30/09/2013 East Midlands Today

This is East Midlands Today with Anne Davies and Dominic Heale.

Tonight: a third of Derbyshire's fire stations could close to save

money. Dozens of firefighters' jobs could also go. Bosses say the

service has to change. We have had a reduction of 62% in fires, therefore

we have got to change our delivery service. Also tonight, Steve

McClaren is the new man at Pride Park. Hopefully Things Will Work

Out. Plus, As A Giant New Landmark Is Moved Into Position, There Is

Talk Of Another Tramline For Nottingham. And the grand design

with big ideas. Good evening and welcome to Monday's

programme. First tonight, a third of Derbyshire's fire stations could

close under major changes planned for the county's fire service.

Budget cuts of around 40% could also lead to the loss of around a quarter

of full—time firefighters' posts. Tonight the government has said the

fire service may need to share its resources in order to save the

money. Well, our reporter Simon Hare is at

one of the stations under threat. Simon, what more do we know about

these proposals? This fire station in Derby was only redeveloped in

March last year. Under these proposals, all three fire stations

in Derby could close and be replaced with one single, central station. It

is because of a predicted 40% cut in the fire service budget over the

next few years. These changes have been described to me today as the

biggest shake—up in fire service cover in Derbyshire since 1947.

Derbyshire firefighters at a house that was struck by lightning in

July. Under the proposals announced today, the nearest fire station to

this incident in the future will be at Ripley and Ilkeston. Other

closures would see all three fire stations in Derby merged into one

new Central Station. There are currently 31 fire stations across

Derbyshire. Under the proposed closures and mergers, that would go

down to 20. 78 full—time firefighter posts would also be lost. That is

around a quarter of the current total. Over the last ten years the

service has seen a reduction of 50% in its call ratio, but we haven't

made any significant change to how we deliver service. We have had a

reduction of 62% in fires. We have got to change how we deliver the

service. When people pick up the phone and dial 999, is a vehicle

going to turn up? That will happen and it is a guarantee. The

government's minister has said savings could be made in other ways.

We should be looking at whether it shares across boundaries. And how it

shares with other parts of the blue light service. The local authority

is well could make sure there is not this duplication of rising costs.

And that the money is funnelled into the front line service that we love,

protect and want to keep. Tonight, there is a branch meeting of the

Fire Brigades Union taking place. Earlier, I spoke to the chairman of

the fur brigade union for his reaction to these proposals —— Fire

Brigades Union. The implications of this, the resilience within the

organisation, is very worrying. Could be life—threatening? I would

hate to sensationalise this but potentially it could. Talking about

the response times of up to 75% of households will receive a fire

service within ten minutes, that will be reduced. That talk of lives

being put at risk has been dismissed as alarmist by the government

tonight. The finer details of all the closures will be put on the fire

service website from tomorrow. The public will then have 12 weeks in

which they can have their say. Thank you. Other news, the house in Derby

were six children were killed by their parents has been demolished.

Workmen have been taking 18 Victory Road, where the children of Mick and

Mairead Philpott died in May last year apart. The house next door has

already been knocked down. The work is expected to last another week.

New housing will then be built on the site.

A man's been 20—year—old Antoin Akpom died after

an attack on Kent Street in the city earlier this month. A 19—year—old

was arrested in Cardiff last night. Another 19—year—old has already been

charged with Mr Akpom's murder and will appear at Leicester Crown Court

at a later date. Still to come: A tricky manoeuvre in

the middle of the night. A tram bridge is moved into position over

Nottingham's ring road. And today there's talk of another

line being added to the tram network.

seven people have now been charged with murdering four members of the

same family in a house fire in Leicester. The bodies of Shehnila

Taufiq and her three teenage children were found at their home on

Wood Hill earlier this month. Our reporter Eleanor Garnier was at

Leicester Magistrates Court this morning and she joins us now.

Eleanor, can you bring us up to date? Two men appeared in court this

morning. A 19—year—old from Leicester and a 21—year—old who

lives in Leeds. They both face four counts of murder. The hearings

lasted just a couple of minutes each, and the men spoke only to

confirm their names, addresses and that they understood the charges.

They have both been remanded into custody and will appear at Leicester

Crown Court on Wednesday for a bail hearing. Take us back to when this

house fire happened. It was in the early hours of Friday the 13th of

September. For members of the family all died after flames engulfed their

home. Shehnila Taufiq, her 19—year—old daughter and her two

sons, they all died. Today's court appearances are in addition to some

earlier charges. Four people, to our both 19, as well as a 16—year—old

who cannot be named for legal reasons. They all appeared at the

magistrates on Saturday. They each face four counts of murder. Another

man, Kemo Porter, who's 18 and facing the same charges, was

remanded into custody earlier this month. That is seven people now in

total all accused of murdering four members of the same family. Thanks

for that. You're watching East Midlands Today.

One of the region's leading opponents of the proposed high speed

rail link through the East Midlands has been invited for talks with the

Prime Minister. The invitation to Andrew Bridgen, the North West

Leicestershire MP, came on the day that the Conservative Party

conference heard powerful arguments for HS2, despite concerns over

escalating costs. This report from Manchester is by our Political

Editor John Hess. The anti—HS2 elephant that greeted

conservative activists for their conference was deflated today. Could

it sense that the Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin have

the political wind in his sales on backing HS2? In Manchester, I am

proud to support HS2, just as I am proud to support it in cities like

Sheffield, Leeds, Nottingham, Derby, Glasgow and Birmingham. All the

great cities of this country. But outside the conference all, mixed

views for the party's rank—and—file. I don't think it will benefit the

expenditure. There are probably better ways of achieving the same

aims. I think it is actually good, if it brings jobs, and it also gets

investment outside London. I think that is a good thing. The North West

Leicestershire Tory MP is shown the latest campaign video by anti—HS2

campaigners. It may be rattling a few cages in Downing Street. It has

already won him his first HS2 one—to—one with David Cameron. I am

grateful to express to the Prime Minister migrate concerns, and I

believe the concerns of the majority of people in the country that this

whole project is spiralling out of control. Patrick McLoughlin the

Chancellor remain upbeat about HS2. The reality is that the image of the

white elephant is not going to go away soon.

20 shotguns and a stun gun are among weapons handed in as part of a

firearms amnesty in Leicestershire. It's been running for ten days. The

haul so far also includes 11 pistols, a revolver and nearly 100

bullets. Police say they started the county's first amnesty for a decade

to remove unwanted and unlicensed firearms from the streets. It

finishes on Sunday. The company which leases Mallory

Park race track in Leicestershire has been put into administration.

Mallory Park Motorsport Limited says it has suffered significant losses

after it was forced to limit the use of the track to two days a week.

This followed a breach of a noise order. Testing and racing has been

cancelled this week. The administrator hopes racing can be

enjoyed for years to come. Nearly £50,000 in legal fees has

been spent by governors at a troubled Leicester primary school.

The headteacher at Uplands Junior in Highfields was suspended by the city

council earlier this month and the governors' powers were removed. The

school's defended its spending between April and September, saying

it was partially for staff matters. The council's investigating.

Leicester's bid to become the next UK City of Culture was given a

colourful send—off this morning. The final document was brought into the

city on a vintage wagon accompanied by the Leicester rock band Kasabian.

The bid will go to Manchester, to be considered along with entries from

Dundee, Hull and Swansea Bay. Whilst the government is expected to make

its decision in November there was only one winner in Leicester today.

I think it is important for Leicester to move on as a city.

Especially with the arts now, pushing them forward. It should be

great for the city. Our kids live here now, our children, the king is

buried here as well. Next tonight, it's on the market for

more than a million pounds. But a big selling point is it will save

you money. That's because a new property at

Great Glen in Leicestershire is one of the country's first 'zero carbon'

homes. In three years' time, the government

wants all new homes to be zero carbon. So could the new home built

by a father and son team be the way forward? Jo Healey went to find out.

I have always wanted my Kevin Maguire to moment, and this is it.

And this is the grand design, and what makes this place so important

to you as it could mean no more fuel bills. That is because it has taken

technologies that are already around and combined them. So what is so

unique about the way this works? It is unique because we take the warm

from the sun during the summer when it is abundantly available, and we

push it into the ground, underneath the building, which is warmed, and

we take it back in the winter to heat the house. So it is the storing

of the energy from the sun that matters. Not that bills would

probably bother you too much if you could afford this, but there is a

lot of interest, and not just from buyers. For the next year, a team of

experts will be keeping a close eye on its efficiency. It is a really

exciting project. We want to see how the house is really performing in

winter. And then to see how it can be rolled out across a much wider

market, across the UK and maybe across Europe. How excited are you

buy all this? We are thrilled. We are looking forward to building more

houses like it. With no energy bills? The houses will be completely

self—sufficient for energy. That's an incentive for those of us who may

be afford —— able to afford a much smaller version.

We like that. Nottingham's tram network could be

extended with another new line and a link to the proposed new HS2 station

on the edge of the City. Talks are being held about taking

the tram out to the Eastwood area and to the high—speed hub at Toton

towards Derby. The news came as a new landmark tram

bridge was edged into place across one of Nottingham's busiest roads.

Mike O'Sullivan reports. Moved by special transporters and

lowered with incredible accuracy, this 1000 tonne tram Bridge has

become a new landmark in Nottingham. On Saturday night, waste across the

A52 dual carriageway. It was euphoria for the team that were

here. Many hours of preparation over the last few days have culminated in

a fantastic achievement for the team. The bridge is part of a £570

million extension of the tram network, building two new lines out

to Clifton and Chilwell with work due to finish next year. This bridge

is hugely impressive, but the scale of ambition for the tram network

does not end here. There is no talk of building a new line out to

Kimberley. Looking at Toton makes sense as the HS2 project develops.

We are having conversations, we have not got a definitive plan yet but

conversation continues and we need to work out what is realistic,

affordable and how we can achieve it. There will be a tram stop as the

elevated line goes past the hospital. Secondary glazing has been

put in place to stop the noise affecting patients. The next big

project is a bridge at Clifton, heart of the bridge there collapsed

earlier this month. The builders blame engineering design problems,

but say that beams are being remanufactured and the job will be

completed in November. One of ten bridges and supports being built for

the tram extension. A lot of digging going on in

Nottingham these days. Exciting stuff in sport. New manager, Colin?

Indeed. In just the last hour, Derby County have officially appointed

Steve McClaren as their new head coach. The former England,

Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest boss replaces Nigel Clough. Our

sports editor Natalie Jackson has been following the story and is life

for us. It has been a remarkable 48 hours.

Tonight, Steve McClaren is back in English management with his old club

Derby County. He was all smiles as he arrived for talks at Mallory

Park. —— Pride Park. It is great to come back. Hopefully things will

work out. Banks very much. The former England boss has been caught

at QPR since July. This is his third spell at Derby. He served as a

player, then assistant manager in the 90s, helping the club to the

Premier League. We have to be challenging for the play—offs.

Challenging to get into the top two and the Premier League. He replaces

Nigel Clough, who was sacked on Saturday just hours after defeat in

the local derby with Nottingham Forest. We have got to assess what

we have here. Excellent new players, a great style of football,

Nigel has done a great job. We have to develop that and make that

better. That is our job. We have two and a half years to do it. He posed

for photographs with fans and said he was aware he would have to work

within a budget. Ultimately you have to get the balance between the

ambitions of what you want, what the owners want, and there is ambitions

there. It has stabilised over the last three or four years and now

they want to push on. We are all in it together, we cannot wait to get

started. Steve McClaren will meet the media is the new Derby manager

at a press conference tomorrow. Natalie Jackson is at pride Park for

us. What today it been. What a day and what a 48 hours. Nigel Clarke,

sacked on Saturday night. Steve McClaren appointed as manager today.

A move which has divided fans. After Saturday, there was a slight

backlash. Some feeling that idle Clough has been harshly treated. He

has had to have the wage bill. Others felt that it was time for a

change. The club they want to get to the Premier League, they want to be

in the top six. They felt that they needed to bring in a new man. Steve

McClaren is that man. He will be in the stands here for the game with

Ipswich tomorrow. He will see his new team. Darren wassail will be the

caretaker coach. He will get a first look at his new side. Eric Steele,

also a former reader there —— former Derby player, will also be part of

the stuff. This story will rumble on. We will have more on our late

bulletin. Thank you very much indeed. Derby

were involved in a huge game on Saturday. The Nottingham Forest fans

certainly won't forget as it was the Reds who came out on top in the East

Midlands Derby. Kirsty Edwards looks back.

This is not just a game. It is the only one that matters doing the

season, the biggest game. I would love Derby to win. For these fans,

this is the big one. We were so nervous, I couldn't sleep last

night. Whoever wins will be walking a bit taller. Bragging rights and

the Brian Clough Trophy at stake. Pressure high on both sides. It was

forested started brighter, I great chance. Derby got themselves into it

and had their chances as well. But the decisive moment came just before

half—time. The Forest defender left in acres of space to head in his

first for the club. There is no feeling like it. I felt like I was

going to implode in euphoria. Forest's manager says his club could

have won by more. Missed chances like this he was talking about. Then

of course, there was the penalty. Up stepped Henderson, only to be

thwarted by the impressive league rant. It led to an intense final few

minutes. —— Lee Grant. I am delighted for our fans. We have

enjoyed the bragging rights. That is what this game is all about.

Regardless of the drama at Forest and Derby, it's Leicester City who

remain top dogs in the East Midlands. A 2—1 win over Barnsley

saw to that. They fully deserved it as well. Well

on top, even at the point where Barnsley had a goal disallowed for

offside. After the break the goals came for Leicester. The deadlock was

broken in 50 minutes. It was his first goal of the season. This

penalty meant the job was done, despite Barnsley producing a

consolation goal. Look at some of the Leicester chances generated by

their enormous share of possession. Definitely a team in form.

Elsewhere Notts County suffered their seventh defeat of the season

in League One. They got off to a good start at Carlisle with

midfielder Callum McGregor giving them the lead. But they wasted a

host of chances and were punished by two goals from the homeside. Notts

are now second from bottom of the league.

Mansfield Town are flying in League Two though and will have

particularly enjoyed this win over big rivals Chesterfield. Calvin

Andrew scored his first goal for the club. They're now unbeaten in their

last eight matches and are third in the table. In rugby, Leicester

Tigers took full advantage of what must have been Exeter's worst 40

minutes for years to take a lead that they would never surrender. Not

a bad warm up for the big home game with Saints on Saturday.

Nottingham Panthers had a cracking weekend. League leaders Dundee

slipped up last night and that meant Panthers' 3—2 win over Belfast was

as crucial as it was dramatic. This is Belfast's late goal to make it

2—2. But once the face—off is taken, the response from Panthers is

unbelievably swift. They are pushed back for a while, but then

Nottingham break at high speed and the end result is delivered with

real and ash, as you will see. —— with real pan ash. 16 seconds of

playing time from puck drop to game winner. You'll take that all day,

every day. That is a very nice finish to the day.

Indeed. It has certainly been very mild

autumn, but Leicester charity is thinking ahead to the time when

mercury plummets. It is asking people to donate winter coats to

help the homeless and some of the county's most vulnerable families.

Leicestershire Cares' Coat Drive will see warm clothing distributed

via 14 different charities as Jonathan Cecil reports.

Illness related to living in a cold home cost the NHS £1.6 billion a

year. Thousands are dying every winter due to the cold. The charity

Leicestershire Cares are urging people to donate winter coats to

help the county's poorest and most vulnerable people of all ages. We

need people to donate their courts because a court is the warmest thing

you can have and it is really going to keep you snug over the winter. We

are looking for people to donate coats, really we are looking for

men's' courts, women's courts and children's courts. They hope to get

2500, which will be distributed to 14 charities and community groups.

We will have a lot of people coming into our sessions needing courts are

clothes, and they can look pretty low actually, because they have got

a lot of worries, they are wondering how they are going to afford things.

It is nice at the end of the session, if you're able to give a

court are clothes, and they go out smiling. One of the solutions, one

of their needs, have been met. You can donate at either Tower Street in

Leicester or St Mary's Road in market Harborough. There is a

particular shortage in children's and small men's courts.

As we were saying, it is very warm at the moment. Here is the weather.

The weather has given September fine sendoff. Warm spells of sunshine

around today. In the next few days we have a battle on our hands. In

one corner we have high pressure that has been with us for a few

days, in the other corner as swirling area of low pressure out in

the Atlantic. The high pressure starts to wander off allowing these

weather fronts to work their way in. But back to today, the cloud was

with us first thing this morning, but it broke up very nicely

particularly through eastern parts. Elsewhere, it did break up very

nicely, we saw highs of 19 Celsius in Nottinghamshire. As we go into

tonight, we will see prolonged, clear spells overnight. Cloud will

start to creep injuring the early hours. It will be breezy, with

overnight lows of 10 degrees in built—up areas. Item the

countryside, they could dip down into single figures. Tomorrow will

be similar, mainly dry, some cloud around, but decent spells of

sunshine as well. Some places will wake up with brightness, clear skies

overnight. It will be breezy and the cloud will come and go throughout

the day. Some good sunshine and highs tomorrow of around 17 degrees.

Things start to change as weather fronts start working during the

middle of the week. It will be breezy at times, we will see some

rain, but temperatures won't do too badly at all. The picture on

Wednesday, the first weather front starting to creep into the East

Midlands. It will have lost its momentum as it reaches us, becoming

more patchy. But on Thursday we could see something a little

heavier, heavy pulses of rain for a time. Ring started quite and don't

last as we head towards the next weekend. —— things start to quiet

down. I will see you with the