21/02/2014 BBC Channel Islands News

A reminder of our main story. Thousands of protest to remain in

Hello, welcome to the programme The Independence Square tonight,

Hello, welcome to the programme The headlines tonight: Is Jersey's

government doing enough to help retailers? Politicians meet shop

owners in a bid to get more of us spending in town. Talk is quite

easy, actually doing something and taking difficult decisions, I think

I have yet to see that there is it that adequate determination there.

Policing the pothole, calls to make it easier for islanders in Guernsey

to claim compensation because of these.

And join me later in the programme to find out why these students are

taking a walk on the wild side! Is Jersey's government doing enough

to help retailers? That's what politicians and businesses have

spent the day talking about. The big issues seem to be parking in town

and increasing competition from internet shopping. Recent figures

show that retail accounts for less than 10% of Jersey's overall

economic output, compared to around 40% from the finance industry. Jen

Smith reports. Last man standing. Barry Jenkins'

shop is the last of its kind on King Street. The independent retailer's

been selling electrical equipment here since the '70s. But the

challenges he's facing now are the biggest he's seen. The biggest

series to make it more attractive to people coming into town. Because

less money. GST, I do not know what is a lot you can do about it, but

that has had a big effect on retailers, and people know the

amount of money that we're losing through goods coming from island.

Barry's worries are echoed by many of Jersey's retailers, and today a

panel of politicians has been hearing about their challenges, such

as the growth of internet shopping, the shift of office workers to the

Esplanade, and a reduction in parking spaces. But are politicians

listening? And will it translate into action? I would like to think

that politicians are listening to the retailers. I think in the past,

things have been OK and we did not need to do too much to be

successful, but we really need to be working together now to maintain our

retail centre incident earlier. And that means that the politicians have

to listen to what they are being told and we need to make some

movement on this. Scrutiny is also looking at how to make the most of

the Central Market. One trader here thinks retailers bear some of the

responsibility. We need to build a shared vision and a business plan

that will deliver a prosperous, bold, confident future for our town.

We need to understand how it works and we need a shared vision and I

think that will happen, because we have had some very encouraging signs

from the various departments. Over the next couple of weeks, the panel

will get more of an insight into retailers' worries before putting a

review together. It hopes that review will keep people shopping in

St Helier. Lots to talk about at today's

Scrutiny hearing then, but will the talk turn into action? Earlier I

spoke to the head of the Chamber of Commerce retail committee Gerald

Voisin and asked if the issues raised today are solvable?

To be honest, the easy ones are parking and making it easy to come

into town. What we would like is for transport and technical services to

look at how congestion can be eased and also to have a common parking

payment method throughout car park in St Helier. There are also

difficult ones like, for example, Jersey retailers need to be able to

be competitive on a level paying field with non`violent retailers.

There is the GST issue. Is there anything more that retailers

themselves can do to help? As the retailer, we need to connect with

the customer in Jersey, we need to be offering products at a real

surprise and make sure the products we are selling are those that they

want and need. You have been working with politicians, is there well

there to help retailers? Is enough being done, do you think? I think

there is a great deal of willingness, what I am less certain

about is that there will be action taken to help the retailers that

follow on from this process. I think talk is quite easy, actually, doing

something and taking difficult decisions, I have yet to see is that

determination or adequate determination there, especially when

there is an election coming up at the end of the year.

More news now, a 19`year`old Jersey man had a lucky escape from a fire

this morning. A 19`year`old Jerseyman had a lucky escape from a

fierce house fire this morning. He was woken by the smoke alarm at the

property in Rozel, but couldn't leave his first floor bedroom

because of the heat and smoke from the fire. Luckily, two gardeners

working nearby heard his cries for help and put their ladders up to his

window so he could escape. Eight firefighters were despatched to

tackle the blaze, which was eventually extinguished within a

couple of hours. There will be another round of

courtroom battles to decide whether homes can be built on the former

holiday camp at Plemont in Jersey. Today the Royal Court ruled that the

parish of St Ouen was entitled to appeal against the planning

minister's decision to allow the development to go ahead. It's

understood there will be an appeal against today's ruling.

Jersey's government could take over the running of the annual Air

Display. The Economic Development Minister says the current organisers

failed to keep their accounts in order, and therefore haven't been

given their full grant for the 013 show. Organiser Mike Higgins though,

says the department imposed new conditions for the grant after the

event. Concerns about the state of Guernsey's roads have led to calls

for new laws to allow motorists whose cars are damaged, or cyclists

who are injured, on them to take legal action. A local advocate says

he's been approached by dozens of road users who'd like to make a

claim against the States. But as it stands they can't. Penny Elderfield

reports. We all know the feeling... When

you're driving along, and suddenly get a bit of a bump. Potholes. A

pain for those maintaining the roads. And for anyone using them.

And there's growing concern, about the growing number of them.

Certainly since Christmas, some of the roads that I cycle on, they have

several deep potholes, a few inches deep, I have never seen that before.

If you're in the car, the wheel rides over them, as a cyclist, you

will disappear into them and damage your bicycle or fall off. As I've

driven around the Island today, I've come across quite a few pot holes

like this one. And you'd know it if you drove through it. But what you

may not is if you damage your car doing that, or say come off your

bike legally there's nothing you can do. It's something this lawyer has

had to tell dozens of people who've approached him wanting to make

claims against the States. The advice is pretty standard, there is

absolutely no way in Guernsey that you can bring a claim, because the

law is different to the UK. All it takes is a short piece of

legislation to oppose an obligation on the states that enables people to

take action of the into themselves, but there would be a defence in

Guernsey that you can bring a claim, because the law is different to the

UK. All it takes is a short piece of legislation to oppose an obligation

on the states that enables people to take action of the into themselves,

but there would be a defensive battle over the States. In

microphone to their own could take a case against the states. Of course

if the roads were in a better condition, then legal claims

wouldn't even be an issue. And already spending ?3 million a year

on them, Public Services says a survey it's just carried out should

help identify what investment's needed and where.

We're used to seeing pigs, cows and horses in fields, but not usually on

the streets. But today a group of students dressed as wild animals did

take to Jersey's roads for a charity walk. They're from the Princes

Trust, which helps disadvantaged young people get into training or

work. Here's Christina Ghidoni. If you come down to the seafront

today, you're in for a big surprise! A group of students dressed as

animals are walking from town to Corbiere. Why? We have chosen to do

a project for the charity in Jersey. But it's a really good organisation,

so we are raising money for them. Why are you doing this? We're doing

this because the charity helps those with mental health issues, and it is

close to the heart of these people that want to support it. Who do we

have here today? We have got the monkey, Dan, we have Scott the cow,

Lisa is a penguin and we have a rabbit. We have got a tiger. I am

trying to be a pig. We have got a panther and a bat. I will Edu get on

with your walk! Good luck! Well I'll let you get on your way, as an

awareness raising exercise it's certainly working, as you can't miss

a cow, a pig and a horse taking up most of the pavement on the Avenue.

Lets get the weather forecast. The DV, some showers this evening,

not all bad news, starting nicely. `` good evening. I Sunday, some rain

arriving into the afternoon. Today, some nicely broken cloud, but if you

look at the satellite picture, this is the area we are looking at for

the weekend, an area of low pressure that is working in from the

Atlantic, bringing some wet weather and strong, gusty winds. By Sunday,

60 mph, possibly. A blustery end to the weekends to come, but before

then, not too bad. What is its looking like for tonight? Some

showers in store and it could prove to be on the sharp side with some

hail and some thunder possible as well. They tend to ease away by the

early hours and I suspect by the morning, to bridges will be six or

seven degrees and the start of Saturday not too bad. ``

temperatures will be. Some bright, sunny spells in the morning and into

the afternoon some cloud. A bit breezy also, but generally, a

pleasant day, largely dry also. If we look at the waters, lead times of

high tide here. We can expect some squally showers

on the water, it could have some rain and perhaps some hail at times.

This is the summary for the coming days, tomorrow, not doing too badly,

some good, sunny spells, the breeze picking up during the day, cloud

increasing into the afternoon, cloudy through much of Sunday and I

suspect much of the day will be dry and into the afternoon and evening

period some rain arriving at as we start the new working week, some

more blustery showers to come. Thank you.

This Monday sees the launch of World War One At Home here on the BBC

Hundreds of stories are being broadcast over the next year,

telling stories about people and places in the UK and the Channel

Islands which were affected by the First World War. Tune into BBC Radio

Jersey and Radio Guernsey from 7:00am on Monday, and join us here

on BBC One on Monday evening at 6:30.

That is it from us. investing billions of pounds in

roads nationally. Ingest a moment, we will have the concluding part of

our series looking at the work of the Devon Hospice. Also ahead: John

Henderson finishes his journey across the South West, visiting our

storm hit coastal communities ` tonight he's in Dorset's West Bay.

And did someone go above and beyond to help your community recover from

the storms? If so, we want to hear from you. "Like an angel" ` that's

how one family has described the hospice nurse who cared for them

during one of the hardest times of their lives. The Weeks family, from

Ilfracombe in North Devon, says the support from their local hospice was

incredible and invaluable. In the last of her series, our North Devon

reporter, Andrea Ormsby, looks at how North Devon Hospice cares for

the whole family and not just the patient. In Ilfracombe, she was

something of a legend. Everybody called her auntie Betty, and after

teaching dance for 50 years, nearly everybody knew Betty Blackmore. She

was the head of a family, she was very positive, very enthusiastic

about life. She was very popular. She carried that right through to

the end. Auntie Betty's legacy. When she was diagnosed with terminal

cancer seven years ago, it hit her family hard, especially her

grandchildren. Nikki was 19 at the time. She was like a parent for me.

All my memories are of spending my time with her on the beach. We would

swim in the sea and she would drag is out. Betty decided she wanted to

die at home in the house where she was born in Ilfracombe. Kaylee

Dempsey, community specialist nurse, made that possible. She came

into our lives, and through the despair and heartbreak, she guided

us into looking after her. Mother's wish was to be at home until the

end, and with the community nurse coming in, that enabled us to all

get stuck in and help mum out, really. She was like an angel, that

is what Nan used to call her. She helped us all. She helped are scared

`` care for Nan. She did not just come in and take over. She guided

us. North `` North Devon Hospice helps by putting the emphasis on the

family. When a patient is diagnosed with a terminal illness, nothing

remains the same. Not just for them, but for the family as well. If you

look at the beneficiaries of the North Devon Hospice, it is the

support for patients, and that can come with support for children or

for husbands and wives. They were absolutely invaluable, really. They

were incredible. It is an incredible organisation. It is there and

everybody takes it for granted. We do not, in everyday life, appreciate

it or its existence until you come to a point in your life where you

have to do use it, like we did. It is a privilege for me to do what I

did, but I do it in a team with district nurses and GPs. I

facilitated the care and support for everybody, and then a bigger team

ensure that comes together. Nicola was given bereavement counselling by

the North Devon Hospice, which she says still helps the day. It has

been an amazing insight into the work of the North Devon Hospice. It

is celebrating its 30th anniversary and is just one of several

organisations across the south west doing the same valuable work and

relying on public support and generosity. In sport: Exeter Chiefs

try to upset one of the top rugby clubs in the Premiership on Sunday `

Saracens. They're currently second behind Northampton and play on a

synthetic surface at Allianz Park. But the Chiefs captain and lock

forward Dean Mumm believes they can go there and end Exeter's

three`match losing streak. The Australian says the artificial pitch

holds no fears for the Chiefs. We do a lot of practice. We have practised

there all week. You try to condition yourself to the weekend, but I do

not think it will have an affect on myself or anyone else on the team.

It's imperative Yeovil Town beat one of their relegation rivals, if

they're to stand a chance of staying in football's Championship. The

Glovers must beat Doncaster Rovers at Huish Park to close the six point

gap between them and the teams above the drop zone. In League Two, Exeter

City look to repeat their win at Southend last week when they host

Rochdale, who lie fourth. After a 4`0 battering, Plymouth Argyle face

a difficult trip to Dagenham and Redbridge and at Plainmoor, Torquay

United have to overcome Accrington Stanley to alleviate their perilous

position. Now our reporter John Henderson has been spending this

week travelling across the region to see the impact of the recent storms.

Coastal communities from the far west of Cornwall through to Dorset

suffered major damage following weeks of extreme weather. John's

journey started on Monday in Lamorna Cove. Today he's been in Dorset

visiting Charmouth and West Bay. The storms that hit the South West have

left a trail of destruction. We have seen the historic keys in Cornwall

destroyed and slipways in Devon washed away. `` quays. The storms

have left something else in its wake, along the Jurassic Coast in

Norfolk. You do get quite a lot of unusual things at this time. We have

had fridges, truck tyres... This famous fossil beach has seen fewer

visitors because of the wild weather. Those who have ventured

onto the beach have been warned that the cliffs are unstable, but there

are always those who are keen to find a fossil. Is this a fossil? No!

I did find more evidence of the damage that the storms have done.

The Environment Agency were busy looking after the flood defences

which were hammered last Friday. I'm going to meet some people who were

in the eye of the storm, here in West Bay. Ken and Barbara. Ken and

Barbie! Both in their 70s, they had to leave their home which was being

overwhelmed by waves. Normally, you get one big wave and then it calms

down. This was worse. Over and over and over. We felt very vulnerable

because there was nothing protecting us. Every storm has a silver lining.

You got a group hug in? Yes, I did! This man turned around when the wave

came, and he gave me a hug! Goodbye. Until the next massive

storm... Take care! With that, my journey around the South West was at

an end. However, the work repairing the region goes on. John, what has

been the most memorable part of the journey for you? That is a good

question. I would say, probably, the extent of the damage on the north

and south coast, everywhere I have been, really. Be it is large or

small, I was in an area yesterday where a big chunk of the Green had

been gouged out. They have lost their slipway in another area. Lots

of places affected by the superstorm. We had an amazing

response from the viewers to this item. We have not been able to get

everywhere, have we? No, I guess not. I spent a lot of time on the

A38. I have done a lot of driving, 700 miles! I have a bad back! The

cameraman and I are just about on speaking terms! Mobile phone

coverage is difficult, and it is a massive region, it really is huge.

It is difficult to get around, and I dare say that we will keep covering

this story and going to the places that we have not been to before. It

has been a privilege to me. I have not been to the Lizard Lane Schiller

`` peninsular, and it was fantastically beautiful and the

people were warm and friendly. We have just seen Ken and Barbie in

your report there, how people coping? Fantastic, really. I really

like Ken and Barbie! People like them were very hospitable and they

were looking out for their neighbours, and that is the real

essence of the storms. That is the message I take away, people looking

out for each other in this bad weather. Now, while John has

completed his tour of small communities damaged by the storms,

we are looking for the people who you think have really helped their

friends, neighbours and businesses recover from the weather. Do you

know someone who has gone above and beyond to help out? Paul Brennan

reports on some of the Storm Heroes we've already met. As sunshine and

blue skies makes a welcome return to the south west, it is hard to

imagine that just a week ago the region with being battered by the

elements. While the worst of the storms may be over, a clean`up

operation continues, like here at Plymouth Hoe. For every story of

destruction, there is a story of community spirit. We want to hear

your tales of local storm heroes. Like the staff of this cafe in

Dawlish who were offering free food, hot drinks and shelter to those who

were homeless. And then there is Sarah who has mustered an army of

pasty makers across the South West to help deliver Cornish pasties

across the Somerset Levels. I thought, what can you eat? What is

simple? Simple, a Cornish pasty! Recovery will take time and the

generosity and spirit will make all the difference. While there is

despair with the weather, their faith in human kindness has been

restored. So who are your storm heros? If there's someone you think

we should celebrate then you can contact us on email at

[email protected] or on Facebook or Twitter. We look forward to

reading your suggestions and hopefully featuring some of them

next week. And now the weather with Sarah Farmer.

contact us on email at [email protected] Hello, good

evening. We have had one or two blustery showers and there are one

or to to come. The winds will pick up through the weekend and we have

rain arriving on Sunday. You can see on the satellite picture that we

have broken cloud, but the area behind me is what we have to look

forward to. An area of low pressure which is driving the next weather

system our way, and we will see wet and windy conditions through the

latter half of this weekend. Those isobars are packed together and

winds will pick up to 80 mph up the Bristol Channel. Taking our a look

ahead to tomorrow night, we may have some thunder. It will become dry

through the night, though. Clear spells ahead and we may see some

frost in rural spots. Tomorrow morning, it will be a chilly start

with bright sunshine first thing. The cloud will increase, though. A

bright morning, becoming cloudy through the afternoon, possibly with

one or two patchy outbreaks of rain. Temperatures of ten of 11 degrees.

Wind is picking up through the day as well. The Isles of Scilly, it

will be breezy here too. We will see sunny intervals through the mourning

period. Here are the high water times. Your summary for the coming

days. A bright starts tomorrow but the wind is picking up. Into Sunday,

blustery winds to come and a band of rain arriving. Scattered showers to

start the new week. rain arriving. Scattered showers to

start We are looking forward to hearing about your storm heroes on

next week's Spotlight. In the meantime, have a good weekend.

Goodbye.