20/03/2014 BBC Channel Islands News

Seriously damaging to the island's so it's goodbye from me and,

Seriously damaging to the island's economy. Reeling Claims Jersey is

losing out on business because internet connections are too

expensive. If we are trying to compete globally and

internationally, we have to get those costs in line and have to be

competitive. A warning from the horse racing

industry ` concerns the sport could suffer due to a lack of local

trainers. And move over Big Brother... Hello Puffin Cam. The

hidden cameras giving us an insight into the world of the Channel

Islands' largest puffin colony. Jersey's ability to attract new

business is being seriously hampered by the cost and the length of time

it's taking to roll out fast internet connections. That's the

claim of Digital Jersey ` the body set up to promote digital growth in

the island. It says it costs three times as much in Jersey to have a

fast internet connection as places like Luxembourg, and its 'seriously

damaging' the island's economy. Jen Smith has more.

Jersey's States want to see the digital sector become a major

industry for the island. It set up Digital Jersey, an independent body

to encourage new business. Its aim, to create more than 2000 extra jobs

in the industry by 2020. But Digital Jersey says without a fast internet

connection growth will be hampered. I think it is serious to the

economy, not just in the digital sector, but across many sectors, and

for the area I am responsible for, growing the sector, as Jersey tries

to diversify its economy, which is one of the main strategy is the

government has. We need to get this, the issues addressed, so we

can attract companies. And it's not just the digital and technology

sector being harmed by the slow roll out of services. Digital Jersey say

it's damaging the economy in general. The company that provides

most of Jersey's digital services is JT. I don't accept any criticism

over speed. I think it is there and is being rolled out. I think in

terms of price, costs have been coming down rapidly. Volumes have

doubled. We see that trend continuing. Part of the problem is

the cost. This report claims a fast internet connection here costs up to

three times as much as competitive jurisdictions like Luxembourg. And

that's damaging. For getting data off the islands, which is

important, as an island nation. We might be five times or ten times

more expensive than other locations. The regulator that reviews prices in

the Channel Islands has told the BBC it's reviewing the cost of

connecting the island. Meanwhile, there's a warning from

another Island industry tonight ` this time horse racing. People

within the sport are concerned that problems recruiting an experienced

trainer may undermine the industry long term. The specialist knowledge

and experience needed to manage a yard full time can't be found

locally, and attempts to appoint someone from the UK have been

hampered by the need for a trading licence. Julie Flanagan reports.

Karl Kukk worked in Jersey as a jockey last year and has more than

30 years experience worldwide in horse racing. But without a trading

licence he can't run a yard in Jersey, and that's bad news for the

sport and young people interested in getting involved. I generate money

into the island through bringing horses in. You have young ones to

learn the trade. That gives them a push on in life. Stabling and

training facilities are available here in Jersey. Karl has been

stabling horses at this yard in St. Ouen. It's owned by John Le

Masurier. He says it's important horse racing appoints a new trainer

sooner rather than later. We have a golden opportunity to have somebody

who is experienced in Jersey, because he was here last year and

who is experienced worldwide. He is prepared to pass on that experience

to local people. But what's the criteria for anyone interested in

moving to and trading in Jersey? It is more about what can bring the

island. We get enquiries from finance houses, hedge funds, all the

way down to those who sell potatoes. You have to take a core on

those things. It has to be beneficial to both sides. In Jersey

the emphasis is on local jobs for local people, but in a specialised

industry like horse racing, the challenge of recruiting locally may

ultimately undermine the sport. I put the industry's fears to

Jersey's Economic Development Minister, and asked him if he shared

their concerns. Yes, at face value this is a concern. I think this

demonstrates the difficulty balancing the population challenges

we have in the island, when sectors of the economy come forward with

requests for no Loki qualified staff. We have to look at the till

at the request `` non`locally qualified. People will say it is

restrictive. Is it out of date? Many would argue it is the opposite. Some

would say they would like to see it tightened up. I think the

application has to be fair and balanced and taken into

consideration, that is economically, but socially as well.

Last Thursday we reported on the Jersey Care Inquiry, which will look

into what happened in care and foster homes in the island, and we

referred to the launch of a murder investigation at the Haut de la

Garenne home in 2008. Police at the time had said a potential major

crime inquiry, concerning a possible homicide, was under way. We'd like

to clarify that no formal murder inquiry was ever launched. The

inquiry opens with a public meeting on April the 3rd.

The inquest into the death of Jersey diver Jillian Smith opened today.

Jillian died at the weekend after diving with a group at St

Catherine's Bay. The inquest has now been adjourned.

There are fears drinking water in the Jersey Parish of St John has

been contaminated by slurry. Water in two homes that have their own

boreholes has been tested and found to contain bacteria including

E.coli. The Environment department is investigating.

Meanwhile, investigations are taking place in Guernsey into the cause of

flooding of the foul water network. Guernsey Water is carrying out CCTV

investigations into the problem after heavy rainfall caused

localised flooding. These recent pictures show some problems

encountered, such as roots penetrating the sewer system and

even fatbergs ` which are huge clumps of fat blocking the pipes.

The wider benefits to Guernsey will be taken into account in future when

the States award contracts to outside companies. The new policy

will apply to all jobs the government puts out to tender ` from

office supplies, to building projects. Previously the focus has

been on quality and price, but now it will mean they will look at more

than just the cost. That could be a number of people employed locally.

It could be the amount of money that stays on the island. It could be

that the level of contribution to the sector and so on. It is a much

broader assessment of the value of any contract. Still ahead. A welcome

sign of spring but farmers say this year there'll be far fewer lambs.

Jersey rugby team have made their final preparations ahead of their

crunch match against Ealing tomorrow. They had their last

training session this morning, and will now rest up ahead of the big

game. A win for the Islanders would almost secure their place in the

division and put their opponents on the brink of relegation. We feel we

want to give the guys a chance because of the short turnaround.

They don't have to turn the emotional switch just yet. There

will be a build`up to the game and we don't want to waste that

emotional energy just yet. You can listen to commentary to the match on

radio. Move over Big Brother... Hello Puffin Cam. Hidden cameras on

Burhou will once again be capturing the Channel Island's largest Puffin

colony this summer. And you can watch it all from the comfort of

your own home. Penny Elderfield has been looking at some of the

highlights. Now this is what you really call a

bird's eye view. Hidden cameras, capturing moments we wouldn't

normally get to see. Note to self. Don't try and steal the prime spot

in front of the camera from a Puffin. It gives you a chance to

look in on their lives. They are very cute. All streamed online, you

can watch it from the comfort of your home. Be warned though,

patience may be needed before you catch a glimpse of something good.

But once they arrive they really make themselves at home. The cameras

have been switched on here for the last few years and since it started

the project's really taken off. This year we'll try get a camera up. We

average the technology in time. We have the schoolchildren who can tune

in for the live project, and they'll get a more in`depth introduction to

the programme. It is free of charge. So, from puffins feeding

their young, to the pufflings making their first on screen appearance,

the cameras will capture it all. And for you it's all just a click away.

Fascinating pictures. It seems more like Weatherford docks. `` weather

for chickens. The rain will be with us. It will clear fairly swiftly and

then we will have some showers. This is the weather front which is

producing the rain. It is moving away during the course of the

night. It will be followed by dry weather, but noticed there is

another stripe of blue. That is more rain coming our way. Again, we could

have the lion share of wet weather. Then by Saturday, there is a chance

of heavy showers. Some of them even with hail and thunder. The rain band

is Rovers tonight. It will gradually Peter out at dawn `` with us

tonight. Winds are north`westerly for the start of the day. It is not

too bad. There will be sunshine but a chance on small showers. It is the

end of the day that they become more widespread. Nine or 10 degrees are

the top temperatures. Not very warm, and blustery as well. The

winds from the west. There will be force by winds. There will be good

visibility as well. These are the times of high tides. Most of our

surfing beaches will be choppy. The outlook is staying cold and breezy

into the weekend and plenty of showers around. A little bit drier

as we move into Monday. It would have to reign at the weekend. That

is it for now. We have another news bulletin at 10pm. Goodbye.

business? Yes, there was. Have we addressed it? Yes, we have. Is there

any risk to any of the other businesses? Absolutely not, because

they are independently financed. James Brent, thank you very much

indeed. Coming up on Spotlight, a money row

between neighbouring councils. Jumping for joy ` how Sport Relief

has provided a boost for these youngsters.

And more signs of spring, but the weather's about to turn colder.

David will be here with the details. Torbay's Mayor has been accused of

imposing economic sanctions. People in Brixham say they are being denied

?37,000 that is rightfully theirs. Spotlight's Chris Lyddon reports.

Millions of pounds in cuts to front line services have made Torbay's

Mayor, Gordon Oliver, unpopular. You're in Brixham some people are

comparing him to a character in Robin Hood. I think the Sheriff of

Nottingham is a good comparison, really.

He owes us that money, he has been told to give us that money, but he

is refusing to do so. Brixham has been hit hard in other ways by

Gordon Oliver, and people are now getting fed up with it. The Mayor is

refusing to hand over to Brixham a central government grant of

?37,000. That means council tax here has had

to go up by 25%. I don't want my council tax bill to

over coffee among customers and the No. The rising cost is

over coffee among customers and the cafe owners here.

I wish the Mayor would resign, put someone in there who can run it

properly. We have some great councillors there who could do a

much better job. To add insult to injury, a Freedom

of Information request has revealed that Mayor's car park generates

?370,000 per year, for Torbay's golfers, making it the biggest

moneyspinner of old Torbay's cancels. As a result of the cuts,

children's nursery run from this Brixham school has had its funding

withdrawn, as had a children's nursery run from this building.

We tried to interview the Mayor today but he has been unavailable,

though he has released a statement in which he says they have been

faced with making difficult financial decisions. The council, he

says, has to save ?26 million in the next two years and he says Torbay

has decided to retain Mayor's Grant as a contribution by Brixham towards

the overall Bay budget. ?120,000 in government funding is to

go towards promoting and developing the Cornish language. The Deputy

Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, said the money will help the Cornish Language

Partnership to use the language to encourage more visitors to the area

by promoting its unique identity. A project to restore a historical

graveyard in central Exeter has been awarded ?8,000 worth of lottery

funding. For years the site has been left overgrown and littered with

rubbish. The Exeter Dissenters Graveyard dates back to the 18th

century and at least 1,300 people are buried there.

Ultrasound scans have revealed there won't be as many lambs this Spring

in upland areas like Dartmoor ` hitting farmers profits by as much

as 15%. The freezing temperatures early last year have reduced

fertility in flocks. Anna Varle is live for us tonight at a farm on

Dartmoor. It looks like you have some hungry

little friends there, Anna. As you can see, Laming here is in full

swing. This one was three weeks old and is

the first to be born on this farm. Because `` the cold spring last year

has had a major impact on fertility rates across the region and this

farm is one of the worst affected. Scans show they are down 14% on last

year, equating lost income.

Minutes old, and a welcome sight for Phil.

So far, 200 lambs have been born on this Dartmoor farm, but scans show

the numbers will be 14% down on last year.

That means I'll lose my profit and a lot more besides, as well. I won't

be able to spend any money at all on accessories because of the profit

will be gone. This year is going to be a total wash`out, waste of time,

really. Phil's farm is an average size for

Dartmoor. This year he is expecting to have around 170 fewer lambs than

last, losing him an estimated ?10,000.

And he's not alone. Leyland Branfield has been scanning sheep

across the region for almost 30 years. He says this is one of the

worst he's ever seen. Some of the worst affected farmers

I've done could be 150 lambs less than last year. Which is... Quite a

severe financial loss. In some cases 10% or 15% could be the profit on

the entire flock for that year. The cold weather last spring is

thought to be largely to blame, reducing the fertility in the ewes.

But for farmers like Phil the focus will be now on keeping those born in

the coming weeks alive. It is important to stress that those

farming on lowland areas are doing pretty well, actually. For farmers

like Phil on about Miller the next few weeks will be critical. `` on

their one. Losing just a few of those lambs could be critical.

Around 12,000 large trees have been cut down as part of the preparations

for what will become one of the world's largest tungsten mines.

Hemerdon Mine is just a few miles away from Plymouth and it's already

having a big impact on the landscape. Our Environment

Correspondent, Adrian Campbell, reports.

The remnants of an old Morris Minor Traveller can still be seen whether

it was parked. But most of the trees around it have gone for ever. All

this work is needed to make way for one of the largest tungsten minds on

the planet. We are a big mining operation and we

will have an impact on the environment in the early stages. But

ultimately I want to see more mining in the UK, and if we can complete

this project to a high standard then there is an opportunity for us to do

another one, and another one, and another one.

Barnaby Hudson has the challenging task of managing the environmental

consequences of developing a very large mine. Greater horseshoe bats

have already been found here and efforts are now being made to

protect them with a purpose`built bat roost, costing thousands of

pounds. The greater horseshoe bats need to fly directly into the bat

roost. The entrance has been constructive

12 to 15 centimetres in width. This wall has been constructed as a

black well to ensure the roost itself is essentially in pitch

black. You will also notice the humidity of the building has been

reduced. We have modified the downpipes to keep a constant level

of humidity. The site of the new mine will

eventually cover a large area. Wolf Minerals has given guarantees it

will prtect the environment and backed that up with a bond of ?40

million. Thousands of new trees will be planted and all of these works

will be monitored by independent inspectors. Clearing has just begun,

but Wolf Minerals is promising to make good all the works.

You may be aware already if you've been fundraising for the charity

that this weekend is the climax for this year's Sport Relief.

People will be running the mile challenge, cycling or taking part in

the swimathon amongst other events to get active, have fun and raise

some money. Johnny Rutherford's been to see one of the projects to

benefit from Sport Relief money in Cornwall.

That is one way to shake off the everyday blues ` flip session. The

name of this translates to change in Cornish, and many young people are

using this for a needed change of scenery, or to help bring change to

their lives. Despite the beautiful countryside we have, we also have

some of the same levels of deprivation as in some inner`city

areas. Trelya is here to be long`term

support for young people, somewhere to come when they need help,

somewhere to come when they are in crisis. David uses Trelya to get

away from the problems and difficulties he suffers with.

As I have grown up my life has been rocky, I have been moved around the

country, to Wales, to Penzance, and I didn't have many friends. I came

to hear to boost my confidence and my social skills, and I met some

friends here and Trelya has been helping a sense. They don't just

play sport here. They also have art lessons, cookery

sessions, film and animation courses and music lessons.

The money raised by Sport Relief has helped keep the centre alive.

It means we can continue working with young people and we can do even

more to help them to have positive outcomes in their lives, to go on

and be productive positive members of their community.

The centre relies on grants and donations. Without them, the

much`needed service would fall. `` fold. We would love to see what

you're getting up to four Sport Relief, share your pictures on our

Facebook page. It has been going on about the

vernal equinox, that significant? Kind of, because some people think

about this as the first day of spring.

Meteorological and we think it is a bit early in the year but many

people say this is the first day of spring. The vernal equinox ` that

means in simple terms the number of minutes of daylight is exactly the

same as the number of minutes of darkness.

It happens twice a year, in March and September. Now you are informed,

Justin. You learn something everyday!

It certainly has not been springlike weather today, the rain and wind has

made a big impact, feeling cold, too. Tomorrow, once the rain clears

tonight it will be more cold. There will be some sunshine and some

showers, probably in that order. Sunshine in the morning, showers in

the afternoon, particularly the early evening. The line of cloud is

producing rain now, cleaning behind it, that has already happened in

parts of Ireland and through the Celtic Sea, West Cornwall. For the

rest of us the line of cloud will give more rain for the next few

hours before moving out of the way. Then we are between weather fronts

for the middle of the day tomorrow. The next line of showers will arrive

towards the early evening and there will be plenty of showers around on

Saturday, too. Again, it is cold enough for showers to give some

winter nests on the highest parts. Not really spring like weather. ``

and Venus on the highest parts. `` wintry conditions. The Swan array is

now open this weekend and in theory any eggs laid today, when they hatch

it will be the first day of summer. This is expertly, where we briefly

had some brightness in the sky, but it is looking pretty dark and gloomy

and the rain was not far away. The band of rain is moving out of the

way overnight tonight, taking its time before clearing, but it will

do, and for much of the night it will be clear, cold, a good view of

the stars, some showers possible but it will be cold enough for some

frost. It is unusual to see frost this late in March, and for

gardeners and there are others that gardeners and there are others that

will happen for the next few nights. Particularly across eastern parts of

Devon into Somerset. Widespread tonight. Tomorrow is breezy, fine,

with some sunshine. Showers get going by late morning and towards

the end of the afternoon showers become widespread and frequent. A

line of frequent showers approaching West Cornwall means for many others

into the early evening it could be wet. Temperatures are held down

because of the cold air, nine or 10 Celsius is the maximum. For the

other silly, breezy, showers sums it up. The times of high water... ``

for the Isles of Scilly. If you are surfing, big waves, but

not very clean, messy on the north coast. The sea temperature at the

moment is between nine and 10 Celsius.

The coastal waters forecast but `` forecast...

Stealing called and show on Saturday. Sunday is the better of

the two weekend days but both Saturday and Sunday night we can

expect widespread frost, possibly as low on Sunday night as minus to

Celsius or minus three Celsius. Typical, with the vernal equinox, we

get weather like that. What was it again?

Something about equal day and night. That is all from us, have a lovely

evening. Good night.