Rebecca Curley
Local Democracy Reporter

Earthquakes in Surrey are not linked to drilling for oil in the county, according to a senior planning officer at Surrey County Council (SCC).

Stephen Jenkins, deputy planning development manager, said he had received confirmation from the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) there was "no causal link" between drilling and the "low levels" of earthquakes.

His comments came as permission was granted retrospectively for a well in Brockham near Dorking.

The application had provoked opposition from residents and anti-fracking and drilling campaigners concerned about the recent seismic activity in Surrey.

Twelve earthquakes have been recorded in the county since April.

The British Geological Survey has been investigating the quakes by installing five seismic monitors to calculate the depth, location and cause.

A spokeswoman for the OGA said: "Based on the evidence it is difficult to see how oil and gas activities in the area could be linked to these seismic events.

"We are working with the British Geological Survey, regulators, operators and other experts to ensure that all the evidence is fully considered."

Karen Dunn
Local Democracy Reporter

Horsham District Council has refused a retrospective application from one of its own members to live in a shipping-like container for three years while his new home is being built.

Conservative councillor John Bailey submitted the application for the container home at Windacres Farm, Church Street.

Mr Bailey's current home, Windacres Lodge, has been demolished to make way for an access road which forms part of a 55-home development being built on his land by Berkeley Homes.

He plans to live in the one-bedroom container until he is able to move into one of the new homes.

Mr Bailey did not attend the meeting on Tuesday.

Speaking on Wednesday, he said: "I'm going to talk to my advisors and consider all options."

Huge crowds built up at Brighton station after Brighton Pride's Britney Spears concert.

Sarah Booker-Lewis
Local Democracy Reporter

Image source, Google

New plans for the former Brighton maternity hospital site are due to go before councillors next week.

It will be the third application relating to the plot on the corner of Buckingham Road and Upper Gloucester Road in the past few years.

The latest plans involve the partial demolition of 80 Buckingham Road, which was built in the mid 1970s, and the construction of a five-storey building over a basement to create 20 flats and a community space.

Neighbouring Victorian buildings which formed part of the complex, at 76-79 Buckingham Road, would be converted into 14 homes with car parking, cycle parking and landscaping.

Bob Dale
BBC Live reporter

Police have seized 60 cannabis plants from a house in Dover.

The plants, and growing equipment, were found at the property in Clarendon Street, after officers were called on Monday evening.

No arrests have been made.

Image source, Kent Police

Rebecca Curley
Local Democracy Reporter

The nephew of a woman who died after being hit by a van as she tried to cross a busy road is continuing his campaign to get a pedestrian crossing installed.

Danny Jones believes his aunt Teresa McArdle may still be alive if action had been taken sooner to install the crossing in Portsmouth Road, Thames Ditton.

Safety measures are set to be put in along the road with Surrey County Council building a refuge island.

But Mr Jones says he and his family do not feel they have been listened to as they wanted a full crossing.

Councillor John O'Reilly, chairman of the Elmbridge Local Committee, said: "Our thoughts remain with Mrs McArdle's family and we listened with great respect to their concerns when this came before the committee.

"The committee considered a number of options and as the funding has been agreed, we're planning on putting in a pedestrian island to improve safety for those crossing there. We shall of course be keeping this under close review."

In April, 32-year-old Hamza Lamnouar, of Macleod Road, Horsham, was sentenced to community service after pleading guilty to causing death by careless driving.

Dean Kilpatrick
Local Democracy Reporter

A former supermarket could be turned into offices in Gillingham after Medway Council decided to invest £850,000 of public money in the site.

The Britton Farm development has stood empty since Budgens pulled out last March. The Council has now struck a deal with Kent and Medway NHS Partnership Trust to rent the premises as an office for up to 200 staff members.

It is hoped KMPT's 10-year lease will recuperate the money invested into the property.

Image source, Google Maps

Bob Dale
BBC Live reporter

You've been sending us your pictures of the thunderstorms which crossed the Kent coast last night, including some spectacular slow motion footage caught near Deal.

Shaun Avard was left in a vegetative state after a crash but died after a mistake over a drug dosage.

A farmer has taken drone footage of cattle swarming around a water truck in drought-hit New South Wales.

Dean Kilpatrick
Local Democracy Reporter

Medway Council has refused to sell a piece of land which would facilitate a controversial development in Hempstead.

The majority of cabinet members agreed on Tuesday that disposing of a "ransom strip" to provide the main access for the Gibraltar Farm development would be bad for local democracy.

Councillors had previously rejected the Attwood family's proposal for the near 60-acre plot in 2016, but the decision was overturned last year by central government.

The parcel of land - a "leftover" from an abandoned highways scheme - was the developer's preferred vehicular entrance for the 450 homes planned for the site.

Council documents suggest the authority could have received "several million pounds" by selling the land or granting rights to use it, but most cabinet members were unmoved by the cash.

Image source, Google

Dean Kilpatrick
Local Democracy Reporter

A scheme restricting the amount of street furniture in Chatham town centre has been made permanent and could soon be rolled out across Medway.

Chatham High Street traders will only be able to place tables, chairs and shop displays in certain places following a two-year trial.

A year's licence costs businesses £162 and the scheme is designed to prevent visually impaired people bumping into things and make the town more clutter-free.

The three-legged Mr Isle of Man character was created as a "one-off piece of fun" in 2017.

Dean Kilpatrick
Local Democracy Reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Councils in East Kent have offloaded their customer services to a London firm in a bid to save money.

Staff at Civica have taken over key roles such as the collection of tax, human resources and the IT department at Canterbury City Council, Dover and Thanet district councils in the past six months.

The director of East Kent Services (EKS), Dominic Whelan, claims the seven-year deal will save the councils up to £2 million.

As part of the cost-cutting plan face-to-face customer service at Aylesham, Deal, Sandwich, Ramsgate and Herne Bay has been cancelled.

However Dover District Council has made arrangements for Age Concern in Sandwich and the Citizen's Advice Bureau in Deal to provide an alternative service.

To streamline the collection of tax and benefits, EKS has moved a lot of its services online.

Head of shared services, Andrew Stevens, wrote in the end of year report how Thanet has introduced an epayment system.

Bob Dale
BBC Live reporter

Two hundred and twenty-four drivers were arrested for drink or drug driving in Kent during a month-long operation.

It ran from 15 June to 15 July, and was timed to coincide with the World Cup.

Kent Police says 182 arrests were made for drink driving and 42 on suspicion of drug driving.

So far 102 have been charged.

Image source, PA

Bob Dale
BBC Live reporter

People living in Stockbury near Sittingbourne have been warned to keep their doors and windows closed, after a barn caught fire.

Firefighters have been at the scene all night, although the incident has now been scaled down to just one appliance.

The open sided barn is in the Street, Stockbury.

Dan Maclaren
BBC Live reporter

After a spate of wild fires across the South East, there's an appeal for the public's help to try and prevent further outbreaks on farmland, woods and grassland.

Women's Super League newcomers Brighton & Hove Albion Women sign former Doncaster Rovers Belles midfielder Emily Simpkins.

A rough sleeper is in a critical condition in hospital after an attack in Brighton's Royal Pavilion Gardens.

Police were called to a serious assault just before midnight, near Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, on Tuesday.

The homeless man in his 50s was taken to hospital with serious head injuries.

Sussex Police said the gardens remain closed while forensic investigations continue and the public are asked to avoid the area.