The owner of cafe that opened just weeks ago in Folkestone say it might have to shut already due to a lack of customers.
It comes as traders in the town, recently named the best place to live in the south east, say while the much-hyped harbour area is bustling, parts of the town centre are struggling.
Also in today’s podcast, a controversial 450-home application on farmland in Medway has been given the go-ahead.
The KentOnline Podcast has heard from the Chatham and Aylesford MP says lack of a local plan forced the committee’s approval of the Gibraltar Farm development, despite more than 700 objections.
The grandfather of two children out littler picking says he was horrified when they uncovered a zombie knife.
The weapon was found hidden in a bush just weeks before they’re due to be outlawed.
Maidstone Leisure Centre has been forced to make changes to its special swim sessions after facing backlash on social media.
Parents accused the facility of being “thoughtless” about the timings of new SEN sessions at the splash pad.
And in sport, you can hear from the Gillingham manager and midfielder Armani Little ahead of their league two clash this weekend.
The Gills are sitting top of the table after three games and are looking forward to welcoming Chesterfield to Priestfield.
over the last few years. Can't online news news you can trust. This is the Kent online podcast. Kate Faulkner. Hello. Happy Friday. Hope you're OK. Thank you for downloading today's podcast on August 30th. Coming up today will hear from the chat and Ailesford MP about the approval of a controversial 450 home development and the Joel's manager Mark Bonner has been telling us how the squad are feeling in the lead up to this weekend's match with Chesterfield. But first taking a look at our top story today. If you're watching this video, you're watching this podcast on August 15th at the Houston Cafe, which only opened three weeks ago, says they may already be forced to close. So on your pace runs the Trinity Wellness Harbins says while the much hyped harbor arm is bustling parts of the town center are struggling. Other shop owners say they feel forgotten about and separate from the busy sea front. Council say they've been hosting events to boost the town center football such as this summer's Food Festival. Other top stories today, a 16 year old boy is doing court training at the Houston Cafe Hall. He's doing a good job of walking in Great Line's Heritage Park last Tuesday. The teenager was arrested in She and S and has now been charged with attempted rape. A grapes and drug driver has been banned for a year after getting behind the wheel while being nearly five times the legal limit. Billy Jones was under the influence of cocaine when he was pulled over by police on this road in February. He was also driving without insurance as well as the ban. The 26 year old who lives on Ingolds B Road has been ordered for the first time in the year. It's been a long time since the long time since the underground have discovered a 40 centimeter long zombie knife. The eight to nine year olds were in lower road on Sunday when they found the weapon under a bush. Police were called and collected the knife. They're due to be outlawed on September 24th. Kent online news for people have been taken to hospital following a multivocal crash near Hearne Bay. Emergency crews were called to Whistable Road at about once 30 yesterday. It's the first time that was taken to Whistable Road. It was the first time of the last where a man in his 50s has been arrested on suspicion of drug driving after a crash in Maidstone. Two vehicles collided on Upper Stone Street yesterday afternoon. One person was taken to hospital for treatment. Controversial plans for a 450 home development on farmland in Midway have been approved. The project at Gibraltar Farm in Hempstead also includes a nursery and a retail unit. The proposals raised concerns about his parents and parents. They were taken to the hospital and were taken to the hospital. Nailsford Triss Osborne says the committee's hands were tied. I'm really disappointed as has been said over 700 people wrote to object. MPs locally objected and the community itself, I think is very concerned about this. However, my colleagues were left in a very, very difficult situation twice. This council has rejected local plans under the conservatives. Have they had a local plan in place? This is now the outcome of the council that doesn't have an upstate local plan. Further details like the layout and design of the homes will be decided at a later date. Gabriel Morris from our colleagues at KMTV has also been chatting to conservative Councillor Andrew Lawrence. I'm obviously disappointed, but look, I understand the reality of the situation. The council can't afford any more big legal fights. This is a very difficult situation. There are more big legal fights. This has been to appeal on a lot of occasions. I think the reality is now is to minimise the impact of the development onto the residents of Hempstead and Widmore, who I represent. What's next then? I think we just have to monitor it. I'm very interested. I understand that a proposal may go to cabinet fairly shortly. I think the reality of these type of applications is they're very complex. It will probably be, I don't know, a year, 18 months, even two years before the developer can actually start building houses. To be frank, the way the Labor Party are managing the economy, I don't think there will be an economy to sell houses in. Maybe this will be kicked down for some years ahead. Would we be here tonight if there was already a local plan in place? Undoubtedly, it's a difficult one. I'm not here to criticise the previous administration. I think there was some strategic errors made on the local plan. I think the previous administration should have forced the local pan for a vote and taken the, you know, just taking it. Yet we have suffered from a lack of a local plan. I can't deny it. The issue of local plan has caused lots of issues, and we have to own that. What the local plan would just be proposed by the Labor Administration? Look, I mean, we're working. We've offered to work constructively with the Labor Administration where it's still in the Regulation 18. We're very interested in the allocation of properties. As I said in my submission tonight, I'm really worried about the creep in urbanisation that will go right up to the edge of the ANOB, and it will fundamentally change the characteristic of Hempstead and Whitmore. In other news, plans for 132 new homes on farmland near Dim Church have been approved on appeal. Council rejected the proposal for high knock farm for being unacceptably harmful to the area, despite more than 100 objections the planning inspector has now given it the go ahead, saying there will be no significant impacts. And plans have been submitted to build 360 homes in a new development in Tundbridge Wells. The site at St Mark's Recreation Ground in Frant Road would also include a care home and a nursery. If approved, construction would start at the site in 2025, and the proposed development would be fully operational by 2030. Kent Online News. A mum's been left devastated after flowers left in a tribute to her son in Hern Bay was stolen. A memorial was set up on Bullockstone Road following the death of 32-year-old Lee Harlow in 2021. Artificial roses were taken from the site earlier this week. Changes have been brought in at Maidstone Leisure Centre after parents made complaints about SEN sessions. The venue announced the quiet periods would run from 8 a.m. until 9 a.m. on two dates in August, but it outraged those who said they'd never be able to make it for that time. The centre has now also included sessions from 5.30 p.m. until 7 p.m. on the last Friday of every month. Data has revealed the top 20 roads in Kent for speeding. Police have issued 7 million pounds worth of fines in the last year alone, with more than 34,000 drivers getting caught. The two worst areas are on the M25, followed by the 8229 at Boxley. You can see the full list at Kent Online. Now, as children, get ready to go back to school next week. A salon in Medway is offering free haircuts to help with the cost of living crisis. New research has found more than a third of parents will struggle to pay for things like uniform and stationery. Oliver, from our colleagues at KMTV, has been speaking to Sarah Ayomaki, who runs Code Red's Salon on the Horsestead Parker State. I home educate my youngest daughter. So, remembering what it was like to be able to afford everything, going back to school, obviously, I can do there here myself. But all the rest of it, buying pee kits and new uniforms and everything that goes with it. So, I just thought, if I can alleviate a little bit of pressure, I can do a few haircuts. Because you hear that, don't you? It's always so expensive this time of year. You come off the holidays and you're buying the uniform. You're getting all the little like pencils and notepads and whatever people need for school. What were the clients you spoken to today been telling you with their children in here? What have they been saying to you about their their struggles? Honestly, on the most part, we've spoken more about the environment of getting haircuts. So, I opened this first session to the people of Club Alsom, which is a local charity you may have heard of for kids on the spectrum. So, their main struggle is just finding a salon that's peaceful enough for their kids to feel comfortable and come in. So, we haven't really had much conversations around the costs of everything. They've just been grateful that their kids have been happy enough to just sit and get the haircut. So, this is the first time that you've done an event like this or you always hold hats at this at like these sorts of community aid events, kind of getting people ready for the school term or just like a fresh experience for you. It's the first time I've offered free haircuts for going back to school. Yeah, but I do try and do as much as I can for the community. So, my main thing here is that I train a lot, so I have a lot of the girls from college and from the schools coming in. And my main mission is to try and train as many young people for free as I can. So, I've had a lot of help over the years from all sorts of different directions. And it's just an opportunity for me. I see young people are struggling a lot. So, wherever I can do something to try and help them out, I do. So, can you be able to obviously is that thing of giving back? Why do you think it's so important to kind of give back to the community? And what is quite a difficult time with costs raising the people really struggling to kind of get to support them? Why is it so important for you to help them out? Well, exactly that. There's too many people just taking at the moment, I think, and we don't have bottomless pockets. So, if you have an opportunity to be able to do something, however big or small that is, it's not much I am able to do to help people. But I can cut here, so that's what I offer. And you saw this then. The parents are so grateful for what you offered. Like, how do you feel when you see the parents, the seeds in the children so happy with the haircuts? Like, you know, it must feel pretty, pretty good, right? Yeah, definitely. I've had a couple of young people in today that haven't had haircuts as yet. It's been their first time or in a salon, at least. Mum and Dad have been trying to cope at home. So, it's nice for them to be able to come in and experience having a professional service done and to leave smiling. So, that's an achievement for me if they're not crying. Sarah mentioned how they're running sessions for children with additional needs. Kelly Milano is from club Awesome and says it's been a huge help. It's the Sarah who runs the salon at Code Red. She's a good friend of mine. I've been going there for a long time now and she does my hair. And we were just sitting there talking about, you know, what we could do to make things a little bit easier for lots of our families. You know, there's a return to school. You can imagine for all the children out there, you know, and Mum's Dad's everywhere. It's a very anxious time and children are already struggling, you know. So, let's see if we can release some pressure. And then suddenly, like Sarah had the idea of being able to offer some haircuts for children in the salon while it's quiet, you know, she wouldn't charge a penny. And she could do it in an atmosphere that was very relaxing and, you know, it's quiet. There's not, it's not over stimulation. It's not people on in and out. It's quite, you know, it's just a nice place to be. And she's brilliant. She's absolutely brilliant. We've understood in the needs of people that are neuro divergent. Obviously, it is like that thing where it's like, you come out to school and already there's all that anxiety around the bills, around the uniform. And then it's an additional strain, the haircut. And it's always, and especially with some people with neuro diversions, it can be quite like a challenging process. It is something that you kind of hear about quite a bit. Like people that families you work with are struggling at the moment in the lead of the school, be able to afford, like, clothing, but to afford the things that their children need. So lots of our families are the carers of the, you know, the adults, the carers of the children. And cuff living is hard enough, as it is, even when you're a working family. So, you know, you've got the uniform cost, specific uniform. It is always more expensive when you're catering for a child with, you know, special sensory needs. You know, you have to get the seamless socks and they charge your fortune for those. We can't just pop down to Primark, you know, and grab anything. So the fact that we can listen to Bird in a little bit, you know, between us and do something nice, I think it can only help. The final session for Free Hair Cuts is on Tuesday, the 3rd of September. Kent Online News. Firefighters have spent several hours tackling ablaze involving hay bales near Graves End. It broke out on Church Road in Cobham yesterday lunchtime, and people were still being told to avoid the area this morning. Crews said they were making good progress to extinguish the fire. Bosses in Ashford say there's still no timeline for when a closed car park with a crumbling roof will reopen. The 300 space park mall car park has been shut since April, and attempts to remove stalactites from the ceiling have been unsuccessful. Council now say they're considering removing the first story altogether to create one ground level open air facility. A fundraising page has been set up to help cover the cost of two shorn-the-sheep statues that were vandalised in Maidstone. They're part of an art trail and were due to be auctioned off to raise money for the heart of Kent hospice. Hundreds of pounds has been donated by the community to try and restore the lost funds. And now with a look at the events and activities in Kent this weekend, here's our what's on editor Sam Laurie. You made it. It's the last weekend of the school holidays. Well done. If you've just spent six weeks with the kids bouncing off the walls at home, congratulations for making it to the end. If you've just enjoyed six weeks of kid-free sunshine, well I think it's about time you got around in for your parent friends. But don't worry, this weekend there are plenty of places where you can do just that, starting with the Falvisham Hot Festival. The annual weekender is one of the biggest beer festivals in Kent and we'll see hundreds of musicians, Morris Dancers and street entertainers take to the market town. There will be outdoor stages and pub gigs, parades and funfare rides, pop-up bars and food stalls and plenty of pints being pulled by Falvisham's very own shepherd named brewery. It's completely free to enter and takes place on Saturday and Sunday. But if you're in town tonight, you can probably catch a few early gigs at some of the town's pubs. And that's not the only festival where you can get a decent drink this weekend. The Deal Food and Drink Festival is at Deal Castle until Sunday, where you can find lots of local produce, street food and real ale. And on Saturday and Sunday, the Tumbridge Food and Drink Festival is back for its 11th year, this time at the Race Course Sports Ground with some tasty treats and don't forget to catch the Dragon Boat Race on the river on Sunday. Now for those of you who aren't quite ready to let the summer go just yet, and I can't say I blame you, there's a brilliant outdoor concert our favorite fairground turned music venue, Dreamland. The Margate stage will welcome Popstar Becky Hill, who is performing her dance floor anthems on Saturday and Sunday. The Saturday day is all sold out, but there are still a few tickets left for Sunday, if you're quick. If you're after something to do with the family, Immersion Theatre will be bringing their fun production of Peter Pan to the grounds of Canterbury Cathedral on Saturday. And for the little ones, the live stage version of Children's TV show in the night garden is at the Churchill Theatre on Saturday and Sunday, bringing characters to life with puppets, music and colourful costumes. And finally, just looking ahead a couple of days, theatre lovers will want to book their tickets for a chorus line, which opens at Canterbury's Marley Theatre from Monday. The Razzle Dazzle show follows a group of hopeful dancers as they audition for an upcoming Broadway musical, but of the 17 potentials, only eight of them will make the cut. It features classic numbers like one, I hope I guess it and what I did for love, and is a peek behind the curtain at the doggy dog world of show business. So whether you're going to be having a drink, a dance or a day out this weekend, I hope you have a fabulous couple of days. Thanks, Sam. Ken's online sport. Football now, enjoying him a back-in lead to action tomorrow with a match against Chesterfield. After three games, the gills are sitting top of the table. They'll be looking to keep the good run of form going tomorrow at Priestfield. Here's manager Mark Bonner. Firstly, I think we're really happy to be back here. It seems like ages since we've played at home, just like a long couple of weeks. And unusual to probably ever to do what we've done back to back to back, really, with the free game. So really happy to be back. Can't wait for probably just backing up the atmosphere and feeling that again. And I think I hope that after the start we've had in the first game that we had here, there'll be real good numbers in the stadium. And a lovely energy should be a nice day, two really good teams having to go against each other, really. I think I've been so impressed with Chesterfield. I mean, they obviously romped the league last year. Brilliant deservedly back in the league in a tough couple of years, but got some really good players in that level last year in terms of signing EFL players. Brilliant manager, really experienced. So no real surprises that they're really well-fancy this season. And they've added well. And I think they're in a cycle where they've developed a style in a way as a team and had a period of success together where early on in the season, that momentum just carries you through. And they've had a couple of games that they're probably disappointed they haven't won because they've been quite dominant in. And they obviously had an outstanding result of a crew as well. So yeah, they're looking very strong. We're very competitive in Derby in the Caraval Cup. Lots of good players. Patty Madden back close to returning. So yeah, they're looking strong. Very good possession team, statistically very high. And they'll cause us lots of problems, I think, without defensive structure. So how well we play against the ball will be massive. And how well we use the ball is really important as well because we've spent too long without it in a couple of games. And we've got to try and get better at having control of the ball ourselves and use that a little bit better. So nice challenge for us has given us a good chance this week to do a little bit of work on that and try to get that balance in a week like this where you can practice a bit, but also accept the fact that the numbers have been fairly low in terms of number of bodies available and use this week and be fresh going into the game and not feeling the effects of traveling around the world for a couple of weeks. We hope that benefits us. So we've tried to get a balance this week of doing the right amount of work versus the right amount of recharge. And we'll see if that works or not. Our sports reporter Luke Cordell has also been chatting to drilling a midfielder Armani Little. He joined in the early summer after turning down a new deal at AFC Wimbledon. Going into the start of the season, I think everyone's head sees on going up. That's the aim, but at the same time you can't put the pressure on it and we know we got to keep it within ourselves and not be shouting about everywhere. So I just think, as a group, we know what we want to get done this season. I actually need you to get in the summer. It must have been tough for the opposite because you think you played against Millwall and did well and then about that sort of set back and it was going to be quite frustrating. Yeah, and I was really frustrating. I was feeling fit the first two or three weeks and like I said, I played 45 minutes against Millwall. And when you get an injury, it sort of puts you behind then, so you're playing a lot of catch up. But yeah, no, but I'm someone that works hard and gets mad down. So I needed to, I had a focus on getting back for the first game season and luckily I did that. Then the manager, like I said, was surprised that you lasted so long as well in that match. It was a hard game. Yeah, no, it was, I think the first half was, I was blown a bit too long, so it was a hot day too. But I think as a game went on, I felt better, surprisingly. So I then moved here, adrenaline and we're winning four ones always there and it gets you from. Well, you've got to start the season there to win four. I suppose that's a good focus for you, is it when you're trying to get it ready? Yeah, I sort of moved the time scale of what it could be. And the best result was getting back for that game. So I just got my head down and just focused on that, really. Did you miss somebody? The hard yards they'd open pre-season were young? We fair, the first two weeks was most of the running, the first two three weeks. So I had to do that. But then it was good because I had that in the bank already. So I didn't miss too much with the running, it was just more of the games I missed. Are you back on level? Hard with the rest of the squad and everything? I think I'm getting there, yeah, for myself personally. I think I'm near enough there. But I'm getting that fitness in the actual game. So it's good for me, but it's also difficult because that first game was probably a bit rusty, a bit of sharp moves. But yeah, forget that. I think the manager's had the dupe, but responsibility is well this season, as we would have the first captain team, I believe. Yeah, no, yeah, sure. Has that failed for you? Yeah, no, it's good. Obviously, the gaffer, he wants everyone to be a captain in their own way. Yeah, whether it's talking or lean by example, and I think we should all be like that. And I think this team is to speak more to be honest. All of us. So I think there's no difference how we play. Just gives me a bit more responsibility when needed. Kickoff tomorrow is at 1230. That's all from us today. And for the week, thanks ever so much for listening. Don't forget, you can follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram, TikTok, and threads. You can also get the details on the top stories direct to your email each morning by the briefing to sign up. Just head to kentonline.co.uk News you can trust. This is the KENTONLINE Podcast. (dramatic music) [BLANK_AUDIO]
