Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Finn Macdiarmid.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight, live here on KMTV.
00:26I'm Finn McDermid and here are your top stories on Tuesday 6th May.
00:32Harm or help for housing? Developers deny claims that Snodland Housing Project could be built
00:37on contaminated land. Remembering their sacrifice? We learn about how VE Day would have been celebrated
00:43here in Kent at the end of the war. And celebrating kindness? A Dartford wellbeing group holds their
00:50third anniversary party.
00:54Now objectives to a new housing project in Snodland are fearing there could be water contamination
00:58issues if the development goes ahead. Parts of the site had formerly been a landfill,
01:05with lead and asbestos historically being found there. But developers have shot down objecting
01:09claims saying contamination fears are factually incorrect. Local democracy reporter Gabriel
01:14Morris has been looking into the concerns.
01:17Until a few years ago golfers teed off here. Now the land faces a different game altogether.
01:23Developers seeking planning permission to build homes, sport pitches and a clubhouse. If approved
01:29they'll have to flatten these artificial hills. Some of the site was once used for waste disposal.
01:36Environmental reports say a nearby landfill infringed waste rules and was closed in 2016. Campaigners
01:43are worried about what could happen if rubble is disturbed.
01:46So we don't really know the full extent of what's been dumped here. Much of it was unlicensed
01:52and therefore the paper trail is very hard to pin down in most cases. There is no paper trail. But
01:59we know for a fact that lead has been found here. We know for a fact that asbestos has been found
02:03here. And when you start unearthing that kind of thing, you're releasing into the atmosphere
02:10all kinds of particulates and contaminants. The Environment Agency has confirmed that asbestos
02:16was removed from the site in 2006. And soil samples and watercourse analysis shows no evidence
02:24of contamination. I'm here in the Oaks Park Brook and you can see it is an unusual browny-orange
02:30colour and there seems to be an oily substance on the surface. Now in the Development Environmental
02:37Assessment it says that existing contamination could mobilise and end up in this stream if
02:45proper mitigation isn't in place. The report says the risk is low but campaigners are still
02:51concerned. So most of the site has been rewilded so nature has covered up the sins of the landfill.
03:00But I feel that once this starts getting dug up, even if it gets piled, that everything is going
03:08to get concentrated and we can have contamination in a beautiful Greenbelt area. Developers have
03:15moved to reassure locals that contamination poses no risk. In a statement, they say thorough
03:21investigation work, surveys and reports prepared as part of the current planning application provides
03:27evidence, but it is factually incorrect to suggest potential groundwater contamination as a result of
03:34the development. They go on to say the Environment Agency has confirmed its acceptance of the findings
03:40and suggested various conditions to ensure ongoing testing through the construction phases.
03:46It will now be up to the local council, a decision expected later this year.
03:51Gabriel Morris, near Snodland.
03:53Well, before making decisions on the county's roads, libraries and budget, KCC's newly elected
03:59reform councillors must first decide which of them will lead the group and the council. Members will
04:04be meeting this week to decide on the next council leader. And one of those putting his hat in the
04:08ring is Councillor David Wimble, who joined us on the Kent Morning Show earlier, but not before we heard
04:13from the leader of Medway Council, Vince Maple.
04:15I've got real concerns about the ability for Reform UK to deliver on the rhetoric and already we're
04:22seeing, you know, national statements from their party chair around the issue of flags and I understand
04:27they're already backtracking on that. So look, we will work with them because we have to. There's two
04:34upper tier authorities in the region of Kent. I will work with them because I want to get the best
04:39results. Ultimately, not only for the 285,000 residents I'm proud to represent, but also for
04:45the wider region.
04:47So, David, some concerns there from the Labour leader of Medway Council. What's your response
04:52to that? Obviously, he mentioned there the reform announcement yesterday that flags will be banned
04:58that are not directly related to either the county or Britain on council buildings.
05:04Well, it's, yeah, we're very proud to be British for a start. I mean, I remember down locally,
05:12we had an issue on St George's Day about flying the St George's flag and was told not to fly it in
05:19case it offended people. You know, we're British. We're proud to be British on council buildings.
05:25I think it's a good thing to fly flags on appropriate days like Ukraine. You know, we've flown the Ukraine
05:31flag down in New Romney and in Leard and in Folkestone. I think there's nothing wrong with
05:37some self-belief. You know, I'm proud to be British. So I think we should be flying the union flag
05:41and the appropriate flags on national days.
05:45Well, I don't know if anybody was saying that we shouldn't be flying the, you know, the national flag
05:49on the council buildings. I think the concern was more about banning, you know, other flags, flags that
05:55support maybe local causes or national causes or even, I know we've seen many council buildings
06:00putting the Ukraine flag up to show solidarity with the conflict that's happening there.
06:06Well, I think that's a choice for the individual councils. But I think it's good to have a precedent
06:12to say that we're British and we're proud of being British. We can fly it, you know. You have national
06:17pride days and things like that. I'm not saying, I'm not saying anyway, that we shouldn't fly flags
06:24for special causes. But I think as a default, we should have the union standard up.
06:30So do you disagree with your party's national outlook on this?
06:35I think, you know, we're a fresh party. We're always going to have disagreements. I'm certainly
06:39not disagreeing with Nigel Farage. I mean, I've known Nigel for nearly 20 years as a friend
06:44rather than as a politician. It's actually quite funny. You showed that clip earlier of him
06:48arriving at the party on Friday night by helicopter. The same helicopter actually delivered me there
06:55and all the media thought I was Nigel Farage. They looked very disappointed when I got out
06:59of the helicopter, not him. But yeah, every council has its own issues. If reform are in government
07:07and they come up with a national statement, obviously we're going to follow it. I'm not saying
07:13we're not going to follow it. I'm just saying that I think it is right to have the union standard,
07:17the union jack, for want of a better word, to be flying from council buildings.
07:23And Kent has been celebrating the week of VE Day ahead of the big day itself with garden
07:28parties kicking off across the county. But what would VE Day have really been like here
07:33in Kent back in 1945? And what don't people really understand about the celebrations? Well,
07:39to find out exactly that, we spoke to Dave Brocklehurst. He's a trustee at the Kent Battle
07:44of Britain Museum in Hawkins. We spoke to him earlier on the Kent Morning Show.
07:49I think the main part of it is to remember that between 70 and 85 million people died
07:54during the Second World War. That's the main thing. Obviously, we all have family and relations
07:59that fought in the war. One of my fathers, one of my grandfathers fought in the HMS war
08:05spike and took 20 years to die from his war wounds. My other grandfather was in the Home
08:10Forces and Ashford. But for us, it's the Battle of Britain. If we'd lost the Battle of Britain,
08:16we wouldn't be celebrating VE Day. If it wasn't for 2,938 airmen that fought the Battle of
08:22Britain, and thankfully we won it, it allowed everything else to follow. So that's the important
08:27bit. On VE Day, we've also got 100 girl guides visiting the museum in the evening. So we're
08:32passing that knowledge and respect on to the younger generations. It's nice to get females
08:37involved in something that's traditionally seemed to be a sort of male-orientated subject.
08:42Lots of stories that can be told. We're looking at pictures on the screen here of lots of people
08:46celebrating with street parties. Of course, street parties have been a part of British
08:51culture ever since VE Day when we had them, obviously, across the country. What would it
08:56have been like down where you are in Hawking at the time? How would have VE Day been celebrated
09:02back in 1945 then? The officers' mess and the sergeants' mess will be holding parties,
09:08obviously there will be street parties in all the surrounding villages and towns. So it's
09:13really a sort of sense of relief that, you know, it's a vibe that made it through really,
09:17as well as reflecting on many of the lost friends and family. A very important part of it. And
09:24obviously, also, you've got to reflect that three months later it was VE Day, so the war
09:29was over in Europe, but many of us had families that were fighting still in Asia. And that should
09:34be remembered that August is probably more important than VE Day because it was the end
09:38of the Second World War, not just the war in Europe.
09:42Yeah, and of course, this is something that affects the whole country. This is something
09:45everybody comes together. And there's that really nice feeling when everybody does come together
09:49and commemorates such a thing, especially on a huge anniversary like the 80th. But I wondered
09:55what's special about it to Kent, to our corner of the country?
10:00Well, we were the front line for four years of the war. So from 1940 to 1944, we were the front
10:07line. There was nothing closer. From Hawking to where I'm sitting at the moment where the museum
10:11is, with the high power binoculars, you could see the German troops practicing scaling the cliffs
10:16in the Pas de Calais waiting to invade Britain. That's how close it was. You know, the Battle of Britain
10:21was fought and won, thankfully, over the skies of Kent. It affected the rest of the country,
10:26but the epicentre of the Battle of Britain was over Kent. So that's something that's very
10:30important to this area, to Kent. Then we obviously suffered the VE 1 and VE 2 attacks in 1944
10:36as well. Nearly 10,000 VE 1s landed in Kent during 1944. So we were the front line throughout,
10:44really, the Second World War.
10:45And Dave, pictures on the screen there of the museum. Very quickly, before we go,
10:49just tell us what's going on at the museum this week for VE Day celebrations.
10:54It's what we do every day. We remember the feud. We remember the Second World War.
10:58So on Thursday, we've got around about 100 girl guides and brownies visiting the museum.
11:02We're opening up in the evening. Hopefully, some friends are going to bring some military
11:05vehicles as an added attraction. So we're just passing on our respect, our love and our commemoration
11:10of the Second World War, and particularly the Battle of Britain. So for us, every day is an
11:14anniversary of some poor soul that lost his life. So we remember all of them here.
11:18Well, Dave Brocklehurst, thank you so much for joining us today from the Kent Battle of
11:23Britain Museum. And let's hope that sunshine continues all this week for the commemorations
11:27as well.
11:27Let's hope so.
11:28Thank you so much.
11:30Well, it looks like it's now time to take a very short break. But stick around, because
11:35afterwards, we'll be taking a look at a kindness and well-being group based in Dartford who have
11:39been celebrating their third anniversary. We also caught up with the founder of the group
11:43to discuss this further. We'll see you after the break, just three minutes away.
12:17.
12:47.
13:17.
13:19.
13:21.
13:23.
13:25.
13:27.
13:29.
13:31.
13:33.
13:35.
13:37.
13:39.
13:41.
13:43.
13:45.
13:47.
13:49.
13:51.
13:53.
13:55.
13:57.
13:59.
14:01.
14:03.
14:05.
14:07.
14:09.
14:11.
14:13.
14:15.
14:17.
14:19.
14:21.
14:23.
14:25.
14:27.
14:29.
14:31.
14:33.
14:35.
14:37.
14:39.
14:41.
14:43.
14:45.
14:47.
14:49.
14:51.
14:53.
14:55.
14:57.
14:59.
15:01.
15:03.
15:05.
15:07.
15:09.
15:11.
15:13.
15:15.
15:17.
15:19.
15:21.
15:23.
15:25.
15:27.
15:29.
15:31.
15:33.
15:35.
15:37.
15:39.
15:41.
15:43.
15:45.
15:47.
15:49.
15:51.
15:53.
15:55.
15:57.
15:59The on-site vet had to check in on the incoming arrival.
16:04Obviously it was a real learning process for us all and we just, you know, we're incredibly
16:09impressed with how well she's been doing with us really because it really wouldn't
16:12take her much to not cooperate.
16:16So yes, I think she's, yeah, she's astounded us all really with how well she's tolerated
16:20her ultrasound training and it's been really nice for us I think to be able to check in
16:24and just make sure everything's going okay because of course it's always an exciting
16:28but quite a nerve-racking time for everyone here because these guys are so important so
16:33we just want to make sure we do the very best we possibly can.
16:36R1 is quite a natural when it comes to the ultrasound having had one every single week during the
16:42pregnancy expected to come to an end in July and it is a unique procedure happening here
16:50in Wingham because it's a UK first when it comes to orangutans.
16:55I don't know if anybody else does it, I've done it, I'm pretty sure they haven't.
16:58I think we're the first and she's like, yeah, put the jelly on me, I'll have it up, yeah,
17:02I don't mind that jelly on my belly and she has it and I don't know if you was in their
17:05video and then she saw it but she just loves it, she's really good, she's easy for the keepers
17:09to work with and they're working day in and day out with her trying to get her ready because
17:13obviously when she's having a baby we need to be able to see that baby so we want her to bring it close
17:17to us and with our chimps the mum brings the baby up, shows us and because of our chimps we bottle
17:22feed the baby as well to give it a bit of extra and so we want her to bring that baby up towards us.
17:28There's just one catch though, an orangutan ultra scan isn't that sophisticated and certain key details
17:37are a mystery but when the baby's born later this year it's safe to say that the wildlife park
17:46will go ape once again. Ollie Lieder for KMTV in Wingham.
17:54Well it'll be partly cloudy across the county tonight, highs of 12 up there in Dartford, loads of 10 in
18:00Ashford and Margate, staying much in the same sort of spheres tomorrow morning, some more cloudy skies,
18:05averages of 10 and 11 degrees and you can expect it to warm up just a little bit in the afternoon,
18:10temperatures between 14 and 11 degrees, 14 down there in Tunbridge Wells. But it's good news for
18:16the rest of the week however, clear skies until Saturday, temperatures 15, 17 and 18 degrees at
18:22the weekend, nice and warm. Now a kindness and well-being group based in Dartford had its third
18:30anniversary celebrations, their open door policy for anyone to join their group who may have been
18:35struggling has led to them amassing over 7,000 members online and many who attend their in-person
18:39sessions as well. The founder, Laura Cordell, who is herself disabled, started the group with the
18:44help of her carer and hopes to spread the message so others can find the help they need. Our reporter
18:49Kaiway has the story. Happy birthday to you!
18:56Hooray! Near the end of April, the kindness and well-being group in Dartford had its third birthday.
19:02Celebrating three years of supporting each other's mental health, the founder started this whole thing
19:07during Covid when people needed it most. Three years ago I decided that enough was enough, people
19:12really needed help and they needed help in person so when all the restrictions lifted I set about
19:18starting a kindness and well-being group to bring people together in person to support each other.
19:23So I struggled with my mental health pretty much since childhood and at 29 I became disabled by an
19:29incurable chronic illness. I really found that like when you're at school there's support in school,
19:35when you're a mum there's support for being a mum, when you're at work there's support through work,
19:39but if you're of working age and you fall seriously ill and become disabled there is just nothing,
19:46there's like this huge chasm of you don't fit. Gathering people alike with mental and physical
19:51disabilities the group aims to be a platform for all who need support regardless of their age or condition.
19:57Before the group I didn't have friends as well. I got ill eight years ago.
20:04I have hydrocephalus which is water on the breath on the brain so that that's completely changed my life.
20:11The group brought me really good friends made me getting out of bed really.
20:18I started coming here after my wife passed away and it helped to communicate with people better.
20:27Drawing was really helped. Talking to the ladies and gentlemen here you know has really cheered me up on that you know.
20:36Get over the the um the troubles with my wife.
20:40It is such a good group. She does it all for free and with her own problems and everybody that comes here on a Tuesday really appreciates it.
20:48So we had our birthday party last week that was really good and and Laura did little birthday gifts
20:53for everybody all personalised and it's like she just took that time to do that and it's just so lovely.
21:01We tried numerous groups and Mo just wasn't comfortable in in most groups and then so we met Laura came here
21:10and we have practically been every Tuesday for over a year and a half now. The people that come
21:17here are just amazing. I think it's so difficult for not only people of any age but any disability
21:24or any mental health issues to find somewhere they're just supported. The group also prides
21:28themselves on their online platform including running a scheme where people can apply for kindness kits.
21:33They've sent these packages across the country including some internationally. One of the biggest
21:37fundraisers that we do is an online market which actually starts on the 1st of May. They can then
21:43sell through their small business and the other thing is free mental health packs. I work as hard
21:49as I possibly can around my own health needs. We really welcome everybody but the resources and
21:54everything that we provide are particularly to help people who are struggling with their physical or mental
21:59health. With the help of her carer Katrina, Laura hopes to continue to grow her group and help as many
22:04as possible. Kai Wei for KMTV in Dartford. Laura Cordell, founder of Wellbeing Group, joined us earlier on
22:11the Kent Morning Show. So initially it sort of started little bit by little bit. So before Covid even happened I
22:17had like a little coffee and wellbeing group on the estate which was very very tiny, very informal and it
22:23started to become more and more obvious that we needed something more. So on the first
22:29of January 2020 I set up the Facebook group and then by the July it became clear that in order to
22:35actually do stuff we needed funding and I needed to be able to get out there to be able to put things on.
22:41And then yeah, fantastically by the following April we were actually open and had the kindness and
22:48wellbeing group in person. Once the restrictions lifted it meant that we could actually bring people
22:52together to support all sorts of things like everyone is welcome to our group. There's no particular
22:58criteria, there's no referral, there's no waiting list, anyone can literally just come along today if
23:03they want to. And how have you seen the group and the types of people coming into the group change over
23:08the past few years as well? There must be different levels of demand especially at different times of
23:14the year. Yeah, so we have sort of two core demographics. People of all ages all the time but then
23:22during the school holidays people can bring their children along as well and even sometimes during
23:27school time if we've got children with special needs that perhaps are waiting for a school place
23:31or something or they're out of school because of medical needs, they are welcome to come to us
23:36as well. So particularly in the school holidays we get children but anyone is welcome any time of
23:41year and we are there all year round. And in the sort of three years as well have you experienced sort
23:48of any sort of major setbacks I suppose because it is a lot of pressure as well with 7 000 people
23:54coming through and you've got an open door policy so you're never going to turn anybody away but with
23:58that comes a lot of pressure. Yeah it does, it does but I'm determined to keep it going as much as I
24:05possibly can and to my own detriment probably sometimes people tell me off but um yeah we the
24:11mental health packs that we send out so this is sort of a bit of an example this is sort of blue
24:15peter style one I made earlier those go out in the post all over the world and we've never had to turn
24:20anyone away for one of those um and our kindness kits are funding dependent so we are constantly in need
24:27of funding so in terms of setbacks literally our costs and things go up so much I mean obviously we're
24:33in a cost of living crisis but um things like our insurance has gone up massively HMRC just withdrew
24:39their platform so that's another hundred pounds that we've got to find we don't get anything else
24:43for that that's just like oh I need to just find another hundred pounds so and the postage costs have
24:48gone up massively so things like that make it really difficult for us to continue um and literally a
24:53couple of weeks ago we only had four pounds in the bank so you know any funding opportunities if
24:58there's anyone out there that's watching that maybe through their work they do match funding or
25:02volunteering or anything like that we would love to hear from you um because things like that can
25:06really help us as well people joining our market we've got um five thousand seven hundred customers
25:12in our pop-up group and we've now hit 175 stores which is fantastic and that means that that's 175
25:18mental health packs that we've funded to be able to send out which is brilliant and we've also got an
25:23online version and that people can download as a pdf which is then instantly available and again there's no
25:29referral there's no payment they can literally just go on putting their email address we don't
25:34send them a load of marketing or anything there's no gimmicks it's literally just we're here to help
25:38people it really is um a lovely you know piece of work that you do you're based on so much positivity
25:44and then sharing a message of kindness so just wondering what sort of effect it has on yourself as
25:47well being surrounded by all that love i know that in in the piece there you mentioned that um that
25:52you suffer from a physical disability yourself um it must have had um you know such a positive impact
25:59yeah it really has um the last sort of nine months my own health has deteriorated massively
26:05um fortunately i'm kind of medicating coming out the other side of that a little bit now
26:09but it would have been if it wasn't for the support of the amazing members at the group
26:13i'd have had to close but no they all rallied around we had a summer fair that i'd booked in before i
26:18fell extra ill and that was three stalls that i'd booked and i was going to have to cancel it but
26:24all the members were like no i'll pick you up i'll drive you i'll help you unload i'll do this bit
26:28i'll do that bit and everyone just rallied around well you've been watching kent tonight live here on
26:34kmtv there's more news made just for kent throughout the evening thank you so much
26:38for watching and we'll see you very soon good night