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That's it from us this week at ����ý South East: Live.

Thank you for joining us for all your breaking news, travel and weather.

We'll be back on Monday morning.

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A former fire station in Chatham is set to become a restaurant and bar after Medway Council confirmed it is in "late stages of discussions" with an interested party.

The authority's chief legal officer Perry Holmes refused to identify those interested in taking on the lease at the New Cut Arches, but said it was "a local business with a tremendous track record".

Medway Council allocated £190,000 to buy and refurbish the former fire station, although "additional funding has been requested to properly complete the scheme", according to capital budget monitoring reports.

Mr Holmes said: "I'm delighted to confirm we are in the late stages of discussions with a business to change the arches into a restaurant/cafe in the day, and a bar with music in the evening.

"I'm hopeful that either before or just after Christmas, the frontage will change dramatically in terms of look and feel, and before Easter we should be able to announce who that tenant is.

"They intend to invest a significant sum in bringing it up to standard - we're investing as well to make it lettable - but they're intending to invest their own money and all of that is positive for Chatham."

According to Estates Gazette, renting the 2,516 sq ft property will cost the successful business £20,000 per annum - adding a new source of revenue for the authority.

The launch of the new 26-30 railcard has been delayed slightly, meaning some millennials will miss out.

Military charity Help for Heroes uses a painting of a dog from Hythe in Kent on Christmas cards.

George Low, from Dartford, was on holiday in Ayia Napa when he was fatally stabbed in 2016.

A police force criticised for decorating a patrol car in rainbow colours for a Pride event goes one step further this year and emblazons a van.

Passengers spend £10bn a year but the industry says most of that goes back into the network.

Harry Avis tells officers he is "not hiding" in reply to a post offering a reward for his capture.

Huw Oxburgh
Local Democracy Reporter

Proposals to consolidate ear, nose and throat (ENT) services in East Sussex will create a "sustainable service", East Sussex Healthcare NHS has said.

The trust told a committee of local councils it plans to move all ENT day cases and planned surgery to Eastbourne and reduce the service in Hastings.

Hastings councillor Mike Turner told the meeting on Thursday it would remove a service from a deprived borough.

NHS boss Dr Adrian Bull said ENT access for Hastings people "remains as it is".

Flawless starts, controversial replays and famous former winners feature in ����ý Sport's Women's FA Cup second round preview.

Plans for a seafront swimming pool go before Brighton and Hove planners next week.

First mooted as a 50 metre pool in 2015, the current application for Sea Lanes in Madeira Drive is for a 25-metre pool on a temporary basis for five years.

Brighton and Hove City Council agreed a five-year lease with Sea Lanes on the now derelict former Peter Pan's Playground next to the Yellowwave beach sports site last year.

The application includes an events space and movable, brightly-coloured, one to three storey buildings to provide office space, food, drink and shopping.

Members of the planning committee are advised to approve the scheme when they meet on Wednesday 5 December, on the condition it is all removed once the five years are up.

A long-term future for this particular pool complex is off the table as the design causes "harm to the special historic character" of the area. The authority received 35 letters supporting the project and six objections.

Rail services which are outside the current London fare zones are to be brought into the scheme.

Labour MP who told the Commons his HIV status says the reaction has been “very positive”

The Uckfield charity International Animal Rescue saves two bears from a cramped cage in Armenia.

The former Wales and Borders rail franchise defends itself over criticism of its maintenance record.

Huw Oxburgh
Local Democracy Reporter

NHS teams in Sussex are preparing for a "difficult" winter season, councillors heard this week.

At a meeting of the East Sussex Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Thursday, councillors heard details of NHS plans to address an increased demand on services this winter.

Councillors were told health authorities had learnt from pressures on the system last winter and had been working together on plans in a number of areas, including: flu vaccinations; transfers of care and public awareness.

The plans were presented by Mark Angus, a senior NHS officer responsible for coordinating winter planning across Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in Sussex and East Surrey.

Mr Angus said: "We know that winter will be difficult again this year. We've taken the lessons learnt and we've got really clear capacity and demand plans in place.

"I think they are improved from last year. I think we have been able to strengthen our planning this year. I think it is better coordinated as well, but it will be difficult.

"Our resilience mechanisms and our ability to manage pressure at pressure points is going to be incredibly important to ensure that we maintain patient safety."

Mr Angus told councillors about a range of planning work undertaken since last winter, highlighting work to reduce pressure on hospital A&E departments.

This included work to improve capacity throughout the system and reduce the number of delays in transferring hospital patients to more appropriate care.

He also spoke about the importance of raising public awareness of the pressure on health services at this time of year.

He highlighted a planned communications campaign - to be run both nationally and locally - designed to: encourage people to use A&E responsibly, promote self care and highlight other NHS services that may better meet the needs of patients.

This campaign would also encourage to use the NHS 111 helpline as a first port of call.

Huw Oxburgh
Local Democracy Reporter

A councillor has called for the meetings of council scrutiny committees to be broadcast live online.

East Sussex County Council will consider the motion put forward by Liberal Democrat Councillor John Ungar on Tuesday.

The council already broadcasts a number of its public meetings but leaves others un-broadcasted.

Those include two out-of-three scrutiny committees, which aim to hold cabinet decision-making to account.

However, the council's governance committee is recommending the motion be refused, after a review of the council's scrutiny arrangements in March concluded that webcasting could "hinder" proceedings.

The report said: "Some members have suggested that webcasting scrutiny committees can hinder effective member participation.

"Cabinet and full council meetings are webcast and it is at these meetings where the outcomes of scrutiny work are visible and the discussion itself of greater public interest.

"There is therefore a good case against the automatic webcasting of meetings of the place and people scrutiny committees."

Homeless woman Tracy Patsalides was found with injuries to the head and neck.

People are being urged to write an extra Christmas card this year as part of a campaign to help tackle loneliness among older people.

Last year Age UK found almost a million people spent the festive season feeling lonely or completely alone.

The charity estimates more than 800,000 people aged 65 and over are not contacted by anyone during the Christmas period.