- 24/06/2025
Catch up on all the latest climate news with Daisy Page.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Kenton Climate live on KMTV. I'm Daisy Page and in this show we discuss all
00:18things related to environmental issues in the county. How is climate change impacting Kent?
00:22What are communities in the county doing to tackle it? And how can you help at home?
00:26Each week we'll be taking a deep dive into new environmental issues in the county and I'll be
00:30joined by expert guests. But first night, Medway Borough Council have revealed their new plans for
00:35a Medway makeover. Yesterday the local authorities set out their new plan for the area at a council
00:41briefing. This includes new houses, infrastructure and services like supermarkets. It could be the
00:47first local plan successfully passed for the area since 2003. Well, I went along to find out more.
00:5237 years old is the average age of someone able to buy a new home in Medway. Today, Medway Council
00:59held a local plan briefing which looked at the ways Medway could be changing over the years. It
01:05included the potentials of new housing and services and it also discussed the use of the river being
01:12used for transport. The need for housing has led to discussions of controversial developments on land
01:17in the borough, including on the Chatham Dockyard, which councillors and developers are looking at
01:22keeping its historic connection while making it an area of employment and housing.
01:27We've got a sort of housing need, identify the government, around about 25,000 homes. That's a huge
01:34amount of development and it cannot take place in one particular place, i.e. the Hoon Peninsula or
01:39Rainer. It has to be spread across equally across the community. So we've gone for this particularly
01:44sort of split between as much of the communities as we can to balance out how the development takes
01:49place. In addition to that, we really feel that regeneration of our brownfield land should take
01:54priority. So the split is 40% of our brownfield sites, so that's the whole of Medway, will take
02:00the priority of the redevelopment for housing. Then it's 30% on the rural fringe and then it's
02:0530% in the rural area. With it set to be discussed this Thursday, the opposition will be set to question
02:11the plan. We're really concerned about the local plan that the administration have announced, which
02:16will be coming to full council on Thursday. We've got lots of concerns, not only about the policy
02:22aspects of the plan, including critical parts of the plan as it relates to infrastructure,
02:26but we're also concerned about a number of broken promises that the administration have
02:30made to the people of Medway, including on the Chatham Dock that they defended whilst in
02:33opposition, and other rural parts of the authority that will see significant numbers of housing
02:38over the local plan period. But what do residents think about the idea of housing development
02:44on the Chatham Dockyards? Chatham Dockyards is a very historical site, so I think there is something
02:49about keeping it pure for residents to understand about the historical nature. But however, we
02:55know we are in a housing crisis and I think if we can just make sure that maybe not all
03:01of the space is used for residential and we still have the historical element, then that's
03:05fine. I think we've got to have a balance because there is a massive need.
03:08Well, there's already housing and Chatham Dockyard works very well. If you're going to keep it
03:13a thriving, bustling place, I think you should have people living there as well.
03:17The future of Medway will be discussed by the end of this week, but a decision is still
03:22far away. Daisy Page for KMTV.
03:26Now, amongst other plans, climate change was discussed at the council meeting yesterday.
03:30Medway has already seen its river burst due to banks of heavy rain and flooding in other
03:35areas of the borough have been of concern. One way in which the plan aims to adapt to climate
03:40change is by planting lots of trees. Councillor Simon Currie told me some more.
03:44It's really important. This is kind of how we're dealing. I mentioned about the flooding
03:48issues. So we get these huge rainfall patterns happening now where water comes through. And
03:52my own ward in Luton gets flooded on a regular basis now. And how we deal with that is through
03:57how we design our homes, our roads and infrastructure, stuff like that. It's about planting trees.
04:02Lots of trees are going to go in the ground in the next five years or so. We've got those plans
04:06in place already. And it's about how we then sort of deal with the heating that comes along with
04:11that. And again, trees do help a lot. But the design of buildings also matters a lot.
04:15And how we cool our urban centres is key. So there's a number of things that we know we
04:18have to build resilience in. But equally, we have to make sure that we contribute to reducing
04:23climate change as well.
04:25Now, a Canada goose has been euphemised after a suspected catapult attack in Maidstone.
04:30This comes during a storm of attacks on wildlife in the county, sparking outrage in residents
04:35and conservationists. Due to this, the Mali Dam's education team are working with angling
04:40shops to display information posters about legal consequences of using catapults as weapons.
04:46Some shops have now stopped selling the device to anyone under the age of 18. And the team
04:50are also offering school assemblies across the southeast to raise awareness of the issue
04:55and to encourage positive attitudes towards animals.
04:59Finn McDermott recently reported on the rising trend. Let's take a look.
05:02It's a social media trend that has shocked and disturbed many animal lovers across the
05:07county. This incident is too distressing to show on film.
05:11From 2023 to March this year, 345 catapult attacks have been reported to police.
05:17Although figures show a decline in cases, campaigners say it's still 345 too many.
05:22Children also go to Blue Water. So I'm called there often with swans that have been catapulted,
05:27geese, you know. So I'm often patrolling. It's a weekly occurrence.
05:31It's a weekly occurrence, you know, and there's no end in sight. So, you know, as a community,
05:36we've come together and we're standing up and we're talking out now, you know, to call
05:40for a ban to catapult. And please, you know, we need to hold the children accountable for
05:47what they're doing.
05:48But for those who catapult for sport, a total ban just wouldn't work.
05:52It can't be done. Every tree with a fork, every physiotherapy, there are 65,000 members
05:58of the Professional Association of Physiotherapy. They all use rubber bands as do postmen.
06:03There's something in your magazine about how to make catapults out of sticks and rubber
06:07bands that you find in an office. It's a genie you're not putting back in the bottle.
06:10What we need to do is catch the people who are misbehaving with them.
06:14There's a term called a sitting duck for anything that literally is too stupid to get out of
06:19the way. This is not sport. This is not clever. This is not intelligence. This is just murderous
06:22cretinism.
06:23There is overall lots more good than bad to be had. And our side of it as a community is
06:28to be vocal in condemning it. Go to a club. If you want to show how clever you are, go to
06:33a club. Go and see if you can win a trophy and be better at it than the other guys.
06:37Every single one of us, whether it's proper hunters or especially just target shooters, wants
06:43these kids caught.
06:44With many sides of the debate ongoing, questions turn to the police and what's being done to
06:48stop animals being killed.
06:51These devices can cause quite significant damage to people, to wildlife and to property.
06:57So I've lobbied the government to change the law to make it illegal to carry these in public
07:04and give the police more powers to stop and search people for them. Kent Police will respond
07:08and investigate and they will target those areas where they're seeing them happen the most.
07:12But we desperately need more people to report them so that we can deal with this blight
07:17on our community.
07:18With this wave of killing for sports in some cases, it is a waiting game to see if the trend
07:23will end and if it can continue to be a harmless sport for enthusiasts.
07:27But it's not all bad. There are actually some positive things happening within wildlife at
07:34the moment too, with an increase of white-tailed eagles in the county along with other animals.
07:39Well, Kristen's here to tell us a little bit more. What I found really interesting is that
07:44the white-tailed eagle was once extinct from Kent and now there's more sightings, but what
07:47more can you tell us about it?
07:49So initially, the project to get these eagles back started in 2019. So it's been quite a
07:54long time in the running, really, to be seeing these across Kent. The eagles have been mapped
08:00flying 100 miles a day, up to 100 miles a day, over the southeast. So it is quite exciting.
08:06They quite like Kent because of all the marshes that we have, all the wetlands and everything,
08:11so it is a good place for the eagles to come to. What they're waiting for now, though, is
08:16for the eagles to start breeding here, which would mean that we'd have our own white-tailed
08:20eagles. Yeah, it is just quite exciting because, you know, with all the things of the catapults,
08:26birds being hit, we often hear a lot about animals being extinct. This is an animal that's
08:31on the red list. But it is quite good because after conservation efforts, it's now come back.
08:37I think this is something we're seeing really commonly as well. One thing that really sprung
08:42to mind when you said about having breeding pairs here, as I recently spoke to someone
08:46about curlews and the population, and he was saying about when having breeding pairs, this
08:50is so important because when they hatch, the birds imprint on the land and they recognise
08:54it as home and come back again. And another project that kind of reminds me of this is
08:59from last week's episode, we spoke about the red-billed chuffs. Now, they were extinct from
09:04our county sky for over 200 years, and now conservation teams have been working to bring
09:09them back. They've been reintroducing and releasing them in Dover again. And it's again
09:16just waiting for those breeding pairs to appear and having them come back to Kent when they're
09:22migrating and things like that. So I think seeing these reintroductions are really interesting.
09:27And another thing you've been spotting over the weekend is some dolphins. What can you
09:30tell us about that?
09:31Yes. So on Friday, or Saturday, sorry, when I was with Kai doing the Admiral Report, the
09:39boat one that you've seen in Kent tonight, I was there and we actually seen dolphins. One
09:45dolphin I think it was. This is a video that Vince Maple took, the leader of Medway Council,
09:52and it was sort of guiding all the ships, which was quite funny. But this is another
09:56thing, because I was speaking to somebody who was there and they were saying, you know,
10:02there has been a lot of problems with dolphins not being well and having to be saved here,
10:08and there was a long time there wasn't any sightings. But now after apparent pollution removal
10:14from the river, they've come back, and that's along with some seals as well.
10:18And hopefully it'll become more of a common sighting as well. Well, thank you very much
10:23for joining us today, and hopefully be keeping an eye out for those birds as well. Well, now
10:27on to some other creatures that we can be seeing along Kent. It's time for this week's creature
10:31feature. This week's creature can be found hiding under shrubs, on trees or crossing pavements,
10:36and they're commonly known for carrying their homes on their backs. Well, have you guessed
10:39it? If not, let's take a look at this week's creature feature.
10:43There are 100 different species of land snail in the UK alongside our array of freshwater snails,
10:48which can be found in rivers and lakes. These common mollusks need moisture and are typically
10:53found when it's raining. They are temperature sensitive and don't like areas that may be
10:57too hot or too cold, and to cope, they can go into hibernation. However, if a snail gets
11:02too dry, they enter a dormancy called estivation. Snails have very limited vision, only being able
11:07to see light variation and blurred outlines. They also have chemo sensors that act as a combination
11:12of smelling and tasting, which allows them to follow trails to find food. Snail and
11:17slug slime has many different uses. They act as an adhesive, help prevent dehydration,
11:22and have antibacterial properties which can aid wounds and infections. Their slime is also
11:27a non-Newtonian liquid, meaning if you apply slow light pressure, it acts as a liquid, but
11:32when hard, fast pressure is applied, it acts as a solid. It also plays a role in their search
11:37for a partner and warding off predators, such as birds and small mammals. That's all for
11:42this week's Creature Feature. Now it's time to take a break. When we're back,
11:46we'll be bringing you a story about an unexpected return of a moth species, which had been extinct
11:51from England in over 70 years. All that and more, we'll see you soon.
21:08a heat wave. So, you know, it really does help residents stay cool in the height of summer.
21:14And not only the use of drainage and cooling down, but how will the forest help our local
21:19ecosystems? Well, it will be planted through a mixture of native and heritage plants. So,
21:28it'll be very much in keeping with our local ecosystem. It'll provide food for animals as
21:37well as the occasional passing wild strawberry lover. And so, we'll encourage animals as well
21:46as plants into that space. You know, birds, probably squirrels, certainly squirrels, but
21:55also invertebrates as well will benefit from having that layer of diversity that otherwise
22:03isn't there. And when did the idea come about? And why in this particular space as well?
22:11So, we've got five of these, I think, going in around the town. We've been looking at some
22:17of the less biodiverse spaces that we've got. Obviously, we have a number of parks around
22:26the town. So, we are picking on the ones that need this excitement brought to them. And this
22:36happens to be the first one. We've got, certainly, I think the others are all out in the Shetway
22:41area of Maidstone. So, we're making sure we've spread them around a bit because they will bring,
22:50hopefully, great benefits. In terms of ideas, certainly, my administration is very, very
22:58committed to a planting trees, but also getting people closer to nature and closer to how food
23:04grows. You know, it's really quite important for us to have that connection with food and landscape
23:12and the ecology. And I think that's a really interesting thing, is not only thinking about
23:16the wildlife, but what type of opportunities would this provide for residents? Can you give
23:21us a bit of an insight into that as well? Well, I'm hoping that they simply go and enjoy
23:27the fact that it's there. Walking alongside this kind of forest should be a pleasure in
23:35itself. You know, if they're going out for a picnic in the summer, sitting near it, it'll
23:40be cooler. They'll be able to hear, hopefully, the birds in the trees. They'll get a sense of
23:45the insects and the mammals in the undergrowth and so forth. So, hopefully, it'll bring people
23:51a little bit closer to nature. You know, and if they, you know, see the food growing and
23:58you kind of get a sense of where food comes from every time you see something grow. I mean,
24:04I've obviously got a garden that I love. And, you know, one of the great joys is seeing things
24:11like runner beans growing, sprouting, and then eating the things, you know, that kind
24:17of real visceral cycle of something that's hyper-local that has come straight off of the
24:24plant. It's just wonderful. Now, it's time to catch up with all the latest nature news
24:29from around the county. With dolphins appearing in local waters, a popular beach closure at
24:34a nature reserve, and a new animal charity shop relying on vital funds for its many animals.
24:39It's time for this week's Climate Catch-Up. Welcome to this week's Climate Catch-Up. Dolphins
24:45have been captured on camera jumping out of the water of the Kent coast. The playful pod
24:50put on an acrobatic display for fishermen near Folkestone. Skipper Neil Boosie said the dolphins
24:56came within a few feet of the boat, and the Folkestone Voyager stopped to watch them for
25:01about 10 minutes. The video of their encounter has now reached more than 100,000 interactions
25:06on social media. Common dolphins can be found in waters all around the UK, but are more common
25:12in the southern and western coastal areas. A popular beach will be blocked off for eight
25:18months, so landslip prevention work can take place where a busy railway line runs. The beach
25:23at the Warren Nature Reserve in Folkestone will be closed from the 1st of July until the end of March
25:29next year. Network Rail is preparing to carry out sea defence upgrades in the area where trains
25:35travelling between Folkestone and Dover go across five miles of exposed coastline. More than 18,000
25:41tonnes of rock armour will be installed along the seawall at the top of the western beach to protect
25:46against coastal erosion. Whilst trains will still run, walkways in the area will be closed and access
25:53to the beach restricted while the works take place. A new RSPCA shop has opened in Canterbury.
26:00Officially opened on the 10th of June, the store on Palace Street will raise vital funds for the
26:05Canterbury and District branch. The Canterbury Centre is currently caring for 121 cats, including
26:12Tinky. He has been there for over a month without a single adoption inquiry. Branch manager Natalie
26:18Archer said Tinky may be the softest cat in their care, both in coat and nature. This has been Justine
26:25Lata on this week's climate catch-up. That's all we have time for on this week's episode of
26:31Kent on Climate. We'll be back next week with another episode discussing more matters relevant
26:35to environmental issues in the county. In the meantime, you can keep up to date with all things
26:39climate-related by visiting our website kmtv.co.uk or following us on socials such as Facebook
26:45and X. But for now, have a very lovely evening and goodbye.
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