14/07/2013 Sunday Politics South


14/07/2013

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What did the Olympians do for us was to mark with Reprise hordes of

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tourists to reprise the races they came flocking to one global telly

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Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2217 seconds

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my name's Peter Henley. On today's show: did the Olympics really send

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hordes of tourists flocking to all the places showcased last year? Just

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how much has Weymouth benefited from its Olympic legacy? Paul Harvey is a

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Deputy Leader of the Labour Party on Basingstoke and Dean Borough Council

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and we're joined by the Liberal Democrat MP for Eastleigh. Offered a

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pay rise from 2015. Are you going to take it? Of course we will take the

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pay rise. It is an independent body. But it is not appropriate. It is not

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the right time to do it. People are getting 1% pay rises on very small

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salaries of a couple of pounds a week, I can only do what I did with

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my Borough Council allowance, anything over 1% I will pay to the

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mayor's charities until things get back to normal and pay is decided in

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the proper way. But, you have taken the decision. You have handed the

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stern independent, and now you have decided to hand it over to charity.

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Once it has been paid to me, it is my money to do with what I like. If

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someone pays me a salary and I decide to give it to charity, that

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is up to me. I am not sober warning the standards authority, I'm not

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saying don't want MPs to make the decisions but I feel that it is

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wrong for me to be better off by more than 1%, when people are

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getting �3, �4 a week, as a pay rise. Either that or you change the

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whole system again. You are one of the newest elected MPs, so we cannot

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hold you responsible for this, but it is a mess, isn't it? This

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independent body coming back with an 11% pay rise when so many people are

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getting pay cuts. The think they knew that it would come back with a

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pay rise? The relative is it has come back with an 11% pay rise, and

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that is wrong. MPs get a good salary anyway compared to many people and

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why should they get 11% over and above what other people are

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getting, pay cuts, 1%, 2%, at the very most. It undermines confidence

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and politicians to do the job they want them to do. I can understand

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what Mike has done and good for him to doing it, but the question is,

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should the independent body have come back with 11% in the first

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place? "It's in the national interest" - how often do we hear

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those buzzwords these days? But is the fact that something's a national

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priority enough to make it the trump card that beats everything else?

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This land is your land... There are plenty of schemes that the

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Government says are in the national interest, that locals say are not in

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their interest. Whether it's HS2 cutting a swathe through

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Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire to allegedly boost the economy by

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speeding journey times to the north, the possibility of fracking to

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extract shale gas around Balcombe in Sussex and maybe bring down the

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price of gas and help keep the lights on, or the rush towards

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renewable energy with what would be the country's largest offshore wind

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farm at Navitus Bay in Dorset. And the history of these sorts of

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schemes doesn't suggest that local David often wins against government

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Goliath. The Newbury Bypass and the M3 extension through Twyford down

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both had vocal opponents but they got built anyway. Joining me now

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from our London studio is Tom Brenan from the Environmental Law

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Foundation. Is it the case, as is suggested by the Government in

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wanting these changes that local protest groups were holding things

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up and always getting their way? That is probably questionable. The

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evidence put forward in consultations did not act out what

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they were saying, but at the same time, the Government are making

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various moves towards saying that they are improving... Snails on the

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Newbury bypass, archaeological digs, things that stop developments, that

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were sneered at. Local campaign groups do have powers, are you

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saying, or have they been taken away? There are a number of

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different systems in operation depending on the project. HS2 will

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go through under one system. There are national infrastructure projects

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which is a new system and there was the bigger planning projects which

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go under another system so one of the challenges for communities is to

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find out which process is the one that applies, and then to find out

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the methods and the ways in which they can participate in that

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process. Looking at things like the Newbury bypass and Twyford down,

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those things happened anyway, and some would say, why bother

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protesting? It depends what sort of longer term view you can take on it.

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With regard to Twyford down and Newbury bypass, that led to the

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Government shelving its road-building programme for a number

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of years. And the point is, it is more about the quality of the

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decision-making process and the fact that people have a democratic right

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to participate and should exercise those rights. I was looking at the

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now that this babe proposals. They reckon it is going to be four

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years, not 15 months, because of the consultation that they are being

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asked to do. Is that good quality consultation, or is it time wasting?

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The length of time is not necessarily significant at what is

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important is the quality of consultation. Communities do not

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like being told just what is going to happen, and that it is just a box

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ticking exercise. That increasingly seems to be the direction of travel,

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to a certain extent. So it is just form filling. From the other point

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of view, how can the larger organisations make genuine

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consultations? With regard to the infrastructure projects, the wind

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farm who have mentioned is one of those, there is much more emphasis

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on pre-application consultation, so they are trying to get more

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involvement and the developer has an obligation to consult and has to

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present the results of that as part of his application. So, is it worth

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protesting, or, should we be pushing things through more quickly? I think

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these are both true. Thomas Wright, if you need to protest in a

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democracy, there will be some point when you do not succeed in that

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particular instance that will have a knock-on effect and make politicians

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think more seriously about the next project. That is what happened at

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Newbury, as Tom said. But, what worries people is when the

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consultation process goes on too long, it puts people and a sort of

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never-never world, is it going through my back garden or isn't it?

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Should I try and look for an alternative to wear I am going to

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work and move to that part of the country? That completely can freeze

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up all areas where decisions take too long to make. It does not mean

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you should destroy the consultation but there must be a more efficient

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way to consult with people, I would have thought. What about the idea

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that the community should get some benefit, which is happening possibly

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with fracking, 1% of the profits? Some developments play an important

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role in delivering that. The current government line is a presumption in

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favour of development, and you would lose those benefits in the rush to

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get the development. Do people know what is going on locally, and have

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they been told why the big government agencies, by the energy

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companies, do they know what is going on? And do they get the chance

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to influence the decision? You can have consultation but unless you can

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influence the decision that has been taking it becomes very difficult.

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Probably campaigning on a single issue and even if it does work for

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the future, you do not care so much about that. This 1% for the

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community from fracking, some people would say that that is just like

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money and it will make people fight harder against it. -- that is just

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blood money. Fracking is clearly very controversial and topical at

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the moment. What we are seeing now is evidence of where communities in

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the US have effectively developed their own community Ordinance, did

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prevent fracking in their community, and in fact in Scotland, in

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Falkirk, acumen at the council has introduced a community charter along

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the same lines, so there are methods that communities are exploring, in

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addition to those consultation processes. The fightback starts

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here. Thank you for joining us, Tom. This time last year the Olympic

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Torch was wending its way through the region - one of the things we

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were promised then was that all the hoopla and more importantly the

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international coverage would showcase the glorious tourist

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opportunities of the places it went through and bring foreign travellers

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here in droves. But as Paul Greer now reports from the Olympic sailing

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venue of Weymouth, which got showcased a lot more than most, the

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legacy might not be quite what was hoped for. Look, we all know what

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the Romans gave us. Good roads, good government, underfloor heating, and

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even tasty dormice. But what did the Olympians ever give Weymouth?

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Weymouth got a relief road, sailing legacies of the Olympics or things

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that Weymouth was long overdue to get anyway? Andy Matthews has spent

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years working with community groups in Portland. He is not fond of the

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word, legacy. It is an easy way to use, but at the heart of it they did

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not involve the community in what the community wanted to see as a

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legacy. The road was on the cards, with the Olympics coming they could

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have made it that bit quicker in terms of securing it, and Portland

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Harbour is a fantastic place for sailing. The Olympics coming there

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might have stood the process, but that would inevitably, something

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would have happened anyway. Andy is not alone in thinking that staging

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the Olympics last year has done little to lift the profile or the

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fortunes of Weymouth. It is the weather that has brought people in.

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It is not the legacy of the Olympics. It did not bring anything

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in. It is literally because of the weather. That is what has brought

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people down. It might have been built four years ago but many would

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insist that the National sailing Academy are still the love child of

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last year's Olympics. The sailing Academy was here before the

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Olympics, but our facilities have been enhanced by the games. We have

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got lots of youngsters on the water doing sailing and stand-up handle

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boarding and all sorts of activities. We have got a fantastic

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legacy. One year on from all of the fuss, security and hullabaloo, the

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sun is out, the beaches are crowded and the traffic is flowing. What do

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the politicians think? In the 60s people said what we need is a relief

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road. That is a legacy, isn't it? Of course it is. You have got dark and

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right, and buses into town, and lots of evidence on the seafront, lots of

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money going in here there and everywhere, and I think it is a

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tremendous legacy, actually. academies, roads and towers are in

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the bag, but those who know a thing or two about the holiday season

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believe that we still have to wait to see if there are benefits to

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claim. If the sun is shining in Weymouth, the people will come. It

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is all about that sunshine. They come here for our lovely seaside

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town. Joining us now is Mark Smith who's the director of tourism in

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Bournemouth. What is most important? The flaming Olympic torch, or the

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flaming golden ball in the sky? We want to see both. That is my take on

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it. But, however, how long do we have to wait to see the full

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benefits of the Olympics? For people coming from abroad, the reputation

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takes time to sink in. Locally we can see improvements because of the

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new roads, the Academy, things that have happened on the ground, but the

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impact from overseas visitors is already happen thing. -- happening.

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We have one of the guest centres for International education outside of

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London, and we have seen student numbers grow by 5% over the past

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year, which is important, because that business is worth �200 million

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a year to this conurbation, and that growth is larger because of the

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heightened profile and the extended interest in Britain, and we got

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showcased last year in a way that we could never have imagined,

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worldwide, and the impact was tremendous. Britain now has a

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slightly different image in the world? And Basingstoke we have seen

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sporting activity decreased. We have not seen a boost because of the

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Olympics. We have seen it the crease. The issue is the fees and

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charges that people are asked to pay to access sports facilities. It is a

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big issue. We can talk about legacy, but access, and having the

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community feel part of having something to do with the Olympic

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legacy, these are important areas. You would agree, Mike, initially it

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shot up. Jess, sports clubs have had 168% of their membership target.

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Park sport, not directly to do with the Olympics, it started to get

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children involved in the school holidays, but since the Olympics,

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the number of children attending has shot up. We have had free swimming,

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9000 children applied for it. I am a tennis player, and I find it

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difficult to book a tennis court. That is before Wimbledon. What about

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on the tourist side? Is your boat with the sun with the Olympics that

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have been bringing people to the region? I think the sun helps but

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people do not come to England from abroad expecting the sun to shine.

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They are not going to book a holiday last November in America because

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they expect the sun to shine in England. Locally, people might go

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down to Bournemouth, and Weymouth, and very lucky they are to be able

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to go there, it is a beautiful part of the world, locally, because of

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the sunshine, last minute, but you're not going to book a holiday

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from Japan or Germany or China because of that. We have so many

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positive attractions in all that area that you bring people to bring

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and visit numerous places. But these were the London Olympics. When

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people head for London? People will always head for the capital but

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there are other people who want to go out and explore other things.

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What changed with the Olympics was not just the facilities and the

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harder side of the capital investment, last year, we saw for

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the first time this idea that Britain is not just all about stiff

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upper lip. The idea of the games makers was tremendous and started to

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show a different side of Wigan, which is valuable for stop that

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makes people think, you can go and see the heritage but you can go and

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be looked after well and have fun. That has made a big difference.

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you look at Southampton court, they expect 48 cruise ships. They spend

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�2.5 million per cruise. And every year, that is going up. The

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coordination with Southampton airport is vital. It is now has a

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welcoming system for cruise passengers. It says that you have

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got to wait six hours for your flight home, and arrange for them to

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go to Winchester, which is outside my constituency, but it is

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fantastic. Coming back to the big society idea. We are all smiling

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because of the Olympics, still, even though some facilities are

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suffering. There was the quality of tourism we have on offer, you go

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back to the opening ceremony, the reaction to it, it was brilliant and

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amazing, something we can all be proud of. The legacy of that has so

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many different parts to it. Unless you see local authorities taking

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advantage of that, and doing the best they can for their communities,

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then the legacy will fade away quicker. There was a lot of interest

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in the Olympics and sport, 2.5 times the number of people interested in

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doing sporting activities and it is a case of making it available to

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them. Now, our regular round-up of the political week in the South in

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training could be improved in Oxfordshire. The county is one of a

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few not to fully adopt the bikeability scheme. Oxford City

:58:45.:58:49.

Council is considering offering loans of up to �75,000 to new

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applicants for head teacher jobs. 4000 new homes are planned in

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Aldershot on the site of the old Cambridge military hospital. Many of

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the historic buildings will be preserved. Police officers from five

:59:03.:59:06.

forces in the South are off to Northern Ireland for the marching

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season. That is despite fears from the police Federation that it could

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leave a hole back home. We -- who is going to conduct the normal policing

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on our streets and fill the gaps left behind? The competition

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commission is put on merger of Bournemouth and Poole Hospital is on

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hold, amid fears that patients will have less choice about where to go

:59:32.:59:40.

for major operations. I wonder if choice is what we are looking for.

:59:40.:59:43.

The GP gives you the choice of different places and you think, I

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don't know. And the Cambridge military, people really respected

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that. It was an excellent hospital with excellent provision and

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excellence and quality is what it means to be about. This idea of

:59:56.:00:00.

choice in the NHS is dangerous. You want to know there is going to be

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called it. -- quality. The Conservative government, in

:00:08.:00:13.

privatising so much of the NHS, allowing hospitals to deliver half

:00:13.:00:17.

of all their care privately, that door was opened by Discover, so

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we're going to some dramatic changes and cuts. In Hampshire, we are

:00:21.:00:26.

seeing �100 million of cuts in the social care budget, which is going

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to mean a big change for the quality of care that people face. Choice in

:00:30.:00:36.

that way is destructive. People want efficiency and to make sure that

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money is well spent. I don't think you can make a party political point

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of this at all. The most important thing is, people want health care

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free at the point of delivery, and, if you're going to have private

:00:56.:01:00.

health care looking after you, you want to know that they have been

:01:00.:01:02.

chosen for the quality of their work, not the price. This is

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something that the Lib Dem 's insisted was put in. The

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Conservatives were not going to do that. I knew that if we started

:01:16.:01:19.

talking about the NHS we would be here a little while, but it is

:01:19.:01:27.

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