00:24Hello and welcome to Cancer Night Live here on KMTV.
00:28I'm Megan Shaw and here are your top stories on Tuesday the 4th of August.
00:33Slash and burn. Firefighters hit back at proposed Kent service cuts amid surge in grass fires.
00:40We've had several fires loaded just in the last few days. We're planning to cut the fire service out. It's
00:45just crazy.
00:46The heat's harvest. We hear the impacts of the extreme temperatures on producers in the county.
00:52Hopefully for the industry, shift some ideas on the fact that the UK is a good place to invest in
00:59that wine tourism.
01:03And on the right course, Adventure Golf introduces young people to engineering in Chatham.
01:09There's a massive shortage in civil engineering. We as a bridge company, as a bridge trust, we want civil engineers
01:15for the future.
01:26But first, our top story tonight. The major union is warning dozens of jobs could be on the line as
01:33Kent Fire and Rescue prepares for a vote on service cuts this Thursday.
01:37At a noisy protest outside County Hall, firefighters called for the Fire Authority not to push out proposals to close
01:45on-call stations to consultation.
01:48But Kent Fire and Rescue say phasing out part-time staff will be more effective in meeting gaps in demand.
01:54Local democracy reporter Oli Leda has the story.
01:57We will stand firm and we will fight like hell.
02:03Hundreds of firefighters and their families making a last-ditch stand against service cuts in the heart of Maidstone.
02:11It's a really better place because people like yourself have come out and made yourself loud and made yourself heard.
02:16This week, the Kent and Medway Fire Authority will vote on proposals to close four fire stations, which make up
02:25plans to phase out part-time firefighters that are on call to respond to emergencies.
02:32Union bosses warn more than 60 jobs could be on the line.
02:37We had 462 firefighters in Kent, cut 16,010. So we don't want to see any further job losses or
02:43station closures.
02:44Kent Fire and Rescue Service say these changes are in response to growing financial pressures.
02:51The chief executive of the service previously told us that reducing the number of on-call firefighters would help free
02:59up more resource elsewhere.
03:01So what we're trying to do is convert where we have stations where there's very little demand and quite difficult
03:07to recruit firefighters as well after many years of trying.
03:10Convert that money into creating whole-time firefighters where it means we get much more guaranteed daytime cover where we
03:17have our greatest risk.
03:19The proposals have faced fierce opposition. MPs from both sides of the political divide warn rural communities will be left
03:28in a worse place as a result of cuts.
03:31The temperature in this part of the country is rising every year. So rural areas are in more risk.
03:38We've had several fires loaded just in the last few days. We're planning to cut the fire service now. It's
03:43just crazy.
03:44If the vote passes on Thursday, the proposals will be sent out to public consultation before a final decision is
03:52made.
03:53Kent Fire and Rescue say it's all about spending money more effectively. Firefighters here are less convinced.
04:01Olly Leader at County Hall.
04:05As traditional wine regions across Europe struggle with extreme heat with Bordeaux ravaged by fires, could Kent's climate become better
04:15suited to producing world-class wines?
04:17Kristen Hawthorne visited Biddenden Vineyard to hear about warmer conditions affecting the county's wine industry.
04:24While she was there, she also met a businessman whose perspective highlighted the wider impact climate change is having on
04:31food, production and local businesses.
04:33Let's take a look.
04:35For Bindenden, there's more positives than there are negatives.
04:37In July, England and Wales look set to have been the driest on record, leaving some areas without rain for
04:44weeks.
04:45In Kent, the Garden of England, the effects have been particularly felt.
04:49But is it all bad?
04:50Something that the weather does benefit is winemaking.
04:53So I went to Biddenden Vineyards and spoke to the owner, Tom.
04:56Tom says that there hasn't been any rain on the vineyard in two months, which is reflected in the very
05:01dry ground that I'm stood on.
05:02While this sounds extreme and does bring negatives, he says that it's actually beneficial for the grapes.
05:08Phenolically ripe, I think, would be a good way to describe it.
05:11And by that I mean, you know, the grapes are, you know, we're not making the wine in the winery.
05:16You know, we're able to let the vine, the sun, the times, the cool evenings, the cool mornings, you know,
05:22develop those natural flavours,
05:23rather than having to use a yeast or ways to help express that.
05:29Bordeaux has long been recognised as the wine capital of the world.
05:33But as climate change brings more frequent droughts and wildfires to the region,
05:37could Kent's Vineyards one day rival its reputation?
05:40What it does highlight is probably that there is a shift in cooler winemaking, you know, climates.
05:49And, you know, rather than Bordeaux, southern moving slightly more northern.
05:54And obviously the UK is a really, really good point to capitalise on that.
05:59I think that will possibly, hopefully for the industry, shift some ideas on, you know, the fact that the UK
06:05is a good place to invest.
06:06It's even got business owners thinking differently.
06:08The co-owner of Gaga Sauces is exploring whether Kent wine could become part of his business.
06:13But he says the changing climate has already affected the ingredients that he works with.
06:17We produce nine different types of sauces, ranging from chilli to sweet barbecue, tomato, mango and Indian cooking curry paste
06:27as well.
06:28Sourcing some of the ingredients for our sauces can prove to be difficult.
06:32And extreme weather heat like this also poses a threat on how we store our cheese, i.e., you know,
06:40the cost of electricity.
06:42You know, as a business you will have to try and find ways of having a steady cash flow.
06:48And sometimes acquisitions, mergers, buying other businesses or collaborating with other businesses like what we are doing now might be
06:59the way forward.
06:59So while a warmer climate could help out Kent's wines on the world stage, it's a silver lining to a
07:05much bigger challenge.
07:07Kristen Hawthorne for KMTV, Bitterden.
07:11And now let's take a look at the weather for the upcoming days.
07:19This evening, dry across the county. Highs of 20 in Dartford, 19 elsewhere.
07:27Into tomorrow morning, that cloud coming in. Temperatures are fairly mild for this summer.
07:33And then heating up towards the afternoon, that cloud clearing away. Highs of 28, lows of 23 down by the
07:40coast.
07:41And for the rest of your week, no rain. So the vineyards will be very pleased.
07:46Clouds on Thursday, brightening up on Friday. Highs of 26.
07:56And we've just found out that hot weather is set to continue. And Kent's fields are already scorched after months
08:03of sun and little rain.
08:05What other effects is the heat having on our county?
08:08Earlier today, I was joined by the CEO of Kent in Victor Chamber of Commerce to find out more.
08:13So we've just heard from Kristen there that vineyards have profited from the hot weather.
08:18But I mean, in Kent, we're also home to lots of farms. So, I mean, on the flip side, they're
08:24facing immense pressure in these dry conditions.
08:27What kind of challenges might they be up against trading wise?
08:32So there's two sides of this coin, really. One is obviously where there are problems elsewhere in the globe.
08:38Certainly we look into the south of France and parts of Europe. We will see problems with supply.
08:44So whereas we might ordinarily sort of had imports coming into the UK, which can sort of be cheaper than
08:49UK goods.
08:51The scarcity means that obviously the prices will go up.
08:54And therefore, the opportunity for the UK products to sort of to be put onto the shelves and sort of
08:59to be slightly cheaper will certainly be beneficial to consumers and to obviously food producers here in the UK.
09:05The downside to that, of course, is that it does mean the food pricing overall will start to go up.
09:11And of course, when you're talking about farming, actually, what we're talking about is sort of that annual cycle where
09:16we need to wait a year before we actually see the impact of some of these shortages for this season
09:20and how that plays out moving forward.
09:22Well, when you look outside your window, I personally just see scorched fields.
09:26I mean, I can't imagine what it's like for farmers trying to grow crops.
09:30Could we be at risk of food shortages here in Kent if this weather continues?
09:36Sadly, yes. I know the president of the NFU the other day was talking about some of the challenges.
09:41So there's a couple of things, really. So both in the short term, we will see challenges.
09:47So the crops have been harvested early.
09:50The yield is quite poor, which means actually the quality and availability of the product means that, you know, we
09:56will start to possibly see shortages in bread and other sort of flower based products.
10:01There are some opportunities here to try and mitigate this.
10:05And this is really where we need to look at how farms are irrigated.
10:08There needs to be a fast track planning system for small reservoirs so that farmers can sort of do this
10:14without having to go through mountains of paperwork.
10:16There is quite a big emphasis lately on buying British backing British as as climate change continues to heat up
10:24the planet.
10:24And we might see more and more summers like these are British farmers particularly at risk from, you know, their
10:30British customers looking elsewhere.
10:35I think it will it's it's more to do with choice, much as we I think all like to think
10:40of ourselves as being terribly patriotic and buying from the local farm shop.
10:44When that pound in your pocket is being squeezed, you will always still look for for sort of cheaper food
10:50options.
10:50And this is where the import of our food starts to sort of being problematic for us as a country
10:55over the years.
10:55What this does bring into focus, though, is about our food security.
10:58And so as we see challenges with with weather and climate elsewhere in Europe and what that might do to
11:03our own food supply chains,
11:05it will mean that we'll need to take more interest and invest more in our local suppliers so that we
11:10at least have that fallback position in the event that certain foodstuffs can't be imported.
11:15I see. Thank you so much for joining us, Judah, as always.
11:19And that's all we've got time for for now.
11:22But coming up, do stay with us as our local democracy reporter O'Leary has been busy.
11:27He went to see people protesting against HMO properties in Maidstone.
11:32I'll also be bringing you the latest sports headlines across Kent.
11:36And to finish up the program, we'll be hearing about a free mini golf course operating inside a church in
11:43Chatham.
11:44Well, it does sound very interesting, doesn't it?
11:46Do stay tuned and we'll catch you after the break.
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