First they came for the books
Plus things actually happen at KCC, Kent's water supply creaks in the heat, news in brief, and more
Kent’s Reform administration leapt into action this week to tackle what they called ‘trans ideological material’ on children’s library shelves in Kent. But is everything as it appears? We take a look at exactly what’s been going on. Further down, we have news on other happenings at KCC, Kent’s water supply creaking under the heat, news in brief, and more.
First they came for the books
We’ve spent several weeks since Reform’s victory in Kent’s local elections commenting on how the time since has been dominated by inaction, cancelled meetings, and financial audits that have yielded few results.
So this week, we are obliged to highlight that the new KCC administration has achieved something: They have proudly banned one book about trans autistic adults from the children’s shelves in Kent libraries.
As ever, though, things may not be quite so simple, given that the book was never on them in the first place.
Cllr Steve Webb, Sittingbourne South councillor and Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services, took to X (for it is always X) to declare that he was “recently contacted by a concerned member of the public, who found trans ideological material and books in the children’s section of one of our libraries. I’ve looked into this, and this was the case. I have today issued an instruction for them all to be removed from the children’s sections of any of our libraries. They do not belong in the children’s section of our libraries. Our children do not need to be told they were born in the wrong body. So from today, this will stop.”
Kent County Council Leader Linden Kemkaran called this “another victory for common sense in Kent,” adding that “telling children they’re in the ‘wrong body’ is wrong and simply unacceptable.” Alongside this, she included photos of the book in question, The Autistic Trans Guide to Life, as part of a Pride month display at Herne Bay Library.
Now, there is a lot to unpack here.
First, KCC’s own library system lists the book as being for an adult audience, and all five copies of the book are currently in ‘adult non-fiction’ sections of Kent’s libraries.
Second, the positioning shown in the photos posted by Cllr Kemkaran of the book in Herne Bay Library shows it in the Pride Month display, which is located in the library's main ‘Welcome’ section rather than the children’s section. Thirty seconds on KCC’s own virtual tour of Herne Bay Library establishes that this area is not in the children’s section.
So it is unclear precisely what Cllr Webb and his ‘instruction’ is supposed to have achieved. If he wants to claim a quick win by banning a book from a section it wasn’t in in the first place, that’s presumably up to him. But it is depressing that the leadership of a county council can make claims like this, even if there is no reality in them, which suggests an element of just trying to rile up the base rather than achieve anything meaningful.
Of course, once we start heading down this path, it is unlikely to stop at only one book. KCC holds a number of titles on trans and other LGBT+ subjects, including some that are held in the young adult collections. Ironically, after only one book had been challenged at KCC in several years, one of the new administration's first acts is to suppress books.
We’ll be following this one closely…
What else has been happening at KCC this week?
Brace yourself, for Kent County Council held not one, not two, but three committee meetings this week, the first since Reform took control of the council back in May. It was important stuff too, so councillors spent 16 minutes at the Kent Flood Risk and Water Management Committee, an hour on the Growth, Economic Development and Communities Cabinet Committee, and a whopping three hours on the Governance and Audit Committee.
Four committee meetings are scheduled for next week, including a full council meeting on 10 July at County Hall. It’s a relatively sparse agenda, where councillors will debate whether their allowances should increase to £17,773 or decrease to £16,266, clearly the most significant issue facing Kent currently. Elsewhere, the Greens have submitted a motion on preventing violence against women and girls, while the Lib Dems have submitted one on the blue badge scheme.
In another instance of Reform potentially crashing into the reality of what councils actually do, Cllr Kemkaran says she will unleash her local DOLGE team (not to be confused with the national Reform DOGE team) to tackle the £98m KCC spends on home-to-school taxi services. Thousands of students with disabilities and special educational needs in Kent have such provision as part of their education health care plans. These sorts of services are statutory responsibilities, so it is unclear exactly where the administration will be able to find savings.
Finally, regular readers will be familiar with the saga of KCC failing to publish the register of interests for their councillors since the 1 May election, despite being obliged to do so within 28 days. Excitingly, we have some progress with some councillors now having entries on their individual councillor profile pages. The data started being uploaded last week, but still doesn’t include all councillors. Still, it’s only been 63 days, so maybe we’ll get there in the next few weeks…
Have a Kent story you think we might be interested in? Get in touch via hello(at)kentcurrent(dot)news - We’re always happy to talk off the record in the first instance…
Kent’s water creaks in the heat
You might have noticed it was a bit hot over the past week. Kent recorded the highest temperature of the year in the UK with 33.6°C at Frittenden.
As a result of the heat, demand on the network increased by nearly 20%, resulting in the water network collapsing in parts of Kent, with swathes of Herne Bay and Whitstable being left without supply on the hottest days of the year. At one point, up to 7,000 households were left without access to water.
South East Water (not to be confused with Southern Water, which supplies other parts of Kent) is responsible for the network in the area and apologised for the outage. Mitigation efforts didn’t go well, with the company closing a bottled water collection point in Whitstable after too many people turned up. Which perhaps shouldn’t have been surprising given the conditions at the time.
The issue comes at a time when water supply in Kent is under increasing pressure from both increased demand and a changing climate that makes it harder to maintain. South East Water have plans to develop a new reservoir at Broad Oak near Canterbury to shore up supplies, but this won’t be ready until at least 2033. As summers get hotter, more outages may well be in our future.
In brief
🚓 It’s been a big week for antisocial behaviour in Kent. Residents claim teenagers in Snodland have been plaguing the town. Kent Police issued dispersal orders against 19 people in Whitstable and Herne Bay. Laughing gas cannisters were seized from a large group dispersed on Margate beach. Finally, East Thanet MP Polly Billington is holding a public meeting on the issue following recent disorder in Broadstairs.
🗣️ Canterbury City Council will hold a special planning committee meeting next week to decide on a 300-home development in Bekesbourne. Council officers are recommending that the application be approved.
🏗️ A 250-home development north of Faversham has been granted on appeal by the Planning Inspectorate.
🏘️ A planning application for 135 new homes and a shop has been submitted to Thanet District Council.
📄 Plans have been submitted for 45 homes and a 66-bed care home south of Sandwich.
✅ Medway Council has approved a Local Plan, which will set the direction of the area until 2041. It is the first time the council has managed to pass a Local Plan since 2003.
🗳️ A Community Governance Review is set to be launched in Margate with the intent of creating a town council to boost local governance.
🛠️ Dover District Council are set to spend up to £700,000 to undertake structural repairs on Deal Pier.
⚡ 2km of overhead power cables and poles have been relocated underground to improve views of the Stour Valley around Wye.
🍔 An application by McDonald’s to build a new drive-through outlet at Knights Park in Tunbridge Wells has led to a torrent of objections.
🧳 Christ Church Gate, the main entrance to Canterbury Cathedral, could see its upper levels converted into a short-term holiday let.
🏎️ Buckmore Park kart racing circuit, just outside Medway, has gained planning permission for a new 20,000sqft motorsport centre with simulators, a restaurant, and a viewing gallery over the circuit.
⛽ KentOnline are wondering why Canterbury pays so much more for petrol than the rest of Kent.
👃 Drivers have been baffled by a mysterious ‘toxic’ smell from a new roundabout near Maidstone.
💷 More than 63,000 Dartford Crossing fines have been cancelled this year following accusations of incorrectly issued penalties.
🔥 Ramsgate Tunnel has been closed for a week following a vehicle fire inside, which has caused fire and electrical damage to the route.
⚫ A man has died after being taken ill at Dreamland’s Drum & Bass Festival in Margate last weekend. The event was later abandoned after organisers deemed it too hot to continue.
🌹 The Folkestone Dispatch has sat down with Folkestone and Hythe MP Tony Vaughan to discuss his first year in office.
🇨🇾 Congratulations to Herne Bay and Sandwich MP, Roger Gale, who updated the parliamentary register of interests to declare that he’s been made an honorary citizen of Cyprus.
Footnotes
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Re the books:
I guess Reform have to take the little wins where they can.
They sure as hell aren't capable of anything else.
I am sure they exist just to rile people up.