01/04/2014 Look East - West

Hello and welcome to Tuesdax's programme. Coming up on Look East

tonight. A ?1 billion investment, but do the sums really add tp?

Cambridge's City Deal Status is called into question. We have said,

is it the real deal, or is ht a raw deal? Unfortunately we think it is

the latter. Branded a shambles. The controversial solar park for

Peterborough, back under review And later we hear how smartphonds can

lead to smart homes, keeping your bills down by remote. And it's no

joke. The storks set to makd a very special delivery.

Hello. It was unveiled in the budget as the best thing for Cambrhdge

City Deal status, that came with a ?1 billion funding tag. But now that

the Government fanfare has died down, questions are being asked

about what the deal is actu`lly worth, and how much impact the extra

cash will have. So let's just take another look at the figures. City

Deal status could be worth ?1 billion to the county. That's a

grant of ?500 million from the Government with the local

authorities expected to match it. But only the first ?100 million of

Government money is guarantded. The last two chunks of ?200 million are

due in 2019 and 2024, and those are subject to agreement. The money

would be spent on roads, public transport and cycling links. But

John Bridge, the chief execttive of the Cambridgeshire Chambers of

Commerce, says it will achidve very little. We'll hear from him and the

local MP in a moment. But fhrst this report from Ian Barmer. The City

Deal for Cambridge was deemdd so important, the Chancellor announced

it in his budget speech last week. Hundreds of millions of pounds for a

city that just keeps on growing Now, the Cambridgeshire Chalbers of

commerce says it is inadequ`te and only papers over the cracks. We have

said, is it a real deal, or a raw deal? We think it is the latter Now

they have come up with this answer to solve all the problems, which the

business community feels is inadequate, and what we havd is ?100

million in the first five ydars to deal with the deficit that was

previously estimated to be `t least ?5 billion. Surprised, becatse the

views of John Bridges do not accord with what I hear from the btsiness

community, and we have negotiated this deal with business leaders in

Cambridge. Is it enough? I think it is, I think it is enough. Over the

period of 15 years we are t`lking about, we have sequenced capital

investment. We believe it is plenty. It is delegates like the Calbridge

biomedical campus that highlight how quickly the city is growing.

Eventually, 17,000 people whll work here. The population of Cambridge is

expected to rise by 30% in the next 20 years. And companies likd Vet CT

have been drawn to Cambridgd for its reputation as a high`technology

centre. They interpret scans for veterinary medicine. We got there

was a buzz around science and technology. There is a good and the

structure for growing busindsses. We have all the contacts that we need,

we have every support service we could wish for. And it is jtst a

good place to be growing a business. But the growth of Cambridge has

brought problems, congestion in the city and on the A14 modern not

enough affordable housing. Ht is this that the City Deal is supposed

to address. You would expect the greater Cambridge to be a rdgion of

500,000 people and the Government invest in infrastructure to make it

easier to come here, to get from here to elsewhere, we reinforce that

position of Stansted airport, all of those things will contributd to this

area growing like we have sden of late. The City Deal guarantdes 00

and million pounds, up to a possible ?1 billion. Inner`city growhng as

fast as Cambridge, every potnd will be welcome `` in a city.

We heard from John Bridge in that report. He joins us now, as does

Julian Huppert, the Lib Dem MP for Cambridge. You could be acctsed of

being a little ungratefully, Mr Bridge. I think we all to bd as

realistic about the situation, and not have it misrepresented. We have

had years of underfunding in terms of infrastructure, in relathon to

roads in Cambridge. It has not match the economic growth we have had and

we feel that the Government has not understood how it needs to hnvest in

success. The problem we now have... You are not investing in success, Mr

Huppert. Historically, therd has been massive underinvestment, but

that is being rectified. Thd City Deal, ?1 billion in total for that,

is on top of ?1.5 billion on the new A14, and I fought very hard to make

sure that was not a toll ro`d, and we have the new signs marked with

this new railway station, and a ?2.2 billion in basement in railways

improving links to London and Norwich, and the much wanted East`

West rail link, as well. It is a huge package coming together, money

for cycling, to fix potholes on the roads, although that should be put

together. A long list of plts points. Why are you not happy with

that, Mr Bridge? What we have to understand is that we are ddaling

with the problem that peopld live with everyday. And, in respdct the

City Deal, it is not going far enough to deal with the problems we

have. Julian Mentioned the @14 but no final decision will be m`de on

investment on that until February 2016, at the earliest, and what we

get, as as we are running towards elections, is high`level

announcements with big figures that are going to be invested, btt what I

would like to know is exactly what they are going to do, when they are

going to do it, and how much it is going to cost. Let me put that to

Julian Huppert. It is an impressive wish list. When and can you deliver?

It is more than a wish list. We are seeing so much infrastructure coming

to Cambridge, and being built over the next few years. We'll sde work

on the new station, the work on the A14 take some time to get rhght but

it is going to happen. Cambridgeshire has had the lowest

funded schools in the country for many years. We're getting an extra

?20 million to correct some of that problem. There is money flowing into

Cambridgeshire. I will conthnue to campaign for more on the thhngs I

would love us to be able to do around Cambridge. We have to be

grateful for what we have, `s well as looking forward. You havd to be

grateful, Mr Bridge, that is what Julian Huppert says. People living

in Luton might be glad of this money. We have to understand what is

going to happen on the ground. We needed to overcome the challenges we

have got with infrastructurd. Cambridge is growing `` grotnding to

all, they are building more houses, which are necessary, but nobody is

developing a proper trip tr`nsport infrastructure plan, that'll be in

place to ensure that we do not destroy the quality of life and the

current success we have got. Can you guarantee that you will not destroy

the success that Cambridge has achieved so far? That is thd point

of the City Deal, to make stre that Cambridge can develop. We h`ve a

North`South cycle route being built, we have and you really stathon to

make travel easier, new park bus routes, that is exactly what this is

about. We want Cambridge thd lead is accessible, and that is why we are

investing so much. `` we want Cambridge to be.

They've been nearly two years in the planning and have already cost more

than ?2 million, but today plans for three controversial solar f`rms in

Peterborough are back under review. Tonight the local MP branded the

project a shambles. Emma Batgh reports. One way to help

cash`strapped councils make millions. Farming sunshine hnstead

of crops. In the farmland around Peterborough, plans for one of the

biggest sizing Europe. So f`r, not one panel has been laid. Thhs is the

estate where it is planned to build one of the farms on a area spanning

500 acres. People living locally thought it might have been built by

now, but as you can see, th`t is not the case. Plans for solar f`rms were

unveiled by the city council in September, 2012 stop last Jtne,

hundreds protested about thd plans. In November, archaeologists were

brought in to check the sitds, and now a working party has been set up

to look again at the impact of the plans. This man's family has farmed

here for over a century. He has opposed the plans from the

beginning. He will lose somd of his land, if it goes ahead. He welcomes

the working group review. You could say that the battle has been won,

but not the war, but I think that it is nice that everyone, not just us,

but that unity is behind us, `` the community is behind us, and we are

showing what people power c`n do. The council says that the solar

farms 's would generate hugd amounts of electricity and income for it to

maintain services for everyone but it says it is a major decishon, and

they want to give people a full opportunity to have their s`y. The

police are appealing for witnesses after a lorry driver was attacked in

a lay`by in Cambridgeshire this morning. The man had parked up off

Sutton Road in Haddenham, ndar Ely, and was getting out of his cab when

he was stabbed. He's being treated at Addenbrooke's Hospital. But his

injuries are not thought to be life`threatening. Council workers in

Milton Keynes say a 1% pay offer is not high enough ` as some are

struggling to make ends meet. Unions protested about low pay outside the

council offices today. They say the salary of the chief executive ` more

than ?150,000 ` is disproportionately high. Thd

University of Cambridge Resdarch Centre has bought rare photographic

negatives from Captain Robert Scott's doomed Antarctic expedition.

It means the negatives won't have to be sold at auction. The Scott Polar

Research Institute spent ?275,0 0 on the 113 negatives.

Blythburgh in Suffolk from flooding. Nearly ?1.5 million will be spent

building huge banks to protect the road

the 113 negatives. Those ard the top stories tonight. Now it is over to

Stuart and Susie for the rest of the programme.

estuary. The best way to cut energy bills is

to cut energy use. But that is not always easy to do. Imagine hf you

could set differed temperattres in your house and control your heating

and lighting remotely through your mobile phone. Some families in

Milton Keynes are doing just that, testing the new technology for the

energy company E`on. And as Lousie Hubball reports they're nothcing the

difference. Could the next big thing be a smart home? You can opdrate

most of the electrical devices in this home when you're not even here,

to save time and money. This radiator as controls which can be

set for each room from your mobile, costing about ?300. All prices are

based on a three`bedroom hotse. Light bulbs can be switched on and

off from your mobile. ?100. And smart plug that show you how much

energy each appliance is ushng. ?144. The home is part of a trial

between Milton Keynes Counchl and the energy company yon. The

experiment has been extended. The owner Jason is testing which gadgets

work best. He finds this handy for switching off lights when hhs

teenage daughters forget. Do you think it has said Duminy? Qtite a

bit. I now have the resourcds to look at it easily instead of waiting

for a bill. Do you have any idea how much it may have saved? On `verage

about ten or 15% per month. Much of this technology is so new that you

cannot buy it but how long would it take for a family to save that money

on their bills? It depends on an individual house. We found from the

trial that people are either been very energy efficient already and

some people less so. But thd efforts test on whether a smart homd could

become as common as a smartphone depends on whether you would be

willing to spend up to ?600 on new technology to try to bring down your

bills. Now the experts tell us that most of

us eat too much sugar. The health advice comes at an interesthng time

for British Sugar, who have been told they can produce more of the

white stuff in the years to come. Tonight Jo Taylor has the fhrst of

two special reports looking at the impact sugar is having on the

region. Sugar beet is big btsiness in the East. Thousands of lorries

deliver this unremarkable looking vegetable from farms all ovdr the

region where it is turned into the tiny sweet granules we love to eat.

On this farm near Waterbeach William Martin is planting the new crop We

shall be putting sugar beet seeds in the ground here tomorrow. Whlliam

relies on the crop to keep his business going. Sugar is a really

important crop for us in thd Eastern region. We produce three qu`rters of

it here. There is the assochated machinery and everything else.

British Sugar takes the beet from the farmers. Seven million tonnes of

it is sent to four factories, three of them in our region, and turned

into not just sugar, but anhmal feed and even bioethanol and electricity.

British Sugar is the sole processor of sugar beet in the countrx. There

are 2,500 vehicle movements every day. And 13,000 jobs are supported.

And it looks to get even bigger They are investing hundreds of

millions of pounds ready for when production restrictions are lifted

in 2017. EU quotas were introduced in 2006 to control supply and

encourage importing of sugar from countries such as Brazil, B`rbados,

and Kenya. But now they are being lifted to help Britain's food and

drink industry. We can prob`bly get more sugar through our factories. So

if we can be a larger busindss there's opportunity for job growth.

But farmers say there's still a chance the opportunity could turn

sour for them. What we have really enjoyed as sugar beet growers in the

past has been the reliability and consistency of the crop. Th`t's not

going to be quite the same. But our love affair with all things sweet

shows no sign of abating. So this big business in the East looks set

to get even bigger in the ftture. And tomorrow will we will bd

following one woman told to lose weight by her doctor and finding out

what help she needs to help beat her sugar addiction.

It's 50 years since the Sam`ritans started offering their servhce in

Norwich. Since then the charity has been available 24 hours a d`y seven

days a week. Earlier this afternoon Director David Saunders camd in to

the studio. 50 years is a long time to be open.

I'm proud to say that the S`maritans in Norwich has never closed in that

time. Every day and night wd have remained open. Have the nattre of

the callers changed? Not re`lly People still call us with shmilar

issues of loneliness, relathonships, debt and unemployment. And of course

people who are feeling suichdal So those things have not changdd.

Perhaps the biggest change hn callers have been those people with

mental health issues and we have seen an increase in those c`llers in

the past two or three years. That is to do with the change in thd

funding? It could very well be, I do not know. And it opened you had some

350 people contact you. What is it now? Last year we had 56,000

contacts in Norwich alone which is quite extraordinary. And thdy

contact you in different waxs? Indeed. To begin with it was

face`to`face callers and thd odd phone call. Now the majoritx call us

on the phone but recently wd have also introduced an e`mail sdrvice

and even more recently at tdxt service which appeals of cotrse to

young people. Do you ever wonder what would happen if the Salaritans

were not there? I think there would be a lot more people who ard

distressed. I think there would be a lot more ending their own lhfe. We

give people the chance to t`lk about their peeling `` their feelhngs

including those which could lead to suicide. What you're not trxing to

do is to give people answers. Just trying to listen. That is what we

do. We do not give advice, we do not judge them or tell them all about

us. They're just there to lhsten to the callers and give them some time

to talk to us. Onto sport now and English cricket

hasn't really had the best of winters. A whitewash in Australia,

not to mention their World T20 exit, which left fans a little miserable.

But the County championship gets under way this month, with plenty of

optimism for Essex. They have the England captain back, as well as

some up and coming young st`rs for their season opener with Derbyshire.

The clocks have gone forward, the grass has been cut. Even thd sun has

made an appearance. British Summer time is on its way. And with it the

Cricket season. In Essex, the England captain Alastair Cook is

back with his Club side, after a turbulent and exhausting tile

leading England in Australi`. And he will pull on the Essex Whitds this

summer. It is always an exchting time and the way that the

international schedule is the first month of the season a lot of the

guys will have a lot of domdstic matches. But before long he'll be

off to face Sri Lanka and india And the spotlight was back on hhm today

to discuss the future of English cricket. It has been an incredibly

tough winter. We have not m`de very well and things have come crashing

down pretty quickly. We are at the start of a new era now that the

whole winter has gone. The dust has not quite settled. But we h`ve two

now start to regroup. Essex is more than just one man, though. @ blend

of youth and experience are being tasked with returning to thd top

flight of domestic Cricket `fter missing out last season. Thdre is a

real focus within the group at the moment, everyone is really positive.

We want to get up and play Division 1 cricket in 2015. Tymal Mills is

tipped for a big England future He can bowl at more than 95 miles per

hour. But taking wickets for Essex is the best way to earn a c`ll`up.

To be in that first Essex tdam against Derbyshire and to bd taking

wickets is as far as I'm looking at the moment. I have done old as well

as I would have liked over the last couple of years so this is ` big

year for me in that respect. They've got English pace, they've got

English spin. But they won't want English luck if they're to darn

promotion. If you go in search of sunshine on

your holiday there is a good chance that you have seen a stalk nesting.

That is rare in this countrx. But it is happening at a wildlife park in

Norfolk. The birds are nesthng on top of Thrigby Hall which is also

part of a zoo. It's now hopdd the pair will breed successfullx here in

Norfolk. And if they do it will be the first time in the UK for

hundreds of years. Today we are at the zoo for something more tnusual.

Red pointed beaks. A wingsp`n of almost two metres. These ard white

stalks will have picked these 18th`century chimneys for their new

nest. White stalks are long`distance migrating birds spending winter in

warmer climes as far away as South Africa. So having them here is

extremely rare and if they do breed, it is believed to be the first time

in this country in almost 600 years. It is extremely unusual to have them

nesting in the wild which they effectively are. Several ye`rs ago

we tried to establish a pair of breeding stalks here and made a nest

for them but this breeding pair chose to ignore what we had offered

them and shows one of the chimney stacks. Up to ten white stalks

originally bred in captivitx live in the gardens. A rich supply of food

means they have plenty to e`t. We provide chopped fish and dax`old

chicks which they like and chopped up mince. Then in the neighbouring

area they find frogs and insect If the birds do breed, in just a few

months young stalks could bd hatching. It is likely about the

office bring will also stay here and make this their home. `` thd

offspring. Quite a sight. What a lovely day it has bedn today.

We recorded some impressive temperatures for the first day of

April. We have this warmer `ir that has come in from the contindnt. But

it has had a drawback as it has been accompanied by a high level of air

pollution. This map shows jtst how badly affected our region w`s

today. Not as many counties affected tomorrow and by Thursday thdre is a

real improvement. Looking at the detail for tonight, there is more

cloud around and some clear spells overnight. Perhaps some mist patches

forming. And just the risk of some showers in western counties by the

end of the night. But it is not going to be particularly cold. The

kick`off tomorrow with some cloud around but it is a pretty fhne day

with low pressure to the sotth`west. We should see plenty of sunshine

through tomorrow, feeling qtite warm in the sunshine. It is diffhcult to

predict where it will stay cloudy and where we see those breaks. But

where we do we could reach 09 Celsius. A bit more of a brdeze

still coming through. In thd south`east. There are some showers

around tomorrow but they should not reach us until the end of the night.

And they are brought in by that cold front which introduces some slightly

cooler air and a change in the weather pattern. Someone settled and

cooler for the end of the wdek. Quite a lot of cloud around on

Thursday. The chance of somd showers by Friday but also some dridr

interludes. And a cloudy st`rt to the weekend with temperaturds

overnight not too low. That is all from us.

Have a very good evening. Goodbye. All across the country, millions of

families are waking up to a Britain in which they find it harder