KentOnline

A huge entertainment venue hosting West End shows, music concerts and opera could be built in Ashford.
The ambitious plans would see the Vicarage Lane car park and former Mecca Bingo Hall transformed into a 3,000-capacity facility known as Ashford Live.
Multi-millionaire Paul Gregg –  a former director of Everton Football Club – is behind the proposal and has been telling us his vision.
Elsewhere, a vigil’s been held on Herne Bay seafront to remember a mother and daughter who were found dead in a burger van in Whitstable.
Leah Churchill and 17 year-old Brooke Wanstall are thought to have suffered carbon monoxide poisoning after turning on a generator.
Tyla – who found his mum and sister’s bodies – has spoken to us.
And, parents in part of Ashford have started a campaign to improve safety at a park they’ve described as “dangerous” for children.
£400,000 was spent on renovating the playground at Central Park in Park Farm last year.
But a local dad has told us he’s worried someone will get hurt – if changes aren’t made.

Tributes are being paid to a mother and daughter who’ve died from suspected carbon monoxide poisoning in Whitstable.
Leah Churchill and 17 year-old Brooke Wanstall helped run a burger van business, and were found dead in the vehicle off the Old Thanet Way yesterday morning.
Our reporter tells us the details after speaking exclusively to a family member.
Residents of a flood prone town near Maidstone have told the KentOnline Podcast they’re choosing to stay and face future risk instead of moving to higher ground.
Yalding is located between three rivers and is one of the county’s most at-risk areas for flooding.
We hear from Village Postmaster Tim Chapman who’s home has been affected eight times since 2006.
Cian Ducrot’s been chatting to our sister station kmfm about his new song ‘I’ll be waiting’ – and his upcoming tour.
You might have seen his videos on TikTok where he surprises cafe staff with a flash mob choir.
He’s been telling Numi about all of that on the Hit List.
And in sport, Gillingham are finally out of the League Two relegation zone after beating Grimsby Town last night.
A dramatic late goal from Oli Hawkins gave the Gills a 2-1 victory at Priestfield.
Manager Neil Harris gave us his reaction. 

Dozens of couples who were due to get married at a venue near Hythe have had their bookings cancelled at short notice.
Lympne Castle has been sold off to a new owner and the company that runs events there will no longer be dealing with the business.
Our reporter explains how this has happened.
Also in today’s podcast, a Kent campaigner’s backing calls for more regulation on disposable vapes, to stop children buying and using them.
There are concerns about the impact vaping could have on young people’s health.
Maidstone Councillor Tony Harwood says the devices are no longer a tool to help people stop smoking.
A Chatham mum whose twin sons were born with two different types of heart disease says she’s been blown away with how unforgiving the world can be with two poorly children.
Artemis and Perseus were nearly six weeks premature – and both had to have surgery.
We hear from their mum, Storm Sanson, who’s trying to raise awareness and money for support.
And, a 370-year-old inn in Margate, which has been dubbed the ‘longest Homes Under the Hammer project ever’, could reopen by the summer.
The owner has been showing us around.
 

The parents of a Gravesend boy who died after being hit by a lorry on the A2 say they have no idea why he took his own life.
16 year-old Ekam Sadana was killed on the coast bound carriageway last September.
Our reporter – who followed the inquest in Maidstone – talks us though the story.
The KentOnline Podcast’s been told any hike in the cost a travel pass for school children in Kent could make it unaffordable for lots of families.
The Kent Travel Saver card currently sets mums and dads back £450 a year.
It’s understood it could be increased to around £600 pounds – we speak to Mark Hood, who’s a Green Party councillor in Tonbridge.
Members of Kent Fire and Rescue are on the ground in Turkey helping authorities search for survivors – a week after two deadly earthquakes 
At least 35,000 people are confirmed to have died there and in neighbouring Syria.
Three firefighters, who are usually based in the county, have been sharing their experiences.
And, major work’s underway to prevent potential landslips at six sites on the railway in East Kent.
Thousands of tonnes of earth will be removed from the banks around the track and netting’s being put up.
Chris Denham from Network Rail explains why the work is so essential.

It’s feared there could be a nasty accident in Sandwich after a bus stop was relocated.
An area on New Street outside Guildhall Square that was previously used as a pull in has been tarmacked over – with buses stopping further up the road instead.
Hear from people who live there and the response from the council.
Also in today’s podcast, a worker at a Turkish restaurant in Kent has described how his family has been devastated by the earthquake in Turkey and Syria.
More than 21,700 people are now known to have died after the power tremour struck on Monday.
It’s been confirmed the amount we pay in council tax in Kent is going up by about 5% from April.
That works out as an extra £73 for an average Band D household – bringing the annual payment to just over £1,500.
We’ve also been speaking to the council leader about how much parents might have to pay for the annual travel saver pass for children.
Prayer books belonging to two of Henry VIII’s wives have been reunited for the first time in 500 years and gone on display in Kent.
One belonged to Catherine of Aragon – the other was owned by Anne Boleyn.
They’re on show at Hever Castle where Anne grew up and we’ve been chatting to assistant curator Kate McCaffrey.
Find out which Kent songwriter will be collecting a BRIT Award this weekend.
We’ve got a roundup of everything going on in Kent this weekend.
And in sport, Gillingham will be looking to make it five games unbeaten this weekend.
They travel to take on promotion chasing Mansfield Town – manager Neil Harris has been speaking to our sport reporter Luke Cawdell.
 

There’s going to be a crackdown on garish shopfronts in Canterbury after the high street was likened to a ‘second-class Las Vegas’.
Dozens of businesses are set to be ordered to remove bright signs, lights and paintwork that don’t comply with council rules.
Hear from people in the city.
Also in today’s podcast, a Kent mum is calling for universities to have a legal duty of care over their students after her daughter took her own life…
Phoebe Grime was just 20 when she died while studying at Newcastle University in 2021.
Her mum Hilary has been speaking to Gabriel Morris from our colleagues at KMTV.
An important meeting is taking place in Kent to decide how much council tax we’ll have to pay.
Bosses at county hall in Maidstone will vote on their budget and are expected to approve a hike of just under 5%. Hear from our political editor Paul Francis.
The KentOnline Podcast has been finding out more about plans to release iron age pigs in an area of Kent woodland.
You’ve probably already heard about the wild bison that have been roaming around West Blean and Thornden Woods near Canterbury.
The pigs are joining them as part of a conservation project to help tackle climate change.
And, Freya Ridings has been chatting to our sister radio station kmfm about her new single Weekends and album Blood Orange.
It’s her first new music in three years and she can’t wait for us to hear it.

A woman says she has been left traumatised after a man managed to get into a block of flats in Gillingham and started banging on doors.
Police and paramedics were called after it happened in the early hours of the morning on Mill Road. Hear from reporter Megan Carr.
Also in today’s podcast, talks to try and avert strikes by firefighters in Kent have been taking place today.
It comes after more than 8 in 10 members of their union voted in favour of walking out in a dispute over pay.
A car has been written off after being hit by a lorry when the driver got lost trying to find a new lorry park in Dover.
The HGV ended up in Aycliffe after missing the turning for the nearby facility.
There are calls for all parts of Kent to separate food waste so more of it can be turned into biofuel and fertiliser.
The county council currently recycles about 36,000 tonnes of it every year, through a processing facility near Kings Hill.
The KentOnline Podcast has been told how apprentices could held reduce waiting lists within the NHS.
Job vacancies in the health sector are currently at a record high – but one trust in Kent is hoping to ease that problem by offering 300 apprenticeships.
We’ve been speaking to a man who is training to be a physiotherapist after being made redundant during the pandemic.
A young woman from West Malling has won a national award for her technology repair company.
Engineer Megan Hale has created a sustainable subscription service that teaches children how to repair and re-use gadgets.
And, for the very first time, a beaver has been spotted living in the wild on a river in Ashford.

Saga has announced it’s going to close its headquarters in Kent.
The over-50s travel and insurance firm has a large base in Sandgate near Folkestone.
Reporter Rhys Griffiths explains why the decision has been made and the reaction to it.
Also in today’s podcast, a Medway man has been jailed for 12 years for his part in a knifepoint robbery at the home of Olympic cyclist Mark Cavendish.
Expensive watches were taken from the property in Essex in November 2021.
A Kent mum whose baby was stillborn at just 20 weeks has told the podcast how she would have had a breakdown, if it hadn’t been for the support from a Kent charity.
A scan last November revealed baby Brynn had passed away and she was born at Medway Maritime.
Cheryl Griffiths was able to spend time with her baby in the hospital’s bereavement suite funded by Abigail’s Footsteps.
It’s Internet Safety Day and a new programme is going to be running in Kent to make sure children have healthy relationships online.
Workshops will be put on in schools to teach pupils how to spot things like coercive behaviour, bullying or harassment.
A Medway toddler has rung a bell to mark the end of his cancer treatment that started just weeks after he was born.
Tadhg Mealey from Wigmore had a small lump under his left eye which doubled in size within days.
And, as the cost of living crisis continues, the owner of shop in Herne Bay has decided to give everything away for free.
Maya’s Free Shop has donated clothes, handbags, pillows, candles and even paintings that have all been made available for no charge at all.

A Kent mum whose baby was stillborn at just 20 weeks has spoken to the KentOnline Podcast about how being able to spend several days with her little girl has helped her process what happened.
Cheryl Griffiths from Maidstone went for a routine scan last November – tragically a heartbeat couldn’t be found.
A hospital visit confirmed little Brynn had passed away.
Cheryl gave birth at Medway Maritime hospital which has a dedicated bereavement suite with cold cots which allow parents to stay with their baby.
This is Cheryl’s story.

A woman has been fined £100 after being spotted feeding ducks on a stretch of the River Medway in Tonbridge.
Susan Watson tore up a slice of bread and scattered it into the water before being approached by an enforcement officer.
The council have since admitted they ‘got this one wrong’ and given a refund – find out what some of you have had to say about it.
Also in today’s podcast, ambulance workers in Kent have gone out on strike.
It’s the third time they’ve walked out in recent weeks in an ongoing dispute over pay. We’ve been speaking to the GMB Union.
A Kent man whose dad died as a result of a contaminated blood scandal says he hopes vital lessons will be learned.
Peter Wratten got hepatitis C after being given infected blood products that had been imported from the US – hear from his son Tim.
Final preparations are being made ahead of the opening of what’s set to be one of Kent’s biggest charity shops.
Volunteers have already sorted through three tonnes of donations to the Salvation Army’s new building in Folkestone.
The work of a charity that started out in Kent is now going to be felt across the world.
The Street Soccer Foundation uses football to work with young people and has been endorsed by Commonwealth bosses.
A Higham salon owner has announced she’s finally hanging up her scissors after more than 50 years.
Irene Carter was just 15 when she started an apprenticeship. She’s been speaking to our reporter Alex Langridge.
And in sport, hear from the Gillingham manager following their win in front of a sold-out Priestfield at the weekend.
It finished 1-0 against Crawley Town thanks to a goal from captain Shaun Williams in the second half.