A Deal woman who bravely battled ovarian cancer, has died at the age of just 33.
Emily Hubble is being remembered throughout the town as "the ultimate girl’s girl, everyone’s bestie, an amazing wife and daughter".
Also in today's podcast, the government has once again delayed a decision on a new £9 billion road tunnel between Kent and Essex.
We'll have to wait until next May to find out whether the Lower Thames Crossing will go ahead. We've got reaction the chief executive of the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce.
As fighting continues in the Middle East, we've been speaking to a Kent expert about the situation.
Israel's warned people to move away from Lebanon's Mediterranean coast as their military targets Hezbollah positions. Hear from Dr Yaniv Voller, who is a Senior Lecturer in Middle East politics at University of Kent.
There are fears part of Kent could become a 'no-swim zone' after a sports centre closed and concerns were raised about the quality of seawater.
Council bosses say there's a chance four of the six bathing areas in Folkestone and Hythe could be rated 'poor' in 2025. We've got reaction from council leader Jim Martin.
Figures seen by KentOnline show almost 27,000 people in Kent and Medway are waiting to be assessed for autism and ADHD.
Included in that figure is 13,000 children as council bosses admit there's been a 'rapid increase' in demand for services. Lisa Lloyd is a mum from Larkfield who has two autistic children and has written a book about her experience.
And in sport, Gillingham boss Mark Bonner has been nominated for league 2 manager of the month for September.
He already won the August award after a strong start to the season.
for this podcast and we're going to start with our top story today, which is that the government has once again delayed a decision on a new 9 billion pound road tunnel linking Kent and Essex. We'll have to wait until next May to find out whether the lower Thames crossing will go ahead. An announcement was due to be made this week, but the Transport Secretary now says ministers need more time to consider the application. Well, Lucy has been speaking to Tudor Price, who's the Chief Executive of the Kent Invictor Chamber of Commerce. The problem this does is the government doesn't seem to understand actually what they're doing here is they're breaking the trust of the business community. Anyone that's in business will know that actually your word is your bond and that level of trust that people have on you is incredibly important. So if you say you're going to do something and then that doesn't happen, you're probably forgiven for the first time and we had that back in June and there's understandable reasons. So then it was sort of all set for the 4th of October and everyone was ready for that. And then they decided to push you back to May and the trouble is that they've said for further time for the application to be considered. Well, I don't understand what there is to consider, it's the the need is obvious and apparent. Anyone that drives around the M25 will know that misery can be incurred at the Dartford Tunnel. We are expecting more traffic volumes. The economy is supposed to be sort of in a growth mode and the government sort of made a big thing about that and this is exactly the sort of thing that needs to be sort of initiated in order to bring that private investment. So we are incredibly frustrated, dismayed and slightly bewildered. And how desperately is this new road crossing needed? Is it for the whole of Kent? Is it such an important infrastructure project or is it just mainly sort of Dartford and Gravesend? This is actually a UK wide infrastructure project. This would benefit the whole of the UK because the port of Dover is the second busiest cross-border point in the world. It's second only to sort of Mexico and the US. So there's a massive amount of traffic that comes through. Yes, we're trying to get it all on to rail, we're trying to get more on to freight, on to air freight and stuff to try and reduce the road traffic, but it is just going to get busy all the time people spend money and the economy grows, you're going to see more traffic. And all that freight is coming through the county heading up to other parts of the UK. So there's that wider impact. The other thing is not just about the local and regional need, but also the impact it has on the economy as a whole, because the steel is going to be used, the concrete is going to be used, the aggregates, the engineering, innovation and technology development, the skills, the careers that go with this. This sort of creates a £40 billion worth of impact to the whole of the UK economy. So you sort of then you sort of find yourselves incredulous. Why hasn't this been given the green light? This is exactly what growing an economy looks like. So yeah, it's a much bigger picture than just the Darford Crossing, much as that is a big problem in itself. And of course, when a decision is finally made, next May we're hoping it won't be delayed again. It won't be sort of instant that work starts and we're looking at several years down the line when this tunnel is finally built and up and running. Do you think it's just gone on far too long? Because obviously it was 10, 15 years ago that we initially started talking about another road link. This is the thing, it's crazy when you start to look at the terms. And you mustn't forget that the contractors that have bid in for this word, they spent millions preparing and putting in the tenders. So money has been invested already. And again, to sort of push it down the road. And I think you said it yourself. Hopefully that decision will be made in May. Well, there's not a good track record so far. So no one's going to be making any decisions to hand over any cash to the government in terms of private investment until they know for certain what's going to happen. So yeah, it's been an incredibly long time. It will delay things. Yes, there is a long lead time to when these projects actually get completed. All the more reason to start it now, because as far as I can tell, the Darford Crossing is not going to get any quieter. And you can head to the website today to read a detailed explainer from Chris Britcher on the project, why the planning process has taken quite so long. And just why the crossing was needed in the first place would also like to know your views. Is it frustrating or are you pleased there's been another delay? You can learn snow by posting a comment or indeed getting in touch via our socials. Kent Online News. Other top stories for you today and an electrical fault is thought to have caused a fire at a supermarket in Sittingborne. Crews were called to Morrison's in Millway yesterday evening after alarm was triggered. The store was evacuated and no one was hurt. Three people have been sent to prison after a good Samaritan was violently robbed in Maidstone. The victim went to the aid of a woman who was pretending to need help on the corner of Hale Road in January. He was then beaten by two men and had his wallet and phone stolen. A woman and two men have since been locked up for more than 12 years. Investigators have released CCTV images of a man they're hunting after tools and copper piping was stolen in Ramsgate. It happened on Saturday, a property in Northwood Road. Now this is one of our most read stories on the website today and a deal woman who bravely battled ovarian cancer has died at the age of just 33. Emily Hubble is being remembered throughout the town as the ultimate girl's goal. Everyone's bestie and amazing wife and daughter were Kate joins me now with the details. Emily who's made a name was Flood was best known in the deal community for being the brow queen. For the past two years she'd run the brow and beauty studio in Mill Hill and was much loved in the town. Her battle with ovarian cancer started in May when she was first diagnosed, although she'd been suffering with bloating, pain in her abdomen and back, tiredness and loss of appetite for months. Despite surgery to remove her womb, uterus, ovaries and appendix, the tumors spread to other parts of Emily's body and she started what was meant to be five months of grueling chemotherapy. But by mid-August, the symptoms of her treatment had become so bad that she was taken to A&E and she was then referred to the palliative team. A statement from her family last Monday night said she'd passed away peacefully just two days after marrying her partner Luke in a small ceremony who she'd been with for 15 years and she had a son, Jack, who was just four years old. Throughout Emily's battle, she tried to stay strong and upbeat for her family who say she fought every obstacle thrown at her with bravery, dignity and grace. She had even planned to race in London, landmarks half marathon in April next year in a bid to raise money for target ovarian. Now, a GoFundMe has been set up and has so far seen more than 450 donations from well-wishers, raising more than 12,000 pounds. Thanks ever so much, Kate. Our thoughts are very much with Emily's family and friends. Kent Online reports. There's going to be a by-election immersed in this sitting board. After the ward, Councillor was accused of multiple sex offences. James Hall, who's 75 from from Tongue Road, is facing 31 charges that date back nearly 40 years. He's pleaded not guilty in a four-week trial is due to start late at this month. Well, he's not attended Council meetings for the last six months, which means his seat is now vacant. A new Councillor will be elected before the end of the year. Nigel Farage has revealed his reform party are taking next year's local elections in Kent. Very seriously, it comes as Councillor David Wimbledon, who used to be a Conservative then an independent Councillor, has switched to reform. The Romney Marsh rep has revealed why he couldn't join you, Kipp or the Brexit party, that he believes reform is a grown-up political party. Now, if you live in Thanich, you're being asked what you think about plans to change political boundaries in the area. If approved, it could change what Council ward you're in and who represents you in future. The idea is to have 42 Councillors representing 20 wards the 10-week consultation runs until mid-December. Now, as fighting continues in the Middle East, we've been speaking to a Kent expert about the situation. Israel's warned people to move away from Lebanon's Mediterranean coast as their military targets Hezbollah positions. 120 airstrikes were carried out in a single hour overnight. Dr Janeev Voler is a senior lecturer in Middle East politics at the University of Kent. He's been speaking to Lucy. The British government has been an important actor in trying to bring about a ceasefire. The UK is an important ally of Israel. It is held with highly guard by all sides and the war started when the India Conservatives were still in power, but the Labour government has continued the same line of trying, of putting an emphasis on the one hand, allowing Israel to defend itself of the attacks, but on the other hand, emphasizing the need for a ceasefire, and certainly for protecting civilian rights. The most important international actor is the US, and it's about Washington's ability to put pressure on the sides and might eventually lead to a ceasefire or to escalation, because we are still facing the risk of escalation. And in either scenario, the UK will play an important part either in preventing the escalation or supporting Israel against potential attacks from Iran. So yeah, Britain is still an important actor in this regard. And what happened next? I mean, over the next year, let's say, I mean, what do you see happening? And is there any, what would be the way of resolving this and the easiest kind of step towards peace? I'm afraid that my view of the near future is quite pessimistic, because Israelis promised to retaliate against Iran's missile attack from last week. Nothing is yet to happen, but the Israeli government has declared a buildup towards retaliation. And Iran on each side has promised that any retaliation will be met with Afghanistan on its side. So we are likely to see the chances for further escalation are quite high at this point. The only way, the only way for violence to, I suppose, to subside is if Iran takes the initiative and orders its proxies to to get to de-escalate the actions against Israel, because Iran has been using proxy in Yemen, in Iraq, and of course in Lebanon, in order to fight Israel. And much of the decision now is in the hands of Iran. Can't online reports? We should find out this week if plans for 650 homes on Shepi will be given the go ahead. The plans for land off Skokal's Road in minster are the latest, which could see a total of almost 2,000 new properties in the area. A community hub and outdoor facilities were included in the development, which will be decided by the Council's planning committee on Thursday. Elsewhere, a former Medway pub could be turned into flats after plans for a nursery and microbrewery both fell through. The Green Lion in Rainham is a grade 2 listed building and has fallen into disrepair after closing in 2019. There had previously been applications to convert it, but they were rejected. Now a businessman is hoping to turn it into two flats. Next today, and there are fears part of Kent could become a no swim zone. After a sports centre closed and concerns were raised about the quality of seawater. Council bosses say there's a chance four of the six bathing areas in Folkestone and Heith could be rated poor in 2025. That could lead to do not swim warnings coming into Foreswell. I've been speaking to Council leader Jim Martin. This has been ongoing really for the past four years. There's been an annual decline in the quality of the bathing water. We've been tracking this and engaging with Southern water and the Environment Agency. In detail, they have focused very much around the three principal beaches that are affected are Little Stone, St Mary's Bay and Dim Church. And over the past four years, essentially the problem has been getting worse and worse. I will admit it is complex. And after four years of a detailed study, we've looked at everything with the Environment Agency and Southern water. We've spoken to marine biologists. We've spoken to tidal experts. We've spoken to just about everybody you could think of. And no one can identify what the problem is. Now, they have investigated farm runoff, slurry pits, bovine, sheet chickens. Everything's been examined. Now, they do this by doing species markers in the E. coli. And at the moment, it is unequivocally showing that it is overwhelmingly a human problem. There's some avian. There's a little bit of other stuff, but it's overwhelmingly human. So it's a human problem that is causing this. It's a sewage problem. And they work very hard, but we haven't got anywhere. And very, very, very disappointingly, we are in a much worse position than we were four years ago. And quite frankly, we don't know a great deal more about what is causing the problem. There must be hugely frustrating because you cover the coast. It's incredibly popular. You want people to come and visit and to be able to go into the water, not knowing if they're going to be able to do that or not next year or the following year, that must be a huge concern for you. Yeah, absolutely. And the problems are not only that. It has an impact, obviously, on tourism. So it has an impact on local commercial activity. But for example, we also have a problem in Folkestone. And the children's sailing activities have had to be ceased because the sailing clubs have got a safeguarding responsibility and are unable to carry out training for sailing, small boats, paddle balls, that sort of thing, which is also very, very, very distressing. The difficulty is that southern water continue to discharge into the sea. They provide all sorts of evidence that it isn't their discharge that's causing this problem. But local people are convinced that it is the almost continual discharges from the Range Road long pipe, it's called, that is that's causing the problems on Dim Church, St Mary's Bay and Little Stone. There are discussions about leaking cesspits and illegal connections and, you know, I mean, hands up, I will, I will freely admit that just about everything you can think of has been investigated. But the smoking gun hasn't been found. Well, clearly, Jim is very frustrated by the situation. Peter Wick is a regular swimmer. He's been speaking to reporter Oliver Lennett. Well, it's important not just to my lifestyle and fitness, but for everybody else's, because swimming is a thing that should be done. And it's his life skill as well. And if it doesn't open, then we have not got a, where they only be the only town that hasn't got a swimming ball. Well, folks didn't go. And so now that these are basically rising levels of E. coli and bacteria in the waters in Dim Church and St Mary's Bay, especially. But now by the sounds of it, and focusing as well, we could see a no swim warning and focusing in 2025. That's going to be devastating. It's going to be devastating, not just for me, but everybody else that swims all year round in the sea. And do you think it could impact a lot of local businesses as well? Oh, definitely, yeah. I think so, because when the tide is down there, this beach gets stacked out. So there's no main beach, this place gets stacked out. And that means they're going to close all the beaches. And then there's a knock-on effect for businesses as well. Well, we have been in touch with the Environment Agency. They've said that they've identified that pollution at St Mary's Bay in Little Stone comes from several different sources. They say our investigations have included extensive collaborative work with Southern Water and Folkston and Hive District Council, and we continue to work with partners to find the solutions to improve the water quality along this stretch of coastline. Regulators, they go on to say water companies, local authorities and many others all want the same thing. And they add that that's better environmental outcomes, including clean up rivers, seas, estuaries and groundwater. And it says they work together and take collective responsibility to achieve that. Now, Southern Water have previously said that the high samples of bacteria, which can cause diarrhea and sickness, are not associated with their storm overflows, but they're carrying out analysis of their sewers. Kent Online News. A rescue deal's been agreed to save 51 TGI Friday restaurants, including the one at Blue Water. 35 other sites have closed immediately with 1,000 people losing their jobs. It's after the parent company went into administration last month. A shopping centre in Maidstone has been sold to former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley's company, from New Walk, went on the market for £25 million two months ago and is now part of Fraser's Group. The deal is part of plans to invest more in retail. Figures seen by Kent Online show almost 27,000 people in Kent and Medway are waiting to be assessed for autism and ADHD. Included in that figure is 13,000 children. As Council bosses admit, there's been a rapid increase in demand for services. Now, they say waiting lists for young people can be up to four years and for adults, it's even longer. Well, I've been chatting to Lisa Lloyd. She's a mum from Larkfield and waited four years for her son to be diagnosed. I think the more noise that we keep making, the better. And, you know, the more that we get this into mainstream and we've seen that it is starting to happen. There was a send debate recently, which was amazing. It actually showed some MPs that actually really do care and understand that there is a huge problem with this send system at the moment with the way that it's working. And the more that we talk about this, the better. Because it's something that I think a lot of people, especially raising neurotypical children, don't realise actually what's going on, don't realise there's thousands of children about school settings. There's more and more families being forced into home educating. And, you know, home educating should always be a choice that should not be something that you're forced into. And which means more families losing their jobs and things like that because they're having to homeschool their children, basically. And, you know, this needs to be sorted. It's having a knock on effect to mainstream schools as well, as well as neurotypical children. And, you know, this is affecting everyone now. Lisa's got to book out this month about how she's dealt with the situation where county council papers suggest the increase in demand has been accelerated by the pandemic. A procession is going to take place along at Kent High Street. So traders can pay the final respects to a well-loved business owner. Neil Harlow ran U-weight in Hive and died last month following a battle with cancer. The council have given permission for the 61-year-old's funeral procession to pass by the shop, while his family say the support from customers has been incredible. And the oldest pub in Dover has gone on the market for more than half a million pounds. The castle endates back to 1790, and has most recently been used as a youth hostel. Ken's Online Sports. Football first up in Jillingen boss Mark Bonner has been nominated for the league two manager of the month award for September. He already won the August prize. After a strong start the season, Jill's goalkeeper Glen Morris is also up for the player of the month. The winners will be announced on Friday. And England's cricketers are back in action in the first test against Pakistan. The home side closed yesterday on 328 for four in their first innings. Ken Zach Crawley is back in the England side after some time out with a broken finger. That's all from us for today. Thanks ever so much for listening. Don't forget you can follow us on Facebook, at x, Instagram, TikTok and threads. You can also get details on the top stories to rect your email each morning via the briefing to sign up to that you just need to head to kentonline.co.uk. News you can trust. This is the Kent Online Podcast.
