A pub landlord could be stripped of his licence after a fight broke out in the wake of England’s Euro 2024 final defeat which left one punter with potentially life-changing injuries.
The incident happened in the pub garden in Wainscott, but police say it wasn’t properly reported to them until the next day.
Also in today’s podcast, a former Sturry pig farmer embroiled in a planning war after switching up his business without permission says he will defy council if it tries to shut him down.
His retrospective application has been rejected, but he’s vowed to continue trading even if enforcement action is threatened.
The KentOnline podcast has spoken to a woman who thought she’d be rich six months after opening a sandwich shop in Dartford but is now struggling to survive.
She's told us the cost of living crisis is still affecting small businesses, with costs doubling and customer numbers falling.
A garage boss on Sheppey is worried his firm’s reputation has been damaged due to a water leak saga that’s been going on for 19 months.
He says he’s unfairly getting the blame for the issue, which has turned the pavement outside his business into a “dangerous joke”.
And gym bosses in Herne Bay say they’re not feeling the pressure despite plans for a huge luxury health and fitness complex in the town.
You can hear from some gym owners who say they’re not scared of the proposals for the new David Lloyd Leisure site – as it will attract a completely different clientele.
we'll hear from a business owner in Starry who says he'll keep running even if Council tried to shut him down and also from a grandmother who set up a sandwich shop with dreams of being a millionaire who's now struggling to stay open thanks to the cost of living crisis. But first taking a look at our top story today, a midway pub is facing a review of its license after a fight broke out following England's defeat in the Euro's final over the summer. Lucy Jones has been following this story for the Kent Online podcast. She's got some more details for us football fans gathered in the San Sproul pub on Frisbee Hill in Wayne Scott to watch the match between England and Spain in July. The government had relaxed rules to allow pubs to stay open longer than usual. But after the final whistle and England's 2-1 defeat, two men got into an argument in the pub garden and one man was allegedly punched to the floor. He was later reported to have no feeling down the right side of his body. Police say a man from Gillingham was arrested in connection with the incident and he remains on bail until October 5th while inquiries continue. And so why are police now looking for a license review? Well since the assault police say that the pub has failed to follow through on agreements to make changes to prevent crime and disorder. Following their visit, police wrote to the landlord outlining minor changes to the pub's license to address the issues raised. These included written rules about checking the CCTV system, how to report a technical problem and an agreement to report instances of crime and disorder. And what does the landlord say? Well he says they've always cooperated with police and have done everything they've been asked to do. One of the main concerns was the lack of CCTV evidence from the assault, something the pub boss says that was down to a power cut. But he's now graded the system that's across to 400 pounds. He says it was just an unfortunate incident and the police are trying to penalize him for something out of his control. Thanks Lucy. A request for the license review by Kent police is currently being considered by Medway Council. Kent online news. Emergency crews have been called to Swanley after a car crashed into the front of a home. Pictures at Kent online show two vehicles were damaged in the collision on Godsell Road yesterday afternoon. Our reporter Kelly Greenwood has been at the scene. So the road where the crash happened in Swanley yesterday afternoon is fairly quiet this morning. The flat that was damaged has it is boarded up and there's yellow and black tape around the window. The panes of glass and the plastic surrounds are in a pile on the grass at the front. And then along the curb, there's like shards of glass all the way along for about three metres, three or four metres and bits of old bits of car that were broken off. But otherwise it's fairly quiet. Firefighters made sure the building was structurally safe and the people involved were looked after by paramedics. A random man who groomed a teenager he met online has been jailed for nine years. David Smith knew the boy was underage and paid him hundreds of pounds. The 68-year-old from Childs Croft Road was described in court as dangerous and manipulative. A driver who armed himself with a two-foot hammer during a road rage incident in Hearn Bay has been sentenced in court. Sellhurst blades got into an argument with pedestrians who thought he had nearly hit them with his Mercedes on Mortimer Street in the town centre. The 58-year-old who's from the town has been given a 12-month community order and will have to pay more than 700 pounds. A court has heard how a Sheena's man was so high on a mix of drink and drugs on a night out he couldn't remember attacking police. Darren Cattle was arrested in Royal Road in June after he was found for the kitchen knife but assaulted officers while being detained. The 41-year-old from the high street woke up in a cell with no memory of the night before he's pleaded guilty to all charges and will be sentenced in November. Firefighters have managed to put out a blaze at a block of flats in Maidstone. The building on Moat Road had to be evacuated yesterday afternoon, six fire engines and a height vehicle were needed to tackle the flames on a balcony. No one was hurt and it's unclear how it started. Police say there's been a drop in the number of anti-social behaviour reports in part of Kent after officers were given new powers. A public spaces protection order was put in place near the Hewitt's Roundabout where the M25 meets the A21 in May. Anyone caught breaking the rules faces a £100 fine. The boss of a tire shop on Sheppy says his business is suffering because of a water leak which has been running for more than a year. Customers have complained about the state of the pavement outside A2 tire suppliers in Queen Row Road which freezes over in the winter. Branch manager Luke Stevens says it's becoming dangerous. We've had a leak here for well over a year and I've contacted some water who in all fairness have been out a couple of times but they're now saying it's groundwater. I don't believe it to be. We've had the water tested ourselves and KCC have also been out and tested the water and both confirmed the presence of chlorine so that suggests that it's got to be fresh water supply. But southern water sound they can't find the leak and in our sound there's no more they can do. And what's the solution? What's your account? Well basically, we need the leak fixed. As you can see down there there's algae growing in the road which suggests the water leak has been there for a period of time. In the winter months the water sprays up onto the forecourt here but the biggest problem last last winter was the water freezing. Obviously that's hazardous for people on the footpath. It creates what holds in the path so for people pushing prams, pushchairs, wheelchairs, anything like that it makes it almost impossible. So it just needs dealing with I've now got customers of ours contacting us to say that it's a disgrace that we're not doing anything about it. Unfortunately, we've tried to do lots about it but we're just getting nowhere so don't really know where to turn now. One thing that we pride ourselves on is our customer service and reputation. You've only got to look at our Google reviews and Facebook reviews and what have you got but they're very very good. So we're all about customer service. So customers perceiving that we're doing something wrong is actually is upsetting for us really because as I said that's that's our thing customer service. KCC you've carried out some repair work but say the responsibility lies with southern water. The water companies say investigations are underway. Kent online news. People living in a block of flats in Tundbridge Wells say they're angry it's being extended with more homes put on top. Developers are adding modular units to create an extra 11 homes on the three-story Hamilton court on Chilston Road. Some residents have complained that water has got into their properties as a result Simon Fowler lives in the block of flats. Big problem in in this block of flats is the water ingress. The developer has taken the covering off the roof, the waterproof covering and clearly not put it back. There is water getting in absolutely everywhere. It's a concrete building with aerated concrete, partition walls and of course they like a sponge. The water that's got in I know for a fact it's got into four flats but although I'm sure there's more it's got into the communal areas and that damage hasn't been approached at all since I think March when it first started to be noted. The developer has been told about it on our local WhatsApp group he's done nothing. Aside from that the scaffolding on site is absolutely shocking. It's probably the worst I've seen in a public space I've been in building for 20 years it's probably there's no protection over the public entrances so if anything you can see there's nothing. So things can fall off and things do fall off and have fallen off. There is rubbish strewn across the site and then we find out the extent to which they're destroying all of the public space outside. We have a beautiful set of gardens that we love and cherish quite frankly we have gardener and he loves it and they're taking all of that away on that side and they're going to remove a large part of our raised flower bed where we sit and have coffee and kids play, people have barbecues and chit chat amongst residents. It's a lovely safe space and they're now going to chop that down, take over trees away and stick around about in there. We're told the roof is being completely replaced. Figures seen by Kent Online show Kent and Medway NHS Trust has paid out four million pounds of for mental health negligence cases over the last five years. 57 claims or incidents have been reported to legal services. 27 was settled with damages. The owner of a sandwich bar in Dartford says the cost of living crisis is still having a massive impact on small businesses. Sally Patton quit her job in London to open the shop on St Vincent's road 11 years ago. She says the cost of products has doubled and takings are down 50%. What was the reason that you had to decide to shop? Like our customers, we're down on the delivery services. Not so many customers come in now and I understand they're all in the same boat. People haven't got the money but I just ask you know come in and say hello, buy a packet of crisps just to keep us going. I've been here 11 years, got to get a motion over this. I don't want to close but I don't want to close because I love it and I have no choice. What do you think you love about it? I love the customers. I just love the way we are, I love the girls that I work with, we have a laugh and where we are, where we're situated. It's so nice and people say but you can't park, it's so hard to get, we've got to keep clear out there. You can park on the keep clear but I just love and fit about the shop. It's like giving a baby away. If I have to lose this then exactly how it would feel. When you start it, it was like a big leap into the unknown. Tell us about how you saw it. I worked in London, got sick of traveling and decided I'd open a shop and then I thought within six months I'm going to be super rich. I don't plan down, I was going to do all the money, 11 years on. I've absolutely broke but I hate but I just love it. I just love everything we do. Sometimes we legs don't, I have a bad hip but I just love, I love the shop. What will you do if you have to climb? What will be your next plan? I'm 61. What am I going to do? That would be the hardest for me because I don't know if I could work for someone. I don't know, I could be and told what to do would be a killer for me. So I don't know. So please people, you know, we're not expensive. Come and have a look. Recent data shows more than 1,500 businesses closed in Kent in the second quarter of the year. Kent online news. A former pig farmer in Starry says he's willing to defy any attempts to shut his business down. Stephen Cook saw a huge increase in costs during the pandemic which forced him to stop rearing animals and instead start storing and servicing heavy machinery. Council have now blocked his retrospective application to change his use of choice of farm in Herne Bay Road. They say the development would result in general industrial units on land not allocated for business use. Stephen has been talking to our reporter Millie Bowles. We used to breed pigs and send them to market and slaughter them for the produce. When COVID hit, the price of food became so much that it was not sort of sustainable to keep the business going and we sort of try to get rid of those and then we went on to try diversifying to storage machinery, sales, service and that sort of stuff but that was it. And so you put in what did you do with the planning and what happened there? The planning application to the council was a change of use from agricultural to industrial so we could obviously go ahead and do this, run this business from here but it can't be a council refused that and then we put it into appeal and obviously that was refused as well. And so where do you stand now with it all and how do you feel about it? I'm just going to carry on and just do what I want to do, carry on the business, how I feel about it, if they've got an issue with it they'll come and see me and if they come and see me they'll have to make an appointment to come and see me, not they do sometimes just walk on site but we don't allow that here. So they can come and see but I'm going to carry on running my business. The planning inspector it says it cannot comment on the case as the appeal decision could still be challenged. Campaigners have lost a bit to save an area of open space near Maidstone from development. Residents in Allington wanted land at Bunyad's farm to be given village green status. Their application's been rejected clearing the way for a planning proposal for more than 400 homes on the site. Plans to build 18 new homes on Romney Marsh have been given the go ahead. The development of Victoria Road West in Little Stone has been in the pipeline for four years. The previous company behind the scheme went bust. Bosses have now decided to approve the proposals. Residents in folks don't say the sale of their local sports center is going to affect the whole community. Folks and sports center has been put on the market after closing suddenly last month. The facility has also been used as part of a GP referral service and for physio therapy sessions. Lucy Jones spoke to Ian Haus who is the swim club chairman. I read as well that there's um like a GP referral unit scheme that a lot of people are going to there where it's like it's not only the GP referrals it's also the physio because there's a lot of the hospital gyms that used to do a lot of the rehab work. They were referring it to the sports center continue that rehab there in the gyms with their fitness instructors etc and obviously that can't carry on at the moment so it's there's a huge loss there and at the end of the day we need all these facilities for the for the youth to be able to stay fit and so on and so forth and you know in folks then it's a seaside town. One of the curriculum things within primary schools is they have to should be learning to swim 25 metres by the time they leave primary school. That is becoming less and less possible due to the fact that there's so so little force base for the school structure to take up. Yeah it's definitely going to be a big loss in the community in terms of like as you said education and as well you know people improving their health. I was reading as well a lot of people just use that to break up their week you know whether it's like work or socialising it is a massive thing within the community so yeah it's definitely going to be missed. Hopefully it can remain as still like the health and wellbeing centre and not go to building developers. Yeah one of the things they put into the sports centre over the last five six years was a sensory room to help people with autism and I know a lot of families use that as their way of taking a break from the the world is if you like and it's been so beneficial to those and the fact that they can't use that anyways must be heartbreaking I don't know what they're doing and many of the comments on the petition were saying how people were actually using the gym for their mental health etc etc especially after COVID and the fact where are these people going now? You had the choice of a reasonably reasonable cost for using a gym at folks and all paying huge amounts of private gyms and because you can just see that the demand for the gyms is increasing out there and the fact you've taken at such a live gym out of circulation has hit the whole community. Yeah I think asking where have these people gone now is such a crucial question because of how many people were relying and engaging on the on the programs and the sports and you know even the sensory rooms everything that was being offered there so yeah I definitely yeah I definitely agree that it's going to be a big loss to the community and now people are going to have to try and outsource this you know whether it's finding new sensory environments that you know they can perhaps use for children who have autism or you know even just if you're being like rehabilitated for sports injuries so yeah people are definitely going to have to start outsourcing where they go now. There is nowhere to go for a lot of these things um child you know mental health services have been cut to a bone for many years now and people were self-medicating if you like by using the gym and so on and so forth it came there happy place can't use it anymore possibly can't afford to go and use other competitors like balance lines and places like that which is significantly more expensive so I don't know what they're doing you know some people take to running and I'm doesn't have a formal exercise but it's not for everyone. Its fear the land could be redeveloped into housing. Kent online news. Jim bosses in hernbay say they're not worried about the potential arrival of huge luxury health and fitness complex. David Lloyd Leger wants to open a new facility near Sainsbury's at Altira Park. Hernbay is already home to snap fitness, sweat shop, muscle heart, heron's leisure centre, run by active life and James fitness. Sam Sheagold is the owner of sweat shop on the high street. As a gym we are a very different concept to David Lloyd so I'm not overly worried and I think we're a more of a community gym and we know all our members by name and I think you can't really replace that but it's completely different concept we're sort of a 24 hour local community gym and sort of the least intimidating space around to go into. Matt Russell is the co-owner of Muscle Hut. He told the local democracy reporting service what he thinks. You put your David Lloyd which is like your upper class luxury. You pay the premium. Wherever people in this day and age you've got the money to to have pulled out. I don't know but it's everyone's watching the panels at the minute so I'll be very wary. The good thing with David Lloyd is they've got the financial backing of all the other gyms we're going to UK so if one does fall short for a year or two they can they've got the money there to bounce it back up. Head to Kent online to see pictures of a former flower meal meal sitting born that's gone on the market. The grade two listed building is now a home and up for sale for one and a half million pounds. Tung Mill was bought by a couple in 2013 who spent £40,000 restoring it and a former nail technician from Kent is taking part in this year's series of the Great British Bake Off. 71 year old Hazel says she enjoys making elaborate cakes for her grandchildren's birthdays. She'll be one of 12 contestants heading into the tent in the first episode next Tuesday. Kent's table tennis star Will Bailey is already setting his sights on the LA Paralympics after disappointment in Paris. The 36-year-old from Tundbridge Wells had to settle for silver in the men's C7 singles. He says he wants to prove he's the best player in the world at the games in 2028. A briefly in cricket Kent are hosting Nottinghamshire in their penultimate county championship match of the season. Only to win if they're to have any hope of staying in Division 1. That's all from us 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 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 Kent Online Podcast. [ Silence ]
