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Catch up with all the latest news across the county with Meghan Shaw.
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00:30Hello and welcome to Kent's Tonight, live here on KMTV.
00:33I'm Megan Shaw and here are your top stories on Tuesday the 4th of August.
00:38Slash and burn. Firefighters hit back at proposed Kent service cuts amid surge in grass fires.
00:45We've had several fires loaded just in the last few days. We're planning to cut the fire service now. It's
00:51just crazy.
00:52The heat's harvest. We hear the impacts of the extreme temperatures on producers in the county.
00:58Hopefully for the industry shift some ideas on the fact that the UK is a good place to invest in
01:04that wine tourism, wine.
01:08And on the right course, Adventure Golf introduces young people to engineering in Chatham.
01:15There's a massive shortage in civil engineering. We as a bridge company, as a bridge trust, we want civil engineers
01:20for the future.
01:32But first, our top story tonight.
01:35The major union is warning dozens of jobs could be on the line as Kent Fire and Rescue prepares for
01:40a vote on service cuts this Thursday.
01:42At a noisy protest outside County Hall, firefighters called for the Fire Authority not to push out proposals to close
01:50on-call stations to consultation.
01:53But Kent Fire and Rescue say phasing out part-time staff will be more effective in meeting gaps in demand.
02:00Local democracy reporter Olly Leda has the story.
02:03We will stand firm and we will fight like hell.
02:08Hundreds of firefighters and their families making a last-ditch stand against service cuts in the heart of Maidstone.
02:16It's a really better place because people like yourself have come out and made yourself loud and made yourself heard.
02:21This week, the Kent and Medway Fire Authority will vote on proposals to close four fire stations, which make up
02:30plans to phase out part-time firefighters that are on call to respond to emergencies.
02:37Union bosses warn more than 60 jobs could be on the line.
02:42We had 462 firefighters in Kent, cut 60,000 in the team.
02:46So we don't want to see any further job losses or station closures.
02:49Kent Fire and Rescue Service say these changes are in response to growing financial pressures.
02:56The chief executive of the service previously told us that reducing the number of on-call firefighters would help free
03:04up more resource elsewhere.
03:06So what we're trying to do is convert where we have stations where there's very little demand and quite difficult
03:12to recruit firefighters as well after many years of trying.
03:15Convert that money into creating whole-time firefighters where it means we get much more guaranteed daytime cover where we
03:23have our greatest risk.
03:24The proposals have faced fierce opposition.
03:27MPs from both sides of the political divide warn rural communities will be left in a worse place as a
03:35result of cuts.
03:37The temperature in this part of the country is rising every year, so rural areas are in more risk.
03:43We've had several fires locally just in the last few days, so we're planning to cut the fire service now.
03:48It's just crazy.
03:49If the vote passes on Thursday, the proposals will be sent out to public consultation before a final decision is
03:57made.
03:58Kent Fire and Rescue say it's all about spending money more effectively.
04:03Firefighters here are less convinced.
04:07Olly Lieder at County Hall.
04:11As traditional wine regions across Europe struggle with extreme heat, with Bordeaux ravaged by fires, could Kent's climate become better
04:20suited to producing world-class wines?
04:23Kristen Hawthorne visited Biddenden Vineyard to hear about warmer conditions affecting the county's wine industry.
04:29While she was there, she also met a businessman whose perspective highlighted the wider impact climate change is having on
04:36food, production and local businesses.
04:38Let's take a look.
04:40For Bindenden, there's more positives than there are negatives.
04:43In July, England and Wales look set to have been the driest on record, leaving some areas without rain for
04:50weeks.
04:50In Kent, the Garden of England, the effects have been particularly felt.
04:54But is it all bad?
04:56Something that the weather does benefit is winemaking.
04:59So I went to Biddenden Vineyards and spoke to the owner, Tom.
05:01Tom says that there hasn't been any rain on the vineyard in two months, which is reflected in the very
05:06dry ground that I'm stood on.
05:07While this sounds extreme and does bring negatives, he says that it's actually beneficial for the grapes.
05:14Phenolically ripe, I think, would be a good way to describe it.
05:16And by that, I mean, you know, the grapes are, you know, we're not making the wine in the winery.
05:21We're able to let the vine, the sun, the times, the cool evenings, the cool mornings, you know, develop those
05:28natural flavours rather than having to use a yeast or ways to help express that.
05:34Bordeaux has long been recognised as the wine capital of the world.
05:38But as climate change brings more frequent droughts and wildfires to the region, could Kent's vineyards one day rival its
05:44reputation?
05:45What it does highlight is probably that there is a shift in cooler winemaking, you know, climates.
05:54And, you know, rather than Bordeaux, that southern, southern moving slightly more northern.
05:59And obviously the UK is a really, really good point to capitalise on that.
06:04I think that will possibly, hopefully for the industry, shift some ideas on, you know, the fact that the UK
06:10is a good place to invest.
06:11It's even got business owners thinking differently.
06:13The co-owner of Gaga's Sauces is exploring whether Kent wine could become part of his business.
06:18But he says the changing climate has already affected the ingredients that he works with.
06:23We produce nine different types of sauces, ranging from chilli to sweet barbecue, tomato, mango and Indian cooking curry paste
06:32as well.
06:33So seeing some of the ingredients for our sauces can prove to be difficult.
06:36And extreme weather, heat like this also poses a threat on how we store our cheese, i.e., you know,
06:46the cost of electricity, you know, as a business, you will have to try and find ways of having a
06:52steady cash flow.
06:53And sometimes acquisitions, mergers, buying other businesses or collaborating with other businesses, like what we are doing now, might be
07:04the way forward.
07:04So while a warmer climate could help out Kent's wines on the world stage, it's a silver lining to a
07:10much bigger challenge.
07:12Kristen Hawthorne for KMTV, Bitterden.
07:17And now let's take a look at the weather for the upcoming days.
07:25This evening, dry across the county, highs of 20 in Dartford, 19 elsewhere.
07:31Into tomorrow morning, that cloud coming in, temperatures are fairly mild for this summer.
07:39And then heating up towards the afternoon, that cloud clearing away, highs of 28, lows of 23 down by the
07:45coast.
07:46And for the rest of your week, no rain.
07:49So the vineyards will be very pleased.
07:51Clouds on Thursday, brightening up on Friday, highs of 26.
08:01And we've just found out that hot weather is set to continue.
08:05And Kent's fields are already scorched after months of sun and little rain.
08:10What other effects is the heat having on our county?
08:13Earlier today, I was joined by the CEO of Kent in Victor Chamber of Commerce to find out more.
08:18So we've just heard from Kristen there that vineyards have profited from the hot weather.
08:23But, I mean, in Kent, we're also home to lots of farms.
08:27So, I mean, on the flip side, they're facing immense pressure in these dry conditions.
08:32What kind of challenges might they be up against trading-wise?
08:37So there's two sides of this coin, really.
08:40One is obviously where there are problems elsewhere in the globe.
08:43Certainly, we're looking to the south of France and parts of Europe.
08:47We will see problems with supplies.
08:49So whereas we might ordinarily sort of have imports coming into the U.K.,
08:53which can sort of be cheaper, perhaps, than U.K. goods,
08:56the scarcity means that obviously the prices will go up.
08:59And therefore, the opportunity for the U.K. products to sort of be put onto the shelves
09:04and sort of to be slightly cheaper will certainly be beneficial to consumers
09:08and to obviously food producers here in the U.K.
09:10The downside to that, of course, is that it does mean the food pricing overall will start to go up.
09:17And, of course, when you're talking about farming, actually what we're talking about
09:19is sort of that annual cycle where we need to wait a year
09:22before we actually see the impact of some of these shortages for this season
09:26and how that plays out moving forward.
09:27Well, when you look outside your window, I personally just see scorched fields.
09:32I mean, I can't imagine what it's like for farmers trying to grow crops.
09:35Could we be at risk of food shortages here in Kent if this weather continues?
09:41Sadly, yes.
09:43I know the president of the NFU the other day was talking about some of the challenges.
09:47So there's a couple of things, really.
09:49So both in the short term, we will see challenges.
09:52So the crops have been harvested early.
09:55The yield is quite poor, which means actually the quality and availability of the product
09:59means that we will start to possibly see shortages in bread
10:03and other sort of flower-based products.
10:06There are some opportunities here to try and mitigate this.
10:10And this is really where we need to look at how farms are irrigated.
10:13But there needs to be a fast-track planning system for small reservoirs
10:17so that farmers can sort of do this without having to go through mountains of paperwork.
10:21There is quite a big emphasis lately on buying British, backing British.
10:26British, as climate change continues to heat up the planet,
10:30and we might see more and more summers like these,
10:32are British farmers particularly at risk from their British customers looking elsewhere?
10:40I think it's more to do with choice.
10:43Much as we, I think, all like to think of ourselves as being terribly patriotic
10:47and buying from the local farm shop,
10:50when that pound in your pocket is being squeezed,
10:52you will always still look for sort of cheaper food options.
10:55And this is where the import of our food starts
10:58has sort of been problematic for us as a country over the years.
11:01What this does bring into focus, though, is about our food security.
11:03And so as we see challenges with weather and climate elsewhere in Europe
11:07and what that might do to our own food supply chains,
11:10it will mean that we'll need to take more interest
11:12and invest more in our local suppliers
11:14so that we at least have that fallback position
11:16in the event that certain foodstuffs can't be imported.
11:20I see. Thank you so much for joining us, Judah, as always.
11:25And that's all we've got time for for now.
11:27But coming up, do stay with us as our local democracy reporter,
11:31Olly Lee, has been busy.
11:32He went to see people protesting against HMO properties in Maidstone.
11:37I'll also be bringing you the latest sports headlines across Kent.
11:42And to finish off the programme,
11:43we'll be hearing about a free mini golf course
11:46operating inside a church in Chatham.
11:49Well, it does sound very interesting, doesn't it?
11:52Do stay tuned and we'll catch you after the break.
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