There's shock today at the sudden closure of Folkestone Sports Centre.
Trustees have released a statement saying the facility can “no longer afford to remain operational”. We've got reaction from Folkestone Swimming Club which uses the pool. A petition has also been set up in a bid to save the facility.
Also in today's podcast, a mum from Faversham has written a book to try and raise awareness after being diagnosed with a mostly symptomless condition that can cause infertility.
Fibroids are non-cancerous growths that develop in or around the womb and can be extremely painful.
An urgent search is underway for more dog and cat foster carers in Kent to help victims of domestic abuse.
Charities that run the service have seen a rise in demand from people who are fleeing violence.
Lucy's been chatting to Becci Philpott from the Dogs Trust's Freedom project.
In sport, Kent's Nathan Hales has won gold for Team GB in the men's trap shooting final at the Olympics in Paris.
He set a Games record by hitting 48 out of 50 targets in Paris.
Meantime, Kent rower Emily Craig has been back in action at the Games.
She was in the semi-finals of the women's lightweight double sculls with partner Imogen Grant.
– Kent Online News – News You Can Trust – This is the Kent Online Podcast – Nikola Everett. Hello, hope you're OK. Thanks ever so much for downloading today's podcast. It's Wednesday, July the 31st, and our top story today is about the sudden closure of a sports centre in Folkston. Now, Lucy joins me with more on this such sad news, Lucy. Yes, it really is. A public announcement has been posted on Folkston Sports Centre's website and Facebook page that trustees say it's with deep regret. They can no longer afford to remain operational. They've added that the current situation has led to a dramatic increase in costs. Utility bills alone have increased by a quarter of a million pounds, and there's been a decline in income as many people struggle with the cost of living crisis. And what does this mean for staff? Well, we understand they were only told the news yesterday at an emergency meeting. Swimming teacher Charlie Hill told Kent Online the closure was a tragedy for the town. He also suggested staff were unlikely to be paid for shifts done this month. Trustees have said they'll be appointing administrators and customers have been assured membership payments won't be taken at the start of the month tomorrow. Lucy, thank you ever so much. I've also been chatting to Ian Howles, who runs Folkston Swimming Club, that was based at the Sports Centre. We'd been down there on Monday night for training, and we came aware of that meeting. We had fears that something like this might happen as a result, but it's still a bit of a bolt out of the blue. The sports centres always had issues in terms of funding, because obviously Covid and they cost a living crisis and things has actually caused them massive issues. We've tried to support them wherever we can when they've had repairs. We've chipped in and so on and so forth, because at the end of the day, there's a facility that's needed for the whole of the community, and a lot of other clubs did exactly the same. So we've always been looking to work with them, and it just comes in real shock. My heart goes out to all the staff to find out the day before it used to be paid and things like that must have been horrific for them. Just hope that something can be done by the administrators to bring it back to life, because it's going to be a huge blow to the whole community. We're one part of that sports community down there, but it's used for so many different people. People with mental health issues rely on that place, and you've got to feel sorry for these guys. For anyone who doesn't live in Folkston and doesn't know the Sports Centre, you mentioned briefly there how important it is. Can you tell us a bit about the facilities that are in that building and how widely used it was? It's a massive facility for the whole community really, as well as the swimming pool, which is our main focus. It's got an excellent gym. It's got facilities for holding classes, or gym classes, like the room and things like that. It's got various rooms for that. It's got a well-being centre. It's got a sensory room that they opened up a few years ago that has been really useful for those with autism and things like that. It's going to be a huge loss to the whole area. What happens to your swimming club now, Ian? What are you able to do? We're lucky in a way. We're going to lose this week's training, obviously. Next week in the week after we had two weeks shut down to give coaches and swimmers a chance to have a break over the summer. It's been a long hard season. It affects where you're under the same length of time as a football season, so from September through to June, July time in terms of competitions. We're on a way down anyway, so from that, we've got a couple of weeks breathing space. We do work closely with other swimming clubs in the East Kent area, and we're trying to find ways of, in the short term, finding pool space where we can allow our next to continue training. The biggest problem is most pools are at capacity and so on and so forth. It's just a question of finding places we can go. The facilities we've helped to develop hopefully down at folks. We've renewed blocks recently. We've renewed lane ropes recently and put in more facilities for our swimmers to be able to train there and have facilities that are comparable to when we go to other competitions, so they are training in the same way they will be competing. To go to a pool that doesn't have those facilities is, of course, you're going to read to our detriment. A petition has been set up already. I believe by your youngest daughter, who's been very quick to act and say, come on, we need to do something. What are you hoping that that petition will achieve? As much as anything, it's raising awareness amongst the community. They're all with people who don't use a sports end or haven't used a sports end for some time. Hopefully, it's going to bring to the attention and the fact that you are losing this. It's like anything else in life. If you don't use it, you lose it. There are probably people even folks who haven't used the facilities that they could have done as much as they might have done in the past. It's just so unfortunate. It's happened during the school summer holidays. The summer holidays are a really good time for the sports ends and all the kids going in there using the swimming pools because it's so hot outside. They've got activities going on for the younger children all the way through. They have basically the summer holidays. In fact, where they were doing it on a daily or weekly basis, all those facilities are now gone. You're going to have kids with nothing to do for the rest of the summer holidays. However quickly, if they can get a rescue package in there, great. I don't know how quickly that will happen. Something similar happened in seven weeks. I think it was last year where they had one of their main people's clothes down. It was reopened under the owners, operators were probably a better word. I made contact with this. I was trying to see what they did to actually try and move that on. It's not going to be a five-minute fix. It can find that petition by searching on Facebook who will, of course, keep you updated on this story elsewhere. A much loved leisure centre in Diehl could be about to lose its slides and wave pool. Under a £19 million redevelopment plan, the renovation of tides has been hit with criticism by visitors who say the slides with the pool's main attraction. The renovation includes adding more gym equipment, 12 toning tables, a spin studio and two multi-activity spaces. Dover District Council has given the plans the green light, but says they can still be changed. Kent Online News. Other top stories for you today in a man's been arrested following the death of a woman as she tried to cross the channel to Kent at the weekend. A small boat with around 40 people on board got into trouble in the early hours of Sunday. A 29-year-old Egyptian national was detained in Manston on Monday night. A drink driver who was spotted swerving near Dover after having too many shandies at a wake has lost his license. Gary Foster was pulled over by police on Folkestone Road after attending his best friend's funeral. It was more than double the legal alcohol limit. The 63-year-old from late on road in Dover has been given a £700 fine and an 18-month driving ban. Thieves have been caught on CCTV, stealing copper and a till from a plumbing business in Graves End. Four suspects allegedly broke into the fairway shop in the town centre last Tuesday. The owner says it's cost nearly £10,000 to replace the goods and fix the damage. You can see the footage at Kent Online. And a suspect appeared in court following an attack in Maidstone that left the victim needing hospital treatment. He'd been walking down Gabriel's Hill on Sunday when he was approached by a stranger and struck on the side of the head. A 40-year-old from Beckinham is also accused of assaulting an emergency worker and has been remanded in custody. Kent Online reports A mum from Faversham has written a book to try and raise awareness. After being diagnosed with the mostly symptomless condition that can cause infertility. Now, fibroids are non-cancerous growths that develop in or around the womb and can be extremely painful. Zodia Hall's fibroids were discovered in 2021 while she was pregnant with her son. She later had surgery to remove two growths, more than 20 centimetres in size. Well, Zodia has been telling Kate about how it affected her family. I looked about six, seven months pregnant, and he used to say, "Oh, when are you due? You're pregnant again. Congratulations. No, I'm not. I'm ill, leave me alone." And then in terms of... So it was in your stomach. I've seen the pictures. It did look like a big pregnant belly. I imagine it must have inhibited your ability to sort of bend down, pick up your your new baby, your mobility getting around as well. Yes, it was awful. And because of my mobility being restricted, when the health nurses called, well, they had to come to me. I could have go to them because it was just too much. I was still postpartum and I was carrying this heavily pregnant belly that they had to commit to me. It restricted a lot. And because of that, I had to have almost like a team. You know, they have a team around a child attack team. I had a team around mother and baby. And in terms of the fibroids, what's your prognosis there? Is it likely that they're going to come back? I had a hysterectomy at my age. I had a hysterectomy. And even with that, I've had to know how to explain that to my son of why he can't have a sibling because he has mentioned babies and brothers and sisters. He does have other siblings. But from Mommy and Daddy, you won't be able to get another sibling. And I've had to explain that to him. And even now, with him wanting to play, I've had to explain to him, "Mommy can't play with you right now how you would like." And I've explained that age appropriate for him to understand it's not that Mommy doesn't want to. Mommy just can't at the moment. And he seems to understand at page two. So your son, is he the reason why you've decided to write the book? Mommy's growing your mommy's tummy? Absolutely why. Because again, he's very clued up. He's a very intelligent this boy. And I try to talk to him about things that's going on age appropriately again, because I think we don't give children credit for things that we think that they are not privy to. And they know more than we think they know. But it's just explaining it to them in an age appropriate way, which I've done with my son. But he's the reason why I definitely wrote this book. It's for him. Now, the book she's written about how a family has dealt with the condition is called Monsters are Growing in Mommy's Tummy. Plans to refurbish an office block in Chatham have taken a big step forward. Developers have been invited to bid for the job of redeveloping Mountbatten House next to the Pentagon Shopping Center into 164 flats. The 12-story building's been empty since 2006 and was bought by Medway Council in 2021 as part of wider plans to revitalize the surrounding area. This is one of our most read stories on the website today. A 100-pound parking fine has been described as unfair and sneaky. After a great grandma was caught out in Maidstone, three spaces outside the heart of Kent Hospice Charity Store in Parkwood were previously free to use but are now only available to residents. Well, Lynn Jones, who's 77, says new signage was hard to see, which the operating firm denies. Volunteers behind the Ramsgate Carnival say they're disappointed after this year's received criticism online. Visitors claim they were disappointed with large gaps between the floats whilst others described it as boring. The 100- and one-year-old event always takes place in the last weekend of July. And organizers say they're not discouraged from hosting future events. You can comment on this story on socials or via the story on the website. Kent's Online Reports In urgent searches underway for more dog and cat foster carers in Kent to help victims of domestic abuse. Charities that run the service have seen a rise in demand from people who are fleeing violence. Lucy's been chatting to Becky Philport from The Dog's Trust's Freedom Project. Most refugees aren't able to accept pets, so we know that having a dog can be a barrier to leaving because there is that risk that if the dog's left home, the dog could be left home alone, or the dog could be left behind with the perpetrator and we know that perpetrators will use that dog to say, "Come back home, come back home." So we provide foster care whilst the owner is either in refuge or temporary or emergency accommodation, and then once the owner is ready to have that dog back, then we will reunite them. The reason for our appeal at the moment is because we have seen a rise in referrals and for that reason we are urgently looking for more foster carers to take those dogs into their homes. For people who are suffering from domestic abuse, obviously, as you say, there are a lot of barriers to leaving. I mean, knowing that your pet is going to be looked after, it must be a weight off your mind. It's sort of one less thing to worry about. Yeah, absolutely. The knowledge that their pet will be safe and tough and loved is sometimes the final piece of the puzzle to enable someone to leave that dangerous situation. Whilst they're with us, it's a completely free service, so the survivors don't have, you know, we cover all of the veterinary fees, we provide all of the food, provide all of the equipment, and that goes for the foster carers as well. So it's a completely free service for both sides. Due to the confidential nature of the project, we aren't able to, you know, we act as the middlemen, so the volunteers don't know anything about the survivors and the survivors won't know anything about the volunteers, but obviously the owners are going to be missing their dogs like mad, so we send regular pictures and regular updates to the owners, so letting them know that the dogs are going to be, you know, the dogs are happy, they're well looked after and they're safe. And what sort of requirements do you have for people who might want to become a foster carer? All we ask is that the person has had some experience of caring for a dog. Now, that doesn't have to mean that they've owned their own dog. It could be that they've cared for other people's dogs in the past. We ask that they don't have any children under the age of 10 in the home, and they are home most of the time. We ask that our foster dogs aren't regularly left for any longer than four hours. We also ask that they don't have any cats or small pets, but if that sounds like it, you know, you fit that bill, then we'd be really, really keen to hear from you. And what are some of the benefits for people who sign up to the scheme? So I think there are lots of benefits. The main one really is that they have the experience of caring for a dog and the satisfaction of knowing they're helping somebody, you know, get to safety. But also, it's a completely free service. So you can have that joy of having a dog for around six to nine months without the financial commitment, the lifelong commitment of, you know, potentially 14 years for a dog. But also, we've heard from our volunteers that a large percentage of them have said that caring for a dog has increased their mental well-being. So, you know, it gets them out of the house, they go for a walk, they socialise with people, and they get to learn a lot about different breeds, and they get to learn a lot about things they maybe didn't know about a caring for a dog, because they are fully supported by our team, who are there to help with any behavioral issues, if there are any or any bumps in the road that might occur, they have, you know, a team around them to support them with that, and we're always at the end of the phone for them. And what sort of feedback have you had from survivors when they sort of come to you? I imagine they're in such an emotional state and having their pet well-looked after and then being reunited with them. What kind of difference does that make to their life? It makes a huge difference. We very often hear that, again, having their dog back is that, again, the final piece in the puzzle for that healing process. And one thing we hear every time we do a return is how grateful these survivors are to our volunteers. We couldn't run the service without people taking dogs into their homes, and they make that service possible. And it enables it, it is a genuinely life-saving service, and it's a genuinely life-saving thing that they do, because, you know, there are people that will not stay in, that will stay in that situation, because they don't know what they can do with their dog. And that is the main thing we hear from our survivors, is how grateful they are to our volunteers, because it's just such a huge impact they have on their lives. Cats protection are also part of the appeal for their lifeline scheme. Pets are eventually reunited with owners once they find a safe and stable home. Two Kent towns have been named as the sunniest places in the UK. According to research, Canterbury had more than 1,600 hours of sunshine last year. Fokston is second on the list, and whilst it's sunny at the moment, we are being warned to expect thunderstorms as a yellow alert for Kent comes into force. The Met Office says isolated flooding and disruption is also possible. Now, the force is in place until midnight tonight, and then a similar one arrives tomorrow, also at midday. Ken's online sport. To Paris first, and Ken's Nathan Hales has won gold for Team GB in the men's trap-shooting final at the Olympics. He set a games record by hitting 48 out of 50 targets in Paris, and says becoming an Olympic champion with his friends and family watching in the arena was very special. Being in this position is something I dreamt of since I was a kid. Since I started shooting with my family, it was always a dream of mine. So, to be able to come here and actually see it through to the end is absolutely unreal. It means absolutely everything to all of us. It's been an emotional rollercoaster for all of us, as you can see right now. Yeah, but we've all been in it together since the start. So, just to have their support is absolutely amazing, and to be able to do it here in front of them all is just unbelievable. Meantime, Kent Rower, Emily Craig has been back in action at the Games. She was in the semi-finals of the women's lightweight double skulls with partner Imogen Grant. The 31-year-old from Pembury wants to improve on their fourth-place finish in Tokyo, and she spoke to Bartholomew Hall from our colleagues at KMTV before heading to France. Last Olympics, it was fourth-placed for you. How do you turn that into a gold this time around? I mean, I'm hoping the work we've put over the last two years will certainly go a long way to making that a gold. We've got much more time in the boat together, much more experience. I think both of us are very different people and very different athletes to the two women that lined up on that start line in Tokyo 2021. And this time around, it's been quite nice because we've not had a pandemic to deal with. No, of course, absolutely. I think it's made it much, much more smoother run. I want to roll back the clock a little bit and talk about how you got into running, because I believe between you and your partner, it was quite a different story. You've been doing it the majority of your life, where it was virtually picks it up at university. So, tell me that story. Yeah, so my parents used to go and do the British indoor rowing championships, so on rowing machines that you see in gyms. And one year, they were like, "Oh, do you want to have a go?" I think I just turned 12, so I thought, "Okay, sure." And turned up, had no idea what I was doing, somehow got a silver medal. It was like, "Great. I want to try this properly on the water." So, I went down to my local rowing club, which was Buell Bridge on Buell Water Reservoir, the following summer, and then got on a boat and pretty much from there just fell in love with it, decided that I wanted to represent my country and I wanted to compete at the Olympics. It's an incredible story. I mean, it's interesting how your parents had obviously had some history with rowing as well. But then, I mentioned earlier, the kind of difference between you and your partner. Do you think, I mean, how much of rowing is something that you see comes through the gyms and is something that's kind of born with you in you, rather than something that's kind of picked up, because obviously for her, it was a much different story. I think one thing that's very nice about the squad is that everybody comes from somewhere slightly different. Everybody came to rowing in a different way. You know, M.O. founded at university in Fresher's Week, people like me have found it at school or through their local club. There's really no kind of set way to get into the sport, which I think is really quite nice. The pair are through to the final, which takes place on Friday. Onto cricket and Kento hosting Hampshire in the one day cup today. The Spitfires will be hoping to build on Sunday's victory over Lancashire. Today's game is taking place at Beckenham. And in football, some of Tillingham's fixtures have been rearranged after one of their matches was picked for TV. It comes after Sky Sports' new agreement with the EFL, meaning there's more chances to catch League 1, 2 and championship games on Telly, with the Jills were due to play Wimbledon on December the 29th. It's now been moved to the following day in front of the TV cameras. The full list of changes is on Kent online. That's all from us for today. Thanks ever so much for listening. Don't forget, you can follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok and threads. You can also get details on the top stories direct to your email each morning via the briefing to sign up to that. Just head to kentonline.co.uk. News you can trust. This is the Kent Online Podcast.
