16/01/2014 Look North (East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire)

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

Plans to rename Hull's football team get the backing of Lord Prescott.

There's support for the club's owner as the Tigers unveil their record

signing. For anyone who don't seem, he has proved this week he wants the

best for the football club. Lincolnshire's Police and Crime

Commissioner says the Government is pickpocketing as the force faces

more budget cuts. They are picking the pockets of the

people of Lincolnshire and other counties by giving money with one

hand and taking millions back with the other hand.

Can old and young live side by side in these high rise flats?

And I am live in Cleethorpes, where members of the BBC panto are

preparing to take to the stage. And don't forget the detailed

weather forecast in 15 minutes. They're in the process of spending

?15 million on two record signings as they try and stay in the Premier

League, but tonight the issue of Hull City's name change continues to

dominate the national headlines. The former Deputy Prime Minister and

Hull MP John Prescott has backed the club's owner, Assem Allam, over his

plans to rebrand the club as Hull Tigers. We will hear from Lord

Prescott in a moment but first, Simon Clark has this report.

He has cast a fee of close to ?7 million, a record for Hull city.

This is Nikica Jelavic, signed from Everton, and promises to score goals

for the Tigers. I think only about football and I

don't think about money. My job is to play, to score goals, to help the

team, not think about money. Jelavic could be soon joined by this

player, Shane Long. But next season will they be playing for Hull City

or Hull Tigers? Today, former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott entered

the row, saying the chairman, Assem Allam, could change the name if he

wanted. Steve Bruce is weary of the debate, saying his side should be

celebrating new signings. You know my thoughts on it, I have

said them enough. But I think if anyone doubts him, then what he has

done this week again proves that he has got the football club at the

best and wants this club to be in the Premier League.

Some fans' group are dead against the change. The City till I die

campaign says Dr Alllam should not change the name, despite his

willingness to invest heavily in his team.

It has never been a case of we want the owner to leave, we are

completely behind Assem Allam and his vision for the football club. We

just believe we can have both, keep the name and market globally without

the need to discard a years of history and heritage. And whichever

newspaper you read, Assem Allam's threat to walk away if this change

is not implement it is headline news. The FA will make the final

decision. I certainly wouldn't second`guess

them. What I am pretty confident of, though, is if it goes against Assam

alarm he will have no compunction `` Assem Allam them you will have no

compunction about walking away. You can tell that Steve Bruce is getting

increasingly frustrated about this. He wants to talk about his team and

new signings. In other words, he cannot wait for 3pm on Saturday at

Norwich. Well, that decision from the FA is expected in April.

Joining me now is Lord Prescott. Good evening. A lot of passion from

the fans, do you understand why Doctor Alain wants to swap?

`` Dr Allam in 1950I was at Rotherham playing Hull and at half

time they went out and put a big tiger on the park. Tiger has been

part of Hull as long as the city. But the fans don't want the name to

change. Of course they are, we are passionate, they have two great

rugby teams, football teams, they are passionate.

But the real change I think is finding ?50 million for two players

today, ?70 million he has invested keeping Hull in the Premier League,

when we were collapsing four years ago. So if he pays the money he can

call the shots and call whatever he wants the micro that is what is

happening in the game now. You can see them advertised with all

the various sponsorship means. Sponsorship is getting extra money

to pay the player to keep us in the Premier League. He is giving us a

marketing tool he believes can raise the money. But the fans are saying,

is it to commercial? And is there evidence that swapping

the name will make a difference? Al back is just meant, he has already

put 70 million and `` well, back his judgement.

He has put in another 50 million today, Steve Bruce wants to get in

and play the game, we need the top players to stay in the Premier

League, and it needs money. Do you think he should have

consulted fans? Well, he did have a consultation

with some of the funds. I believe they offered and agreed to

provide an alternative financial package. That takes some believing.

You don't just find 70 million or 15 million for teams. The only raised a

quarter of a million contributions, and we pay quite a lot for going

into the match, but how do you pay 40 million? What would happen if you

can awaken Michael don't think he would, but presumably he would want

to recover some of his assets. I don't think he means that. He is a

professional businessman. Sometimes you should lose language in a

different way. `` use Linux. When you say, you will be city and die,

don't make it seem as if that is what you are saying to them. I was

passionate, but at the end of the day keep Hull in the Premier League

and that needs money. What you say to the who do not want

change? Well, they can still shout city, I

will be shouting Tigers. Let's get on with it and keep them

up top. What do you think about this one?

Does it really matter what the club is called? Do you worry about what

will happen to Hull City if Dr Allam leaves?

In a moment... A senior RAF official says safety wasn't compromised in

the run up to the death of a Red Arrows pilot.

The Police and Crime Commissioner in Lincolnshire has accused the

government of "picking the pockets of council taxpayers" after the

force was asked to make further savings of ?1 million from its

budget of more than 100 million. Alan Hardwick says he has ruled out

job cuts in the force, but says it will mean a rise in the part of

Council Tax that pays for policing. Jake Zuckerman reports.

Since he was elected as Police and Crime Commissioner, Alan Hardwick

has had what he says is the difficult job of balancing the

budget at Lincolnshire Police. Now he's hit out at the government after

it topsliced almost ?1 million from the force's funding.

We have here the government performing what I can only describe

as slight of hand, picking the pockets of the people of

Lincolnshire and other counties by giving us money with one hand and

taking millions of pounds back with the other.

Mr Hardwick has said it's now inevitable that the part of the

council tax that pays for policing will have to rise by up to 2%.

But that's led to criticism from one local MP.

One local MP says you should not be doing this you should be freezing

the council tax. Well, he is a great guy, if he lived

in the real world including policing, he would not say that.

In 2010 Lincolnshire Police was told by the government to save ?20

million within five years. The force claims it has already made

considerable progress. In 2012 it outsourced back office functions,

like call handling and custody suite operation, to G4S staff. In the

first year alone, that contract saved more than ?5 million `

equivalent to the cost of 125 police officers ` and is projected to save

?36 million over ten years. Alan Hardwick says the force is already

the leanest in the country. Today he put his plans for a rise in council

tax to people in Lincoln. Investing in the police, you are

only going to benefit from it. They keep the streets safe, they take

care of us. But not everyone agreed.

No, I think they could make other cuts in the police service, rather

than ordinary ratepayers having to pay. You have to save, you do not

save by making us pay more. In a statement the Home Office said:

Well, Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Hardwicke has now launched a

public consultation and wants to hear what the people of Lincolnshire

has to say about his proposal. The inquest into the death of a Red

Arrows pilot has heard that the RAF was going through a period of

'considerable change' in the months before he died. The display team was

short of engineers, but the man in charge has said safety was not

compromised. Flight Lieutenant Sean Cunningham died when his ejection

seat activated while his plane was on the ground at RAF Scampton in

November 2011. Jessica Lane was at the inquest. What was said?

Evidence was given by Air Vice Marshall Mark Green, who at the time

of the accident was in charge of 22 Training Group, which included the

Red Arrows. He said the RAF was going through a

period of 'considerable change' in the months leading up to Sean

Cunningham's death and staff were uncertain about cuts and

redundancies imposed by the government's strategic defence and

security review. But he insisted this did not mean safety was

compromised. He told the inquest... "the evidence appears to be that the

individuals who put the seat together and serviced it, did it in

the way we would expect, whether they were supervised or not.

" Air Commodore George Martin also gave evidence.

He said that issues of under`staffing had been raised with

him in September 2011 ` two months before Sean Cunningham died ` and

they were being dealt with. He said...

The inquest continues on Monday. Thank you very much indeed. More

news now in brief. A woman has been arrested on

suspicion of assisting a suicide after a teenager's body was found at

a house in Sleaford. Lincolnshire police were called to Leicester

Street yesterday morning, where they found the body of a 21`year`old

woman. Officers say a woman of the same age has been released on bail

while investigations are carried out.

The jury in the case of an East Yorkshire woman accused of causing

the death by careless driving of her older sister has been told that

sympathy must have nothing to do with their decision. Rosie Ann Stone

denies pulling into the path of Jennie Stone when both decided to

overtake a lorry on the A165 near Bridlington last February. The judge

asked the jury to use cold hard reason to reach its verdict.

Humberside Fire and Rescue has sent 13 firefighters to help tackle this

fire in Sherburn in Elmet near Leeds where 1,000 tonnes of tyres are

burning. Thick black smoke can be seen for miles around. 70

firefighters have spent all day at the recycling plant.

The Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, was heckled by a small group of

protestors during a visit to a GP's surgery in Immingham. Mr Hunt told

Look North he was determined to turn around hospitals in Lincolnshire

which are failing to meet some basic standards.

We are accountable to the public, I am accountable as Secretary of

State, for making sure we turn around hospitals in difficulty. I

want my legacy to be that hospitals like North Lincolnshire and United

Lincolnshire hospitals group have addressed those problems and we are

focusing very heavily on that. Thank you for watching.

Still ahead tonight... Going below the surface ` the plans

to improve east Yorkshire's chalk streams.

And with less than an hour until curtain up ` we're back stage at the

Radio Humberside Panto. Keep your photos coming in,

tonight's is on Bridlington South Beach. Thank you very much for that.

A quick apology, last night we showed a picture and I said, what

lovely ducks! I was told in no uncertain terms

they are actually grey geese. I apologise for that. Getting your

birds mixed up again, Peter? I have a great text here.

I always watch Look North and have noticed that Peter often talks

quickly without moving his lips. It he a ventriloquist?

Well, he works with a dummy! I walked straight into that one!

You did, you gave me that on a plate.

Leslie cad the headline tomorrow, variable cloud with scattered

showers. Low pressure is in charge. Quite a

few places today has stayed dry, and the same will apply tomorrow. The

showers have been coming across especially southern and eastern

parts of Lincolnshire as the afternoon has gone on. Showers will

continue to come from the south`west and push at times into east

Yorkshire, quite showery at first but they should become more isolated

later. Still some showers at dawn tomorrow morning. Some missed in

places, lowest temperatures five Celsius. The sun will rise in the

morning around 8am. The tide of high water... It looks like a repeat

performance tomorrow, variable cloud with sunny intervals and also a

scattering of showers. Just like today, some places will miss them

all together but if you catch one it could be heavy. The breeze, moderate

and from the site. The top afternoon temperatures, never to cold with the

southerly wind, highs close to the average for the middle of January,

around several serious `` seven Celsius, so fractionally above that

at eight Celsius. The further outlook is unsettled, Friday night

showers should die away, uncertain on the detail for Saturday but

generally cloudy with showers and the possibility of longer outbreaks

of rain for a time. Much of next week dominated by low pressure, and

it looks cool and showery. As soon as you read that, I saw the

look on your face and thought, that is an own goal.

Thank you, I did not need to do any work at all, see you tomorrow. Or

maybe we will not! Plans to allow younger people to

live in local authority flats reserved for the over`55s has caused

outrage on a Hull estate. The Council are currently reviewing

their age restriction policies to deal with the large increase in

demand for flats from young people but those living in Bayswater Court

and Muswell Court say it would make their quiet lives a misery. Caroline

Bilton has been to meet some of the residents.

It is a beautiful place, nice tenants in here, all over 55.

tenants in here, all over Mike Bickerstaff loves his highrise

home ` he's one of over 100 residents living here who fit the

age restriction of over 55. Being able to live out his retirement here

was his dream come true. We have a lifestyle and it is nice

in here. It is nice, quiet, we have a garden of the want to go out and

sit in the summer... But Hull City Council are reviewing their age

restriction policies on places like this which could mean younger people

and families living here in the future.

They do not call for our way of living, nice, quiet, and we do not

go for the music banging around, coming in at midnight. He introduced

me to Kath, who's lived here for 30 years.

Us we are now come into his good, these places are wonderful. But with

a family, children ` the thought of them running along the hallways, you

know, graffiti in the walls come it is not this block, love. We are

settled here, all of us. If we are creating age restrictions for people

over 55 and over 30, then we have to make sure we have sufficient

accommodation for people under those ages.

And have you? Yes, we have, but clearly the

bedroom tax is not helping. We know there are good people below

those ages, we know that, we are not all the same, we are all

individuals, but 55 is a good age to come in these places and live out

your life. People clearly feel protective about

what they have here and don't want change.

While this review is taking place they do come in a way, feel

threatened. But no decision has yet been made, that is due at the end of

January. It is an interesting one.

Let's get the other side of the coin. Earlier we spoke to some young

people at a community centre and asked if young and old people can

live side by side as neighbours. In a community, where they can live

themselves, they are comfortable, they feel relaxed and are not

worrying about us next door or late music. A lot of people expect young

people not to support and help out where actually we do. Young people

have the respect elderly people without music all night, and maybe

get a bit intimidated if they see loads of people standing outside,

but at the same time I think people need to respect younger people have

a right to live their lives how they want to, as well. It looks like the

older don't want to live with the Younger, the younger with the

older. You may have a view on this, as

well. We have some reaction last night to

the story that many councils are raising council tax by almost 2%,

while others are managing to freeze tax. Sarah in Cleethorpes says, "I

am a single mum on a very tight budget. Phil is to.

I would be willing to pay the rise as the services provided by the

council are vital to me and my family." Percy says, "I'm not a

lover of our labour council in Grimsby but listening to the council

leader Chris Shaw I don't think they have much of a choice." Mick in

Grimsby ` "If a big response on that story, thank

you for that. It used to be a fish farm, but now a

70`acre site in East Yorkshire has become the areas latest nature

reserve. Skerne wetlands have the most notherly chalk streams in the

country and are an important home for kingfishers, water voles and

dragonflies. There still work to be done but the Yorkshire Wildlife

Trust has high hopes for the reserve in the future. Jo Makel's been to

take a look. The West Beck chalk stream, near

Skerne, is a site of special scientific interest. It's one of the

headwaters which join to form the River Hull. And according to the

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, East Yorkshire can boast some of the best

chalk streams in the country. This is the most northerly chalk

river system in the UK and it compares like`for`like with the

famous Futsal rivers in `` famous chalk rivers in Hampshire.

It comes out filtered through the chocolate, the water, so it is a

different habitat to a normal river and has characteristic species that

just live in chalk rivers and that is why it is important.

Under the water, fish like brown trout and grayling like the clean

gravel of chalk rivers. Above, they support species like king fishers

and water voles. But this site has another important attraction for the

Trust. As a former commercial fish farm, it has 60 ponds and a network

of ditches with they can use and adapt to create a mosaic of

wetlands. This will help the river and the surrounding area.

You have people farming around here and they are obviously doing their

bit for wildlife, as well, so if we have a little pocket here that has

lots of wildlife that may spill out into the wider countryside.

It's a three year project and the area isn't yet open to the public.

But the trust is organising special preview visits like this one.

I did not realise there were so many fish farms. To make a good use of it

like this, it would be a great place, as it develops, to come. From

what John has told us today, I am excited at the prospect of creating

something dynamic and natural and they have the water control

opportunities here which are quite exciting.

The trust now needs volunteers to help with practical work as well as

monitoring and surveys. People in an East Yorkshire village

have praised the pilot of the Yorkshire Air Ambulance who managed

to land on this small green in North Frodingham near Driffield this

afternoon. The ambulance was called to take a man with spinal injuries

to Hull Royal Infirmary, after he had fallen from a building. An

amazing bit of flying by the pilot. Oscar nominations were announced

earlier and we have two award hopes from East Yorkshire. Chris Benstead

` who we featured on Look North last night ` is nominated for his sound

work on Gravity. The science fiction film starring George Clooney and

Sandra Bullock got ten nominations in total. And Tracey Seaward `

originally from Willerby ` seen here getting an honorary degree at the

University of Hull, is nominated as a producer for Philomena which stars

Judi Dench and Steve Coogan. Good luck to Chris and Tracey, we will

find out the winners next month. Christmas may be well and truly over

but there's one tradition that's still taking place. Staff from BBC

Look North and BBC Radio Humberside are getting ready to stage their

pantomime for Children In Need. Tonight is the opening night of

Mother Goose in Cleethorpes. Our reporter, Leanne Brown, is there.

Leanne, how are the cast feeling? Well, it is extremely busy backstage

tonight. The props are getting ready, the goose, Priscilla, is

having her make up. On there are last`minute rehearsals taking place.

People are nervous, but I don't know why they have been doing this for 13

years. It started as a one`off but has been going ever since. Jonathan

Parker, radio Humberside presenter, how are you feeling? A little

nervous but I think we are ready. You also direct the show, what is it

like directing members of the BBC team?

It has got easier and easier every year.

In 2002 we had never done anything like this, now experienced actors.

What is in store tonight for the outrageous costumes?

This is the most amiable yet. I have a little fairy liquid bottle

you have never seen before. I look forward to seeing that one. Let's

move over to Carl Weekley. Why do you keep on doing this?

You would have thought it would get better, wouldn't you? We enjoy it,

we have massive egos, so we keep coming back. People keep coming back

because they say it is different every time. I don't want to tempt

fate but you are hoping to reach a big target this weekend.

Yes, if enough people come to see it and there are some tickets left, we

will rake through the ?100,000 mark, fingers crossed.

And if you want to come along, there are still tickets available for

Saturday and Sunday night. If you want tickets for those

performances you need to call the council box office.

The number is on your screen. Good luck to the cast for their opening

night. Let's go back to the headlines... The Chancellor has

backed an above inflation rise of the minimum wage.

Lord Prescott has said that all micro fans should give Dr Allam are

backing even if it means a name change.

70 million years invested keeping all micro in the Premier League,

when we were collapsing four years ago.

And the weather tomorrow, cloudy with sunny spells and scattered

showers, top temperature in the afternoon around eight Celsius.

A big response on the subject of the ball. Jason says, did Hull feel

became that matter when they became Hull sharks? It is now history, just

as this will be in a few years. I have been following Hull since

1958. I could not care less whether they

are called Hull city or Hull Tigers. After today's signing I have changed

my mind to let Doctor Alain do what he wants.

More signings will come, without Allam it is dark days again.

This is laughable and you call that a football brand? It is alien to

every football supporter, it sounds like a hockey team.

Join us tomorrow lunchtime if you can, look after yourselves, good

night.