Latest news with #Whitstable
BBC News
12-07-2025
- BBC News
Whitstable antisocial behaviour leads to weekend dispersal order
Part of east Kent has been placed under a dispersal order, after reports of antisocial behaviour, including underage drinking and catapults being used to harm order came into effect in Whitstable at 15:00 BST and runs until Sunday afternoon, covering the seafront, Harbour Street and the area between Tankerton and Joy aged over 10 can be moved on by officers, and arrested if they police are also working with shops that may sell catapults to young people. Ch Spt Rob Marsh said: "Officers will be patrolling the area, and anyone found causing a nuisance will be required to leave."Those that choose to return once dispersed can expect to be detained."Work is ongoing with businesses regarding the sales of catapults to young people and we are also asking parents to ensure their child is not part of the group causing these issues."We will be taking action against offenders. Anyone under 18 found to be drinking publicly can also expect their alcohol to be confiscated by officers."Dispersal orders have also been introduced for the weekend in Broadstairs, Margate and Ramsgate, following further reports of anti-social behaviour in those parts of Thanet.
BBC News
08-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Whitstable and Seasalter water issues continue into second week
A water company has apologised to customers who are still affected by supply issues which began last week, but warned that some problems will continue for several its height, up to 3,000 properties around Herne Bay, Whitstable and Seasalter lost their supply, and South East Water said the heatwave was to company said it was having to force water from tankers into the system to clear pockets of air, which will mean groups of about 50 customers at a time will temporarily lose supply MP for the area has said it "beggars belief" there was no forward planning for the hot weather. Steve Andrews, head of operations control at South East Water, said the company really was "truly sorry for the disruption".He added: "I would ask all customers to use water for essential use over the next few days, just so we can get the system returned to normal."We're seeing really high demand and that's preventing the system recovering as it normally would do."Rosie Duffield, the independent MP for Canterbury, has written to the told BBC Radio Kent: "It beggars belief there's no forward planning for instances like this, when we know we're expecting more houses to be built, when we know climate change is real."Jane Bowyer from Cheesemakers of Canterbury has lost four days of production."This will result in perhaps a lack of cheese at Christmas" she said. Philip Harris from the Sportsman pub in Seasalter said he had lost about £30, said: "We lost a whole Saturday, half a Friday, a whole Wednesday, so we've missed out on probably 250 to 300 customers."We were having to phone people an hour before they were due to be here, because the water suddenly went off." Mr Andrews said: "We are investing into our network but we have seen a real increase in customer demand over the last few years."We're looking to build a new reservoir at Broadoak. We have a plan for new big trunk mains to transfer water, as there's no natural water in the Whitstable area."We've got more gangs than we've ever had undertaking repairs."
BBC News
07-07-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
South East Water says supply issue improving but not yet fixed
An ongoing water supply issue in Kent is improving but has not been "completely fixed" yet, with about 500 properties remaining affected for a sixth day, South East Water has Wednesday, it said up to 3,000 customers in Whitstable, Seasalter and surrounding areas had no water or low pressure due to the recent the number of affected homes has reduced, the company's water supply director, Douglas Whitfield, could not promise a total resolution by told BBC Radio Kent: "That's certainly what we're hoping [but] I wouldn't like to 100% commit to that because if I do then something else could happen which means that's not the case." Mr Whitfield said the Seasalter area had seen a "good return to supply" and "all those customers should have their normal mains supply back on now", but there were "intermittent" issues around the Wraik Hill and Yorkletts areas."The last area we need to get on is the Wraik Hill area which has benefitted from some boosters which suck water from one of our storage tanks, and they're still currently airlocked," he boosters ran for a period on Sunday night, but "tripped off" on Monday morning, he said."Water will be injected from a tanker into the area," he said, adding that supply should be returned later on Monday. Meanwhile, he said a fault on one of the apparatus on the network needed to be repaired and replaced, but it was a complicated process."It's a very deep main, encased in concrete, and will require us to isolate that main to do the repair. Obviously we can't do that until supplies are back in," he bottled water stations at Sainsbury's on Reeves Way in Chestfield, and at 129C Faversham Road, Seasalter, in Whitstable, remain open on Whitfield also promised customers would be compensated in due for the outage, he said: "This is not the service we want to give to customers... it's been a very challenging week."
The Sun
07-07-2025
- Business
- The Sun
British bakery chain shuts ALL its stores after being run by same family for 7 decades as ‘no one wants to take it over'
A BELOVED British bakery chain has been forced to shut all of its stores after seven decades. The family-run business has announced the closure after failing to find someone to "take it over". 1 Bennetts Family Bakers closed all of its branches for good on Saturday. Bennetts has built a strong local following thanks to its freshly baked bread, pastries, and traditional cakes. A FAMILY AFFAIR The bakery chain opened in 1951 and has been operated by three generations of the same family. But Mrs Margaret Bennet and her son David explained that there was no one to continue the legacy. David, the company's director, previously told the Daily Echo he was struggling to run the business while caring for his elderly mother, who is seriously ill. He said: 'We've had an incredibly loyal customer base, and I'm truly thankful for the support we've had over the years.' David, who is over the retirement age, also has to deal with personal health issues. The family told Bournemouth Echo: "Our family-owned business had no choice Mrs Margaret Bennett is now in a home, and her son, David Bennett is over retirement age and has his own health problems, with no-one wanting to take over, or it being viable to keep going. "It has been run by three generations of the family, opening in 1951." The statement continued: "A big thank you to all our loyal staff and customers." Costa Coffee Shuts Whitstable Branch: What Shop Closures Mean for UK High Streets ALL BRANCHES CLOSED NOW The bakery's locations in Winton, Southbourne and Parkstone bid goodbye to the customers for the final time on July 5. The closure follows the earlier loss of their Westbourne, Broadstone and Wimborne branches in June. A heartfelt note taped to the Broadstone shop window explained the difficult decision. 'It is with great sadness that this shop will be closing on the 14th of June,' it read. 'It has been a pleasure serving the Broadstone community over the years. 'This has come about because of staff shortages and illness in the family. 'I would like to thank everybody for their support.' COMMUNITY REACTION Many in the community were saddened to hear the news. One regular customer said: 'It's such a shame. You could always count on Bennetts for quality and friendly service. They'll be missed.' Another added: 'It's a real blow for the high street. "There aren't many proper family bakeries left these days.' Why are retailers closing stores? RETAILERS have been feeling the squeeze since the pandemic, while shoppers are cutting back on spending due to the soaring cost of living crisis. High energy costs and a move to shopping online after the pandemic are also taking a toll, and many high street shops have struggled to keep going. However, additional costs have added further pain to an already struggling sector. The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs from April will cost the retail sector £2.3billion. At the same time, the minimum wage will rise to £12.21 an hour from April, and the minimum wage for people aged 18-20 will rise to £10 an hour, an increase of £1.40. The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year. It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year. Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: "The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025." It comes after almost 170,000 retail workers lost their jobs in 2024. End-of-year figures compiled by the Centre for Retail Research showed the number of job losses spiked amid the collapse of major chains such as Homebase and Ted Baker. It said its latest analysis showed that a total of 169,395 retail jobs were lost in the 2024 calendar year to date. This was up 49,990 – an increase of 41.9% – compared with 2023. It is the highest annual reading since more than 200,000 jobs were lost in 2020 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced retailers to shut their stores during lockdowns. The centre said 38 major retailers went into administration in 2024, including household names such as Lloyds Pharmacy, Homebase, The Body Shop, Carpetright and Ted Baker. Around a third of all retail job losses in 2024, 33% or 55,914 in total, resulted from administrations. Experts have said small high street shops could face a particularly challenging 2025 because of Budget tax and wage changes. Professor Bamfield has warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector. "By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer's household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020."
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Hundreds still without water for fifth day
A company says it still cannot provide a "specific time" when water supplies will return to about 500 properties which have experienced issues for the fifth day in a row. On Wednesday, South East Water said up to 3,000 customers in Whitstable, Seasalter and surrounding areas had no water or low pressure due to the recent heatwave. Some residents in the affected areas told the BBC how they felt "defeated" by the situation. The company told customers it was "very sorry" and said its teams had worked throughout Saturday night. "We know how distressing and frustrating it is to be without water and have specialists across the business supporting the work being done," it added. The company said although it had removed the trapped air from its pipes, the work was "extremely difficult and time consuming" and about 500 properties would continue to have supply issues through to Sunday night. It added the leak on Canterbury Road, Whitstable, outside The Two Brewers pub, was fixed on Saturday night under a road closure. "Diversions will be in place to safely guide traffic around the affected area," the company added. "There are five tankers pumping water into the local area so some customers may see intermittent supplies." Two bottled water stations have opened: a drive-through at Sainsbury's, Reeves Way, Chestfield, Whitstable, CT5 3QS, and a walk-in service at 129C Faversham Road, Seasalter, Whitstable, CT5 4SD. Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. Company renews urgent plea to save water Residents feel 'defeated' by ongoing water issue Water supply problems continue for Kent homes South East Water
