lynn McDermid for KMTV in Reynham.
11:12Right, time for a very quick break now, but when we come back we'll have all the latest
11:19sports news here with Bartholomew Hall and we'll hear all about Canterbury's infamous
11:23Elvis house that could be the city's solution to climate-friendly housing.
11:29All that and more news coming up right after this very short break.
11:31I'll see you in just a few minutes' time.
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15:09Hello and welcome back to Kent Tonight live on KMTV.
15:11Kent Police seized an estimated £2,000 worth of illegal tobacco in a bid to tackle organised
15:17crime.
15:1817 shops across Margate were inspected over the past week, with officers seizing tobacco,
15:23cigarettes and vapes from two.
15:25The operation also led to the arrest of a man wanted for recall to prison.
15:29The 45-year-old was arrested in North Down Road.
15:33South East Coast Ambulance Service, or CCAM, has a deeply concerning, toxic working environment
15:39that's according to a survey of almost 900 employees.
15:43Trade Union GMB says a number of issues were raised in the survey, including discrimination
15:48towards female members of staff, sexual harassment and bullying.
15:51A spokesperson for CCAM says the trust recognises it has issues to address and is working hard
15:56to do so.
15:57However, the Ambulance Service also raised questions about the credibility of the survey.
16:03Now in sport, Gillingham manager John Coleman says he wants to make Priestfield an uncomfortable
16:08place for Notts County this Saturday as he continues to search for a first win in charge.
16:13It comes after the Gilles haven't recorded a win in League Two since December, leaving
16:17them 17th in the table.
16:19Well, with more on this and the rest of today's sports, Bartholomew Hall joins me.
16:27Bartholomew, it's not really going very well for John Coleman.
16:35No, it's not been a good season for Gillingham at all, especially considering how it started
16:39for them.
16:40So close to the top of the table, now they're all the way down in 17th and they're closer
16:43actually to the relegation zone than they are to where they want to be in those promotion
16:47playoff places.
16:48I mean, you've mentioned John Coleman, of course, for him, he's still to get a win as
16:52manager at Priestfield and this weekend against Notts County is really looking to be a must
16:57win for him.
16:58It's another early fixture tomorrow, 12.45 against the team currently third in the table.
17:03The last time they played, which was the away fixture, Gillingham won that game.
17:07So maybe they can take some pride in knowing that they're welcoming a team that they are
17:10able to beat, that they have been able to beat in the past to Priestfield.
17:13And to add, well, deadline day is approaching on Monday and Gillingham have been signing
17:17players every Friday for the past three weeks.
17:20I just checked a moment ago, they haven't signed anybody yet today.
17:23So maybe just to keep Kent Online on speed dial if you want to know how they're doing
17:27this evening.
17:28But for now, let's hear from the Gillingham manager who's been speaking to the press ahead
17:31of that Notts County game this weekend.
17:32I don't care who we beat as long as we win.
17:36I'm desperate for a win.
17:37As a player and a manager, it's nice to do double over the team and it would be in the
17:42back of their mind that they've lost to us as well.
17:44So bring it on.
17:47Whoever you play at home, we've got to make it more difficult for them than what they
17:50do to us.
17:51And whilst you do your homework on them and you're mindful of their threats, you really
17:58have to focus on your own performances.
18:00Yeah, that kick-off at 12.45 tomorrow and in other sports news, Platts Heath racing
18:05driver Jake Hill has become National Driver of the Year at this year's Autosport Awards.
18:11The 30-year-old British touring car champion won his first title after claiming eight wins
18:15last season.
18:16He became the first Kent driver to claim the series crown in the county since 1960.
18:21Accepting the award, Hill said it's something he's always hoped to have taken home in his
18:2415 years of racing.
18:27Pupils at Simon Langton Grammar in Canterbury have been given the chance to use Kent Cricket
18:33Club's indoor facilities for training during the winter months in a bid to help create
18:39a pathway for future Kent cricketers.
18:42The youngsters have also been given training and mentoring from Kent Cricket pros Jaden
18:46Denley and Mickey Cohen.
18:50And a 90-year-old man from Margate has raised more than £20,000 as he's completed a nine-day
18:55hiking challenge.
18:57Derek Downes set off from Dover on his 90th birthday on the 22nd January with the goal
19:02of walking a whopping 90 miles in total.
19:05All the money, totalled at £20,900, is set to be given to the domestic abuse charity
19:11Oasis.
19:12And that's it for the headlines today.
19:16Obviously a new Invicta Sport comes out this Monday.
19:18A very, very sweet story there at the end, Bartholomew, thank you very much.
19:33Now don't forget you can keep up to date with all your latest stories, whether they're
19:35sports or not, over on our website kmtv.co.uk where you'll find all our latest stories,
19:40including this one about a charity shop in Margate visited by a famous TikTok artist.
19:45It was so busy that one of the customers went, that's so Sophie TR, and we were like, oh
19:51my god, yes it actually is Sophie TR, and then she was like, surprise!
19:57I need to find a good item though.
19:59What do you need?
20:00I need to find the most random of things as actual as possible.
20:04Usually this artist's work sells for thousands, but on Friday she sold this painted horse
20:09for just £12 in a local Margate charity shop.
20:12A horse in the window is kind of a vibe.
20:14It's got my name on it.
20:15Alright, cool.
20:16Nay.
20:17Yay!
20:18See you later!
20:19She said, right, so what I'm going to do is I'm going to go buy this horse, I've got
20:22two hours, the Margate School of Art have let us have the room so she can go down there
20:26and decorate it.
20:27What I'll do is I'll then bring it back, I'll post all over my social media that I'm going
20:30to be here.
20:31You post as many people as you can get into the shop, and then at quarter past three she
20:38come up and there was just loads of people in the shop.
20:40This is Sophie TR, a well-known artist on social media and across the UK.
20:45Every Friday she surprise visits a charity shop to buy a random item to paint.
20:49Thank you so much for coming, hi!
20:51Okay, I've made a biscuit jar and I put some bourbons in it, so...
20:55I drove all the way from Cambridge, 45 minutes, my baby's asleep in the car.
20:59Oh my god, go and get your baby!
21:01My son's in there, my son's in there, I haven't left her.
21:03Can I just get a quick picture?
21:05Sorry everyone.
21:06Lovely to meet you.
21:07But this initiative is more than just an art project, as the owners of Pilgrim's Hospice
21:12in Margate found out.
21:13This charity does amazing, amazing work for the South East.
21:18It really does do amazing work and the extra bit of money this brings to us is only a positive,
21:23absolutely positive.
21:25If anything, if it's brought the charity to the forefront and made people in Kent and
21:30all across the country think, yeah, there's this local hospice shop in Margate, you know,
21:35this artist has been down there and done, let's go and see what this is about.
21:39If it gets that extra penny for the charity, then so be it.
21:43This is what it's all about.
21:44We are going to actually smash it this year with that new influence coming in.
21:49On Friday, the shop had a 30% boost in ceramic seals, lots of new customers and with 22,000
21:55likes on Sophie's post, the Pilgrim's Hospice team are looking forward to what they can
21:59do with the money for people here in Kent.
22:02Whether or not she'll come back to Kent to do this again is unknown, so best to keep
22:06a lookout.
22:07Kristen Hawthorne for KMTV.
22:10Well, if you want to visit the charity shop this weekend, let's see if the weather will
22:15hold out down in Margate.
22:19Well, this evening, it's going to be very cloudy, temperatures of five degrees across
22:27the whole of the county, low wind speeds too.
22:30Tomorrow morning, if you are heading down to Dover, you might even, Dover, Margate,
22:33I mean, you might get some sunshine.
22:35There is partly sun in the coast and the sun should come out by the afternoon as well.
22:39There's clouds going away in most parts of the county, wind speeds of seven miles per
22:44hour there.
22:45It should be sunny on Sunday too, but cloudy again on Monday, highs of 10 by Tuesday, lows
22:50of 7.
22:51And finally this evening, from an Elvis-themed mystery to a ground-breaking eco-transformation,
23:04work has officially begun on the empty building dubbed Elvis House in Canterbury.
23:09It will be the council's first net-zero social home, and they hope it will kick-start the
23:14district into a greener future.
23:16Well, our reporter Kristen Hawthorne went down to the house to find out more about the
23:20home that Canterbury can't help falling in love with.
23:24Known as the Elvis Presley House thanks to this poster, which was sat in the window for
23:28more than 40 years, this derelict two-bedroom home in Canterbury is set to be all shook
23:33up.
23:34The council has started work to retrofit the building to make it the city's first net-zero
23:39social home.
23:40There was quite a long process to get to this point, i.e. putting the plans together, getting
23:45the funding, and then we had to find a contractor to carry out the works.
23:49Unfortunately, the first time round, we didn't find suitable contractors, so now we have,
23:55and the work starts today.
23:57You know, it's very visible, everyone can see it, so it's going to be a bit of a landmark.
24:02We all know it's called the Elvis House, it's famous for that.
24:05So you know, Elvis House, retrofit, this is the future.
24:09You know, hopefully people will be inspired by this as they drive past and do the same
24:13in their own homes.
24:14The poster of Presley mysteriously left the building three years ago after reports of
24:19anti-social behaviour.
24:20The windows and doors have since been boarded up.
24:23But what is a net-zero home?
24:25Well, it's one that produces as much energy as it consumes, through things like solar
24:30panels, heat pumps and a heat recovery system, to generate renewable energy.
24:36So adding insulations to the floors, the walls and the roof, obviously makes it more efficient
24:42in that sense that it's not losing heat.
24:45Because it's having solar panels as well, it's going to draw its energy from the sun,
24:50and because it's only driven by electric, there's no gas on the property.
24:57In just six months, contractors hope that the work to make this home net-zero will be
25:02finished, allowing for it to be used for social housing.
25:06But how much does it cost, and what do residents really think of the change?
25:10The scheme, that will be part-funded by the government's UK Shared Prosperity Fund, costs
25:15around £100,000, due to the amount of work that needs to be done.
25:19It's a particular house, it will be quite expensive, just because there's so much work
25:24to be done.
25:25As you can see, it's a very old house.
25:27As well as just the retrofit side of things, you know, putting in the heat pumps and all
25:31that.
25:32There's a lot of structure work to be done, and you can see that the ground is being dug
25:35up.
25:36You know, those things all cost...
25:37So I wouldn't want to use the cost of this house as an example of how much it might cost
25:41in anyone else's house.
25:43As I say, there was a barred to help.
25:46I've been here for 26 years.
25:48I just think that the old building's a bit of an eyesore, and it's not very nice inside
25:53I understand, and well, I guess families need somewhere to live.
26:00Yeah, so a family living there would be nice.
26:03With some suspicious minds over the change, the council hopes that it will create a little
26:07less conversation about its infamous looks, and a little more action about their larger
26:12plans to decarbonise the district.
26:15Kristen Hawthorne for KMTV in Canterbury.
26:22Well, there still may be some suspicious minds about this mystery, but the council can't
26:27help but fall in love with eco-homes, clearly.
26:30Well, that's it from us this evening on Kentonite Live on KMTV.
26:33I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
26:34I'll see you again on Monday.
26:36Bye-bye.
26:59you