20/01/2012 Look North (East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire)

Good evening and welcome to BBC Look North. The headlines tonight.

As plans for a line of electricity pylons through the Lincolnshire

countryside are scrapped, what could the impact be on the future

of wind energy? This site was totally unacceptable. A pile on

line down the coast was unacceptable.

Defending her decision to resign - the Euro MP who'll be succeeded by

her husband but it's all within the rules. It is up to the person who

is now second on the list to decide what he wants to do. I think it is

a little bit dodgy. It is not against the rules.

Training hard for gold medal glory - the sporting hopefuls from

Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire fighting for a place at the

Olympics. After weeks of rehearsal, it's

nearly time for this year's BBC pantomime performance.

And that all-important weekend weather forecast will follow later

A group who have been fighting plans against 30 miles of power

cables across the Lincolnshire countryside are claiming victory.

The energy company behind the proposals was told it will have to

dig cables underground to transport power from a planned wind farm off

the coast. Now RWE energy say they're looking at the feasibility

of the whole idea. Our environment correspondent Siobhan Robbins has

more. Campaigners have made their

feelings about a substation in the Wolds very clear. The 40 acre site

was needed to connect energy from hundreds of giant offshore turbines

like these to the national grid but now the idea has been scrapped.

are obviously delighted. This site was totally unacceptable with a

pile on site in Lincolnshire coast being unacceptable. -- pylon.

original plan meant energy from Triton Knoll would have come onto

land and be fed into a substation in East Linsey. 46m high pylons

would then have wound their way down 55km the East Coast to Bicker

Fen Substation. Now the idea is a cable under the sea will bring the

power to land near Bicker Fen where it'll be fed into the national grid.

This is the sub-station near Boston which will take the electricity end.

It will not do it alone. Under new plans, another sub-station could be

built here and it could even stretch over 40 acres, just like

the one that has been scrapped. Have campaigners only moved their

problems down the road? I do not think so. Our position was clear.

They have existing wind farms built onshore and have a sub-station

there. We have always made it clear we will only support the

development of sub-stations and pylons on existing sites and on

existing routes. They do not want to see any more of Lincolnshire

damaged by industrial development in the countryside. Campaigners

here may have won this fight but the East Coast is prime land for

more offshore windfarms and many more will need connecting to the

land. We are going to need the infrastructure in order to

transport energy no matter how me make it. There will have to be some

land appropriated for sub-stations and they will have to be

infrastructure like cables, in this case. It is not the right way

forward and they would rather put money into the new influx of energy

to get the country going again. new plans for Triton Knoll still

need finalising and public approval but underground cables and

substations aren't cheap which raises the question, how high does

the bill for connection have to get before the windfarm itself becomes

Adam Bell from Renewables UK who promotes green energy says the

decision not to put cables underground wouldn't put companies

off investing in renewable energy. Not at all. What you have to

consider is the way in which offshore wind is going to be

delivered. It will be delivered across a lot of the North Sea and

we're going to make sure that the impact upon people who live along

the east coast is minimised. We will do that by having as few

connections as possible. The technology we are looking at using

means we can bring in more power than perhaps we would have

otherwise been able to, which will hope we minimise the impact. What

people are interested in, pylons are underground and now this one

has to be underground. Both technologies have impacts upon the

landscape. What is important is to make sure that people can

participate in the way in which this is delivered, for example,

which would it have taken and perhaps where the sub-station is.

If they have a chance to participate in decision-making,

they may not -- may find it more acceptable. It will cost you

companies are not for lot more than double the destruction of people --

if they go underground. Will that not put people off investing in

green? I think technology has moved on and this technology is cheaper

than underground cables would have been in the past. As a consequence,

it may be encouraging and demonstrate innovation is being

applied. How clean is wind power if it means digging up rural areas,

which will mean mile upon mile? give you an example, every single

one per bind will make up for its construction within a year of

operation which means it will cut down carbon emissions and cut down

the use the power from polluting power stations. It means, to give

you an example, our countryside will remain less impact of from

countries -- climate change than would have otherwise been the case.

Thank you. We want to hear from you on this

story. Do you think pylons or digging up the countryside are a

necessary evil of green energy or do you think the impact would be

too great on the landscape? Maybe you do not want them at all. Let us

The tiny pellets of wood that could bring power to thousands as another

green energy company makes plans to come to the Humber.

A Euro MP from East Yorkshire has defended her decision to resign - a

move which paves the way for her husband to take over her job

without a single vote being cast. Under current rules, Diana Wallis's

husband will step into her shoes because he was the Liberal

Democrats' second choice candidate at the last European elections. But

critics have accused the MEP of doing more damage to the

reputations of politicians, a claim she strongly denies.

It is a resignation that shocked the world of European politics.

Diana Wallis has represented the region on behalf of the Liberal

Democrats for more than 12 years. This week, she failed in her bed to

become the president of the European Parliament. Speaking at

her home in East Yorkshire, she told me why she has decided to step

down now. There is a tinge of disillusionment but the

disillusionment that inspires me to say, I think I can do more here

than in being a way. If the argument about Europe needs to be

made, it needs to be made here. R Wallace as a former solicitor who

later became a Liberal Democrat councillor on the old Humberside

authority and in the East Riding. She became an MEP in 1989 and has

served as a vice-president of the European Parliament. Diana Wallis

says she will step down at the end of the month. A likely successor is

causing some controversy. Under current rules, the Liberal Democrat

second-choice candidate at the time of the last European election will

take her place. He is Stuart Arnold, who also happens to beat Diana

Wallis's husband. I think it is a little bit dodgy, it is not against

the rules in the way that flipping your house is to avoid capital

gains tax was against the rules, but I think what we're trying to do

now in politics to try to catch up on our reputation of being complete

scoundrels, is to try to avoid this kind of thing, which is clearly

within the rules but a bit smelly. What do you say to your colleagues

who say this is an example of nepotism? There was a selection

with in my party. There was a public collection. It is up to the

person who is now second on the list to decide what he wants to do.

Diana Wallis says she remains a committed pro-European Liberal

Democrat but in this year of coalition politics, the spotlight

is on a political marriage of a different kind.

Tim Iredale will be here on Sunday when he'll be hosting a debate on

whether the rules should be changed when an MEP resigns. The Sunday

Politics is on BBC One at noon. Four men found guilty of murdering

a grim as the men have been sentenced a total of 114 years in

prison. Adam Benson's body parts were found in what are ways across

Lincoln. Lee Griffiths will serve a minimum

of 32 years in prison. His son Luke Griffiths will serve a minimum of

26 years. Tom Griffiths, 27 years and Mark Jackson 29 years. Adam

Vincent's family celebrated. I am glad it is all over and we have got

justice for Adam. Never completely satisfied and I don't think we ever

will be. It is justice for Adam now and I hope it is justice for him. I

hope they think about what they have done every day of their lives.

A log-flume ride on Bridlington's sea front has been taken down

following an accident last year in which a woman suffered serious leg

injuries. 58-year-old Ann Smallwood from South Yorkshire was with her

4-year-old great niece when they were both thrown from the Jungle

River ride in August. The Health and Safety Executive is still to

decide whether it will take further action over the incident.

Within the last couple of hours a deal has been reached that could

see tolls reduced on the Humber Bridge. Leaders of four councils

met this afternoon to discuss who should underwrite the outstanding

debt. The government had already agreed to clear half of the �330

million owed, which would allow the cost of a single crossing for a car

to be cut to �1.50. Tonight, Hull City Council has agreed to shoulder

the remaining debt single-handedly. Phil Connell is live at the Humber

Bridge tonight. How was the deal done? The government's condition of

writing off half of the debt was that the four surrounding a

authorities take on the equal responsibility for the outstanding

debt which was left. That has proved to be something of a

sticking point with North East Lincolnshire Council claiming they

are unable to agree to that. Following a meeting here, Hull city

council has come forward with a new proposal which would see them take

on single handed responsibility for this debt without the support of

the three neighbouring authorities. Hull has said that an authority --

if an agreement cannot be reached, we will shoulder the debt and we

see it as a liability, not a debt. That would allow tolls to be

reduced and it is important this goes out to the government loud and

clear, that Hull is at the centre of the city region and the Humber

area remains open for business. What people are interested in is

when the tolls will come down. Although Hull City Council has

agreed to single-handedly take on this responsibility, not all of the

local authorities are happy. Northland is a council say they

would rather see a system where everyone had shared equally in

taking on this debt. Because of that, they believe this new idea

could still encounter some problems. Hull City Council believes the

government will accept this and they say that all being well, their

toll charges here at the bridge could still be reduced by 50% by

Thank you for watching on Friday. Still ahead.... Dreaming of Olympic

success - the athletes working hard to secure their place at the games.

And after weeks of rehearsal preparing for one last festive

tradition, the BBC pantomime performance. This is Grainsby in

Lincolnshire, taken by Gavin Prior. Thank you very much for that. If

you have a picture that you have taken over the weekend, please send

it in. Good evening, young man. One a mill says, he very discreetly

leans down on his tour when he introduces you and he twiddles was

something. Is this a panic button? It is to keep me awake! It is an

electric current because they need The headlines are unsettled.

Tomorrow, it will start of damp and it should brighten up as we head

into the afternoon. It is a broad run of westerly wind, we do quite

well usually with the set-up but Sunday could be similar with some

rain at first and then it brightens up into the afternoon. Throughout

the weekend, very windy. Miserable right now. Cloudy and damp with

rain and drizzle affecting much of the region. That will continue into

the night, the wind will strengthen and the rain tends to peter out but

there will still be drizzle in places and the wind could reach

gale force in exposed parts. Lows of around six degrees. The sun will

rise in the morning at 8:05am. This is the high water times... It will

be a slow start tomorrow, cloudy and damp with drizzle and the odd

spot of rain but it will very slowly improve through the day. I

have expecting the skies to brighten up and they should be

sunny spells and the chance of showers. The wind continues to be

strong, blowing from the West and temperatures not too bad for this

time of year. Nine degrees in Grimsby, Lincoln and Skegness.

Sunday, some rain at first but looking more promising for Sunday

afternoon. Picture? Have you I have remembered the jump leads!

Don't give yourself a shock! the nice weekend. Now... It would

provide enough power for tens of thousands of homes and cost more

than �100 million. Proposals for a new green power station in Hull

have been revealed today. The developers say more than 200 jobs

will be created if the wood burning plant is given planning permission.

And as Paul Murphy reports, it's part of the growth of new green

industries on the Humber. The dockside location for the proposed

plant is important. It will burn tiny pellets of waste would shipped

in from Europe and beyond. The developers are stressing it is

green. We can make massive savings in biomass and it is neutral. It

can only be met the same as is absorbed. The power station will be

built near Queen Elizabeth docked in Hull. Next door to the proposed

see man's wind turbine factory. Once operational, this will

generate enough electricity to supply a third of businesses in the

area. And those behind it want to see it working by 2015. Around 200

jobs will be created in construction and around 30 full-

time staff working here. It marks another investment in green energy

in the Humber. A similar power plant running on food and garden

waste has already been given the go-ahead. There are projects trying

to harness the power of the river through growing numbers of jobs in

areas such as wind turbine maintenance. It is good to have

more than one egg in your basket. It brings all the experts into one

place and helps develop new technology and we need to bring the

price of energy down and having three types, tidal, wind and

biomass, can only help. planning application will be

submitted to the council in April and, if approved, construction can

begin before the end of the year. And we will continue to follow that

story. Thanks for getting in touch with us about the calls to change

the name of Skegness that we told you about on last night's programme.

There was a big response and also on the radio today. Jerry from

Woodhall Spa says Skegness is fantastic. You should call it Super

Skegness or Royal Skegness. Diana agrees. Skegness has a regular and

loyal band of holidaymakers who enjoy slot machines, kiss-me-quick

hats and fish and chips. Leave Skegness alone. Les from Coningsby

says, keep the name Skegness, abolish East Lindsey District

Coucil, run this part of the county from Lincoln and spend half the

money saved on a Skegness upgrade. What do we think about that one?

Thank you very much for those comments. With less than two weeks

before the start of the new Rugby League season, thousands of fans in

Hull are looking forward to a pre- season derby this weekend. Hull FC

will welcome rivals Hull KR to the KC Stadium on Sunday, with both

sides having new coaches and some new players. It'll be a good test.

I have not experienced the Derby yet but I am told it is pretty good,

pretty good for us. I am under no false pretences about how

passionate those supporters are. As far as I'm concerned, Rovers are

even more passionate. We are out to do our best and get a result for

all of those passionate supporters. There will be full coverage of the

derby match on BBC Radio Humberside. The game will be live on FM on

Sunday. It begins at 1.30pm. In football, Hull City are away at

fellow promotion contenders Reading. You can find commentary on BBC

Radio Humberside. On AM, it's Scunthorpe United at home to

Stevenage. Grimsby Town's game against Bath will be on DAB. BBC

Lincolnshire will have commentary of Lincoln City's trip to Gateshead

starting at 2pm. It's just six months to go to the Olympics and

for athletes across East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, it's approaching

a crucial period. Many are hoping to secure their place at this

summer's Games or improve their chances as they enter the final

training period. We are going to be hearing a lot more about them in

the next 12 months, starting this Sunday. The Olympic Games are

around the corner so join me as to follow five R plates from Yorkshire

and Lincolnshire on their road to London 2012. She looks very good at

double that. This young man will have 2012 in his sights. What a

moment for Richard. I am honest, I want to get an individual place in

the 400 metres and won a medal for the relay team. It is blood, sweat

and tears, putting in the hours in the pool and it is tough. To get

the medals would be fantastic. next six months will be so fast,

I'm just concentrating on improving. I want to be the best I can be.

2012, it will be a better year than 2011, for all of my family. It will

give us something to take our minds of everything that has happened.

would be my dream. It would just be my world, really. That is a great

programme. You can see that programme at 5pm on Sunday on BBC

One. And as you saw, the programme is presented by John Inverdale, who

told me that Yorkshire and Lincolnshire has a lot to be

excited about. The whole country has a lot to be excited about. What

do the Games mean to me in Bridlington or Grimsby? If there is

a medallist from this part of the world he goes home on the open-top

bus, my goodness, we will be excited. The boxer from Hall has a

real opportunity in the bantamweight category. There are

reasons to be optimistic and cheerful. Who should we be watching

from this part of the world? Who has the best chance? Lazy Simmons

is a phenomenal slumber. She has medals in major championships,

domestic and European and the Commonwealth Games. And the

Olympics is the world. The worst thing that the media can do is

saddle these young people, because they are young, and a lot of them

have not been selected yet. A lot of them have not been picked yet.

We saddle them with almost greater expectations than is warranted. If

you watch the programme on Sunday, sandwiched between the Antiques

Roadshow and songs of Praise. You will see five incredibly determined,

single-minded young people from the area, who will hopefully get to the

Olympic Games and get medals. are not the antique in the middle!

We look forward to that programme. It don't forget, 5:00pm on Sunday.

It's almost the end of January but that doesn't mean it can't be panto

time. Staff from BBC Radio Humberside and Look North are

preparing for their debut pantomime performance. They've been

rehearsing for weeks and Anne-Marie Tasker has been watching. Just last

month, the panto season was in full swing. But now the stars of Hull's

show, the Chuckle Brothers, have left town and in the shops,

Christmas cards have been swapped for Valentine's ones. But for our

BBC colleagues, the festive show has yet to start. Reach for the

star's... Up Staff from Radio Humberside and Look North are

rehearsing Robinson Crusoe. It's a new experience for radio newsreader

Sally Fairfax. I don't have a problem with singing, it is the

dancing. And will have to smile quite a lot because I am not the

best dancer on stage. But others are old hands, like breakfast

presenter Andy Comfort. He's done the panto for the past ten years.

But this time he's got to learn more than lines. I don't want to

spoil the plot but we start with a spectacular sword fight and we have

choreographed this properly and Ruby is a proper fencing teacher

who has taught us some that moves. Last year's panto raised money for

St Andrew's Hospice in Grimsby. This year the cash is going to

Children in Need The cast are putting on five shows in Hull and

Cleethorpes and they're hoping to see you there. Ever see. The cast

are put to gunfight shows in Hull and Cleethorpes and they hope to

see you there. Good luck to them! Sally is playing Robinson Crusoe

and Andy Comfort is playing their treasured Ireland! You can get

tickets for the performance in Cleethorpes next Wednesday by

calling the Parkway cinema or for the shows in Hull, call the council

box office. Good luck to all of them. Let's get a recap of the

national and regional headlines. Guilty - a dissident republican is

jailed for life for murdering two soldiers in Northern Ireland.

Campaigners claim victory as plans for a line of electricity pylons

through the Lincolnshire countryside are scrapped. The

weather - cloudy and damp at first for Saturday, brighter picture and

mild, temperatures at around nine degrees. 48 Fahrenheit. The subject

of pylons and Underground Power, Lucy says that the landscape is

beautiful but we must move on with modern developments, especially

green energy. Look says that it is great to have underground cables

because it would not be an eyesore. Kieran says it is a case of selfish

people who put themselves above the future energy resources of the

country. And Chris says, if it was spectacular countryside, attracting

millions of tourists, I might agree. Pylons, strung across farmland,