Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Oliver Leader De Saxe.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Good evening and welcome to Kentonite Live here on KMTV.
00:29I'm Oliver, leader of the Saks, and here are your top stories on Thursday the 27th of March.
00:36A political rollercoaster, Kent MPs look back on the Covid-19 pandemic five years later.
00:44Forgetting remembrance, fears for the future of Canterbury poppy appeal.
00:50And flushing out the criminals Chatham drug dealer caught after putting cocaine down the
00:55toilet.
00:59Now this week, KMTV is looking at the ways the Covid-19 pandemic sculpted our lives here
01:04in Kent five years on.
01:06And we can't, of course, forget the political rollercoaster that time was from early decision
01:11making on lockdowns to local authorities setting up volunteering for vaccinations.
01:17Gabriel Morris has been looking back on all the key moments.
01:20Faded, but not forgotten.
01:22The scars of the pandemic remain not just on our streets, but in our politics.
01:28Five years ago, our local councils and parliament had to adapt overnight, keeping the country
01:34running while navigating an unprecedented crisis.
01:38So I was a health minister during the pandemic.
01:41I was actually the social care minister.
01:42So for me, it was a hard time.
01:46And I know that I worked all day and through the night.
01:50But on the other hand, nothing compared to how hard it was for people who are at the front
01:55line, who put their lives at risk and some health care and social care staff sadly died.
02:01And of course, people who lost loved ones.
02:03And for me, it's a moment to reflect on that impact I had on our society.
02:07Councils found themselves on the front line, balancing the usual responsibilities with
02:13urgent new public health duties, coordinating volunteers, setting up testing sites and then
02:20rolling out vaccinations.
02:23We had to allocate sites for vaccination and our public health teams had to do a absolute
02:31they had to do the heavy lifting around supporting our hospitals as well as the public services.
02:36In terms of the outcomes now, it is having an impact on school attendance.
02:40There's a post-Covid legacy there.
02:42It's having significant ramifications on where we put public health financing in the future
02:48and other issues. So this this Covid legacy, so to speak, is going to be ongoing for many,
02:53many years. And there are lessons to be learned from other countries about how we best deal
02:57with that.
02:58But beyond logistics and local response, what about politics itself?
03:03And thanks to him and all his colleagues for their cooperation in the current emergency
03:09as far as possible across.
03:11For a moment, cross-party unity, a global crisis demanded it.
03:16So we, of course, did the right thing, the responsible thing.
03:19But we, as much as possible, try to ensure business as usual continues, because ultimately
03:25that's what the residents of Medway expected and needed to try and have their council working
03:31in a positive way.
03:32And again, I would argue in a lot of ways, the most cross-party approach to many aspects of it
03:38that we've seen in the 27 year history of Medway Council.
03:42From this evening, I must give the British people a very simple instruction.
03:47You must stay at home.
03:49But nationally, the unity didn't last.
03:52Political fault lines re-emerged.
03:54Allegations of rule breaking at the top, while the country was locked down, sparking
04:00public outrage.
04:02Politics, last five years, has it changed during the pandemic, particularly with issues such
04:07as Partygate emerging?
04:08Well, I think we saw a lot of individuals who kind of had faith in the system and lost faith.
04:13So, yes, that has been a distraction and frustrating because I want people, even if
04:19they don't agree with my personal views and ambitions, to want to believe in a democratic
04:24process and believe in democracy.
04:26And undoubtedly, for some individuals, that process, particularly with Boris Johnson's
04:31leadership, damaged their confidence in democracy more generally.
04:35Five years on, councils are now finding themselves in one of the most difficult financial
04:40positions they've ever been in.
04:43So did the pandemic reshape politics for good or just expose its deepest flaws?
04:49Gabriel Morris in Kent.
04:55Now, there's growing fears that Canterbury's poppy appeal ahead of this year's
05:00remembrance events may have to be cancelled as the city's Royal British Legion's branch
05:05says it's struggling to find a space to keep its stock of poppies.
05:10Jan Eders from Canterbury Royal British Legion joined us on the Kent Morning Show earlier
05:14today.
05:16Well, for many years, we've been in the Oddfellows Hall, which has been ideal for us
05:22because we have about 50 wreaths that are just for the members of the public who want to
05:28lay them in the bus market.
05:32And, of course, all the poppies that go out to the shops, the supermarkets, the pubs,
05:37the hotels, everywhere who collect for us.
05:41And unfortunately, it went to auction last week and was sold to another buyer, so we now
05:47have no premises.
05:49We've done the rounds of the pubs, the church halls, the village halls, everywhere we
05:59possibly can.
06:00We've been to the supermarkets, car dealerships, anybody who can give us a room, the
06:07problem is that we need for five weeks, Monday to Saturday, 8 o'clock to 2 p.m.
06:13And of course, village halls have got other things going on through the week.
06:17Jan, just give us a bit of an idea of how much you need to be storing in these spaces as
06:23well, because I know you say sort of a village hall would be ideal, but as you say, many of
06:27them are being used throughout the week.
06:29How big of a space do you need?
06:31How much stock do you tend to keep?
06:33Well, we roughly need 24 feet long by about 16 feet wide.
06:39It's the problem is that we need it every day for five weeks.
06:45And what is it you're doing in this room for those five weeks?
06:47What will it be you'll be doing in this room?
06:49What will you be using that for?
06:52We store the poppies, we make up the poppy boxes and they're then delivered out by the
06:57team to the various outlets.
07:00We're restocking, we're giving out the wreaths to people who've ordered them.
07:07We're counting the money and then we're going to the bank with it.
07:11So we go to the bank roughly five times a day.
07:15So this is incredibly crucial.
07:17We all know about the poppy appeal.
07:20If you can't find a new venue by September, October, what's going to happen for Canterbury
07:25this year?
07:26Well, in Canterbury, it'll just be the supermarkets that will have stock because we can
07:31give it to them at the beginning of the five weeks and nobody else will get any poppies.
07:37And of course, I mean, as we say, it's such a cherished tradition in Canterbury.
07:43What does it mean to you to to have gone so many years with, you know, that that cherished
07:48sight on the street, in the high street, many veterans, many people who have lost their
07:53in the high street, many veterans, many volunteers selling poppies?
07:58If that wasn't to happen, I mean, that that must be heartbreaking.
08:03It is heartbreaking.
08:04Last year, we collected fifty seven thousand pounds and the thought that we won't have
08:09that this year.
08:11It's just devastating.
08:14Now, John, remind us fifty seven thousand pounds you raised last year.
08:18Remind us, where does that money go to?
08:21It goes up to head office and it's then given out to the many veterans who are in need of
08:30help. It might be that they want a wet room or stair lift and they can't afford those
08:36items. That's where the poppy appeal comes in.
08:39We also support Invictus with the English team.
08:45Absolutely. And it's a it's a fantastic movement.
08:49The Invictus Games, of course, and also another one of the sort of big blows that you're
08:54facing at the moment is volunteer numbers.
08:56Tell us what the situation is like.
08:58I know that you've had a few few of your members of the local branch actually retiring
09:02recently. Well, yes, we've got to three of us, three of us in the team of seven or over
09:0980. And while we're discussing remembrance, a brand new event, the fundraiser, the Royal
09:15British Legion, based in Aylesford, we see key figures from across the UK sleeping out
09:20in a recreated World War One trench.
09:24The Great Tommy Sleepout is designed to help homeless veterans.
09:27And our reporter, Phil McDermott, joined us from Detling, where he'll be camping the night
09:31this evening. So, Finn, you're right in the heart of the trench in Detling.
09:37Are you looking forward to your night?
09:41Yeah, I am. I was very lucky, to be honest.
09:44By the time I turned up, everyone had got all their gear on and pretty much sorted out
09:48where they were going to be sleeping.
09:50Luckily, I'm in the proper World War One trench.
09:52It was originally for war films and documentaries, so it wasn't it's not actually
09:56authentic. But I have managed to grab myself a spot under a little Anderson shelter just
10:01outside the trench. So I'm very lucky.
10:04I've brought a sleeping bag, lots of warm clothes and some chocolate.
10:06So I'm looking forward to the rest of the night.
10:08And hopefully there's not too many moths or bugs or squirrels or anything that are going to
10:12try and get in my shelter.
10:13Well, Finn, it's not every day you spend a night in the trenches.
10:17But what is the event actually about?
10:20So it's all to raise money for veterans who have come back from fighting for their
10:26countries and have been left homeless.
10:29So everyone who's sleeping out tonight has been fundraising.
10:33There's around 70 to 80 of us.
10:36And everyone's, like I say, has been fundraising, including the chairman who I spoke
10:40to earlier. And they've been telling me all about the money that I believe last year they
10:45managed to raise more than a million pounds all towards homeless veterans.
10:49And this year they're hoping to go even further past that.
10:52So, yeah, it's all for a good cause.
10:54And what can we expect going forward into the night?
11:00Well, into the night, I think dinner is hopefully soon.
11:03I'm quite hungry. So I think I think dinner's coming up first.
11:05We also had some talks from some veterans and the Royal British Legion Industries that
11:12happened earlier. Everyone, like I said, has been setting up all their shelters.
11:15And I believe there's going to be a sandbag defense, like a defense wall making contest.
11:20So I'm looking forward to that.
11:21And I believe the winner of that gets a sort of mystery luxury item for the night.
11:26But yeah. And so all that's going to be happening.
11:28And then I think I believe we're toasting marshmallows by the campfire, but I'm not too
11:32certain on that. But yeah.
11:33And after that, I think it's just settling down and sleeping under the stars.
11:37Finn, thanks for joining us.
11:39I'm not sure I envy him on a night like tonight.
11:43You find out how he did and what impact he's had tomorrow morning on our morning show at
11:487 a.m.
11:49Now it's a quick break. I'll see you in a few minutes.
15:04Hello and welcome back to Kentonite Live here on KMTV.
15:07Now a chat some drugs being caught trying to flush cocaine down the toilet.
15:13Benjamin Newton Alfred was chased to an address on 4 Pitt Street.
15:17We ran to the bathroom, but after officers heard frantic, flashy noises, a forced
15:21entry and arrested the 37 year old on the front porch, he was taken to the hospital.
15:27He was taken to the hospital.
15:28He was taken to the hospital.
15:29Frantic, flashy noises, a forced entry and arrested the 37 year old on screen.
15:34You can see body cam footage of the man being searched for further drugs with police
15:38finding bags of cocaine around five thousand pounds in cash, a knife and a mobile
15:43phone. He was later charged with intent to supply possessing criminal property and
15:47possessing a knife in a public place or sentenced to five years and six months at
15:51Maidstone Crown Court.
15:53Now, don't forget, not only can you keep up to date with the latest stories from across
15:56Kent here at 7.30 p.m., but also on our website, KMTV.co.uk, there you'll find all
16:03our reports, including this one, as Kent reacts to the news that a multi-billion pound
16:07crossing between Gravesend and Essex is poised to start work next year.
16:13Sunshine in the shadow of the Dartford crossing, but give it a few hours and the roads
16:20and roundabouts here in Greenhithe will be clogged with traffic.
16:26I'm only walking the Amazon there. It takes me about five minutes, ten minutes to go
16:30in there. When the traffic around us, it takes about one and a half hour to get in
16:34there.
16:35So I drive to Bromley every day. So I do 20 miles. So literally I have to go past the
16:40Dartford crossing every day and probably three mornings out of seven. It actually
16:46impacts me a lot. So my journey is a 13-mile journey. It probably takes me an hour and
16:52ten minutes every day.
16:53Well, I'm a London captain. I have to work through the night to avoid the traffic. But
16:57sometimes, if you like, with a lot of things, it's the same on the crossing. You just can't
17:01move anywhere, baby.
17:02There is a glimmer of hope, however. This week, the government approved a new nine-billion
17:08pound crossing between Kent and Essex with the aim of easing pressure on the vital road
17:16link.
17:17Yeah, this is the number one priority for Dartford residents. When I knock on the door,
17:20as I do very regularly or talk to people in the streets, in pubs, in my coffee mornings,
17:27the one thing they're united on is they want to see the Dartford crossing happen because
17:32they live every day with the effects of gridlock. So they can't get to hospital appointments,
17:37can't get the kids to school on time. A lot of people can't work in Essex because they
17:43can't rely on getting to work at a time when the employer expects them there. So that will
17:49all change with the Lower Thames crossing.
17:51The congestion problems in this part of Kent come down to capacity. The Dartford crossing
17:57was simply never meant to carry this much traffic. 180,000 vehicles make the crossing
18:05every single day, rather than the intended 135,000. Freight companies in this part of
18:13Kent hope the Lower Thames crossing will pave the way for faster travel between Essex and
18:19us here in the county.
18:21The Lower Thames crossing is a really vital route for logistics. The current Dartford
18:27crossing, as we all know, hugely suffers from regular delays and congestion. And 70 percent
18:33of the traffic heading to and from the port of Dover uses the Dartford crossing. So it's
18:38not just about an important piece of infrastructure in the southeast which will help alleviate
18:42congestion here, but it's also about the vital trade route that it also provides for the
18:47rest of the UK.
18:48Not everyone is convinced. Despite billions being required for the project, how much of
18:54this will fall on taxpayers or private investment is hard to say.
19:00It feels like it's going to cause seven years of construction chaos, but only five years
19:04of relief at Dartford. It's absolute madness that we're spending 10, 12, probably 16 billion
19:12pounds in total with all the other schemes that we need to make it function. We might
19:17as well just dig a hole and chuck all the money in it for the good it's going to cause
19:21to us.
19:22It may not be a bridge over troubled waters, but the new crossing has certainly sent ripples
19:28up and down the Thames.
19:30Oliver, leader of the SACs for KMTV in Greenhithe.
19:35There are also environmental concerns about the crossing. On the Kent Morning Show, we
19:40spoke to Emma Waller from the Kent Wildlife Trust to find out about her views on the situation.
19:47Emma, thank you so much for joining me on the Kent Morning Show. It's good to have you
19:51here. Now, just first of all, remind us why the Kent Wildlife Trust is against the Lower
19:56Thames crossing. We know that approvals come in now, but it's been going on for so many
20:00years, discussions over how we can build a new crossing on the Thames, especially here
20:05over in Kent, between Kent and Essex. Just remind us of some of those vital areas of
20:10wildlife that you've been working so hard to try and protect.
20:13Yeah, so the scheme will cause irreversible loss to areas of ancient woodland. So there
20:21will be around 8 hectares, which is the equivalent of roughly 12 football pitches of ancient
20:27woodland destroyed for this scheme. And you can't replace that. Of course, you can plant
20:33new trees, but it's not just the trees you are losing when you cut down ancient woodland.
20:38It's also the removal of soils that have hundreds and hundreds of years of carbon locked up.
20:44And once those soils are removed, you're releasing all that carbon into the atmosphere.
20:50Now, obviously, the straightaway, the sort of argument against it that I have to bring
20:54to you is the easing of that congestion over the Dartford crossing. That's why they want
20:59to build the Lower Thames crossing. I think the MP for Dartford, Jim Dixon, said that
21:03it's going to end endless gridlock for drivers. How do we work in a world where we need to
21:09be protecting our nature, but also making sure that business can innovate and move forward?
21:15Yeah, of course. And we do understand and sympathize with the people that are living
21:21in the Dartford area, that they really struggle with that congestion. But throughout this
21:26whole process, we've been advocating for a more sustainable transport solution that benefits
21:32both people and nature, and why we believe the government should be investing in green
21:37transport infrastructure, such as improved rail and bus services, active travel networks
21:43and smart congestion management, rather than environmentally destructive road projects
21:50that will just generate more traffic in the long run. So we're already seeing a knock-on
21:55effect, Lower Thames crossing is causing, with new road expansion proposals emerging
22:01as a direct consequence. So a recent consultation on the A229 Bluebell Hill Improvement Scheme,
22:09which is aiming to expand the route between Junction 3 of the M2 and Junction 6 of the
22:15M20, was justified as a measure to ease congestion and handle the increased traffic expected
22:22from Lower Thames crossing. So this completely contradicts the original justification for
22:29the scheme itself, which was supposedly to reduce traffic at the Dartford crossing. So
22:35instead, the project is triggering a cycle of more road building, more traffic and more
22:40environmental damage.
22:42I suppose in the long run, the argument is that if you have two crossings, that big main
22:47one that we've relied on for decades now, the Dartford crossing wouldn't have as much
22:52traffic. But also another point that you mentioned there earlier on was that the government says
22:56that it will be planting a million trees and create six times more green space than the
23:01roads take up. Surely that softens the blow a little bit now that it has been approved?
23:07So we understand that mitigation measures have been approved. So this includes obviously
23:13woodland planting and also green bridges are proposed to try and provide connectivity between
23:19habitats on either side of the new road. However, these are your normal road bridges that provide
23:26functionality to the road scheme. So they will be used by cars with some tree and hedgerow
23:32planting. So for a project at this scale, which is causing significant habitat fragmentation,
23:39we'd want to see green bridges designed specifically for wildlife to enhance connectivity.
23:46What would you say to somebody who says, yes, it is important to be protecting our nature,
23:51but I spend hours and hours sitting in traffic week on week at the Dartford crossing and
23:56something just needs to change. We can't get rid of our cars. We can't do that overnight.
24:02That would take a monumental social change. So what would be your response to somebody
24:06who would say that?
24:08Of course, like we've said previously, we completely understand the need for new roads
24:16sometimes, you know, for people to get to A to B, but national highways themselves have said
24:25this is only going to reduce about 20 percent of the traffic from the Dartford crossing.
24:30And there's numerous scientific evidence to show that new roads just generate more traffic.
24:36So we're not confident that the Lower Thames crossing will be the solution that people expect it to be.
24:43OK, well, we've heard from the government that it has been approved now.
24:46So we're even hearing that diggers could could be starting as early as next year.
24:51What is the next steps for yourselves? Is there anything that can be done now?
24:56Yes, the Kent Wildlife Trust will remain dedicated to securing stronger protections for biodiversity
25:02that safeguard both wildlife and the communities impacted by the scheme.
25:07So we'll continue to advocate for nature to be recognised as critical infrastructure
25:12and that nature isn't just a nice thing to have, but that it's essential for our economy,
25:18climate resilience, as well as being beneficial for both people and wildlife.
25:24Emma, thank you very much for joining us on the Kent Morning Show today.
25:27Really good to hear your views.
25:29More about this on Kent Online. Now it's time to take a very quick look at the weather before we go.
25:38Tonight is looking partly cloudy with wind speeds reaching eight to nine miles per hour.
25:43Temperatures averaging around seven degrees into tomorrow morning.
25:47Temperatures around 11 to 10 degrees rain across the county cloud as well into the afternoon,
25:53brightening up slightly some sunshine, 13 degrees over in Medway.
25:58And for the weekend, sunny on Saturday, highs of 19 on Sunday, cloud and sun as well.
26:06Well, you've been watching Kent Tonight live here on KMTV.
26:19There's more news made just for Kent throughout the evening.
26:22And don't forget, you can always keep up to date with the latest news across your county
26:27by logging on to the KMTV website, KMTV.co.uk.
26:32You can also keep us on your social time by liking us on Facebook and following us on TikTok and Instagram.
26:38I'll see you tomorrow at the same time and join us at 7 a.m. for the morning show.
26:43Take care. Good night.