Locals say the mills are vital for Kent's heritage while the council are trying to balance the books and say they need to make cuts.
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00:00 These are just some of the hundreds of volunteers across Kent
00:03 who maintain the county's windmills
00:05 and they were furious to learn all eight could soon be getting sold.
00:09 The proposals are part of a bid to fix Kent County Council's multi-million pound budget gap.
00:18 Kent's windmills currently cost the council a couple of hundred thousand pounds a year.
00:22 They're dotted far and wide across the county,
00:25 some of which are museums,
00:26 some have been restored
00:28 and some are still working mills today,
00:30 including the Union Mill in Cranbrook.
00:33 It's England's tallest working smock windmill
00:36 and is also known for its views of the Kent Downs.
00:39 The people of Cranbrook love their windmill.
00:42 They like the look of it.
00:43 Lots of them come to visit it
00:45 along with tourists from other parts of the country
00:48 and even other countries.
00:50 I'm quite sure that around here
00:52 about 99% of the people would not want the proposal to continue.
00:58 They would like to keep their windmill
01:01 in the good condition that Kent County Council have continued to maintain it.
01:06 While these plans are due to go to public consultation,
01:09 the chair of KCC's Environment and Transport Committee
01:12 tried to overhaul this today.
01:14 I think that we shouldn't be looking at getting rid of them
01:17 because I think that if you put them into a trust
01:19 or some kind of voluntary organisation
01:22 with the best will in the world,
01:23 those things are always scrabbling to get money.
01:26 They can never be sure that they will get the finances
01:29 that those buildings need.
01:30 And my fear would be that if that happened,
01:33 that gradually they will deteriorate
01:35 and they will become less and less
01:38 the splendid things that they are at the moment.
01:40 I think the County Council has a duty to look after them.
01:42 As we've learned, Kent has a variety of different types of windmills
01:46 but they all look different.
01:48 They have different identities, different purposes as well.
01:50 Like this one here in Chillingdon looks completely different
01:53 from the one we saw in Cranbrook.
01:54 With most windmills, you'll see just the sweeps
01:56 turning these bits at the top, turning in the wind.
01:58 But what's different about this, this is a post mill
02:01 which means the entire body will turn in the wind.
02:04 It will mean a great loss of our heritage eventually.
02:07 One's only got to look at other mills
02:10 where other arrangements have been made
02:13 and generally it has not been successful.
02:15 We've been very fortunate up till now
02:18 because we've had tremendous support from KCC
02:21 but the alternative in this way going forward
02:25 looks very bleak for us all.
02:27 KCC said these proposals focus on the community groups
02:30 and give them the opportunity to take over the windmills if they wish.
02:34 They confirmed the public consultation will still go ahead
02:37 but no decision will be made until all feedback is received.
02:40 After years of volunteering,
02:42 those here hope this won't be the final time they're closing their doors.
02:47 Sophia Aitken for KMTV