Traders and residents fear rising rents and anti-social behaviour is putting off customers from visiting an out-of-town shopping centre.
Shop owners in New Ash Green say a volatile group of youths who intimidate customers in the car park and hurl verbal abuse at them in the street are deterring visits.
Also in today’s podcast, five men have faced court after a meeting arranged on Facebook exploded into a street brawl in Folkestone.
One person was stabbed and another suffered serious head injuries in the fight, which included wooden poles, a crowbar and chains.
Just as the weather starts to warm up in Kent, an outdoor swimming pool used by thousands every summer has been forced to suddenly close.
The attraction in Medway only opened for the season at the weekend and it’s not yet known when it will be able to reopen.
Villagers are boycotting a new convenience store in a former pub amid claims the owner “misled” residents, the parish council and planning department.
But the owners say the business is “a work in progress” and not the final result.
And in sport you can hear from the Kent cricket captain who says Spitfires can qualify for the knockout stages of the T20 Blast competition.
Their campaign gets underway against Middlesex tonight.
We've got plenty of crime news to cover in today's podcast and we'll hear from the Kent cricket captain ahead of the start of their T20 campaign. But first, taking a look at our top story, business owners in U.S. Greens say groups of young people are intimidating customers and putting them off coming to the shopping centre. There have been reports of kids riding their bikes at cars, throwing flour around the centre and using abusive language. Shani Manem-Perry runs the bakery. She's been speaking to Kent Online reporter Keely Greenwood. The problem I think we have at the moment in the village centre is the antisocial behavior is being explained. It's really unexpectedly. We need to communicate to very few people who are causing these problems and these disturbances that they are behavior which probably feel fairly innocent and not too disruptive. But actually, it caused serious health risks and it has serious impact on the village and it has really serious impact on the businesses in the local shopping centre and me and my family running the local bakery in New Ashgreens. So I spoke to these kids grouping few times and politely asked them not to do that. But as a result, unfortunately it led them to break the bakery window twice. So as business owner, we are not only me, we all are struggling at the moment. We are trying ever so hard with this economic crisis because the rent already gone up. So we are already struggling. So when these things happening, when these antisocial behavior things happening, people don't like to come to the shopping centre. This is not a well coming place anymore. So it has a serious impact on the in the local businesses. So as local councilors, we already do some youth provisions for these young people in the village. But we realize that they aren't enough. So and especially, we don't have enough buses in the village. So these young people can't go out of the village and they can't go anywhere. But what we do have is we have the sports, Ashgreens Sports Centre. We got the pavilion and we got the sports field. We got the outdoor gym in the pavilion and we have lot of supporting opportunities here especially. We have craft fair, repair cafe and we have craft fairs. Also, we introduced the internship program for the young people where they can start a small business and they can earn some money. So we also offer opportunities. We do have opportunities in this village. They have opportunities in the village. They can come and join to the repair cafe and they can learn some skills and they can use them for their future career. So we do have opportunities. So we invite these young children to come to the village, use these opportunities. They can come and join to the rest of the village. So we invite these young children to come and join to the family. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the village. So we invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the rest of the village. We invite these young children to come and join to the rest of the forcing him to fall to the ground. He suffered cuts to his face, shoulder and knee, as well as a black eye. It has been reported to police. The husband of a Kent horse rider who died after falling off while competing has described her as a strong, beautiful woman. 36-year-old Georgie Campbell was taking part in a cross-country event at the International Horse Trials in Devon when she fell at a fence on Sunday. Her partner Jessie has shared a photo from their wedding day in a tribute on Instagram. Kent Online News. Campaigners say they're hugely disappointed as plans to redevelop Chatham Docs have been approved by Medway Council. The owners want to turn part of it into a business hub, but a final decision will be made by the new government after the general election. Phil Taylor is the former chief executive of a business which is based at the Docs. First of all, we were hugely disappointed, but it wasn't unexpected. Although it's been approved that can't go any further all the time after we're 31 two weeks. We set up through our barristers a number of scenarios, and this was on top of the list of the scenario that we anticipated. So don't worry, the fight goes on. It's not over. So what are the next steps for you? I can't go into those next steps because of confidentiality reasons. I don't want to let everyone know what we're going to be doing, but we're not going to wait. I can tell you that now. We are not going anywhere. That's the edge of the timeline then. What can we expect to hear from Camp Wire in regards to potential legal action against the council over this? Well, that will come in due cuts. Again, I'm not going to be drawn on that. In terms of the possible next section of states, because we decided by them after the general election, who do you think you're more likely to get a better hearing from, whoever replaces Michael Gove or Angela Rayner? I'm not well informed enough to give an opinion on that. I just hope whoever is looking at it, looks at it objectively, recognises the evidence that's been presented and takes the evidence off on its merits because officers here clearly are not giving the correct evidence to some of the councils here. We've done an economic impact report and that never came out. The councillors were asking questions about how many job losses there will be, what's the economic advantage of both schemes. We've done that work and given it to Medway Council, the economic advantage of keeping Chatham Docs as it is today far outweighs the face and food plan. I can't homelessness charity has revealed demand on their services increased by more than a fifth last year. Over 11,000 visits were made to catching lives in Canterbury during 2023. They also helped almost 300 new clients. The charity's chief executive says it shows how small organisations are being left to fill the gaps caused by cuts to local funding and public services. Campaigners in Wistibles say plans for a 1400 home development will put huge amounts of pressure on local infrastructure. The site of Brooklyn's farm has been earmarked for housing and councils draft local plan and will act as an extension to Chesterfield village. The plot is currently used for farming. Campaigner Justin Mitchell says its loss will impact the whole community. It's a huge kind of shock because it's a massive development. It's 1400 houses with no infrastructure. The infrastructure is struggling as it is. On top of that, this is fantastic landscape. It creates a kind of natural green buffer between Wistibles and the Bleenwoods, which is very valuable. When they built that road the Thannet way, they promised not to infill it with more houses. Clearly things have changed. They decided that's okay. I've been looking at their landscape and character appraisals that they produced themselves in 2020. They contradict themselves left, right and centre. They describe this as valuable arable land with many redeeming rare features. Yet suddenly they decide that they think it's appropriate to build on it. As Emily said, I think there's other more appropriate places to build and they should leave this alone. I suppose the council's argument is that they have to build these homes as a requirement from the government with their local plans. Where else would you propose that they were to build them in this sort of area? There's a lot of sites. It's not for me to say where they build them. In general, there's been a huge knee-jerk reaction to some statistics that are based on a 2014 judgement on population growth. That needs to be readressed. We need to take a rain check on the actual figures that they're working on. It's just a land-grab locomotive that needs to be pulled to a stop. Are you concerned as well, as we are seeing the population rising, perhaps not as much as they had predicted, but are you concerned that we will continue to see more housing developments popping up in green spaces like this? Well, yeah, clearly. They seem to sort of change the rules as they go along. If they make appraisals on land, then they seem to just ignore what the appraisals say. One of the main problems, I think, is the size of these developments they're building. They don't build small ones here and there, occasionally. The sheer size, the number of houses going into this space, which introduces a vast amount of people into the town, which changes the character of the town and puts the strain on all the already struggling infrastructure. Council are currently running a consultation period. All submissions have to be in by Monday, June 3. Kent Online News. This next story has been one of the most read online today. An outdoor swimming pool in Medway has been forced to close because of a significant water lake. Also, say it's affecting pool levels at the Strand Lido in Gillingham. Work is underway to fix the problem, but it's unclear when it will reopen. There's more bad news for swimmers in the county. Another no swim warning has been issued in part of that it. Restrictions were previously put in place after an algae bloom at Minnes Bay last week. That was lifted on Wednesday, but now a dark colored organic matter has washed up on the coast, which could be the result of a chemical spillage. Now, people living in a Kent village, boycotting a new shop and takeaway over alleged planning breaches. Yalding supermarket and Mr. Dan's takeaway opened on Benover Road in April following a six-month renovation of the George pub. President say it was supposed to open as a restaurant and farm shop. Our reporter Ellie Hodgson has been speaking to the owner, Dan and his wife, Victoria. The plans still are that it's going to be a shop and a restaurant and with a takeaway as well. Initially, I think because we opened only the retail pot, you know, some of the local community members have been taken back by it, but the plans are still to open the calf and the takeaway and it's in motion. The layout we have now, it's not the final result, it's just the progress, so you will see more of the restaurant and calf coming in. So the way we've made it now, it's more to peel off the space until we can sort it and take away. And unfortunately, some people took it as a final result, so this is where the conclusion came, which is going to be changed in the future. When do you think that it might be the final result of where you both hope that it will be? It will be, so we've put in a new application for the new layout, because the previous layout, the customers had to sit along shelving and fruit and veg which will be unpleasant for anyone that wants to dine in. So now we have put in two separate entrances, two different doors, so that the shop and the restaurant is separate. So we're just waiting for the application to be approved for the layout change. So if that layout is approved, how many tables do you think may be in there? So initially we want to start with eight seats, but we've given space for, you know, we can bring it to around 20 seatings, but especially with calves, it takes time, especially in a small village. So we would like to build a business and the custom and then increase as we go along. A decision on the new application is due to be made in July. And online news, a man who suffered a cardiac arrest during a park run in Gillingham has met the people who saved his life. Graham Martin collapsed during the 5k event just before Christmas last year. Another runner who's a paramedic started CPR until ambulance crews arrived. Graham is recovering well and encouraging others to learn the technique. A family run B&B and folks and has featured on the channel five show Hotel Inspector six years after first appearing. Westwood Hope in Clifton Crescent was first visited by host Alex Palisie in 2018 after a run of bad reviews online. Since the visit, the hotel's occupancy has increased, but in the show's latest visit, they found there was still room to improve. Armed Forces Day will return to the historic dockyards in Chatham this summer. The event brings together serving personnel, veterans and their families with parades, live bands and activities. It'll be on Saturday, June 29th. And the first European conference on Taylor Swift is being held in Canterbury today. Academics will be joined by students and members of the public at the University of Kent campus to discuss her role as a songwriter and feminist icon. It comes a week before she starts the UK leg of her errors to her. Kent online news. And now with a look at what's on around the county this weekend, it's Sam Laurie. We're just about to come into June and although the weather may not really feel like it, there are some great summer events taking place over the weekend. Let's start with some days out for the family. First up, it's the Glorious Gardens weekend at Pennshurst Place. This historic estate near Tumbridge is opening its doors on Saturday and Sunday to show off its beautiful 11 acre gardens with a 100 metre P&E border, garden tours, a children's trail and a plant sale across the two days. There's also a brand new exhibition opening this weekend that will leave the whole family in awe. A huge 15 metre hanging dragon with spectacular gold, silver and copper in its main is set to be suspended from the ceiling of Rochester Cathedral from this Saturday. The installation is part of the Cathedral's celebration of a 900 year old medieval manuscript written in Rochester and will be available for visitors to see throughout the summer. And speaking of things that date back hundreds of years, the Detling Antiques and Collectors Fair returns to the Kent Showground near Maidstone on Saturday and Sunday. The fair is brimming with more than 400 sellers across two exhibition halls and an outdoor market selling vintage fashion, antique furniture, retro homewear and collectible memorabilia. Now for those of you who want to see some live entertainment over the weekend but can't quite decide what you're in the mood for, the Gravesham Fringe Festival is back from Saturday offering a varied programme of events. There's music, comedy, children's entertainment, theatre, workshops and exhibitions taking place all over Gravesend until next weekend, many of which are free to attend, so make sure you check out the full festival programme to see everything that's going on in town. You can also catch some fantastic live music this weekend at Rock the Moat Kent's biggest tribute festival. The three-day festival returns to Mote Park today and includes tributes to Oasis, The Killers, Whitney Houston, Elton John and many more, so why not bag yourself a last-minute ticket and have a sing and dance to some of your favourite tunes. And finally we can't forget about the great theatre shows that are happening over the weekend. Shakespearean theatre troupe, The Handelbards are back on tour this summer with their unique production of the classic Comedy of Errors. The group of actors will be performing the open-air show at the Riverhill Gardens in Seven Oaks on Saturday and the Medway Yacht Club in Rochester on Sunday. And starting on Monday, Feel Good Musical everybody's talking about Jamie will open at the Marlo Theatre in Canterbury. The Comming of Age show stars former Strictly dancer Kevin Clifton as Jamie's drag queen mentor Loco Chanel, an ex-facto winner Sam Bailey as the no-nonsense teacher Miss Hedge. It'll be in Kent until next Saturday and there are a few tickets left if you want to snap them up. Now that should be enough to keep us all going for the first weekend of June and I hope you enjoy the first few days of the new month. Let's start as we need to go on. Thanks Sam. Kent's online sport. Cricket and Kent are hoping for a strong start their T20 campaign which gets underway tonight with a match against Middlesex. The Spitfires are coming off a disappointing run in the county championship having only won one game out of seven so far this season. Captain Daniel Bell Drummond says the vitality blast will be a welcome change of pace. Having Xavier come in, it's a massive addition for us. Obviously Sam Billings will be back which will be great. We're all looking forward to seeing him. So yeah there's a lot to look forward to. Hopefully the crowd comes in and it's always good playing in front of the home crowd here so yeah we're really looking forward to that competition. We've set up very nicely for that. Hopefully a few guys are getting back fit as well so yeah we're really looking forward to that and it's a welcome change so hopefully we can get some wins on the board. Very much the aim to try and come top four this season. Absolutely yeah it goes without saying and I believe we're good enough too. We've just got to put our best foot forward and back ourselves when it comes to the crunch and I know the amount of quality players we have in the change room so now when we're on our best day I think we're a match for anyone and we're definitely looking forward to that. We all enjoy that format as we do all formats but yeah it'll be good to get the shackles off and yeah just try and get out there swinging the bat a little bit so yeah really looking forward to it and like I said it's a welcome change in a tough seven games or so but yeah the guys are hungry and ready to go and improve a point in the blast. So challenge sort of ground we've done well at in this format so whoever it's against there we're going to back ourselves in the middle sector a good team but yeah I think we've got a good record against them and hopefully we can continue that. To football now and England's women continue their Euro 2025 qualified campaign tonight. Mates don't tell us your Russo is part of the squad which will host France at Newcastle's St James's Park. The lionesses campaign got off to a rough start with a loss against Sweden before securing a win against Ireland the last time out. Staying with football and former West Ham, Charlton and Gillingham defender Lewis Page has signed for EBS fleet. The 28 year old is their second edition of the summer after being released by National League rivals Dagenham the club have also confirmed goalkeeper Mark Cousins has agreed a new deal. 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 via the briefing to sign up just head to kentonline.co.uk and while you're on the website why not check out the latest review from The Secret Drinker. News you can trust. This is the Kent Online Podcast. [ Silence ]
