A restaurant boss who built an illegal outdoor dining area before “gaslighting” authorities for years with promises to pull it down has been fined and ordered to pay court costs totalling more than £40,000.

The glass-fronted enclosure outside A La Turka in Herne Bay was put up in 2019, despite there only being planning permission for awnings.

Also in today’s podcast, a public meeting's been held in Tunbridge Wells to discuss the recent water crisis.

Around 100 people showed up last night to express their frustrations following a number of outages before and after Christmas.

Controversial plans for a solar farm have been approved - despite residents warning it will despoil a “historic, rural agricultural landscape”.

Covering 40 hectares - roughly the size of 55 football pitches - the site on Romney Marsh is currently used to grow crops.

A sports and social club with more than 650 members will close at the end of the month.

The facility in Maidstone is set to shut following a “difficult decision” by the organisation that runs it to cease its affiliation.

And a school with pupils from more than 80 nationalities has launched a community campaign to celebrate togetherness and belonging.

Ashford’s John Wallis Academy has put up flags, banners and posters around its grounds – you can hear from their Head who says it’s come at a time when we know the world is increasingly divided.

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A Chinese takeaway was forced to close after thousands of pounds worth of damage was caused to the shop.

Police were called to the restaurant in Tunbridge Wells after a man went inside and lay down on the floor, before smashing up screens and equipment.

Also in today’s podcast, a group of doctors are calling for better resilience within NHS IT systems after a major outage affected GP surgeries across Kent.

Medics were unable to access patient details, appointment lists or process prescriptions on Monday and health bosses say it’s led to a huge backlog.

A councillor who struggles to speak after developing motor neurone disease is using pioneering AI technology to communicate using his own voice.

Nick Varley, who represents Kippington on Sevenoaks district and town councils, made recordings of himself speaking, which were used to train the AI to produce an accurate copy of his voice.

Protesters held a large banner demanding “Keep your hands off Rays Bottom” as they voiced their anger over plans for a new housing estate.

More than 300 letters of objection have been lodged in little over a month against proposals to build 75 houses on farmland near Deal.

And an ice cream man who “gambled” on serving scoops when work dried up during the pandemic is in the running for a top national award.

You can hear from the Rainham resident who runs Bossie’s Ice Creams’ who told us he’s excited to have his hard work recognised.

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Investigations are underway following reports a woman had her drink spiked while out celebrating her 21st birthday in Maidstone.

Tia Jennings was at Bierkeller on Gabriel's Hill on January 10th when she started acting out of character - she then collapsed outside a short time later. We've asked the venue a number of times for a comment.

Also in today's podcast, the mother of a teenager killed in a crash in Thanet says the number of people caught over the limit during a crackdown last month is 'shocking'.

18-year-old Ethan Entwhistle was a passenger in a car that hit a tree in Broadstairs in October 2023 - the driver was more than twice the drink drive limit.

Police stopped around 300 motorists for drink and drug driving offences in the county in December.

Families in Kent are being asked to share their experience of maternity and neonatal care for a major national review.

The 'Call for Evidence' will be used to shape recommendations to improve services across England - hear from Zoe Finn who lost her son Carter when his heart stopped beating while she was 35 weeks pregnant.

The MP for Ashford has signed an open letter to the Prime Minister calling for a ban on social media use for people under the age of 16.

Sojan Joseph is the only Kent MP to put his name to the letter and joined 60 others from across the country.

Campaigners from Kent are due at the High Court as a legal challenge against plans for a second runway at Gatwick Airport gets under way.

It's after the transport secretary gave approval last September for the airport to bring its Northern runway into regular use as part of a 2-point £2 billion expansion.

In sport, Lenni Cirino has signed a contract extension with Gillingham. The new deal keeps the left-back at the club until the end of this season.

And, find out who Chatham Town's women will be playing the fifth round of the FA Cup.

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