26/06/2013 Look East - East

The A14 will be upgraded with the help of government cash. Work could

start in two years' time. Will they stay or will they go?

After a crunch meeting today for directors of a Norwich Ambulance

Trust are still in their place. should examine their consciences.

Beth Chatto at 90. Some great shots of her beautiful garden.

And meet Ezio, the band who were going to make it big before Tony

Blair said he liked them. We were cool and then instantly became less

Good evening. Look East can confirm that the A14, the region's most

important road, will be upgraded with the help of government money.

The official announcement will be made tomorrow as part of the

spending review. It follows months of negotiations. The stretch in

question runs between Huntingdon and Cambridge. It is a notorious

bottleneck. Businesses say that one accident could bring a big part of

the region to a grinding halt. Tomorrow morning in the building

behind me Danny Alexander, the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, will

announce �100 billion worth of infrastructure projects, and untold

from sources that when he reads out that list the A14 will be on it. It

will be a substantial investment, certainly enough to get the project

started. What I can't confirm is whether that new stretch of road

between Huntingdon and Cambridge will be a toll road or not. Up until

now the expectation has been that it would be a toll road but Lib Dems

have expressed opposition to the idea, similarly members of the

haulage industry. I have heard rumours that the government has gone

quite cold on that idea. We will find out in the morning, but it does

seem that after many years of talking about making improvements to

the A14 we will finally see something happen.

So why now? I understand the Chancellor has told colleagues many

times that it is top of his list of priorities. Two things have come

together very nicely. Firstly, the Spending Review. The government is

keen on infrastructure projects because it believes that getting

people moving is good for the economy, but the government could

never afford the scheme on its own. That is why it had to scrap the

first scheme in 2010. It is said to businesses and local councils that

they will need to pay as well, and this week local councils and local

businesses have put forward hundreds of millions of pounds. Suddenly a

scheme that appeared very expensive is now affordable.

More now on why the road is so important to our region.

It is the region's main economic artery. The A14 is clocked up and in

desperate need of surgery. Tonight that treatment appears imminent. The

road runs 127 miles from Felixstowe to the Midlands. It is at its most

congested between Cambridge and Huntingdon. Up to 85,000 vehicles

use the stretch daily, double what it was designed for. Delays here

cost millions. Today interested parties put up �100 million to help

upgrade the section. Local partnerships have given half of the

money, �50 million to the part, and other authorities like Suffolk and

Northampton. The help is conditional on the start of work by 2016. That

may have persuaded government to take the plunge. Motorists were

expecting a toll road. An extra road would be really good and if it ended

up being a toll road then I would just have to cope with that. I use

it quite a lot to go down to Suffolk, so if it is a toll road

then I use the toll road on the M6 as well. I don't think it would help

because it would just fill up. We need better public transport.

Hauliers say a toll road would add to their costs, but they are waiting

for the deal on the table tomorrow. We will have details of that

announcement tomorrow on Look East. Today the Chancellor told councils

that their budget would be cast by debt -- cut by 10%.

Local councils are among today's big losers, with central government

funding cut by 10% by 2015. Because they get money from other sources it

is reckoned they will have to save on average 2.3%. That is still a big

hit. As a sweetener the Chancellor has told them that they would freeze

council tax. We are freezing council tax for the next two years. That is

over �100 off the council tax bill for average families and brings

savings to these families to �600 over this Parliament. Cuts do not

come without costs. Thousands of jobs have been lost in local

government. There've been 40,000 job losses in our region. It is causing

further deterioration of services. This is getting out a key economic

battle line in our region. If I can start with you, councils

weren't expecting another tranche of cuts after the current Spending

Review finished. Will this put a major strain on services? This is

tough, but it is hardly unexpected. We have quite a long history of

making savings, restructuring, sharing services and freezing

council tax is before it was fashionable to do so so I think we

will attempt to carry on doing what we do best. We have also invested

heavily in our towns and villages. We will be looking for some of the

infrastructure money. The money that we are talking about for 2015 is

cuts of �1.7 million. Where will they come from? Very significant. We

are working with the private sector, we're working with the County

Council and others, National Health Service, to find new ways of facing

it, new challenges and preserving our prosperity while fostering new

growth. That is why we are looking for a better share of restructuring

monies. Is it not true that these charges will go up? It is very

important that we recognise that the secure part of the funding we get

from national government is getting smaller and smaller so the rest of

the money that we need to find, we need to look at different ways to

raise them. Car parks, investments, much riskier ways. They are asking

us to look at riskier ways to account for the shortfall while

telling us not to have larger reserves, which she needed to

mitigate risks. If we look at car parks and business rates and council

tax, the money we will need to make that shortfall up is coming from

local people, people who've been harmed by welfare reform. We have

real issue. The government says the 10% figure equates to 2.3% for local

councils. The private sector finds those savings every year, doesn't

it? We have found �12 million of savings, one third of our spend,

which we have done through establishing joint ventures, working

with the County Council... We have looked at every possible way we can

to make the savings. We have to make 2 million next year, 2 million the

year after and 2 million the year after that, that was before the

announcement today. We can do it, but we have to be more

entrepreneurial and innovative. I am concerned about the people of

Norwich, I do not want them to suffer. Can you guarantee that vital

services will be protected? Will do everything we can to do that, and

the truth is we are all facing reality. We are doing everything we

can to detect the prosperity of this part of the world. Thank you both

very much. The directors of a troubled

Ambulance Trust are refusing to resign despite pressure from many of

the region's MPs. Two years ago a scathing report was published into

the way the East of England Ambulance Trust was being run. That

led to two of our MPs to write to these five people demanding that

they resign immediately. So far just one of the five has stepped down or

stop -- have stepped down. You had the executives, the chief

executives, the medical director and then you had the non-executives,

part-time, which paid around �6,000 a year. They are there to be

independent and scrutinise the management is necessary. The

criticism that has rained down on the board, they have taken a lot of

flak. Two of the board's nonexecutive directors turned up for

the meeting today. Neither intended to quit. Both played a part in the

discussions in the public sessions. They intended to improve

performance, response times and delays. The meeting was told that

nonexecutive director Caroline Bailes was stepping down due to

other work commitments. Her period in office was Jude ends next month.

The position of these part-time directors is not the key issue.

is my priority to review the leadership of the Trust. I think

discussions about individuals should be conducted with individuals, but

my focus will continue to be on ensuring we have the best high

quality leadership for the organisation and stay focused for

delivery. That is what matters to patients and communities, having a

safe, high-quality and sustainable Ambulance Service. This man is

critical of some of the criticisms from the region's MPs. There been a

lot of political criticism of the Trust. I have tried to engage in the

criticisms but they have been and willing to meet me. They have plenty

of time to talk to the press. I don't recognise as some of the

things that they see, which I am aware are undermining public

confidence. The message for the MPs tonight is that one resignation is

not enough. I do not see how a Trust can continue through this period of

reform with these particular individuals in place. They were

culpable for much of the damage that took place in the Trust over

previous years when the Trust was failing and they added no value then

and I don't see how they can add it to going forward. Everyone accepts

there is a long way to go. I talked to the two nonexecutive directors

off-camera, both of whom were very experienced in the NHS. Both felt

there was a lot of work to be done and wanted to be part of it. As for

quitting and doing the decent thing, Mr Barlow said he didn't join this

organisation to walk away when the going gets tough.

Seven men have been charged with fraud related offences alleged to

have been committed against elderly and vulnerable victims. They

appeared before Colchester Magistrates' Court today after

were suddenly made uncooled by Tony Blair.

And a very happy birthday at 92 that chatter and her amazing garden. --

at 90 two Beth Chatto. Around 40,000 people went to the

Royal Norfolk Show today, proof, say its fans, that traditional county

shows can continue to pull in the punters. But all is not rosy. The

East of England Show at Peterborough had to call it a day last year

ending a 200 year history. Let's put the Norfolk show in context. It is

one of six Royal county shows across the country. It is one of 200 shows

across the country and the umbrella group says that number is roughly

stable. Last year was grim. 34 shows cancelled because of bad weather.

Every one is back on this year. What is the mood like on the Norfolk

Showground? Music and the military. Two key

elements of the Royal Norfolk Show. Prince Michael of Kent inspected the

troops as a tribute to Norfolk's military. The show was first held in

1847. Today it costs �1 million to put on and aims to break even.

Organisers say getting the chemistry right is important. Keeping the

balance right, we say we have some big everyone here and I think that

is true. The East of England Show in Peterborough has now closed.

Organisers said it had become disconnected from its agricultural

roots. But this presenter says agricultural shows do have a future.

The horse meat scandal really made me take stock and think, I need to

feed my family for the money that I have but I need to know where the

meat comes from. It is about British things, home-made food, baking,

understanding where our food comes from. On average, the show attracts

95,000 people over two days. A family ticket costs �50. Not cheap,

but the people we spoke to said it was worth it. Lots of animals, lots

of food. It is a nice day out and you can bring all the family.

a good country show. Here they believe agriculture and everything

that goes with it is still the key to success, but people also want

thrills and spills. The organisers at the Royal Norfolk believe they

have the balance right. There will be full coverage of the

second day of the show tomorrow on BBC Radio Norfolk on the breakfast

show at 6:30am. I went to the show today. I went really early, get

there early, and I did not want to leave the food hall. There is so

much free stuff. Don't eat before you go.

Sample! In the world of horticulture, gardeners say that one

name towers above all others: Beth Chatto. She has blazed a trail,

growing unfashionable plants in the toughest of conditions. Tomorrow she

turns 90, a grand age she says she never thought she would reach.

They are gardens like no other. Gardens that have made Beth Chatto

this was little more than an overgrown wasteland. It was the

vision of Beth Chatto that transformed it into the oasis you

see today. Her philosophy is very simple. It can be summed up as right

plants in the right place. Yes, the right plant in the right place means

it is adapted. When you started out did you have any idea it would turn

out like this? No, not at all. If I have done anything with my life, I

hope I have helped other people to cope with difficult problems.

late husband's knowledge of plants inspired her to proceed all

writings. -- varieties. You are clearly very hands-on still. There

is always editing to be done. A garden is never finished. It is not

only choosing the plants but putting them together, and that is one of

the many skills. She is very, very highly regarded. Her unusual plants

on her ten consecutive gold medals at the Chelsea flower show. In the

nursery the flowers are sold, not by variety but by their growing

conditions. She sees gardening not just as her passion but as a unifier

of people the world over. If only gardeners could be politicians. I

feel that we would be speaking the is amazing, isn't she? You can hear

more from her in an extended interview on BBC Essex tomorrow

morning from 6am. One of the region's best-known bands

is celebrating 20 years in the business. Ezio have sold hundreds of

thousands of albums worldwide. Seven studio albums, four live

albums. In total over 250,000 sales. They have toured the world. It has

been fun. The most fun we've had has been in the last 20 years. What we

are is what we are getting away with. I didn't think about it until

the other day, but 20 years is amazing. They have even had a

celebrity endorsements. Tony Blair chose them on Desert Island discs.

You would have thought they would be pleased.

What record would you play now? is a record I played when I first

became leader. I used to play at on Wednesday before Prime Minister 's

questions came along. Up until that point we were

considered very cool and then we became uncool. It is one of those

things. It is in pubs and clubs like this one that Ezio first came to the

public consciousness. We are the second most popular band in Germany

after Hoffman. They continue to run open mike nights. 20 years hasn't

dulled their enthusiasm, it hasn't dulled their music. It certainly

hasn't dulled their banter. I would consider myself to be the brains,

you would be the brawn. I would bring sex appeal to the whole

equation. Yeah, he is the sexy one. I think they are pretty cool. No-one

wants to be liked by, David. -- in a number of locations today, but

then it started to turn cloudy. There is quite a large area of cloud

in the North East which is moved down and I think that will bring

showery rain. The showers are moving south eastwards, so we will see them

in Norfolk and Suffolk, as far down as Essex. Later in the night it will

turn really quite cloudy with some chances of showery rain. It

shouldn't amount to very much but the temperatures should stay in

double figures. In some areas it may be as low as nine Celsius. Into

tomorrow, if you are heading to the Royal Norfolk Show tomorrow, it

should stay dry. It will be cloudy throughout the day, but for much of

the region a dry day. We may see some brightness, some sunshine first

thing, but I think the cloud will gradually start to thicken from the

West. There will be some isolated showers but more cloud around

tomorrow, 19 will be the top temperature. The wind will be a

moderate north-westerly. That rain doesn't get too many of us. -- too

many of us. A lot of this rain will be lightened patchy -- liked and

patchy, and we will all see some. The reason is this weather system

coming in off the Atlantic. It will bring some rain on Friday, but it

will clear and a ridge of high pressure moves in behind. That

brings better prospects for the weekend. Here is our next four days.

There are some cloud around, that will have an impact on the

temperature, but it should stay dry until later. It will be fairly damp

for Friday, a lot of cloud around and are starting to feel quite humid

by the evening. With the cloud I think it will affect the

temperatures and they will be several degrees cooler than

elsewhere, but by the weekend I'm expecting a lot of dry, bright

weather and a humid fealty things. Overnight -- humid feel to things.

It should clear by the weekend. We will hold you to that on the

weekend. Let's return to the government's

Spending Review. Clearly the announcement is a big one, but there

is good news for science funding. Budgets are being cut all over the

place today. The Chancellor said he is freezing the science budget,

which is very good news. He also said he is increasing the capital

budget for science by more than �1 billion. People are saying that a

lot of that money will come to Norwich and Cambridge to help fund

new buildings and equipment for people who work in the field of

biometrics. Investment in science is an investment in our future, so from

cutting-edge supercomputers to a new generation of jet engines we see

that this country will back you all the way. This is good news for our

region. A lot of that money will find its way to creating jobs and

growth which will help our economy, so it is a very sensible investment.

We will find out exactly how our region will be affected by the

Spending Review in the weeks and months to come. One thing that did

jump out at me was the very large cuts in funding for local councils.

They will need to be more inventive in the future about how they raise

money. Regional arts funding is going to be cut, spots funding as

well, and if you are watching this programme in Spain or Portugal you

will lose your winter fuel allowance. The big announcement

comes tomorrow, the infrastructure spending. We know we are getting the

A14, there are lots of projects for our region as well. Will any of