Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Bartholomew Hall.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight live on KMTV.
00:29I'm Bartholomew Hall.
00:30Here are your top stories on Wednesday the 26th of March.
00:34Crossing off congestion.
00:36Residents react to £9 billion Thames crossing being approved.
00:41End in sight.
00:42Solution put forward to solve controversial North Kent landslip but it'll take three years.
00:48And grooving on.
00:49Five years on from lockdown we take a look at what the mude music is like for Kent's
00:54music and venue scene.
00:56The first night, 14 years after it was first proposed, a multi-billion pound crossing
01:01between Gravesend and Essex is poised to start work next year.
01:05Those who support the lower Thames crossing say it will reduce traffic issues in Dartford
01:08but their concerns remain about its financing.
01:12Oliver Leeder-Saxe has been speaking to locals near the crossing to find out how it will
01:16transform their lives.
01:17Sunshine in the shadow of the Dartford crossing but give it a few hours and the roads and
01:24roundabouts here in Greenhithe will be clogged with traffic.
01:29I'm only walking the Amazon there.
01:31It takes me about five minutes, ten minutes to go in there.
01:34When the traffic around us, it takes about one and a half hour to get in there.
01:38So I drive to Bromley every day.
01:40So I do 20 miles.
01:42So literally I have to go past the Dartford crossing every day.
01:45And probably three mornings out of seven, it actually impacts me a lot.
01:50So my journey is a 13 mile journey.
01:53It probably takes me an hour and ten minutes every day.
01:56Well, I'm a London captain.
01:57I have to work through the night to avoid the traffic.
02:00But sometimes if you like with a lot of things, you can say along the crossing, you just can't
02:04move anywhere very dear.
02:05There is a glimmer of hope however.
02:08This week the government approved a new £9 billion crossing between Kent and Essex with
02:15the aim of easing pressure on the vital road link.
02:19Yeah, this is the number one priority for Dartford residents when I knock on the door
02:23as I do very regularly or talk to people in the streets, in pubs, in my coffee mornings.
02:31The one thing they're united on is they want to see the Dartford crossing happen because
02:35they live every day with the effects of gridlock.
02:38So they can't get to hospital appointments, can't get the kids to school on time.
02:43A lot of people can't work in Essex because they can't rely on getting to work at a time
02:49when the employer expects them there.
02:52So that will all change with the Lower Thames crossing.
02:55The congestion problems in this part of Kent come down to capacity.
02:59The Dartford crossing was simply never meant to carry this much traffic.
03:04180,000 vehicles make the crossing every single day rather than the intended 135,000.
03:14Freight companies in this part of Kent hope the Lower Thames crossing will pave the way
03:19for faster travel between Essex and us here in the county.
03:24The Lower Thames crossing is a really vital route for logistics.
03:29The current Dartford crossing, as we all know, hugely suffers from regular delays and congestion.
03:35And 70% of the traffic heading to and from the port of Dover uses the Dartford crossing.
03:40So it's not just about an important piece of infrastructure in the southeast which will
03:44help alleviate congestion here, but it's also about the vital trade route that it also provides
03:49for the rest of the UK.
03:51Not everyone is convinced.
03:53Despite billions being required for the project, how much of this will fall on taxpayers or
03:59private investment is hard to say.
04:03It's going to cause seven years of construction chaos, but only five years of relief at Dartford.
04:10It's absolute madness that we're spending 10, 12, probably 16 billion pounds in total
04:16with all the other schemes that we need to make it function.
04:20We might as well just dig a hole and chuck all the money in it for the good it's going to cause to us.
04:25It may not be a bridge over troubled waters, but the new crossing has certainly sent ripples
04:31up and down the Thames.
04:33Oliver Leader of the SACs for KNTV in Greenhithe.
04:38Now after years of traffic chaos, two solutions to fix the controversial landslip in Swanscombe
04:44have been put forward by KCC.
04:46But even if the money is found tomorrow, as our local democracy reporter Gabriel Morris
04:51reports, it will still take three years to fix.
04:55Repairing this stretch of road was never going to be easy.
04:59It's been almost two years since Ganny Hill Road collapsed.
05:03But now two solutions for fixing the landslip have been put forward.
05:08Either bridging the gap, similar to that of the HS1 crossing down the road, or a reinforced
05:15earth embankment.
05:17Both will be incredibly expensive, and the estimated cost being kept secret for legal reasons.
05:24The reality is, the figure that we've been given now isn't what it's going to cost,
05:28because there are all those unknowns.
05:31Where's that money going to have to come from? Can KCC pay for it?
05:34KCC do not have that money available.
05:36So government have got to pay for it?
05:37So we need government to assist.
05:39Whether that's a loan, and then we can go through litigation to find who's at fault
05:44and actually get that money back, and then pay it back, or whatever.
05:48But you've heard tonight the importance, and the fact that it's being fully supported
05:52by the two local MPs is excellent.
05:55At a recent public meeting, locals packed into this hall.
05:59It's been a long two years for them.
06:02They've had lorries getting lost on diversions, increased traffic, and impacts to their bus routes.
06:08And all of that and more has been estimated to have dented for local economy
06:13by some two million pounds.
06:16So a repair welcomed, but they know it could take some time to find for funding.
06:21I'm due to have a meeting with the Roads Minister Lillian Grieber once more.
06:24It was good to get her down just after the election because she's seen it.
06:28Now I can go in with Lauren and actually talk to her to say,
06:32look, there's some solutions on the table now.
06:35We badly need you to act, provide a funding package, and that's particularly needed.
06:41Because as Toby said, we all know Kent County Council is virtually bankrupt.
06:45Some of the other potential litigants in the way in which it's going to be decided who's liable.
06:51As the second anniversary approaches, the two MPs will hope to come back with good news.
06:57But even then, they won't have much to celebrate,
07:01as any repair will take at least three years to complete.
07:05Gabriel Morris in Swanscombe.
07:08Earlier, we spoke to Graham Taylor from the Swanscombe Residents Association to hear more.
07:13It is the road in which most local traffic accesses Stone,
07:17Greenhive, Swanscombe, Northmeat and so on, and travels between the two of them.
07:21So the bus service, for instance, the fast track bus service,
07:25so-called fast track anyway, now has to go via the A2 and Bluewater,
07:29and it had to double back through Greenhive, which is not very good.
07:34They're putting in the new shuttle service to try and improve it, but that's no good.
07:38People, for instance, mothers and families who've got kids in a nursery at the foot of Galley Hill
07:44now can't get to it directly by car.
07:47They can take a long route round via Ebb Street to go by car,
07:52or a very long walk down one of the footpaths.
07:57Other businesses that rely on passing trade have lost all that passing trade.
08:01Stanhope Road, which is now the main through road route,
08:04it's a residential route, but it's become the diversionary through route through Swanscombe.
08:08It's got the 480 bus service down it, as well as all other stuff,
08:11gets completely snarled up.
08:13And then you've got the additional problem.
08:15We've got a nearby lorry park, and lorries get lost trying to find the lorry park,
08:19and instead of following the diversion,
08:20they then try and cut down the very narrow residential streets in Swanscombe.
08:24So it's right from the strategic journeys right down to the daily, everyday stuff is affected.
08:32And two years is a long time for this to be an issue for residents.
08:37How frustrated have local people been that it has been this long?
08:42Oh, incredibly frustrated.
08:44You know, the fact that we're now two years on,
08:46and only now are they proposing a design,
08:50and it's still got to go to government for funding and everything else.
08:52And, you know, as far as residents are concerned,
08:54they look at this collapse, they look at the barriers and just say,
08:57well, nothing's happened in two years.
09:00Well, with that in mind,
09:01we've got these two options that were proposed at the public meeting last week.
09:03One would be reinforced earth embankment, the other a bridge, both obviously costly.
09:10Is there a preferred option you found talking to residents?
09:15It's a difficult one, because we don't really have enough information to make a choice on.
09:21There are a lot of residents, especially older residents,
09:24some young ones as well, who actually feel that the bridge option is
09:29likely to be temporarily fixed.
09:31They're very worried about the structural integrity of the whole chalk spine
09:35and whether it can actually sustain taking a bridge.
09:37Obviously, the engineers say it can, but residents are sceptical.
09:41The difficulty with the earth embankment one
09:43is it's going to take up an awful lot of land.
09:45So there's businesses at the bottom of the collapse
09:50who are going to have to close down or move
09:52because of the space that the earth embankment is going to take up.
09:55On the other side, the earth embankment is going to cause problems
09:58because it actually infringes on the site of special scientific interest.
10:02The bridge might cause that problem as well.
10:03So, as I say, residents are not sure which is the best option,
10:08but they are still concerned about whether the chalk spine in itself
10:12is strong enough to support anything.
10:15Yes, and residents obviously want to make sure it's safe and feels safe.
10:19And it's also estimated to have had a £2 million impact on the local economy,
10:24and that's only two years.
10:25So then this project is going to be another three.
10:27Does that number shock you?
10:28And what impact has it had and will it have?
10:32It doesn't surprise us.
10:34But yeah, you know, one of the local dry cleaners in the high street
10:37has stopped taking orders and deliveries from people in Norfleet
10:41because it just can't guarantee to get round to actually deliver them.
10:45The local motorbike shop has lost all its passing trade.
10:51It just goes on and on and on.
10:53And yeah, it's now very difficult for people to get around,
10:57to get to Darragh Valley Hospital, to get to Bluewater,
10:59to get jobs, for schoolchildren to get to school on time
11:02because buses don't run on time because of the traffic congestion.
11:06And then when the A2 has an accident,
11:09which let's face it is happening more and more frequently,
11:12other traffic tries to use Swanscombe as a rat run,
11:15and then the place just completely closes down.
11:17And what would your message be to the government,
11:20to local councillors about this issue?
11:24Get on with it, basically.
11:26Yeah, we all know that there's huge issues
11:28around who's at fault and everything else.
11:31But at the end of the day, we just want our road open.
11:33It is an A road.
11:34The Highways Authority, which is Kent County Council,
11:36has a legal responsibility to get it done.
11:39We know it's all got to be done safely.
11:41But you know, when an embankment goes on network rail,
11:44they have engineers in, come up with design solutions
11:47and get it open again in no time at all.
11:50With roads, it just doesn't seem to happen.
11:53More to come after the break.
15:12And welcome back to Kent Tonight live on KMTV.
15:16This week, KMTV is looking at the ways
15:18the COVID-19 pandemic sculpted our lives here in Kent
15:21five years on from the first lockdown.
15:23And nowhere is this more apparent
15:25than in the world of live music.
15:27Extraordinary overheads and a downfall in people
15:29spending money at venues in person
15:31is proving a death sentence for small independent venues
15:35up and down the country, not least here in Kent.
15:38So what does it look like for grassroots music
15:40thriving in a post-pandemic world?
15:42Well, Oliver Lleida de Sacks has been in Northfleet
15:45for us to find out.
15:48Open doors for a room full of memories.
15:52From grassroots acts to rock royalty like Iron Maiden,
15:57Leo's Red Lion in Northfleet has been a safe haven
16:01for music lovers for more than 40 years.
16:06But like many venues across Kent,
16:09the bar is still having to adjust to life
16:13five years on from the COVID-19 pandemic.
16:18Obviously for everybody, it was a strange,
16:21very strange time.
16:22And for live music venues,
16:25I'm surprised that more didn't close
16:28because it was very difficult.
16:30The overheads and running an establishment like this,
16:33without going into details,
16:35it can be quite nerve wracking.
16:38You know, they're expensive things to run.
16:40And for many venues, those operating costs
16:44are far beyond their control.
16:47What we've seen is post the pandemic,
16:50not just venues really struggling,
16:52but also other parts that are around them
16:55trying to make back money
16:57that wasn't major in the pandemic.
16:59So rents went up by an extraordinary amount in 23, 24.
17:03All kinds of things have gone up
17:05by an extraordinary amount.
17:07And it really is very, very difficult
17:09to find the money that's needed to cover that.
17:11Data from the Music Venue Trust
17:14shows that around 150 venues
17:17closed between 2022 and 2024,
17:22with nearly half reporting a loss
17:24in the last 12 months.
17:27In 2024, 200 venues contacted Music Venue Trust
17:32because they feared that they would face permanent closure.
17:34We had to help 200 venues to survive.
17:37There are only 810 venues in the whole country.
17:40So one in four of those venues,
17:42including venues in Kent,
17:44are currently in our service
17:45trying to make sure they don't close down.
17:48For Leo's Red Lion,
17:50plans shelved during the pandemic
17:53are finally coming to fruition.
17:55But even here, the challenges of operating a venue
17:59have become much more difficult
18:02in the post-COVID downturn.
18:05It all has to come from selling drinks
18:08for all intents and purposes.
18:10There are other things,
18:11but it's predominantly drinks.
18:13It makes you realise that it's a fickle,
18:16it's a very fickle trade to get into.
18:18When people say to me,
18:19I'm thinking of getting old,
18:20I'm thinking of taking over a pub,
18:21going near fires,
18:22they go, yeah, I wouldn't do it.
18:24I just, I don't think I would,
18:26if I was in the same position,
18:28I don't think I would take over a pub now.
18:31There is still hope for live music here in Kent,
18:35with grassroots venues across the county
18:38still striking a chord.
18:40But half a decade since lockdown,
18:42the economic future for the county is still uncertain.
18:47And whether those in the business
18:49will soon have to face the music is hard to say.
18:54Oliver, leader of the sacks for KMTV in Northfleet.
18:59Well, Stuart Cameron from live music venue,
19:01The Booking Hall in Dover,
19:03joined us on the Kent Morning Show earlier to talk more.
19:06We've had to be a bit more commercialised
19:09because we just don't have the funds after COVID
19:15to sort of programme more risky shows,
19:19you know, like original up-and-coming bands
19:20and things like that.
19:21We still have those bands,
19:23but now it's more often we put them on
19:25with a tribute band or something as a support act.
19:30So, you know, the way that we operate our venue
19:32has changed significantly compared to before COVID.
19:37I remember covering this story during the pandemic itself.
19:41I was based in Tunbridge Wells at the time
19:43and the forum there was getting support
19:45from the likes of Frank Turner for COVID-19 awareness gigs.
19:52The MP at the time, Greg Clark,
19:54was raising it in parliament about the support for venues.
19:57Do you find that the,
19:59or have you found that the goodwill of MPs
20:02and campaigners for grassroots venues
20:06has waned a bit in those five years?
20:10I'm not too sure.
20:11I was, last year we were in Westminster
20:15with the Music Venues Trust
20:17and it was like a round table discussion
20:21about, you know, how, you know,
20:22the government can support music venues
20:24and a lot of it was tailored around the ongoing conversation
20:27about the stage of an arena levy to support the grassroots.
20:32That all seemed very positive.
20:36So I think that there is still strong support
20:40in the government, in MPs and 100% in the community.
20:44You know, just talking from my experience
20:47of having the booking hall in Dover,
20:49the community is stronger around the venue
20:52than it ever has been before.
20:54We're quite in a fortunate position
20:55where we now own the venue
20:57along with Music Venues Properties.
20:59You know, other venues aren't quite as lucky as that
21:03but I think the awareness is there.
21:05I think the community support is there
21:07and I think that the support for the government is,
21:12hopefully, maybe I'm just being optimistic,
21:14that hopefully the coming support from the government
21:17is going to be continued
21:19and that the, like you say, the MPs' interest is still there.
21:23And it's nice to hear you being really positive
21:26but I wanted to look at what you think maybe you,
21:29as a venue, lost as a result of the pandemic
21:31and also the music industry in Kent as well.
21:36Well, for the booking hall,
21:39one of the biggest things that was lost
21:40was the opportunity to support grassroots artists
21:45as much as we used to.
21:47It used to be very much that our programming
21:49was centred around original touring bands
21:53and local artists
21:54where now we have to lean into a more commercial angle
21:58to keep our business viable.
22:01So that's a big loss.
22:02Obviously, for us, the financial loss,
22:05we still have about, well, I don't know how much it is
22:08but we still have a sizable amount
22:10left on our bounce-back loan.
22:12Now, let's take a look at the weather.
22:20All right, looking fairly cloudy across the county today.
22:23Temperatures in the mid to high single digits
22:26as we go into tomorrow morning.
22:27Much of the same, warming up very slightly.
22:29Calm winds in the east of the county.
22:32As we go into the afternoon, warming up to high teens.
22:35Highs of 17 in the north.
22:37Clear skies in Canterbury and Dover.
22:39Here's the outlook as we go into the rest of the week.
22:41Raining on Friday but a cloudy weekend.
22:44Highs of 16 on Sunday.
22:54Finally from us, don't forget you can keep up to date
22:57with all your latest stories across Kent
22:59by logging on to our website, kmtv.co.uk.
23:02There you'll find all of our reports, including this one.
23:05You are in the most beautiful part of the country
23:08and you're within striking distance of London.
23:11What is your favourite thing about Sevenoaks, sir?
23:14The independent shops, the people that live here.
23:19Um, we feel very comfortable.
23:21I've lived in Sevenoaks for a very long time.
23:24Oh, I'd have to say La Manica, wouldn't I?
23:26Where the shop I work in.
23:29We are the champions of the county.
23:32That's what Sevenoaks locals can say after the Sunday Times
23:35ranked where in the UK was the best to live
23:37and Sevenoaks was the only one on the list from Kent.
23:41The paper's guide says that excellent schools,
23:43a buzzing community and its medieval deer park,
23:46Noel Park are all rewarding reasons to live in the area.
23:50And people have been telling us all the things
23:51they like about their local town,
23:53but it can't be all sunshine and rainbows.
23:55So let's find out what they maybe don't like
23:57so much about Sevenoaks.
23:59And who would know better than Catherine and Prilla,
24:01who have worked in the town for most of their lives?
24:04I think it's a lovely place, you know,
24:08but it's sad that some of the places
24:13that were individual places are sort of dying out really now.
24:17And what else could make Sevenoaks even better?
24:21I would reduce the parking fees.
24:23It rather lacks a sort of dynamic compared to, say,
24:29even not so larger towns like Tunbridge.
24:33It's endless stream of traffic and it's very narrow,
24:38sometimes a little dangerous when you get
24:40to the other end of the high street.
24:41So yeah, the traffic needs to be shortened out.
24:46But with concerns about local businesses,
24:48one of the best rated restaurants in the town say
24:51that Sevenoaks will only improve as the weather gets better.
24:54I mean, obviously we were going through
24:55the Christmas period and things,
24:56so it was a lot of pressure to deal with.
24:59But, you know, since we're coming into the warmer weather,
25:01it seems to be smoothing out.
25:04I think because where we're a less of a busy area,
25:07I think people might be quite attracted to that
25:09rather than going to London where it's a bit over,
25:12a bit overpowering with all the people and things like that.
25:15So I think it's, yeah, no, it's a nice little spot actually.
25:19On Sevenoaks, locals say they like its quiet nature,
25:22scenic sights and how close it is to London,
25:25but admit it does still have its issues
25:27from high house prices to expensive parking.
25:30Now, despite all that and the fact
25:31it no longer has all of its Sevenoaks,
25:33it's still managed to earn a spot
25:35in the Sunday Times Best Places to Live in the UK.
25:37Finn McDermid for KMTV in Sevenoaks.
25:45Some mixed opinions,
25:45but it really does look lovely there in Sevenoaks, doesn't it?
25:48Especially on that day in particular when Finn was filming.
25:51Always nice to see the daffodils
25:52coming out at this time of year as well.
25:54Well, that's it.
25:55You've been watching Kent Tonight live on KMTV.
25:58There's plenty more news made just for Kent
26:00throughout this evening.
26:01Don't forget, you can always keep up to date
26:03with the latest news across your county
26:05by logging on to kmtv.co.uk.
26:08You can also keep us on your social timelines
26:10by liking us on Facebook,
26:11following us on Twitter.
26:13And of course, if you have a story
26:14you think we should be covering,
26:15then do get in touch.
26:17Send us an email to kmtvnews at kmtv.co.uk.
26:22We also have a series of special programmes
26:24available on our website for you to watch back.
26:26The likes of Invicta Sport, Maine and Kent,
26:28Kent on Climate, Kent Film Club
26:29and the Kent Politics Show.
26:31A whole roster of Kent programmes for you to watch.
26:34And don't forget, we're back from tomorrow
26:37from seven o'clock with the Kent Morning Show.
26:39We'll see you then.
26:40Bye-bye.