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00:00Hello and welcome to Kent on Climate live on KMTV. I'm Daisy Page and in this show we
00:19discuss all things related to environmental issues in the county. How is climate change
00:24impacting Kent? What are the communities in the county doing to tackle it? And how can
00:29you help at home? Each week we will be taking a deep dive into new environmental issues
00:33in the county and I'll be joined by expert guests. First tonight, Sittingbourne is home
00:39to the UK's largest recycled paper plant and this year marks its century of Kemsley
00:44Paper Mill. First used for newsprint, the mill now focuses on sustainability and produces
00:49enough recycled paper in a year to wrap around the entire world twice. They've even introduced
00:54robots to keep up with the evolving industry elsewhere. Senior Nick Fee was at the mill.
01:00The UK's largest paper mill is in Sittingbourne and this year Kemsley Paper Mill celebrates
01:05its 100th anniversary. The industrial site, which is spread over 150 acres, runs three
01:10paper mills and used to be a major Fleet Street printing hub, powered by Scandinavian timber
01:16when it was first set up in 1924. But in 2024, things in Europe's second largest mill look
01:23a little bit different. Since the 80s and 90s, their focus has been on sustainability.
01:30It's said that the mill produces enough recycled paper in a year to wrap around the entire
01:35world twice. They say that for every tonne of paper they make from recycling, there's
01:39an entire tree that doesn't have to be used. Everything we make here is fully recycled.
01:45Even the white papers that we make here are from a recycled material. So we're giving
01:48that valuable fibre another life. We're also looking really heavily into how we can make
01:54lighter papers, higher performance papers that use less fibre for the same application.
01:59We have robots that are automatically moving the paper around. They pick the order automatically
02:03for the customer and then the guys on the pork trucks will load that for the customer
02:07deliveries today. So we've got a workforce here that quite a few are retiring, quite
02:11a few of the guys here in their late 50s, early 60s. So actually we had people that
02:14just retired through that programme and then we had the robots in the warehouse in their
02:18To recycle the paper, staff crush it before mixing it with water and starch, which is
02:23stored in on-site silo towers to clean and strengthen the paper. It's tinted with the
02:28same greyish-brown hue for consistency and is rolled into sheets of paper before being
02:34distributed to their plants across the UK, where they often end up as cardboard boxes
02:39for packaging across various sectors.
02:41Kemsley Paper Mill recycle 2,500 tonnes of paper every single day, which they clean so
02:47that it ends up looking like this.
02:49Sittingbourne, I think initially, papermaking started because you had the chalk streams
02:54running down, so a supply of water, and they needed water to make the paper. Initially
03:02they'd have used rags as the raw material. I think papermaking started there somewhere
03:08like maybe 300 years ago, but it wasn't until about 150 years ago that it got serious and
03:18a new mill was built in Sittingbourne.
03:21The mills say they've reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 50% in the last few years, but
03:26hope to reduce this even further to keep the site going for at least another 100 years.
03:32Xenia Nakvi for KMTV in Sittingbourne.
03:37Joining me now to tell us more is Xenia. The paper mill, as you mentioned in your report,
03:41it was used to print newspapers when it originally came about, but why did this change?
03:47Back in 1924, publisher Edward Lloyd did buy the mill, and it was used to power Fleet Street,
03:54all the newspapers in London. Obviously, between now and then, a lot has changed. I suppose
04:00you could say the decline of print, less people are buying newspapers, and now we've got a
04:07growing understanding of sustainability. Obviously, printing paper from scratch does not go hand
04:15in hand with saving the planet. I suppose it's one of those, both of those reasons.
04:21It's really interesting, both those reasons and how they have changed throughout the 100
04:26years. How do they create this recycled paper now?
04:29It's a fascinating process, Daisy. When I went down, they talked me through it. Back when it was
04:35when they used to make papers from scratch, they would have imported timber all the way over from
04:40Scandinavia, not super environmentally friendly, to create wood chips. Now what they do is they
04:47take old paper and they clean it. To strengthen it, they use starch that's fetched from silos
04:56that are on site. This is just part of the elaborate process. After that, after they've
05:01cleaned it and strengthened it, they tint it this browny-grey colour and roll it into massive,
05:08massive sheets of paper. Now, you said in your report that they create enough to wrap around
05:13the world twice in just a year alone, but what do they actually use this paper for instead of
05:18wrapping it around the world? It's a crazy statistic. I was gobsmacked, to be quite honest.
05:24So often the paper is repurposed into cardboard boxes for use across the whole of the UK. For
05:31example, the South West is known for its dairy industry, so you may be using the packaging for
05:41cheese products, anything like that. If you go a little bit further up north to the Midlands,
05:47perhaps Coventry, which is synonymous with the automotive industry, you may get
05:53packaging for car, not cars, because you wouldn't be able to fit a car into a box,
05:56but car parts like engines, things like that. So it's really interesting. And I was talking
06:01to a historian, a sitting board historian, who told me that... I'm really sorry, that's all we
06:07have time for, but it's so fascinating how different parts of the Kent use that as well.
06:12Now, sewage spills by Thames Water spiked by 40% this year, and still the company warns that
06:18customers, including those in North Kent, could be paying more for their water.
06:22The bosses of the UK's biggest supplier has defended bonuses of the company's executives,
06:28while saying it's fundamental to their future to charge more. But with blame on record rainfall
06:34levels last year, the water company says despite the pressures that it puts on storm overflow,
06:39it's improved, something water quality campaigners in Whitstable disagree with.
06:43Potentially, we have had more rain this year than previous springs and summers,
06:51but not so much more that they've not been able to invest in infrastructure. They've had enough
06:57time to do it, and they've had certainly, they've had our money already. Ideally, we would love for
07:03it to become public again, and for it to be run for us, by us. Obviously, the catch-22 is that we
07:14will end up paying for it either way. Thames Water says the spike in sewage spills was down
07:21to the bad weather. Regulator Ofwat will rule on whether Thames Water can increase
07:26by nearly 60% over five years later this month.
07:32Now, Kent farmers show no sign of backing down in their protest against the government's inheritance
07:37tax increase. Tractors lined the streets of Whitehall to send a message to the government
07:42trying to force a U-turn on the controversial policies. Aidan McNay has more. Westminster
07:48is usually abuzz with tourists and politicians, but today the farmers are taking over.
07:53I'm in Whitehall, and if you can't hear, the farmers are making an absolute racket behind me.
07:59Farmers from Kent and across the country have come out to protest the government's controversial
08:04inheritance tax hike on farms. One thing that is palpable is the anger against Labour Party,
08:10against Keir Starmer, and against Rachel Reeves. To recap, back in October, as part of the autumn
08:15budget, Rachel Reeves introduced a 20% inheritance tax on any farm assets over a million pounds.
08:21Previously, farms had been exempt from any inheritance tax.
08:25But how can we say to the next generation, before you even start work,
08:30you'll be paying 10 years of tax burden? It's the only word I can think of is fast,
08:35without losing my temper. Three meetings with my local MP, new Labour MP, I asked him,
08:42on behalf of the Swale and Sheppey farmers, please do not vote for it or abstain,
08:48and an hour later, he voted for it. I'm a fifth generation farmer. I mean,
08:53as it stands at the moment, for our family farm, we potentially could have a tax bill for 1.2
08:59million. We would have to sell land to be able to pay the inheritance tax. Now, for the last 70 years,
09:05we've been trying to grow the size of our farm, and if we have to sell land off, all that work
09:11over 70 years will be for a waste of time. Never missing an opportunity to jump into the
09:15political fray, Nigel Farage made an appearance. I think there's a silent majority on the side of
09:20the little man and woman against the giant corporations. We actually have a connection
09:25with the landscape. One of our MPs is actually a full-time farmer. So we have some understanding
09:31of this. Sadly, there are too many in the big parties who are just so disconnected
09:35from the English countryside. Listen to the farmers. This grief tax, this family farm tax
09:41is a catastrophe. It's destroying investment, destroying the opportunity to grow more British
09:46food, reducing jobs. Absolute catastrophe. But despite the protest outside, Keir Starmer refused
09:52to back down on the policy when challenged by Ed Davey at Prime Minister's Questions.
09:56We've put £5 billion into farming over the next two years. That's a record number
10:01under the budget. In a typical family case, the threshold is £3 million, and therefore the vast
10:08majority of farmers will be unaffected, despite the fear-mongering of the party opposite.
10:13For now, the protests roll on. Aidan McNamee, KNTV News.
10:19Now, each week we take a look at a creature that can be found here in Kent. This week's feature is
10:23Britain's largest rodent. They can be found near rivers or streams, and they like to live close to
10:28trees and woodlands. Well, have you guessed it? If not, let's take a look further with this week's
10:32creature feature. They were hunted to extinction in England in the 16th century, and in 2022 they
10:40became an officially protected species in England. That's right, today's creature is the adorable
10:46beaver. Eurasian beavers were first reintroduced to Britain in 2002 by the Kent Wildlife Trust,
10:52spoiler alert, right here in Kent. And now they can occasionally be seen swimming around in the
10:58Their reintroduction was part of a project aimed at improving the last surviving fennel in Kent,
11:03Ham Fenness Sandwich, a project which has since also involved the reintroduction of bison,
11:09some of which can still be seen roaming around lean woods. They play an essential role in the
11:14ecosystem, their dams slowing and cleaning the flowing waters of the rivers and streams they
11:18block, and the resulting ponds and wetlands they create can become carbon sinks, helping slow
11:24climate change. The ecosystems they help nurture and create also help other species, such as bats
11:29and water voles, and I think it's safe to say we're all happy to have them back. Coming up after the
11:36break, we hear how an animal sanctuary near Sittingbourne is trying to raise a quarter of a
11:40million pounds for a new home. Experts tell us about a rare sunfish which has been spotted washed
11:46up on a warren beach in Folkestone, and how a recycling centre is getting festive this Christmas.
11:52All that and more we'll see you soon.
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15:07Hello and welcome back to a greener Kent on Climate, live on KMTV. Five lions rescued from
15:13Ukraine are set to have an enclosure and rescue centre built near Ashford for them. It comes as
15:18the Big Cat Sanctuary in Smardon has reached its fundraising goal of half a million pounds.
15:23The money will go towards transportation, vet costs and finishing the construction of the
15:28enclosure, which bosses hope will be opened in January. Three-year-old Una has already begun
15:33her new life in Kent after arriving in August. Meanwhile, the other four are currently being
15:38held in Belgium whilst their new homes are being completed. Next tonight, marine experts say that
15:45the number of sea creatures appearing on our shores is only increasing after a rare sunfish
15:49has been spotted washed up on warren beach in Folkestone. The species is a deep sea fish.
15:54By the look of this one, it appears to be a juvenile, whether it's just become lost kind of
16:01as it's been moving with the ocean currents or whether it's become disorientated. I mean,
16:09it was about 12 degrees Celsius in the water off Folkestone over the weekend. And they are becoming
16:18more of a common occurrence down in the southwest now, whether that could be indicative of the
16:25rises in sea temperature we're seeing under climate change, kind of extending the range of
16:31these species northwards into those later months in the year. And we're starting to see the impact
16:37of that. Well, that was Kent Wildlife Trust telling us why we are seeing more of these deep
16:42sea creatures on our beaches. But that species was a deep sea fish and one of the largest of
16:47the bony varieties that is uncommon in the area, but it's only becoming more frequent.
16:55And now an animal sanctuary near Sittingbourne is trying to raise a quarter of a million pounds
17:00for a new home following an almost four-year battle of soil cancelled to stay on their current land.
17:06Happy Pants Ranch looks after around 450 animals with a wide range of disabilities
17:11and volunteers say it would take them all year to re-home them all. The council say the land
17:15needed to be formally changed from agricultural to animal rescue and handed them a nine-month
17:21eviction notice. Henry Luck has more. The Happy Pants Ranch near Sittingbourne looks after more
17:27than 450 rescue animals who have nowhere to go. But following an eviction notice given by Swell
17:36Council, the animal sanctuary is racing to raise enough money to move to a new location following
17:44a failed appeal earlier this month. They've been in a three-year battle with Swell Council
17:51to formally change the use of land from agricultural to animal rescue. Yeah, unfortunately,
17:57since moving onto this bit of land almost four years ago, we've had nothing but trouble from
18:04one neighbour and the Swell Council to do with planning, noise, you name it, we've had
18:13trouble with it. So yeah, unfortunately, and I've never had a bad relationship with the council ever
18:17before, and we've been going for 10 years now under different boroughs, but Swell Council, yeah,
18:22is unfortunately not a good relationship whatsoever. The forever home is completely
18:28independent and run by volunteers. Oh, we're devastated. Don't understand why it's happening,
18:37seems to be no real reason for it. We're in the middle of the countryside here, as you can see,
18:43not disturbing anybody, not doing any harm. We don't understand it, quite honestly.
18:49Explaining why it has taken eviction action, Swell Council said the Happy Pants Ranch applied
18:57for retrospective planning approval in 2021 and this was rejected. A planning enforcement notice
19:04was issued in 2022 to rectify these breaches. The notice was appealed and it was dismissed.
19:12The enforcement notice requires that the mixed use of the site stops and that the land needs
19:19to be restored to its original condition before the breaches took place. Now the sounds of all
19:26the animals behind me here at the Happy Pants Ranch in Newington near Sittingbourne is soon
19:32to be no more as they've just been given a nine-month eviction notice. Now they're trying
19:39to raise £250,000 to be able to relocate. Amy has set up a GoFundMe page to raise funds which
19:49will allow the Happy Pants Ranch to find a new location. She doesn't know where she will go yet
19:56but she firmly believes home is where the animals are. Henry Luck for KMTV.
20:03Now don't forget you can keep up to date with all the latest stories across Kent by logging
20:09on to our website kmtv.co.uk. There you'll find all our reports including this one about a goat
20:14sanctuary which is seeing a huge increase in the amount of goats being abandoned. In recent weeks
20:20there has been an increase in the amount of goats handed over to the Buttercup Sanctuary near
20:24Maidstone. Usually they take in around three to four a month but have received over 30 in November
20:31One of the goats in this farm is called Hank and he was dangerously abandoned at a petrol station
20:36surviving on handouts from drivers. Thanks to Buttercup Sanctuary however he is much safer
20:41and caregivers even say that he's thriving. Surprisingly though this is only one of 130
20:46other stories on this sanctuary. Around Christmas time we usually hear about dogs or cats being
20:53abandoned but this year it seems like goats have joined them. Buttercup Sanctuary alone have over
20:58130 goats that they care for every day each costing an average of £1,000 a year. Being a
21:06very intelligent animal they are often harder and more expensive to look after than people may expect.
21:11Personally I've been involved with Buttercup since 2011 and prior to that I would never have thought
21:16that anyone would have a goat as a pet and it's astonishing to realise that majority of the goats
21:21here at the sanctuary at Buttercup's have come from Kent and Sussex alone. I think there's a
21:25common perception that goats eat everything. Our goats here particularly are quite picky
21:30so if for example we supplement feed them with hay especially in the winter months
21:34and if the hay hits the floor they won't eat it. There is a common perception where goats can be
21:40tethered and and be left out like sheep and they haven't got a lanulin part to their fur
21:45so they can get waterlogged, they can get hypothermia and cold conditions and they do need
21:49to be put away at night. At this sanctuary however they appreciate when people admit they need help
21:54and do the best that they can for the animal even if it means giving them up. Claire has fostered
22:00seven goats that live at her home. She says they aren't too difficult to take care of but the right
22:05facilities are needed for their health and safety. They need proper fencing, a big area to graze,
22:10the correct food and plenty of socialisation with other goats. You should care about everything,
22:16you should care about people, you should care about animals, you should care about the
22:20climate change, you could care about everything in the world. Having more than 70 volunteers already
22:27many seem to be eager to spend time with and care for the goats. From my time here I can see why so
22:32many love the animal. Buttercup Sanctuary are open to donations, new volunteers and they even offer
22:38adoptions. The takeaway is always do what is best for the animal and never be ashamed to ask for
22:43help. Kristen Hawthorne for KMTV in Boughtonland Chelsea. The documentary is set to air over the
22:50Christmas period on KMTV looking at how Kent will develop over the centuries. It was inspired by a
22:55study which revealed how climate will be impacting weather, health and food security by 2080. Myself
23:01and Kristen have been talking to different experts through Kent to find how the county might be
23:06impacted. Well joining me now is Kristen to tell us more. So can you tell us what this documentary
23:11is about? Yes well we've done a full investigation really haven't we into what Kent will look like
23:17in 100 years. So we've really looked over what it was like 100 years ago in comparison to now,
23:24in comparison to like I said in 100 years. So we've done a deep dive we have. Yeah and
23:30what do you think Kent will look like in 100 years yourself? Myself I wasn't quite sure before we
23:36started doing this documentary. I think it's quite unpredictable but personally I
23:42I don't know I mean I thought the AI would come in or I mean there's lots of different things
23:48really but I really wasn't quite sure which is why I mean that's why I guess we decided to
23:52make the documentary. Yeah no and as we can see on screen at the moment we actually see in Sheppey
23:57and one of the things that I took away from it is coastal erosion how it is impacting
24:02coastal around Kent and one thing that I found out is that in the next few decades Sheppey is
24:08set to lose around 90 homes which is so many and you don't think that that's going to happen in
24:13a hundred years let alone in a couple of decades. So what's one thing that you took away from this?
24:18Well I mean that is really interesting I mean and the coastal erosion I thought was very surprising
24:23as well. One thing that really surprised me is what our oceans are going to look like in 100 years
24:30and again it's quite unpredictable we could either have all exotic creatures due to the rising sea
24:36level temperatures or we could have like a desert like complete no fish at all and no sea life
24:43and in terms of plants or animals again it's unknown. And well the experts we talked to gave
24:49us a little insight of what they thought Kent would look like in 100 years as well. Brilliant.
24:53I for myself I think the farms that we see here in Kent and around the United Kingdom
24:58they will play a vital role in helping us reduce carbon emissions. So actually this bit on the edge
25:04and the current predictions this bit is likely to still be here immediately behind me that will
25:09have receded quite a bit so the centre of Sheppey is a hill around Minster that will have gone
25:15further inland but the bulk of the hill will still be there in 100 years. What did Kent look like a
25:20hundred years ago? What did what was there here? Well actually it wouldn't have looked a lot
25:26different from where we are right now in fact it probably looked very similar. I suppose the future
25:32is unknown so thank you for joining us Kristen. Thank you so much. And finally from gift-giving
25:37to winter wonderland turns out Toveville's recycling centre may be the next best festive
25:42action in Kent. Providing just how wasteful we can be at this time of year all decorations have
25:49been recovered from the tip by staff over the years. The centre has been popular for a while
25:54in fact this time last year it was also almost closed down by the council to save money but
26:00more than 600 signatures and a strong campaign kept the local facility open
26:05and now the only thing they're reducing is waste and recycling some Christmas joy.
26:12That's all we have time for on this week's episode of Kent on Climate. We'll be back next year with
26:17more episodes discussing environmental issues in the county. In the meantime you can keep up to
26:23date with all things climate related in Kent by visiting our website kmtv.co.uk and also make sure
26:29to keep an eye out for that documentary airing over the Christmas time or you can follow us on
26:34Facebook, Instagram or X by searching KMTV Kent. I'll see you soon but for now have a lovely Christmas
26:40and New Year. Goodbye.