02/01/2014 Look East - East

three times faster than wages. That is all from BBC News

Welcome. In the programme tonight, train fares increase for everyone,

but some are paying a whopping 5% more. I haven't had a pay rise for

four years, so how you're meant to do that is beyond me. As pubs

continue to close, more communities decide to take on their local.

Britain's got talent star Ronan Parke hits back at bullies. And when

it comes to doing an annual stock take at Banham Zoo, some animals are

easier to count than others. A woman involved in a car crash in

Norfolk in which two children first tonight, reaction here in the

east to those fare rises. The average cost for rail travel across

England has gone up by around 3%. Here, it's far more. The song, the

increase is a whopping 5%. Who is taking the heat of that 5%

rise? Travellers between Colchester and Charles Wood. The cost of an

annual season ticket is now ?2012. If you are travelling between

Ipswich in London, an annual season ticket has now reached ?6,000 for

the first time. That's only a rise of 2.7%. Commuters from Norwich to

London are also hard hit. Season tickets are now almost seven and a

half thousand pounds. That's just over a 4% rise. We have looked at

the reaction to the increases. For many, this was the first day

back at work after Christmas, and images in Norwich were facing

another hike to the rail fares. The average rise on greater Anglia dust

over 3% for stop there are no pay rises. I haven't had a pay rise for

four years. It seems to me the benefits of privatisation have felt

a long time ago. Commuters on Sea to see trains have

the same increase. We just need to go to work, come home and sleep. We

don't have money for anything else. OK, it goes up gradually. But so

does everything else. The Chancellor said he would cap season fares and

train tickets, but train comedies prefer to quote the average rise as

much lower, because they include much discounted fares. In England,

tickets are going up by an average of 2.8%, and these are the average

rises here. Greater Anglia up 3.1%. East Midlands Trains up 2.6%. But on

the publicly owned is coast mainline, the rise is just 1.21%.

These fare increases may be the lowest in four years, but they still

outstrip the rise in wages. It's part of a government drive to make

rail passengers pay a higher proportion of the cost of running

the railways, in effect putting more burden on the people who actually do

use the trains. The main thing we're doing is making strenuous efforts to

improve performance, and were working closely with our colleagues

to recognise that over 60% of the delays that are incurred are

attributable to infrastructure. Today the Green party staged

protests at stations across the region. They say the rail fare rises

are a rip`off. You say renationalise the rumours? Bring them back into

public ownership then tries by franchise. An MP has a Bill in

Parliament that would do that. A return to the days of British rail

will not happen. Fares will continue to go up. All passengers can hope

for our small increases. And the latest figures show that

across the country, 26 pubs close every week. But there is some good

news. Last year, the number taken over by the community doubled. They

become a community business with each investor having one vote

regardless of how much money they put in. There are three of these

so`called corporative pubs in Norfolk and Essex, and five more are

in the pipeline. Let's go to Essex. The Norton in Cold Norton.

They still have the Christmas decorations up here. Not for long.

The Norton, surprisingly busy for 20 to seven on a Thursday. I think Sun

put the word out there would be on the pleased. This pub is only open

because the locals raised enough money first to rent it, and now they

have raised ?125,000 to try to buy it. More and more of these community

or collaborative pubs are peering across our region, and I went to

Bentley near Ipswich where they are trying to do something very similar.

In Bentley, all the villagers can do is stand outside the pub in the

rain. But they are soon hoping they will be back at the bar with a pint.

It's imperative that we get in there as soon as possible before it

deteriorates any further. We talk about the church, the community

halls, and really the pub is the other elements, along with the shop,

that forms the core of any village. This is really why we don't want to

lose this one. This picture was taken after a darts match way back

in 1947. The pub has been at the centre of village life for well over

a century. When it closed in March, villagers decided to club together

to try to buy it. They have raised nearly ?250,000. We have around 170

investors. The minimum investment has been ?250. I think the largest

investment we have had is around ?10,000. A lot of our regulars in

the pub have taken up refugee status in pubs in surrounding villages, so

people are very anxious to see it reopened. They have now raised

enough money to make an offer. They are with fingers crossed that it

will be accepted. I think some of the people here

might still be here after New Year's Eve. We're joined by the

chairman of the pub. How vital was to try to keep this pub open? This

pub had been closed for three years when we took the Novell, and during

that time, the Cold Norton became a dull place to live. It lost its

sense of community and you never made any new friends or met new

people. We can hear the scene tonight. There is a great

atmosphere. It is a pub with a great atmosphere. As I mentioned earlier,

it has become the heart of the village for most people. How easy

was it to raise the money? How many people contributed? Surprisingly

easy. Even in these economic times. People were fed up with the fact

that pubs were closing each week and they knew that for the investment

they could make a difference. It was surprisingly easy. We made ?125,000

and there are about 80 shareholders, of which 80% of those are

villagers. What would you say to other villagers who want to do the

same thing? Do you think of would go? Inc very hard about it. It is a

tough business to be in and it is about getting a lot of things right.

If you can do that, the boards are really good and it gives you a good

feeling. Thank you very much. So maybe this is one way to save a

great institution, the village pub. Thank you very much. Mike Perry is

from the Plunkett Foundation, an organisation which gives support and

advice to people looking to set up a community project. I started by

asking why it is the tech community pub is more likely to succeed than a

traditional business. We have a huge amount of ideas and enthusiasm from

a variety of people. They will encourage the person running the

pub, whether that is a member `` member of the community or tenant to

run it in a way that will make sure they are successful. It is things

like it is buying pubs and trying to keep the rent as low as possible to

give a tenant or manage at the best chance as possible of making it a

success. We have seen the statistics of communities that have taken over

their pubs, they are still open. As far as raising the finances are

concerned, how easy is it to get the kind of backing many? Is not easy,

but we have seen communities achieve it, and we're pleased to see people

commit to a fund that will support team unity run enterprises, which is

coming online around autumn next year. That will be a real help as

well. What does this do for the community as a whole? It does a

couple of things. Saving pub is a massive achievement. The fact that

you have saved a pub meet you have an asset and you can do wonderful

things with that. People talk about it being not moored then a pub, so

offering cafes facilities during the day and then a pub in the evening.

It gives communities a huge amount of confidence that they can face

whatever challenges they are facing and can do it themselves. It is a

transformative effect. We have seen community run pubs have communities

that go out and do a lot more than just saving the pub. Of course this

is a business, and businesses do fail. What happens if a pub doesn't

make it? I'm sure it will happen at some point. Unfortunately, we will

get one that does fail. When you look at communities running shops,

so parallel communities running pubs, 318 are still open today. That

is over a long period. That is about double the survival rate of any

other form of business. They really are successful and vital and also

should not be forgotten that they have succeeded when other pubs have

closed. Thank you very much. A woman involved in a car crash in

Norfolk in which two children died is to be sentenced later this month.

Marie Easter was driving on the A47 near Wisbech just over a year ago

when the crash happened. Her partner's two daughters, aged seven

and ten, were killed. She has since admitted causing death by careless

driving. The novelist Elizabeth Jane Howard

has died at her home in Suffolk. Her publicist said the writer died

peacefully this afternoon at her home in Bungay. She was 90 years old

and had suffered a short illness. She was best known for the Cazalet

Chronicles, the fifth volume of which was published last summer. A

man has been charged with a New Year attack that is loved a man

critically in hospital. He suffered head injuries when he was set upon

in Queen Street in Colchester in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Alexander Turner who is homeless, has been charged with grievous

bodily harm. It's almost a month since the tidal

surge. One of the worst hit areas was St John's Road in Lowestoft.

Some people lost almost everything when their homes were flooded by

water 3ft deep. Our reporter Kevin Burch was there at the time. Today

he went back to check on the clean`up.

It feels really strange coming back here today, because the last time I

was here after the flood, this whole area was covered with swine and

sludge. There is loads of activity as people were clearing out

possessions, things that had been damaged by the flood water. Today, a

lot of people have moved out temporarily and some have gone for

good. This man is still here though. This rented house is uninhabitable

ball. Got a knock it down? Yes. It is not just damp but noisy too, with

work underway to get out neighbouring properties. Pat is

struggling to find a temporary place you can afford, so she stayed here

for Christmas. How was that? Terrible Mac. We still have the

humidifiers. The house is smelling damp and very moist, so it is not

very pleasant. Down the road, Stephen's home was also swamped.

Eventually the water ended up they are, but I caught it about there. He

spent sister `` Christmas with his sister. How long until things are

back to normal? They are saying six to eight months, but I'm not sure

that it will be that short. I think it will be more like a year. Today,

finally, there were getting their power back on. It was one small step

forward. It has proved a frustratingly slow restoration

process. Still to come. The girls from last night's football. Ronan

Parke talks to us about beating bullies. And we are with the great

animal count at Banham Zoo. 1,500 jobs are be created this year

with the opening of a second Center Parcs site in the region. It's one

of a number of developments on the business scene in 2014. Our business

correspondent Richard Bond has been looking at the prospects for this

region. New Year cheer has been lacking on

this production line ever since the recession. Jobs have gone, a shift

has been cut. This year, the workers had reason to feel perky. This event

will be launched in the spring. This will guarantee production for the

next 12 years. It's been made here since 2001. It could have turned out

so differently for one of the region's last major factories. This

model nearly went to France, but after lengthy negotiations going

right to the top of government, a decision was made to keep production

here. Huge sums have been invested in the plans, including ?40 million

in this new body shop. It will assemble the vans using the latest

robotics, and if things go well, a second shift could be added. We

anticipate that in the midst of 2015, the volume will blow up and

out guys will get two shifts. That is our prediction provided the

market will grow as anticipated. It won't be all good news in the

manufacturing sector. This factory will close in the spring with a loss

of more than 200 jobs. It was founded in the town. It's jobs have

moved to Hertfordshire. The infrastructure is badly in need of a

boost. It will get one late in the year. Work on the last stretch of

single carriageway between two more areas is being completed. Another

significant event, this time for tourism, will be the opening of the

new Center Parcs in Bedfordshire. The ?250 million project is due to

welcome its first guests in the spring. Center Parcs will inject

approximately ?20 million into the regional economy. As well as that,

we're creating many jobs, and they are permanent. 1500 jobs all year

round. We're right on the doorstep of the south`east here. Millions of

potential customers to come and enjoy our facilities at Center

Parcs. With unemployment falling and growth picking up, it could be a

good time to open a holiday park, especially one close to the

south`east. And tomorrow, our sports editor

Jonathan Park will be looking ahead to a year in sport ` in particular

the for gymnastics at the Commonwealth Games.

Lots of you will remember Ronan Parke from Britain's Got Talent. He

was the bookies' favourite to win the competition in 2011 but finished

in second place. Since then, Ronan, who's from Norfolk, has released an

album and a string of singles. His latest record, Defined, is out on

Monday and will raise money for Kidscape, the anti`bullying charity.

This afternoon I spoke to Ronan Parke and Peter Bradley from

Kidscape about the message they were hoping to get across.

I was very close with the writers who were writing the song, and I

spoke to them closely saying about my experience with bullying, which

was online after Britain's got talent. It was just name`calling

mostly on social networking sites. I think Kidscape just connected with

the song, because it is talking about not just the effect of how

people will feel about bullying, but about how they can overcome it and

not let it define you. The video is hard`hitting. Very powerful. I

suppose that is really important to actually show the kind of effects

that bullying has. Even filming it, I stood there watching it being

filmed, and it's like giving you shivers because it was so realistic.

It's very bad cases of bullying, but that they can be like, and that's

what we wanted the video to really show people. The statistics on

bullying are still pretty shocking. So many young people affected. We

have heard about cyber bullying from Ronan, but is verbal bullying still

the worst`case? In the United Kingdom, verbal bullying is the most

common form of bullying. As you've seen, cyber bullying affects so many

young people, and of course it's 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and

is an relentless. The thing about cyber bullying is that you are

one`on`one, aren't you? You're looking at something. No one else

need be around you all see what's happening. With cyber bullying, it's

the fact that it can be so ruthless, and you can't see people's reactions

to it. That's why I think it is a very bad case of bullying. All

bullying is awful, but I think cyber bullying, because you consider

reactions or see how people will deliver quick. More people are

getting tablets and phones where they are going on social networking

sites. What would you say to anyone who is being bullied? It's important

that you are from if you are being bullied, you tell a trusted adult as

soon as possible. A parent, adult friend, a teacher. By telling

someone, it can be stopped, because as we know, once it goes viral and

around the world, news travels quickly. Speed is of the essence to

stop cyber bullying. Kidscape's research shows that quite a few

parents and teachers don't know how to deal with cyber bullying. What

you think is the answer? How can they be educated? What's important

is that young people and teachers and parents work together joined up

approach. The education of cyber bullying has to be within the

curriculum and teachers need to be more aware and pass that knowledge

on to young people. You have dealt well with what happened to you.

Obviously things are going well now? I've learnt not to look at it

and just take a step back, not read the comments. But people can be

awful, but people can also be really kind, so I think I'm lucky to be

able to have people who support me, and my fans are great to me and they

really help me as well. They are so supportive. They've been supportive

about the track and what me and Kidscape are doing. I'm grateful.

Good luck to both of you. Thank you very much.

In football, we start 2014 with a number of teams battling at the

wrong end of the table. But both Ipswich and Southend were unbeaten

over Christmas. Northampton are still searching for a new manager,

while Norwich are hoping to find form. Yesterday's draw with Crystal

Palace in the Premier League means they haven't won in five games.

As Christmases go, very little to celebrate for Norwich. No wins, few

points. 2014 now all about survival. Little to cheer at Selhurst Park, a

game low on quality but high on spirits, with two teams each braced

for a fight to the death. Bradley Johnson's goal a rare moment of real

class. Johnson! Good effort, and in!

Norwich City League! Soon, the mood turned sour. One

player lucky to escape with just a booking for this, and Palace were

level shortly after. Leroy Fer's foul, a booking and a penalty scored

by Jason Puncheon. The second half all but a write`off, notable only

for Fer's second yellow, meaning he will miss Saturday's FA Cup game

with Fulham. A glance at the table shows Norwich have little breathing

space. A 6`point cushion pre`Christmas has closed to just

three over the drop zone, but one win would ease the pressure.

three over the drop zone, but Ipswich begin the year in the

play`offs upbeaten in eight, the Championship's form team. The gift

of an own goal set them on their way, but Charleston denied them

three points in injury time. Darren Ferguson has been longing for

January, with the transfer window open. Expect arrivals and departures

to reignite Peterborough's promotion push. Jack Payne's goal gave Posh

hope against Brentford making it 1`1, but the leaders once again

pulled away. It finished 3`1. The fact

Colchester's goalkeeper was man of the match at MK Dons tells its own

story. Sam Walker made a string of saves in a goalless draw. The Ewes

rode their luck. The dominant Dons couldn't find a way through. Then a

bleak picture. The Gillingham game off. Borough at bottom. The

chairman's backed Graham Westley to turn it around, but with the manager

under pressure to reduce the wage bill, there is little money to play

with. A productive Christmas for Southend. Seven points from three

games. Ryan Leonard scored late in each half to beat Portsmouth.

Northampton start the year bottom of the football league and without a

manager. We understand interviews have taken place with a small number

of applicants. Iain Dowie is the favourite. Tom Williams, BBC Look

East. There will be lots of companies

doing their stock`taking over the next few weeks. It's not much fun,

and can take time. But of course it gets a bit more interesting at a

zoo. It's not always easy, because the zoo population changes over the

course of the year, and occasionally some animals just don't want to be

counted. But we sent Mike Liggins to Banham Zoo in Norfolk to see if he

could be of any help. One two, three, four... They should

have been ten, but I can only see nine. We did have some help from

this little chap, who is keen to check out the paperwork. A stock

take happens because suits need to know what they have. We contacted

the breeding coordinators and do an update of what we've got and what

sexes. Perhaps the most important number in the ban inventory is too.

Two Siberian tiger cubs. They have been a huge draw over the summer.

They are critically endangered species, so they are important in

this breeding programme. There are thought to be less than 400 left in

the wild. There are 120 species at Banham Zoo, and over 2000 animals in

total. That number is hard to calculate because there are 1568

cockroaches. And very friendly they are too. But not as friendly as the

lemurs. Eight Ring tailed and five red ruffs. They are very different

in character. The Red Cross, sweet as they are, they are more

temperamental. The ringtail is a very laid`back, but might `` like

most lemurs, they like food. You know that old showbiz saying about

never working with animals and children? It's true. Meerkats can

get into funny places. But one and my leg, sorry. And so can lemurs.

When it comes to doing the annual stock... Oh, God! This one had left

onto the camera. Perhaps he wanted to make sure he had been counted.

Weren't expecting that. That's brilliant. The weather.

An area of low pressure is bringing wet and windy traditions to the

south`east of the King country. It is bringing problems overnight.

Here, we get off quite lightly. There will be some rain later, but

the big feat of these low for us will be the strength of the wind as

it makes its way to the North Sea. Currently dry across the region. We

will see increasing amounts of cloud moving from the West. This fairly

narrow band of rain will battle through quickly tonight into the

early hours of tomorrow morning. We will see some clear spells behind.

Perhaps one or two showers. In terms of temperatures, they do stay mild,

five to seven Celsius. It will be windy by the end of the night. Gusts

around 45 knots per hour. We start tomorrow still quite windy. There

will be some sunshine around first thing, and some blustery showers as

well, particularly through the morning and into the early

afternoon. Tending to die away through the late afternoon, but some

sunshine out there. Certainly windy. Though speeds will pick up into the

mid`afternoon, so these are the of average speeds we can see around

2:00pm. Temperatures staying mild. 89 Celsius. The wind will make it

feel chilly. Once more, we have the chance of some 40 mile an hour gusts

through the afternoon and early part of the evening. Some showers still

around the afternoon and evening, but they will tend to fade around

with some clear spells developing later. The forecast will stay very

unsettled, so the pressure pattern for Sunday really flags up that

point. You can see the steep area of low pressure out into the Atlantic

are pushing through some strong winds across the region. Having said

that, Saturday does not look quite as windy. In fact, it may well start

wet with outbreaks of rain through morning. By afternoon, it is looking

more dry and brighter. Clearing skies for Saturday night. That will

mean there is a risk of Frost as temperatures get close to freezing.

In Sunday, will start dry and bright. Quickly turning cloudy, and

is outbreaks of rain. This area of low pressure will bring some heavy

rain for the evening on Sunday and into the overnight period. By Monday

morning, still some showers around and still unsettled. A quick

barometer check. 998 millibars. Thank you very much. That's all from

us. Have a very good evening.