06/09/2011 BBC Points West

In Points West tonight: The fight to save Filton - can the

West's most famous runway be saved from developers?

The changing face of education - how more secondary schools are

becoming academies. Nearly one year on from its opening,

Weston pier counts the cost of a poor summer season.

And the marathon man taking on his First, plans to build thousands of

houses on the West's most famous airfields have tonight been

condemned as a tragedy for the future. The warning has been issued

by Sir George White, whose grandfather founded the Bristol

Aeroplane Company. He is worried that the runway at

Filton will become a place to "dump houses". And his fears are shared

by many others, including councillors in Bristol who are

discussing Filton's future at the council house tonight. Scott Ellis

is there. Good evening, Scott. Good evening. The political row

about the future of Filton is under way and behind me in a council

house the ruling Liberal Democrats are laying out their stall, saying

they want to see more businesses and jobs created up there. But

South Gloucestershire Council, the ruling planning of authority, say

it is an ideal brownfield site for new homes, and there are those who

would agree with Sir George White that it is a shame, is not a

scandal, that the runway has to close at all.

If this runway could speak, it would have some stories to tell.

Not just Concorde. The mighty Brabazon, too. There is a quick

order over the intercom and the undercarriage leaves the runway.

There were many others. No-one knows that history better than Sir

George White, whose family founded the Bristol Aeroplane Company.

Today, he spoke out against BAE Systems and its decision to sell

off the runway. They inherited it, they didn't buy it or earn it, and

for them to sell it off now and risk future job seems, to me, to be

incredibly undesirable. It just seems to be, to an outsider, the

biggest asset strip this district has seen in many years. It is an

absolute tragedy for the future. BAE Systems insist the runway is

not commercially viable and that its closure will not harm

neighbours Airbus GKN or Rolls- Royce. South Gloucestershire

council wants 3,500 homes built here. Not everyone agrees.

believe that it should not just be about housing, but about jobs, and

about a proper strategic approach to this area of the city which has

been so important to the city's history. South Gloucestershire

Council says the area already has twice as many jobs as resident

workers. So the homes are desperately needed. Some are

cropping up on the adjoining north airfield. And this new spur road

heads invitingly towards the famous main runway. Presumably one day it

Labour councillors are rallying to keep the run my open. Dale Barry

worked at Airbus for many years. What use could there be for that

airfield? There was always a use for an operational airfield of that

standard so I believe that all of the options have not been looked at

yet. What gives you reason to think that? Are there over airfields in

use? When airfields disappear in the UK, manufacturing quickly

follows. I cannot see that any city region, as we are, would

contemplate putting a housing estate the size of a small town

right in the middle of an engineering sector of excellence.

What work could do runway bring to the city? There has been a campaign

against a commercial act what. are not talking of commercial

airports, that has been and gone. We are looking at operations that

have always been used, servicing, MoD use. It could be used by the

MoD as in the past. You are not being nostalgic? Nobody wants to

see Filton closed, but this is the wrong decision economically and

environmentally. Thank you for talking to us. The site is worth in

the region of �120 million to GKN Systems. -- to BAE Systems. What

will happen in the future will be decided in the new year.

There are claims today that the next 18 months will see all schools

in England seeking to become academies. The status means a

school becomes independent of local council control, and already around

two-thirds of secondary state schools in the West have made or

intend to make the change. Experts here say education is changing at

an incredibly rapid rate. John Maguire reports.

These year 10 pupils are seeing things change before their eyes in

today's chemistry lesson. In fact, there is a lot of change around.

Last term, Churchfields in Swindon was a school. Now, it has become an

academy. But why? It is in the best interests of the students. I am the

head teacher, I have been for 10 years, and the initiative provides

greater freedoms for us, puts us in charge of the education of the

students in this school. It is the right decision for them, it

provides better education and will build on our success in the past,

so it is the right thing for Churchfields and its children.

funded directly by the Government and not via the local council, Mr

Flavin says he has seen an increase of up to 10% in the money he can

spend on his pupils. And he has reduced class sizes - they are now

between 15 and 20 children. He predicts all English schools will

now follow suit. Around two-thirds in the West have made or are

planning the transformation. So where does that leave council

education departments? I think the local authorities still have a key

strategic role. Their job becomes more difficult, it is still an

important job and they have to fulfil their statutory obligations,

and I hope the academy is that we see opening this term and have seen

in the past will continue to regard themselves as part of the family of

local-authority schools, working with local authorities doors, so

they will all benefit from the learning in any particular school -

- with local authority school. are now also seeing the first wave

of primary academies. Increasingly as the Government is offering

schools to run their affairs, many are opting for independence,

believing teacher knows best. You're watching BBC Points West

with Alex and Andrew. There's plenty more to come on tonight's

programme, including a plan to turn Bristol green. Can the city grow

enough crops to feed everyone who lives there?

And the sweet sound of success. We meet the sisters who have been

commended for their song-writing Who can forget these dramatic

pictures from February 2008, when Weston's famous Grand Pier was

destroyed by fire in a matter of minutes? It is now nearly a year

since the pier owners rebuilt and re-opened. But what sort of year

has it been? The early signs were good, but it went downhill from

there. Clinton Rogers has been finding out. -- finding out why.

50-mile-an-hour winds battering Weston-super-Mare. No wonder they

were short on visitors today. It is almost a year now since the Grand

Pier was re-born, re-opened. A year of ups and downs, of conflicting

fortunes. And the figures would confound any tourism analyst. Since

the rebuild, the pier has attracted 2.1 million visitors. Last winter's

figures were double what was expected. This April was the best

month, with 500,000 visitors. After such a brilliant start and a

buoyant autumn, they have been betting here on a great summer. It

turned out to be massively disappointing. There were fewer

visitors in August than in April. And less than half of what they

have been gambling on. What we are not seeing is people coming and

staying in the resort. The pier owner says his worst ever summer

wasn't just down to bad weather. is a big factor for the day-

trippers, but if we had the visitors that were staying, like

they used to stay, in the hotels and the caravan parks, then I don't

think weather is such a factor. think people are not coming to

Weston like they did? Certainly. That is a viewpoint supported by

hoteliers, who say while visitor numbers are holding up - just -

people are opting for much shorter stays. People are not staying as

long as they used to, and we have noticed a great deal of difference

where people are only doing two and three days, especially families.

But the pier owners continue to invest in the future. They are

planning now to build a conservatory with a retractable

roof. The battle with the British weather continues.

Some of the region's top hotels are about to be sold after the luxury

chain Von Essen went into administration back in April. The

Royal Crescent Hotel in Bath is among 19 of the properties now

under offer, valued in the region of �22 million. However, Thornbury

Castle in South Gloucestershire is still on the market.

Little Britain comedian David Walliams has been back in the water

for day two of his latest Sport Relief fundraising effort to swim

the length of the River Thames. He started his 140-mile journey

yesterday at the river's source near Lechlade in Gloucestershire,

where the water's temperature was 15 Celsius. Hundreds of people

cheered the star on. He managed 17 miles, but had to be pulled out

before completing his target for the day, and was in a lot of pain

last night. This morning, though, he set off at dawn to swim through

Oxfordshire and is due to arrive at Abingdon Bridge in the next hour.

A Bristol community project is urging people to be less reliant on

food that is transported into the city, and to grow it for themselves

instead. The Sims Hill Shared Harvest is a membership scheme

where people grow their own fruit and veg on green belt land. The

group say growing food in this way reduces environmental damage. Sabet

Choudhury reports. Some long-awaited rain for the

crops at the Sims Hill Shared Harvest. The 6 x of land here is

right by the M32, the kind of network that takes produce into the

city's supermarkets and shops, produce grown outside Bristol. The

project here wants to buck that trend by growing the food

themselves. This is a co-operative project where people pay a

membership and they in return reap the benefits of the harvest.

tried to make it as easy as possible for people to access the

food here, so they can come and collect their vegetables if they

want to, but what we have decided to do is have drop-off points

throughout the city. We harvest the veg on Thursday morning and by the

afternoon it is at the drop-off points. We have done it so they are

local to our members. It is very straightforward, they can pick up

their dead and had it that evening. -- pick up their vegetables and

have it that evening. The land here has been used for growing in the

past, and for the time being it has been given to the project rent-free

by the council. We have French beans, runner beans, caused jets.

We have lettuce and herbs... Membership to the scheme costs �40

a month for a full share of the harvest. Or �23 for a half share.

But, to James, it is a small fee considering the benefits to the

community and the environment. is connecting people with the

seasonality of local food, were tagging is important. In the

supermarket you can get broccoli, sweet peppers, tomatoes all year

round because they are flown in from overseas. What we are trying

to do is say, we can produce food here as cheap as you possibly can,

and it has a low environmental impact. Over the next few years,

James is hoping to create a bursary with help of the community for

those who cannot afford the membership. Their aim - to feed as

many people as possible with food grown on their doorstep.

Joining us in the studio is Richard Spalding, a senior lecturer in

human geography at the University for the West of England. You have

brought something in four was, so will from an area near Bristol that

could be used to supply the city with food? -- soil. This is from a

plot that I have christened the blue finger. It is terrific high-

grade agricultural soil. What benefits could people see if this

area was used to grow crops to feed the people of Bristol? Would it be

cheaper? Not necessarily but the benefits would be social

environmental. We would see less transport of food in and out of the

city. If you stand by the M32 today, every moment you see food being

transported in and out of the city, say there is a sustainability issue

here. But people will say supermarkets do this very well,

providing cheap food all year round. How would this be better? I think

the essence here is moving towards the real localisation of the food

agenda -- pre-localisation. I think that will be seen by -- will be

driven by a younger people. I think we will see this continuing sea-

change over the next generation. We are looking for about a million new

farmers to replace those farmers who are getting older, so it is a

new generation that wants to get their hands on some of this land.

Interesting stuff, thanks for coming in.

Sport, and Champions League football is coming to Ashton Gate.

Yes, you heard me right. The Bristol Academy women's team

qualified for the tournament by reaching the FA Cup final. But

because their ground in Stoke Gifford doesn't meet UEFA

regulations, they have struck a deal to play their tie against the

Russian team FC Energy at Bristol City's ground. And today some of

the squad went to have a look around. This is the home dressing-

room! City's Nicky Maynard their tour

guide, as the Academy girls took a peak at their new temporary home.

This is where their Champions League campaign will begin on

September 29th. We have had a look around the pitch, it is really nice,

all very good in here. It is great to come to a place like this to

play European football here. We are hoping 20,000 people in this

stadium! Being a Bristol-based club we have a lot of Bristol City fans

in our ranks. We have some Rovers supporters but I will not mention

their names! But they cannot wait. But after the comforts of Ashton

Gate, the team have to make a 13- hour journey to play the second leg

in Russia, which involves making three different flights. Harder for

some than others. I hate flying and I am not very happy that we have to

go all the way to Russia, but it is a job that we have taken on, so

whether it be Russia, China, America, we will do it and give all

we have got. While the men's Champions League is awash with

money, the women have had to chip in just to make it to the game in

Russia. The players have made a massive gesture to forgo their

match fees and bonuses for the occasion to allow us to travel, and

that shows the solidarity and unity in the grip and the spirit in our

football club. FC energy say they will get a crowd of over 20,000 for

the second leg. How the Academy girls would love that backing back

at Ashton Gate. Two dressage riders from the West

have returned home with a haul of medals from the European Para-

Equestrian Championships. Anne Dunham, from Broad Hinton in

Wiltshire, won two golds in Belgium, taking her career total to 17 in

major competitions. And Taunton's Debbie Criddle won a gold and a

silver in her events. The pair were also part of the team quartet who

finished first. The event was the last major Championships before

next years' Paralympic Games. In football, Bristol Rovers are

back in action tonight in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy. They are

away to Wycombe Wanderers in the first round. The winners of the tie

will play Cheltenham at home next month.

Two talented sisters from Bath have made it through to the semi-finals

of the UK's song-writing competition. Chloe Pinder is just

14 and her sister Izzy is 11, but most of their rivals were adults,

all fighting for a stake in the competition's �500,000 prize fund.

I am delighted to say the two girls are with us tonight. Clowry, you

are the songwriter. Congratulations to you, how does it feel? It is

overwhelming. We were not expecting much to come off the competition,

we just ended and thought, let's give it a shot. What feedback have

you had? In terms of feedback from relatives and friends, they have

been very supportive, they like our music. We were awarded seven points

out of 10 in the semi-finals, a lot of people get five or six. I don't

think you were lucky to get seven, it was still. I heard you rehearse!

Izzy, using the harmonies. Where did they come from? They are

complicated harmonies. They usually just come into my head on the spot.

How is it working with the sister? It is fun. That is good! I will

keep this brief, because we wanted hear you sing, and this is such a

treat, you will love this. Take it # Don't run before you can walk.

# It takes time to find the real person behind those eyes.

# And I know you're eager-minded and strong-willed.

# Now you'll learn to control that major fault line.

# Before you run away and hide. # Don't hide, don't hide from me.

# You will take courage in your mind.

# Don't hide, don't hide from me. # Are you?

# Who are you? # You can't play hide and seek with

# Can't you see you're not 10 years old anymore?

# And I know you're a distant thinker and a coward.

# But who cares now you will learn to control that major fault line?

# Before you run away and hide. # Don't hide, don't hide from me.

# You will take courage in your mind.

# Don't hide, don't hide from me. # Are you?

# Who are you? # Are you?

# Who are you? # We play hide and seek.

# It's hard to watch it go. # Before you run away and hide.

# Don't hide, don't hide from me. # You will take courage in your

mind. # Don't hide, don't hide from me.

# Are you? # Who are you?

# Are you? Well than! That much applause shows

how many people came to listen to you! Thank you, brilliant.

It is a question that is often asked - what is the recipe for a

long life and a happy marriage? 90- year-old Wilfred Cooper, from

Lockleaze in Bristol, insists keeping fit - and a few cheeky

secrets - is the answer. The pensioner has gone behind his

wife's back many a time in recent years as a secret half marathon

runner. Now the time has come for him to hang up his trainers, and

this Sunday's race will be his last. Isabel Webster's been to meet him.

How old were you in this photograph?

To his 14 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren, Wilfred is

something of a superhero. That is a sign of Superman with my face

superimposed on it. In 2004, aged 83, he ran his first half marathon

in Bristol, despite telling his wife something quite different.

said, I'm just going down to put the barriers up to keep the people

back, so I was all right with that. And then Gina next door saw him on

the television! So of course he tells me then. I was in the

doghouse. She didn't speak to me for three weeks. Despite a heart

attack and recently falling down the stairs and dislocating his

shoulder and breaking ribs, his wife Sylvia is now more supplied to

-- more supportive. At the age of 90, Wilfred climbs the stairs 30

times every day and runs three times a week. He has raised

thousands of pounds for St Peter's Hospice over the years. And he

hopes to make more than ever this year as he hangs up his running

shoes. Although I am fit, the bones are beginning to creak! I think

they are going to snap at any minute so I am just doing this one.

I might do one or two more, but I am saying this is the last one.

will be if his long-suffering wife has anything to do with it.

Is this is last round? Gosh, I should hope so! -- his last one.

Good luck, too him on Sunday. Let's find out if it is training

Our library of weather photographs does not include many photographs

of wind. I took this terrible photograph outside in the BBC car

park of this tweed disaster! If you have any good ones, send them into

this. Tomorrow will be another windy day.

Having said that it will be for the most part a dry day and a brighter

one as well to a greater or lesser dip -- or lesser extent. We have

been seeing ghosts today from about 5am. -- gusts. We had a few trees

down this morning in parts of Gloucestershire because of that. It

is courtesy of this low pressure. The isobarss still pretty tight

tomorrow but a subtle shift of direction will help shelter many

districts on the showers. We had a good number of showers feeding

through today, some quite heavy downpours on that. Behind, some

further showers waiting in the wings. Some of our districts will

be in their sides this evening. The graphics pick up on that, but

broadly speaking the night tends to dry out apart from a few coastal

showers. Still quite windy, gusts of about 45 miles an hour in the

Bristol Channel, a bit less inland. Temperatures down to about 12 or 13

for the most part. Tomorrow will start with try weather about, some

showers in northern Somerset, but more in the wake of brightness

generally tomorrow. Parts of Gloucestershire should be favoured

for dry, bright weather but the showers will return on and off

later on in the Bristol Channel, some of them feeding inland.

Temperatures tomorrow about 17, 18 Celsius, at best. The sea will

still be pretty rough as well. Beyond that, we continue with this

inclement spell through the week and into the start of next week as

well. Having said that, Thursday looks largely cloudy, somewhat damp

in the morning with some light rain and drizzle, not quite as windy. On

Friday it might frighten up -- it might brighten up a bit, some warm

air from the tropics, with maybe a bit of sunshine, but noticeably

windy, as on Saturday as well. Sunday could turn pretty wet, but

as we get to that stage in the week we are looking out into the