16/01/2014 Look East - East

Hello and welcome to Look East. In the programme tonight: The

controversial "spy cars" netting hundreds of thousands of pounds for

our councils in Essex. Traffic wardens of capable of doing

exactly the same job, and talking common sense to somebody.

Chemotherapy treatment comes to Cromer to ease the pressure on

bigger specialist hospitals. Why rising fuel costs are having a

significant impact on our countryside. And we celebrate the

life of Norfolk actor Roger Lloyd`Pack.

First tonight, ?600,000 in two years. The council making a lot of

money from camera cars. Critics call them CCTV spy cars. They look like

this, and are used by four councils in Essex to fine people for parking

illegally. They're not used in Norfolk or Suffolk. Southend has two

camera cars. They were introduced in 2011, and within a year, had brought

in more than ?180,000 for the council. But the following year, the

number of fines went up dramatically, and the council raised

almost ?500,000 from them. Gareth George has this report.

Another early`morning mission for the vehicle critics call the spy

car. At a nearby school, some parents flout parking restrictions

and drop their children off on the zigzag markings outside. But this

morning, the camera will catch them. It hasn't seemed to split

parents opinion. They are visible. It is obvious that as a parent, our

children have been here for several years, and I know they are around at

this time of the day. I think it's a good point to make sure that you

stick to the rules. There are certain parents they keep dropping

the kids off on the double lines. It's the kids' safety. I think it is

money making. I don't dig it makes the parking safer, and I don't think

it makes it over the residents in the area, because just moves the

traffic. It was long until the car's cameras caught someone where

they shouldn't have been all stop in all, seven drivers were caught, but

councils use of camera cars is being questioned. The community secretary

wants to ban them. These cameras are unacceptable and the use of closed

circuit television is also not acceptable. Back in Southend, this

man says many of his customers got tickets for parking outside and it

began to affect his business. Lid`mac word got around ` don't go

there. It became extremely quiet. It hurt and it is still hurting now.

Graham was one of the customers who got a ticket. He helped collect two

and a half thousand signatures against the use of camera cars.

You'll imagine they are unnecessary. There is no human aspect involved

with this. Traffic wardens are quite capable of doing the exact same

job, and actually talking common sense to somebody.

We asked Southend council for a need to view. It declined, but the

company that operates the cameras says it is wrong to call them spy

cameras because they are visible, and it works as a deterrent.

We've already had a big response to this story on Facebook and Twitter.

Andy Dann says: Thank you for getting in touch.

A small hospital in Norfolk is offering cancer patients

chemotherapy for the first time. It means patients can get the treatment

at Cromer hospital, rather than making a long and often tiring

journey. The Chief Executive says it will also ease the pressure on

bigger specialist hospitals. Every Thursday morning, Sophie's

friend Michael brings her in for chemotherapy. What used to be an

hour's drive to Norwich is now just a matter of minutes to the local

hospital in Cromer. Recently diagnosed with abdominal cancer,

Sophie needs 30 weeks of treatment. The drugs can be administered by

specially`trained nurses much closer to home. It's a lot easier. For one

thing, it is less tiring because I don't have to do the long trip in. I

haven't been able to walk very far, so it is very nice to know that it's

a short distance with a taxi or whoever takes you. Until recently,

cancer patients had to go to large specialist hospitals, like the

Norfolk and Norwich, for treatment. But now advances in medical

technology means treatment such as simple chemotherapy can be carried

out at smaller satellite hospitals like this one in Cromer. If it's

something safe and available in the local community and can be delivered

at the same high standard of care as in a major treatment centre, then

let's provide it to patients. Cromer hope to treat ten people a week, but

chemotherapy has physical and psychological side`effects, so it is

not suitable for all kinds of patients. You have to look closely

at the clinical risk. We understand the risks of chemotherapy. We have

chosen low`risk chemotherapy agents, and we choose our patients carefully

to make sure that the clinical risk is minimised. For Sophie, months of

chemo is gruelling, but it is a small comfort that the nurses and

the care they give her are closer to home.

Jurors in the Jay Whiston murder trial have been visiting the spot

today where he was stabbed to death. The 17`year` old student from

Clacton died after he was attacked outside a house in Colchester.

18`year`old Edward Redman from Stanway denies murder. The trial is

expected to last up to ten weeks. A driver in Essex was forced to turn

detective to get the council to pay out for damage to his car caused by

a pothole. Frank Cattrall was originally told the County Council

wouldn't pay out, so he took them to court and won. Nikki Fox has the

story. This is the pothole that Frank

runover in April last year. He had been shopping and it was wet, so the

whole was not visible. It left him with a ?500 repair bill to his car,

and a wrecked suspension. Because it was dark and not well lit, full of

water, you really cannot tell what is a pothole and what isn't.

Sometimes you can take evasive action, but in this case, I

couldn't. Frank captured this footage of the council filling in

the pothole, but they refused to accept X point `` responsible to. He

used a Freedom of Information Act request to find out they knew about

the whole. It had been reported by one of his own workers before the

incident. He took them to court and won. I'm a man of principle, and I

do feel there are people out there that will take liberties. Essex

County Council said it felt it had a valid defence for the claim, but it

says it accepts the core's decision and will now take flag over ?500 in

compensation. It is encouraging anyone who sees a pothole to report

them on the council's website. It is not the only time Essex County

Council transport team has been held to account. Last week, it was forced

to wave ?1 million worth of bus lane fines after it agreed its signs were

unclear. Frank hopes others will follow his example. I felt I was

right. I knew there were wrong. At the end of the day, I wanted what

was right for myself, and any other person who might go through the same

thing. Potholes have become more common on the roads, but as this

case proves, you can get the compensation you are entitled to.

A landowner who spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on restoration

work at one of the smallest Norfolk Broads has won a battle to stop all

the improvements being removed. David Pooley spent three years

dredging and clearing Sotshole Broad near Norwich. But he didn't have

planning permission from the Broads Authority.

For David Pooley, restoring Sotshole Broad had been a labour of love, a

bleak and expensive retirement project. He has restored it to a

pristine waterway, but started the work without any official planning

permission, and that was the problem. Now it has been granted

retrospectively by the Boards Authority. It was a huge weight off

my shoulders. We put heart and soul into it. This whole area, there was

virtually no Broad left. It was the Broads Authority that said it needed

digging out. We were down here for the best part of three years working

on this, and it was a pleasure. We thought we were doing good. Then we

found we were doing bad. Sotshole Broad had been neglected and left to

silt up. Where there was water, there were trees. In 2005, David

Pooley bought the land. In 2008, he met with the Broads Authority. They

told him Sotshole Broad was effectively dead.

In 2009, he was told there would be no funding available for

restoration, so in 2010, he started the work at his own expense. But the

Broads Authority didn't mind much of it, especially the wooden quay. Late

last year, the authority told him to remove it or face legal action. Now

this won't happen. The Broads Authority said, "It is

very regrettable that Mr Pooley did not apply for planning permission in

the first place. This would have saved all parties a lot of time and

effort. The work to put things right should take just a couple of weeks,

and David Pooley's retirement project will finally be finished.

The manager of Norwich City has brushed aside questions about his

future in the face of the club's poor run of form. Norwich went out

of the FA Cup this week after going down 3`nil to Fulham. They've now

gone eight games without a win. He insists he is focusing on Saturday's

game against Hull City. When you are having difficult times,

then you have to be sturdy through that, and you have to make sure that

you are as composed as when things are going well. That is the only

thing that will get you through ` moreso about what we show on the

football pitch, and our intention is to make sure that we show enough on

the football pitch that we start getting the points. Still to come,

how our countryside is being changed as a result of rising fuel prices.

And celebrating the life of Roger Lloyd`Pack. We talked with the

director who worked with him. Last year, we revealed how Milton

Keynes Council had the country's worst record outside London for

placing homeless families in Bed Breakfasts and keeping them there

too long. Now it's announced plans to spend ?4 million buying homes to

rent out instead. It's not just buying ` it's also building. For the

first time in 15 years, new council homes are being built to deal with

the housing shortage. In a moment, we'll hear from our political

correspondent Andrew Sinclair, but first this from Jessica Cooper.

Home sweet home for Trooper and 20 other people. Every night, this

hostel is full. It is hard work. If you have no friends or family, you

were on the street. At this time of the year, it is hard for anybody to

be on the street. The council is planning to buy homes on the open

market to help people most in need. I think something should have been

done a long time ago. I don't think the council relies the amount of

people that are homeless. They should do more. Won it would take a

lot of homeless people off the streets. There are many under

underpasses asking for money and food. Milton Keynes has had an

ongoing problem with a shortage of places for people to leave. Last

month, there were 53 people living in bed and breakfasts. Now the

council wants to spend ?4 million buying 40 properties to rent to the

homeless. Della mac is a radical step for us at a pragmatic step. It

makes a lot of sense, because it allows us to make a difference

quickly within six months to our bed and breakfast numbers.

But some question whether 40 homes will make any difference in the long

run. I think it will solve the emergency situation. The Milton

Keynes Council finds it in in the meantime, back and give it another

two or three years, and those homes will be occupied and I would imagine

at least that number will be needed again. This is the typical property

the council will want to acquire. It sounds like quite a lot if you are

not used a boy `` buying 40 properties in one go, but with the

population and grace of Milton Keynes, it is not a huge amount. To

acquire 40 properties is not a tall ask. If the plans are approved,

buying could start by the end of next month. Next week, for the first

time in over 15 years, the council will start building new council

houses. Our political correspondent is he up. This is not unique to

Milton Keynes Council is to elect councils were not allowed to build

any new homes. Add to that the rising cost of the private property

sector, and housing lists have rocketed by 70% of the last decade.

Milton Keynes had a particular problem. They spent more than ?1

million last year on hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation. The

government said we will help you if you come up with a radical

solution. Here it is. I have to say that Labour are sceptical. They say

this is a desperate measure to avert a disaster. They say the council may

end up buying some of the homes it once old `` owned but sod off.

Could it be copied by other authorities? Other authorities are

watching. People I spoke to suspect other authorities may follow suit.

The number of people on council waiting lists have started to come

down in recent years, but that is as a lot of people waiting for

permanent homes. 13,000 homes in Norfolk and Suffolk, 20,000 in

Norfolk. That is partly because the government is starting to allow

councils to build again. But it takes time to buy the land, corrupt

the plans and build the houses. Being able to buy a ready`made home

and put someone in it straightaway is a very risky and expensive way of

doing it, but given the way the market is going, they might be a bit

of profit when they come to sell the homes. Is the bottom line that the

bottom line that there aren't enough affordable homes? Yes. Many people

believe that housing will be the next election, not the economy. That

is why the government is changing the planning laws to make it easier

to build. That is why Labour say we will seize land of developers if

they don't do quickly enough. The parties have woken up to how big a

problem this is. Thank you. Rising fuel costs are having a

significant impact on our countryside because there's a

growing demand for wood to burn. 7% of the east of England is covered by

woodland, but up until now, only half of it has been managed to

produce timber or firewood. But as the cost of power keeps going up,

more and more of us are heating our homes with open fires or log

burners. That means there is money in it for landowners, who are now

actively managing their woodland. This report from our business

correspondent, Richard Bond. Any would? Learning how to copy it

in a Suffolk wood. These college students are cutting diesel for

firewood. These studs can go back for future harvest. These are skills

back in demand. This really regenerate quickly, so it will grow

in a number of years so you can use it again, is that would you cut

down. It will keep on growing and growing. Likes to writing energy

prices, the firewood market is booming. There is an increasing

number of people with wood`burning stoves. People are concerned about

rising cost of electricity and gas. A lot of people are looking outward

as another means of heating their homes. Whether by `` via different

kinds of burners. We need several new entrants to replace the people

that are coming towards retirement age. Over the last ten years,

average gas bills have risen by 189%. Average electricity bills are

now 136%. The cost of firewood has risen too, but not by as much as. It

has risen by about 50 or 75%. Most of that is within the last few

years. More than 7% of the East is covered with wood land, but only

half of it is properly managed like this. That means 200,000 tonnes of

timber is unused every year. But rising prices are encouraging

landowners to bring neglected words account management. He has invested

in this firewood processor. It is in his estate that the students are

working in. The value of firewood was very well and was not an

economically viable. However, in the last few years, prices have

increased significantly, which makes it more viable to provide that

service to customers. This is not just good business, it is also great

for wildlife. I'm sure most have you have already

heard the actor Roger Lloyd`Pack has died. He was 69, and had pancreatic

cancer. The actor, who lived in Norfolk, was probably best known for

his role as Trigger in Only Fools Horses, and later as the farmer Owen

Newitt in the Vicar of Dibley. His more recent appearances included a

lead role in the film In Love With Alma Cogan, which was filmed in

Cromer. Tony Britten is the film's director, and he's here now. What

was it like as a man? He wasn't trigger in real life. Della mac

know. He was gentle. Sometimes grumpy. Endearing. In some ways, a

private person, but had an enormous breadth of achievement. He was mad

about poetry. His wife was a well`known poet, and I first saw him

doing a poetry evening at a theatre, and he did well.

Was he aware that he was central to some of the great comedy moments in

British television? He can't have been aware. Did he resented? I

think, sometimes. Hello, Trigger.. His name is red. I think for any

actor, I think it is a double`edged sword. I have no doubt that the

doors Trigger. Open for human were very useful. People may not realise

how diverse and after he was, because when he was doing a film

with you, it was doing to get a Lasorda spy. He did a lot of stage

work as well. It was funny, because I wrote the film for human, which is

a nice thing to do, actually writing it film for an actor. He worked on

with me. I figured became quite truthful. He said, if you can raise

the money, I mean. We've raised the money and we shot it in 2010 in the

worst winter in memory. He had been looking forward to jot down the

coast from his home. Instead of which, he was clawing his way

through the snow. When he wasn't working, he had to go down to

London. The interesting thing was he was not an awful man, but he loved

it. You moved here in 1970. He was in a film shot around Milton came.

They put him up in this little college miles from anywhere. It was

about ?2 a week. He loved it and stayed on and kept renting. He had

been there ever since. He is a real Norfolk man. Never happier, I

suspect. He liked stomping around the wood lands around the college

and being on his own. The tributes have been pouring in. What do you

think he would have made of all this fuss? I think it would have been a

wry smile. I think he would have been chuffed, but he would have

wondered what the fuss was about, because he was a proper actor. Thank

you so much for coming in. Most of you won't know the name

Arthur Wharton, but he was the world's first black professional

footballer. He died more than 80 years ago, but there is a growing

campaign to get a statue in his honour. In its rich, his supporters

gathered to hear good news. He is the pioneer and trailblazer.

He is an icon and simple. The sun of a minister, are the key to go before

Preston and a host of other clubs in the 1980s and 90s. He was a

first`class cricketer and sprinter, but his story is hardly known. How

big is the statue? It is 16 feet tall. It is beautiful. In Ipswich,

some modern sporting heroes came to remember the world's black

professional player, and heard how five years of campaigning has

finally paid off. It is going to Saint Georges Park. Other's story is

fluent, so the statue had to be fluent. Whichever way you walk

around it, you have to imagine where the shot came from. Hosting the

event was Ipswich's four`time Olympic bobsled. As a young soldier,

he was the only black man in his regiment. He understands the

isolation. It must've been incredible. At least they did know

about some black people. I have a whole empathy with that. Sadly, the

story had no happy ending. Shunned by his religious family for

adultery, he lost his celebrity status and ended his days down the

mines. He died an alcoholic in 1930 and was buried in an unmarked

grave. FIFA, the UEFA have helped pay for the statue. The boy who

conquered racial prejudice to become a sporting hero is honoured at last.

Time now for the weather. Low pressure continues to be the theme

of our weather. There has been a large area of low pressure that has

been moving into the British Isles. There have been shown was rotating

around it. Even though we started dry and some of the summer

sunshine, over the last few hours, the shells have moved eastwards.

Some have been on the heavy side. We'll continue to see showers

through this evening and overnight. Still one or two could be heavily.

It will be a gusty wind associated with the showers. Lots of cloud

around. We're not expecting to be justifiable particularly well

tonight. We can expect loads of around five or six degrees. It is

mild for this time of year. Tomorrow, it will be showers to

start, especially in the morning. They are widespread, but in the

afternoon, they will go away and we will see something more dry. Perhaps

more bright, but on the whole, it will stay fairly cloudy.

Temperatures similar to today, eight or nine degrees, but a more

noticeable breeze. It might feel a bit more chilly. By the afternoon

into the evening, much of the showers look as though they will die

away. Looking ahead to the weekend, we're not far, so what will it have

in store? A bit more of the low pressure. That means unsettled, but

the detail will be difficult to pin down. Expect lots of cloud, rain at

times, but perhaps an East and West divide between Saturday and Sunday.

Both are today, it looks as though the West will see the best chance of

seeing some rain, if you call to best chance. But is looking dry.

Windy for Saturday. Winds are more for Sunday. There will be an Eastern

front bringing outbreaks of rain at times. Temperatures will stay steady

at around about where they are now by day and night. By the time we get

to Monday, we have slightly lighter winds. Clearer skies, cooler

temperatures. By Monday, we could be looking at ground frost in places.

It is staying unsettled. Temperatures are above average for

this time of year. We will see a lot of cloud, but by Monday, hopefully

something brighter starting to break through. If you have a barometer,

you might want to do a check on your barometer. We have a reading

tonight. It is 989 millibars, and that is 29.21 inches. Back to you.

Thank you very much. That's all for now.