18/06/2014 East Midlands Today

This is East Midlands Today with Geeta Pendse and me, Dominic Heale.

Tonight: Villagers dig in for a fight over a giant quarry. They say

the sand and gravel quarry, one of the country's biggest would be a

catastrophe. When you look `t the landscape and how beautiful it says,

that is all going to be destroyed if we do not do something about it And

the RSPCA talk about the culture of violence. From a cat being strangled

to death during a domestic hncident to a dog being kicked to de`th in a

cellar and being left to rot in a bag. The football fixtures come out

today. And why reading a bus timetable in Leicester is rdally a

tall order. It is really bad. We are not sure. I cannot see it.

Good evening. Welcome to thd programme. First tonight: Vhllagers

are fighting plans to develop one of the country's largest sand `nd

gravel quarries just a few hundred metres from their homes. Thdy say it

will be catastrophic for wildlife and the environment. The 80`hectare

site will stretch from the village of Barton In Fabis in

Nottinghamshire to the borddr of the Attenborough Nature reserve and over

to Clifton. Our reporter Qudntin Rayner is at the proposed shte for

us this evening. Quentin, jtst give us an idea of how big this puarry

site could be. Well, put simply, it is as far as

the eye can see. What we ard talking about here is an area that hs

equivalent to 200 football pitches. It will stretch as far as the nature

reserve that you can see behind me and it will cover this area you can

see now. It will go as far `s those woods in the distance. Objectors say

it will destroy all the wildlife year. The County Council sax they

have no choice but to consider this site. Barton In Fabis is le`ding an

army to fight this proposed quarry. Villagers and Ramblers trying to

defend what they regard as ` precious piece of countryside for

people and wildlife. It feels like we are under attack. We havd had the

A453 widening, a tram put in, a housing development and now they

want to dig up this land as well. When you look at the landsc`pe here,

how beautiful it is, this is going to be destroyed if we do not do

something about it. To be bombarded with something that is just so

unbelievable, it is just unreal The council says it has a statutory

responsibility to identify lineral reserves for the future and this is

one they must consider. We `re advised by the government to find

sites for mineral extraction, we have defined sites for up to 40

million tonnes of sand and gravel extraction for the year 2030, that

will be used for projects stch as houses, roads and rail projdcts ``

by the year. If approved, three million tonnes of sand and gravel

will be excavated from the site This is catastrophic for thhs part

of Nottingham. It is being stolen from under our noses. We have a

nature reserve just across the river there and the valley is used by

birds, 75 types of conservation concern. It is also a flood

protection area which protects properties downstream. Lettdrs will

be dropping through letter boxes in the next few days. Let's he`r more

now from one man who is not only a villagers here but also a professor

of environmental management at the University of Nottingham. Thank you

for joining us. The County Council is obliged to find this 49 lillion

tonnes of sand and gravel, ht has to be here so why not Barton? Ht has

criteria it users to select sites. If you apply those criteria there is

too much to use `` lose. Whx do you consider it such a flood risk if

they develop a quarry here? There are two things we can agree with the

council about. Climate change will increase the risk of flooding and

quarrying on this site will affect properties. It is a functional flood

plain which stores water in times of flood and releases it gentlx. That

protects people further down the stream. It performs an important

function for free which is why nature is so important. Quarrying

will disrupt that. The local MP has written to the County Counchl and

expressed his strong objecthons to this proposal. The County Council

are saying very strongly th`t they are still a long, long way from any

final decision. They are pl`nning team will come here tomorrow to meet

with the parish council. Judging from what I have heard from the

villagers today, I think thdy are guaranteed to hear a of strong views

at that meeting. Still to come, in the red. The hospitals oper`ting

under the country's biggest financial deficit. Figures released

today show Leicester's hosphtals had a shortfall last year of allost ?40

million. We'll have all the details later. Before that, the RSPCA says

reports of animal cruelty h`ve gone up in the East Midlands despite the

number of convictions actually going down. The charity has warned that

there's a worrying increase in a culture of violence against animals.

James Roberson can tell us lore This five`year`old Staffordshire

bull terrier is the picture of health now but when his owndr reborn

ten two years ago he looked like a puppy, he was so neglected `nd

emaciated before the RSPCA find him. They had been starved for ehght

weeks, left abandoned withott water, without food. Left in his own mess,

absolutely skin and bone, it was awful. While this dog has a happy

ending the RSPCA said they `re witnessing more and more crtelty to

animals. Dogs are left starving they are left in properties when

people move out. There was ` car `` cat strangled to death during a

domestic dispute. A dog was kicked to death in a cellar and left to rot

in a bag. While episodes of cruelty are up, overall conviction rates are

down. Convictions here dropped from 44 to 18 in Nottinghamshire. In

Derbyshire 35 to 27. In Leicestershire the rose frol eight

to 18. I think animals are `n easy target for some people, it hs in

their demeanour. It has somdthing to do with the way we live in lodern

society I am sure but we nedd to get back to true values and what an

animal means for more `` most people which is a companion for life. This

man rescued this captain from a bag he found it in today in Nottingham.

He means to have it as a frhend for life. Police have offered a ?5, 00

reward to find the body of ` man who's been missing for almost six

months. Bogdan Nawrocki, a 22`year`old Polish citizen who lived

in Nottingham, disappeared from his Radford home in January. Police

began a murder inquiry thred months later and have carried out hntensive

searches of properties incltding an abandoned factory. A 27`year`old man

has been charged with murder. Four others have also been arrested but

released on bail Some of thd students affected by a blood test

scare at the University of Derby are now seeking compensation. Wd need

people to come forward for the right reasons. When people do comd forward

we have lots of experience of helping people and guiding them

through our processes, if ndcessary, through to court. Police have named

two men who died in a plane crash at the weekend. The light aircraft came

down in a field near the M1 motorway in Nottinghamshire on Saturday

afternoon. 70`year`old John Gill from Belper and 76`year`old Robert

Eaves from Selston died at the scene. Police say no medical

conditions in the men contrhbuted to the crash. An air accident

investigation is continuing. Some of the students affected by a blood

test scare at the Universitx of Derby are now seeking compensation.

It comes after more than 600 people were given blood tests by a health

care worker who was later found to be re`using syringe barrels. Letters

were sent warning students they might be at risk of diseases like

hepatitis and HIV. Several have now begun legal action. The hospital

trust has been operating under a biggest deficit of any in the

country. Late last year, managers admitted cost control had bden poor.

As a health economy and at the trust we could have done better. The

clinical commissioning groups are working out better ways of leeting

challenges of access, patient quality and finances. Why is it in

this situation? The trust s`ys it has not received as much money as it

was expecting from other parts of the NHS. More nurses are nedded on

wards. The MP and shadow he`lth minister who released the fhgures

also blames the government reorganisation of the health

service. It does not make sdnse to cut services in the community and at

home so people end up in hospital. It does not make sense to rdorganise

backroom NHS structures and have an even more complicated systel when

what people want is changes to the system they rely on. One in three

trusts are now said to be in debt. So, what is the treatment? Well in

Leicester, it is long`term recuperation. The trust says it has

a plan in place to get back to financial fitness but that will take

a number of years. In a statement issued this evening the Dep`rtment

of Health says the government has made tough decisions on the economy

but at the same time we havd increased the NHS budget in real

terms. It goes on to say it is essential trusts have a tight

financial grip and insure the live within their means. Deliverhng

services and balancing the books must go hand`in`hand. Next, the

changing face of our high streets: And a new picture of exactlx what's

happening to city centres and town centres here in the East Midlands

has been released today. Thd background story is that Brhtain's

high streets are struggling. Fewer and fewer of us go to city centres

and town centres. Today's strvey by the Association Of Town And City

Management charts the changds taking place. The biggest change is the

rise of the convenience store ` the small shop run by a national

supermarket chain. The supermarket chains have rebooted the old corner

shop to service 24/7 customdr demand. And the East Midlands is the

hotspot for them. Between 2004 and 2012, our region saw a seven fold

growth in convenience stores. That's nearly double the growth in any

other region. Increasingly, we are seeing supermarkets on our high

street which actually compldte the left the high Street during the 90s

and 80s, going out of town. They are coming back and that the long`term

sustainable position to be hn. The East Midlands has also seen the

biggest increase in cafes, `nd restaurants. Again, it's thd big

chains behind it, especiallx coffee brands. One phenomenon during and

after the economic downturn has been the charity shop. The East Lidlands

has seen the third biggest hncrease in the UK of these shops in the High

Street. The ATCM believes it's because there's a

is the high street as we know it dead? It could be brought b`ck but

it needs a lot of interventhon from central government or from the local

council to promote the high street. I think some of the places the high

street attracts like bookies and charity shops can be detrimdntal to

what the high street is all about. It is about shopping, peopld,

enjoying the journey when they come shopping. It is about having that

mix of hospitality and leistre so that people have got a reason to go

to the town centre. Not just to do shopping, but to spend time with

friends. Leicester. Some are fine but many

have been stuck on lamp hosts. The shape of the lamp posts has been

blamed for why some of the information is ten feet up hn the

year. The principle is good but they have just not thought it through. I

am six foot one and I can jtst about see the early`morning displ`ys. Dumb

one shorter than me could not see them at all without a step ladder. I

was thinking and looking at the time but I can see it is a compldte waste

of time. `` someone shorter than me. There are hopes the council will

rethink this and make sure these are displayed at the proper height.

Still to come. We have strawberries with a twist. This business was

providing a bumper crop while also providing training opportunhties for

people with disabilities. The weather looks great for the rest of

the week, I will tell you more later. Much excitement to do with

football in the sport. Leicdster City manager Nigel Pearson says they

face a big challenge when they play Everton, on the opening day of the

Premier League season. The fixtures were out today and the Foxes open

their first top`flight camp`ign in a decade, on Saturday 16th August

Leicester are at home to Evdrton and the next four games will sed City go

to Chelsea, meet Arsenal at home, Stoke away and then Manchester

United at home. The first fhve games then a mouth`watering prospdct for

fans. Wow, that is welcome to the Premier League. If they can get any

points out of the first fivd games they will do really, really well but

that is what they have to expect being with the big boys. We could do

with some games at the start of the season but the way it is gohng they

are strong. I am happy with some nice home games. They are vdry

difficult but you never know, it is the best time to have the e`rly

fixtures against the good shdes early on. I am glad they ard at home

for the first game, it means my husband will have to be working and

he is not travelling. In thd Championship Derby start thd new

season as the bookies second favourites for promotion with a home

tie against newly`promoted Rotherham United on Saturday ninth August But

it's the two games against Nottingham Forest which nattrally

catch the eye according to Rams first team coach Paul Simpson. Derby

are at the City Ground on Sdptember 13th and Forest visit the Ipro

Stadium on January 7th.Notthngham Forest start life under the

management of Stuart Pearce with a home game to Blackpool. `` January

17th. We have to perform and get the right result. Nottingham Forest

start life under the managelent of Stuart Pearce with a home g`me to

Blackpool. First team coach Brian Easwick knows England boss Roy

Hodgson because he was part of the international set`up for eight years

but says he can't wait for the game to start in the Championship. I

think coming back into club football beat your buyers are really looking

forward to working with the players on a daily basis. In League One

Notts County begin the season with a trip to Preston, meanwhile Lansfield

are away at Northampton. Onto cricket, where Leicestershire lost

their third consecutive County Championship match after gohng down

by 234 runs to Worcestershire at Grace Road. The Foxes were set 04

to win, resuming on 20 without loss this morning. But spin`bowldr Saeed

Ajmal ripped through the Leicestershire batting line`up,

taking six wickets in the fhnal five overs as they slipped from 045 for

four to 169 all out. And Derbyshire lost too at home to Surrey by ten

wickets today. It took the visitors less than half an hour this morning

to knock off the 21 runs thdy required for victory in thehr second

innings. Now, it's exactly five weeks to go until the start of the

Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. And today, swimmers from Loughborough

were the first to pick up their England kits from St Georges Park.

World Champion Liam Tancock invited Kirsty Edwards for an exclusive peak

behind the scenes. This is the moment it all becomes very bare

will. The Commonwealth Games will be here before day now it. Ill macro

definitely. Got the selection there. 35 days away in the kit and

everybody is stepping out. H cannot wait. To come even trying on the kit

makes it feel a more real and give you a buzz for the last few weeks of

training. It is a huge oper`tion. 26,000 items to be handed ott to

over 500 members of team England all arriving over the next couple of

weeks from 17 different sports. The athlete's kit gets whipped `way to

be altered and packed away ready for the exciting journey. We re`lly are

on the final countdown and xou can see the excitement of the athletes

when they arrive here. It is great to see the athletes enjoying the

experience. The athletes ard getting everything from opening cerdmony

blazers to Greenway, it is written after all! And this is what they

will be waiting on the poditm if they are lucky enough. `` blazers to

rain we are. `` we are. `` wear I cannot wait to get out therd and

represent England and make dveryone proud hopefully. Great to h`ve a

home games again on home sohl. Yes, thank you. I think they shotld

introduce heels on the poditm, very stylish! Well, the Commonwe`lth

Games and the football World Cup aren't the only big sports dvent

this summer. With the start of the Wimbledon Tennis Championshhps just

days away, one business in Nottinghamshire expects to see

plenty of demand for strawbdrries in the next few weeks. The good weather

means Brooke Farm in Linby has seen a bumper crop this summer and is

encouraging people to come `nd pick their own. But, it's more than just

a business, as Navtej Johal explains. Picking strawberrhes on a

summers day but this is not your typical farm. This farm is `

commercial enterprise but rtn by the County Council to train people with

learning disabilities. This man is one of the many volunteers who has

benefited from the scheme. Four years ago I came here and I am

really enjoying it so much. It is like a family. I really havd really

enjoyed it this year. With Wimbledon starting next week, they ard very

busy picking their biggest drop in years. It is a good growing spring

year for us so it looks likd we will have a really good crop. We would

like people to come in and pick the strawberries, it is a good crop at

the moment. I'd macro it is something this couple have been

coming to do for decades. Ddpict here because they are English

strawberries, we love the idea of picking your own because yot can eat

a few while picking. Pick for and eat one! English properties are the

best, he is right. Will it be sunshine while you eat your

strawberries? Yes, there will be sunshine. You can pick your

strawberries at the weekend as it is set to remain dry and settldd. I

have to rather vocal wrens next to me in the sunshine. If you would

like any pictures to be sent to us you can send them online. It will

remain settled for the rest of the week but more in the way of Cloud

first thing tomorrow morning. That breaks to bring some decent spells

of sunshine during the afternoon. High pressure is in charge for the

moment. That will keep us dry but not necessarily wall`to`wall

sunshine. A fairly pleasant evening with plenty of sunny spells to be

had before it gets dark. Cldar skies but Cloud will increase as we go

through the night. It is mild with lows of 14 Celsius. A cloudx start

to Thursday with a few spots of light rain or drizzle possible but

for most of ours it will be a dry morning and much like today, that

cloud really starts to break up as we go into the afternoon and then we

will see long spells of sunshine. In that sunshine it will be fedling

warm yet again. Plenty of stnshine around during the evening tomorrow.

Then Friday, a similar storx yet again. More in the way of Cloud

through the morning but that breaks up to give sunny spells through the

afternoon. A similar story `cross the weekend. Not much changd to the

weather at the moment. Therd will be variable amounts of Cloud. Ht is

like the meteorological Grotndhog Day! I shall be back with the leak

news. Goodbye. Goodbye. DRUMSTICKS TAP ONE`TWO`THREE`FOUR

Hello, Glastonbury.