Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Kristin Hawthorne.
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00:30live on KMTV. I'm Kristen Hawthorne and here are your top stories on Tuesday the 11th of March.
00:36Controversial inquiry begins. A 12-week hearing has been launched into 8,000-home
00:41sitting-borne development. Valentine's Day shooting. Body found in the River Thames has
00:47been identified. And access to the arts. We speak to the management involved in
00:54Canterbury's scholarship fund that helps women in music.
01:00A planning inquiry into plans for more than 8,000 homes on rural land in Kent
01:05is set to start today. Last year, the government called in the Highstead Park Development,
01:10taking the decision-making away from the local council. The MP for sitting-borne asked the
01:15Secretary of State to do this. He argues Swale Borough Council was set to refuse it,
01:19so would have likely ended up a planning inquiry regardless.
01:23Well, local democracy reporter Gabriel Morris has been looking into the arguments for and
01:27against the scheme. The first signs of spring blossoming in this quaint rural village. But
01:35little joy in Robinsham as more than 8,000 homes are planned for the land around this community.
01:40A 12-week planning inquiry is starting this week into the proposals which will transform the area.
01:46The developer arguing for its economic benefits, whereas hundreds of residents fear the end of
01:52rural life. We're not just NIMBYs. We do want to make sure there's housing provision for our
01:56community. But we do think we've got a really strong chance of pushing forward what are the
02:00many ecological landscaping and other factors that development is right and not just right here.
02:06What would the feel of the area be? Would it still be a village?
02:09I don't think you could call it a village at all. I think one of the things we're most worried about
02:12is that we will look off into the distance and what was the shadow of Robinsham Church,
02:15and now we will see an M2 junction motorway. St Nicholas has been here since medieval times,
02:20the urban sprue of Sittingbourne getting ever closer.
02:25So we're at the top of Robinsham Church right now. If the development does go ahead,
02:29what would we be able to see from up here?
02:32So over here would be thousands of houses all the way across the field here, all the way up to Dully.
02:38Over here would be sports facilities along with the Southern Relief Road, which weaves
02:42all around the villages here. This is not affordable housing what's being offered here.
02:47In the Northern scheme it's only about four and a half percent is going to be affordable. I mean
02:51that's outrageous. It's a huge land grab taking up huge swathes of some of our best agricultural
02:57land in the country. The development would see new schools, health centres and sports facilities,
03:04and quinn estates as more than 50% of the site will be publicly accessible.
03:10This is the proposed plan for Highstead Park. You can see the balance of the eight and a half
03:14thousand homes with the country park as well in the middle. An incredibly controversial
03:20development. People living around Robinsham don't like the idea of thousands of homes around them.
03:25However, down at the south the Science Park and businesses could get a big boost.
03:31The Brickies are having one of the best seasons yet and believe Highstead Park
03:35could help them go from strength to strength.
03:38In the 70s we used to get good crowds and things like that and
03:41there's signs that it's coming back and it's a big population here now over 60,000 in Searingbourne.
03:46So yeah it's been fantastic.
03:49And on that it could be about to get even bigger. Highstead Park development,
03:52going to planning inquiry, you guys are set to benefit from that aren't you?
03:56We are very much so. We've got over 40 teams, we need a bigger footprint, bigger site
04:01and this is going to be a school or a doctor's I think here. We're going to move nearer the
04:06motorway if the development goes through with a 125 year lease for the community.
04:11Not for us, just for us, but we'll run it for them but it'll be for the community
04:15and it will benefit because the whole of this town is so far behind with its sports.
04:20I think even the two all-weather and three grass pitches we put in at the new stadium
04:25will still be behind the requirement for the country for sports.
04:29They say the proposed relief road could greatly benefit the community
04:33and are calling for this to come first.
04:36It'll see a new junction from the M2 to Sittingbourne.
04:39The key thing about this development is those houses pay for the road.
04:43They pay for other things as well like primary schools, secondary schools, health centre,
04:47new football club, but they actually pay for the road and we all know the state the country's in
04:51at the moment with a lack of big infrastructure but also how tight public finances are.
04:57Effectively this is a great way potentially of using housing development to also build
05:02the infrastructure and what really matters is we get the infrastructure first and that's what
05:07currently is being proposed by the developers.
05:09The developer has said the new road is chronically needed in the local area
05:13but local environmental campaigners say it's not worth it as it'll cut through this ancient woodland.
05:19No one really knows the full impact of what will happen when you do this.
05:23What we do know is it'll fragment their habitat.
05:26It means that we'll get reduced gene pool for certain species
05:30and if we fragment them too much those particular species will die out altogether
05:34in those in close to those areas because they haven't got enough habitat.
05:39Across the next 12 weeks all these arguments and many more will be heard.
05:44It'll then be in the hands of the planning inspector to decide whether this land stays as it is
05:50or if this huge development can go ahead and if it's given the green light
05:55it'll take two decades to complete.
05:59Gaver Morris in Sittingbourne.
06:03More on that story now as earlier we spoke to Helen Whatley-Whitley
06:07MP for Faversham and Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions.
06:12Helen Whatley thank you very much for joining us on the Kent Morning Show.
06:16It's good to have you on and first of all can you just explain to me
06:18why you've been objecting to this development?
06:22I've been objecting to the Hystead Park developmental developments because it's so huge.
06:27So it's 8,400 new homes coming to my constituency.
06:34That will be around 20,000 people moving into the area over the next 10-20 years
06:40and that's on the back of multiple other developments also coming to my constituency.
06:45There's one called Heathlands just near Lennon which is thousands of homes.
06:49Lidsing, Winterbourne View, potentially the Duchy near Faversham.
06:52So that will increase the population by possibly even as much as 40,000 people
06:57out of 80,000 people or so constituency.
07:00That's an extra 50% the number of people living in the area that I represent
07:05and that will just have a huge, huge impact.
07:09An impact on the character of the area which is rural, which is agricultural, which is countryside.
07:15An impact on the infrastructure, on the roads, so much traffic we can expect.
07:21An impact on public services.
07:23It's going to make a huge difference
07:25and my constituents are very, very unhappy about this development.
07:30That's why I'm opposing it.
07:32Well I think you can guess what the argument opposing it would be
07:35is that the country is in need of more houses.
07:38What's your sort of response to that?
07:40People would say as well this would help the council meet its local plan targets as well.
07:46So I recognise the need for more housing
07:49but already many hundreds and thousands of homes,
07:52new homes have been built in my constituency over recent years.
07:56We've had lots of new developments and so it doesn't seem to make sense.
08:02Well we know the inquiry is obviously set to take place this week.
08:06It's going to be beginning.
08:07Lots of people criticising it saying that it's a waste of money for the council
08:11to have to go along to it and sort of defend itself, defend its decision.
08:14What's your take on that?
08:16Yeah I mean it's hugely expensive for local councils to
08:20hire the legal representatives and take part in this kind of inquiry.
08:25I mean one of the things that I'm really unhappy about
08:28is that this decision was taken away from our local council.
08:32So literally within hours of the planning meeting
08:37where I know that local councils were going to decide against the development,
08:43the MP for City of Watershed wrote and got the Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner
08:50to call in the planning decision.
08:53So that means that instead of it being decided locally it's being decided nationally
08:58which means that local people don't get a say.
09:01And I think it's imperative and it's that we do get a say.
09:05It's one reason why I'm supporting some of the fabulous campaign groups
09:08who are opposing this development.
09:10We really want the planning inspector and indeed the Deputy Prime Minister
09:13to listen to local people.
09:15Part of the development, I know it's quite a big one as you mentioned,
09:18is to introduce this new relief road.
09:20People would say that that would free up some of the roads and lessen traffic.
09:27Well I support in general investment in infrastructure including in local roads.
09:32That's really important.
09:35But that doesn't make it worthwhile
09:38building a whole new development of this kind of scale,
09:41over 8,000 new houses.
09:43That could be like 20,000 more people in the area.
09:46That's a town the size of Faversham.
09:49So if we do get the relief road out of it,
09:50I don't think, you know, that doesn't make it worthwhile.
09:54And then the big question is when would that actually be built
09:58and would it actually come good?
10:00Because so often developers say they'll build infrastructure
10:03and then it doesn't happen in practice.
10:05Well lots still to discuss as the inquiry begins this week.
10:08Helen Whateley, thank you very much for joining us today.
10:13We'll be covering more on that story on the Highstead development as it continues.
10:19But now, a 16-year-old boy was electrocuted
10:22after he was chased onto tracks by armed teens.
10:25Happening on West Gorton Sea Rail Station,
10:27the boy who was fleeing tripped and fell onto the tracks,
10:30suffering severe burns.
10:32The teens who chased Ted Warren Harvey
10:35proceeded to strike him with weapons after he fell
10:38and began filming the unfolding incident.
10:41Due to be sentenced on April 28th,
10:43two of the teens pleaded guilty to offences of violent disorder
10:47and assault causing actual bodily harm.
10:56Time for a quick break now,
10:57but we have plenty more stories after the break.
11:00As there's an update on the Knock Holt murder.
11:04An arson investigation being opened into a car
11:07exploded on the residential street.
11:10And Izzy and Bartholomew have spoke to Dr Kerry Boyle
11:13from Canterbury Vocals, an all-female choir
11:16who gives out scholarships to talented female musicians,
11:19along with some women who received the scholarship.
11:23Don't forget you can always keep up to date
11:24with the latest stories across the county
11:27by logging on to kmtv.co.uk
11:30You can keep us on your social timelines
11:31by liking us on Facebook and following us on TikTok.
11:35And if you think you have a story that we should be covering,
11:37then get in touch.
11:38But for now, I'll see you after the break.
12:00you
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15:15Welcome back to Kent Tonight.
15:17Now, the body of a man found in the River Thames
15:20has been formally identified as the suspect involved
15:22in the fatal shootings, Valentine's Day shooting of Lisa Smith.
15:27Joining me now is Finn McDiarmid
15:28to tell us more about the details of this story.
15:32So, Finn, can you tell me a little bit
15:33about the timeline of events leading up to this story
15:36for maybe the people at home who've forgotten?
15:38Absolutely.
15:38Well, I mean, this has been a very widely covered story
15:41when it broke on the evening of Valentine's Day back in February.
15:46Lots of the country's media were there,
15:47including myself, obviously, for KMTV.
15:50And it's quite rare to have a shooting here in the UK,
15:53let alone in Kent.
15:54Now, we found out later that the victim named Lisa Smith
15:58was fatally shot three times in front of the Three Horseshoes pub
16:02in the small village of Knockholt near Sevenoaks at around seven.
16:06Now, plenty of people that were interviewed and spoken to said
16:09they heard the gunshots but assumed they were just fireworks
16:11and only realised something might be wrong
16:14when shouting and screaming could be heard coming from the pub.
16:18Now, with a small village like Knockholt with a pub in the centre,
16:21the incident definitely dominated the coming days
16:24to the point where locals were starting to ask,
16:25well, why are the press still here?
16:27Then the following morning,
16:29statements were released about exactly what had happened.
16:31Kent police said they found a firearm and a car
16:34at the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge at the Dartford Crossing.
16:37They also told us at the time they weren't ruling out the possibility
16:40that the suspect had fallen into the water,
16:43which stemmed from call handlers reporting
16:45that someone had been spotted on the wrong side of the barrier.
16:48And a few days after this,
16:50tributes started appearing for Lisa outside the Three Horseshoes,
16:53including flowers, cans of Red Bull
16:55and even handwritten notes from friends and family.
16:58You can see there pictures of the Dartford Crossing.
17:01I believe that was several days after the incident had happened.
17:06And so when did they find his body initially?
17:09Well, it's like you say,
17:10the latest development is that a body linked to the Valentine's Day shooting
17:15was found near Rainham, Essex on Friday
17:18and has been formally identified by Kent police
17:22as Edward Smith, the husband of Lisa.
17:26OK, so they've found his body, they've identified him.
17:29What are the next steps?
17:31Well, an investigation into both deaths will be led by the coroner,
17:35according to Kent police,
17:37with Mrs Smith's being on the 17th of September
17:40and Mr Smith's inquest has yet to have a confirmed date.
17:45And as we've been saying all the time we've been covering this case so far,
17:50we only really get these new bits of information
17:52whenever the police release them.
17:54So at this point we won't know anything more about these inquests
17:56and about these investigations until we are told.
17:59So that could be quite a while and we just don't know at this stage.
18:03Thank you, Finn.
18:09An arson investigation has been launched
18:12after a burning car exploded in Rainham.
18:15The incident happened at around midnight on Thursday last week
18:18in Chesfield Close and is being treated as suspicious.
18:22It is understood that two fire engines were called to the scene
18:25with police arriving shortly after,
18:26reporting following report that two cars were on fire.
18:31After the fire was extinguished, police reported no injuries.
18:36Now, don't forget you can keep up to date
18:38with all your latest stories across Kent
18:40by logging onto our website, kmtv.co.uk.
18:44There you'll find all our latest reports, including this one,
18:47about the 40-year anniversary of historic house item Moat.
18:51Joining the National Trust and a behind-the-scenes tour of the home,
18:55some of which is more than seven centuries old.
18:59A painting by Winston Churchill, generations of spies
19:02and a building from the time of Henry VIII
19:05are just some of the items at Item Moat,
19:07Tonbridge's own moated house that dates back to the 14th century.
19:12Now it's been 40 years since Charles Henry Robinson,
19:15an American businessman, gave Item Moat to the National Trust.
19:18The anniversary was kicked off by local MP Tom Tugendhat
19:21cutting the ribbon ahead of its reopening tomorrow for the summer season.
19:26The amazing thing about it is that it tells a story
19:29not just about the family who lived here, actually,
19:31but about the whole of Kent.
19:32It tells the story of wars and revolutions.
19:34It tells the story of religion, of hope and dreams.
19:38And it also shows what art and beauty can give to a community.
19:43And so I'm a huge fan of the Moat.
19:44It's the best of the National Trust.
19:47Across the seven centuries of its history,
19:49Item Moat has been rebuilt and restored many times,
19:52with various eras of its history blending between different rooms.
19:56Now I'm in the new chapel and it's called that
19:59because it's actually not even the oldest chapel here at Item Moat.
20:03It's got a medieval framework, a Tudor ceiling
20:05and parts of Victorian history as well layered here.
20:08And it's thanks to Henry Robinson, who was an American businessman,
20:12who bought the house back in 1953 to stop it becoming a hotel or a country club.
20:18And he took it upon himself to maintain the house
20:20and start buying back items from local people
20:23all the way back from the Victorian era.
20:26And it's really thanks to him that when you're walking
20:27through the different rooms of the house,
20:29it feels like you're walking through different centuries of history.
20:33But it's not always easy to keep everything in order,
20:35especially when it's so old.
20:36The house team work to make sure the house is as accurate as possible
20:40to the periods of history that it represents.
20:42Particularly in the winter, that's when we do our deep clean of the house
20:45and we get our experts in, our conservators, who come in
20:49and we have a really good look at objects that we think need a bit of repair.
20:53And we've been, because it's the 40th anniversary of the Trust
20:56taking over the house from Mr Robinson,
20:58we've been concentrating on objects that belonged to him.
21:02So in this particular room, you can see you've got a sofa,
21:05the beautiful screen, another settee.
21:08They've all been restored in the last few years.
21:10The team say they're looking forward to the next 40 years
21:13and hope to expand their collection of antiques
21:15to fill the halls of one of Kent's most decorated historical homes.
21:19Finn McDermid for KMTV in Tunbridge.
21:24Well, we've been getting some nice weather recently.
21:26So just before we go, I think it's time to take a quick look at the weather.
21:31Tonight is looking quite cloudy with temperatures of five degrees,
21:35four down in Tunbridge Wells and Ashford.
21:37Then tomorrow morning, a little sun peeking through the clouds,
21:40similar temperatures reaching six degrees in the south.
21:43Then into the afternoon, temperatures of eight degrees
21:45with wind speeds reaching 10 and eight miles per hour,
21:48partly cloudy weather continuing.
21:50Outlook for the rest of the week then.
21:52Sunday with showers on the east coast,
21:55a bit of rain on the west coast,
21:56a bit of sunshine on the east coast,
21:58Sunday with showers on Thursday,
22:02partly cloudy weather on Friday and Saturday
22:04with highs of nine degrees expected every single day.
22:13Now, this month is national,
22:17this month is Women's History Month.
22:19I should get that right.
22:20And throughout the decades,
22:22one barrier that women have faced is access to the arts.
22:25The Canterbury Vocal Scholarship Fund
22:27has been trying to fix this issue since 2019,
22:30aiming to provide financial support for young female musicians
22:34and help them achieve their goals and ambitions in music.
22:38So what are some of the economic barriers
22:40holding Canterbury's female musicians back?
22:42And what can we do to tackle the issue?
22:45Well, earlier today, we spoke to Dr. Kerry Boyle,
22:47who manages the local scholarship fund,
22:51and she joined us earlier today.
22:57Well, joining us now is Dr. Kerry Boyle
23:00and two of your young talents.
23:03Thank you very much for being with us this morning.
23:05Great to have you on.
23:06Obviously, that was one of your younger groups there.
23:09So tell us what it is you get up to at Canterbury Vocals.
23:14Well, we are a group of female choirs,
23:17and I also work with girls and young musicians
23:21in the Canterbury area.
23:23And we're a group of female choirs
23:25and young musicians in the Canterbury area.
23:27And one of the things that we do is run the scholarship fund,
23:31which is basically a fundraising strategy
23:36to help support young female musicians in the Canterbury area.
23:39So we have various events and activities,
23:43including our big annual concert at the Shirley Hall,
23:46where we involve lots of local female musicians
23:52to perform together in a fundraising event.
23:54And all of the funds that we raise
23:58are given back to young female musicians
24:01to help them in their journey, really.
24:04And it's 25 people that receive this, is it?
24:06And how exactly is this helping their careers?
24:10And so far, we've helped, I think, 26 students since 2019.
24:17And we help to cover the cost of tuition for a year.
24:20We've helped to send them to courses, things like that.
24:27We had a couple of young composers
24:32who we've helped them with the cost of software to help fund that.
24:38And so far, some of the recipients
24:40are at conservatoire studying music now.
24:42They're at university studying music now.
24:44And so it's really helped them in their journeys.
24:48And I want to bring in Holly and Poppy now.
24:51Thank you to both of you for joining us.
24:53Tell us what your experience has been like
24:56since joining the choir and receiving the award.
24:58We'll start with you, Holly.
25:00Well, I feel like it's been really helpful to, you know,
25:05not just develop my techniques and stuff like that,
25:07but also grow on my self-confidence and self-esteem.
25:11And since getting the scholarship,
25:13I've been able to, you know, expand on my abilities and stuff.
25:16So I feel like it's a really nice opportunity
25:19to be able to do things like that without limitations matter.
25:23Poppy, what's the ultimate dream for yourself?
25:27Well, I'd love to be a musician one day.
25:29I mean, I play the cello and the piano at the moment.
25:33And with the scholarship, I've been able to spend the money
25:36on buying books and adding extra time onto my lessons
25:40to really further my repertoire.
25:42And it's actually really helped.
25:44I feel like I'm almost like a proper musician now
25:47having had the scholarship.
25:48It's really helped.
25:49I was wondering if there's any sort of parents watching this now
25:52thinking, oh, I've got a youngster who's sort of shown
25:54an interest in music or singing.
25:57What's your advice for them?
25:58Get them playing, get them singing,
26:00get them to join things if they're available at school
26:03or local music centres.
26:06But definitely get them playing
26:09because music is a life enhancing thing.
26:12Well, you've been watching Kent Tonight live on KMTV.
26:15There's more news made just for you,
26:18just for Kent throughout the evening.
26:20Don't forget, you can always keep up to date
26:22with the latest news across the county
26:23by logging on to kmtv.co.uk.
26:26There, you can keep us on your social timelines
26:28by liking us on Facebook and following us on TikTok,
26:31which we've got some viral videos happening recently.
26:35And if you think you have a story
26:36that we should be covering, then get in touch.
26:38We also have a series of special programmes
26:41like Kent Chronicles that is airing tomorrow.
26:43But for now, thank you very much for watching
26:46and we'll see you tomorrow.
26:47Thank you for watching and we'll see you tomorrow.