07/02/2014 Look North (East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire)

Good evening. The man responsible for the running of Humberside Police

has been accused of macho politics over his plans to increase the

amount people pay for policing. Matthew Grove says a small council

tax increase will help keep more police on the streets. But some have

accused him of acting ignorantly, as Phillip Norton reports.

5p, the extra weekly cost to the taxpayer to adequately police the

Humberside force area. That's according to the Police and Crime

Commissioner, Matthew Grove who says a precept increase is vital, despite

councillors on the area's crime panel voting against it. The public

say to me their first priority is actually to ensure we have a good,

effective policing service. That's what the public tell me week in,

week out. They say, Matthew, protect our police service. This is what I

need to do on their behalf to protect the police service. It's a

very modest increase. Mr Grove is proposing a rise of just

under 2% to the police precept. He says that works out at around 5p per

week for every household. That money will go towards more officers on the

streets by improving the technology they use to make them more

efficient. The chairman of the Crime Panel is angry, saying they are

being ignored. I think it's quite a foolish way to

go about it. I would put it quite simply, a macho type proposal, which

is not needed at all. I think it's just a way of saying, I am my own

man, I am the Commissioner, I will do as I think. I won't listen to the

government, I won't listen to the panel, I won't listen to anybody.

Matthew Grove says the Humberside Police force has reached the point

now where it cannot provide a robust or adequate service for the area. In

addition the force has to make savings of more than ?30 million. He

says he is already making savings. This is the former police authority

headquarters, a building he put up for sale soon after being elected. A

move, he says, that will save ?50,000 a year. On the streets of

Hull, most people I spoke to were happy for him to ask for more. If it

keeps the police on the streets, yeah, instead of just sat behind a

desk filling in forms. I'll pay. If it saves jobs, fair enough. I just

don't want it to get wasted on stupid things, luxuries. Maybe with

a bit of extra money their argument is they can do more but they should

be able to do it anyway. Earlier on Look North, Matthew Grove responded

to the criticism. I work for the public, not for the government and

certainly not for the Police and Crime Panel. If Matthew Grove goes

ahead, these few extra pennies a week will add up to another ?800,000

a year for the Humberside Police kitty. The panel that scrutinises

his work say his arguments don't stand up.

Lincolnshire's Police and Crime Commissioner has declined to

comment, after it was recommended he apologises to his Chief Constable

for suspending him last year. The Police and Crime Panel said Alan

Hardwick ignored legal advice and wasted ?160,000 when he suspended

Neil Rhodes. Mr Hardwick told Look North it would be inappropriate to

comment before receiving any official communication from the

panel. Businesses on the Lincolnshire Coast

have welcomed the government's decision to allow ?5 million to be

spent protecting the area from flooding. The money will be spent on

building sand banks to defend thousands of homes between

Mablethorpe and Skegness. Our correspondent, Paul Murphy, reports.

Work to repair this coastline has been under way ever since December's

damaging tidal surge. News of extra defence money has been welcomed,

especially by vulnerable coastal businesses.

We are below sea level here and all the way along. Trusthorpe was

flooded and all the people had to be evacuated. And, you know, you see

other people being flooded and it is a really scary thing.

The 30,000 properties and 20,000 caravans on this low`lying coast

represent a significant part of Lincolnshire 's economy.

We have incredible assets behind the flood defences that we need to

protect, agriculture, industry. Our tourism industry brings ?500,000

into the area, very important and, of course, the residents.

The defences are here to prevent history repeating itself. Hundreds

lost their lives in the East Coast floods of 1953 but one of the

survivors believes the newly announced funding doesn't go far

enough. No good. Not enough? Not enough. In anyway whatsoever. It

wants a lot more spending on it. If they don't, it'll cost more to

restore it. The new government money comes on top of an existing

programme of flood repairs. It includes funding to protect 200

homes at Welwick in East Yorkshire, after damage to the Humber bank. To

repair a 60`foot gap in the river bank at Blacktoft, to install a

three`quarter of a mile temporary defence at Riverside Quay in Hull

and there's protection for more than 2,000 homes on the Trent at

Kettlethorpe. There's funding to for Lincoln to protect around 80

properties in the Stamp End area of the city.

I think in view of the floods that have been happening all over the

country, I think it should really be allocated all over as well. The

river does come up quite high so I would think for the whole area it is

quite a good thing. What the tides take away, the diggers must always

put back. The ?5 million of government cash is, of course being

welcomed but it is just a drop in the ocean in this constant process.

Defences protected much of Lincolnshire 's coast from

December's tidal surge. These communities know there is little

room for complacency. Businesses helping to fund Hull's

City of Culture year say it's a once in a lifetime chance to get rid of

stereotyped views about the city. 22 companies have already pledged more

than a third of a million pounds, that's of the ?15 million pounds

needed. Those involved say it's a unique chance to promote Hull to the

world. The City of Culture is a one`off

event for the city. This won't come round again for us. So if you want

to be on board and believe in what is promoting the city, promoting the

culture and showing the positive offerings that we have then, you

know, we strongly believe it is money well worth spending. Now the

weather with Keeley Donovan. Hello, good evening, further wet and

windy weather to come through the course of the night. Already we've

got rain setting in from the west. It'll continue to spill northwards.

It'll have mostly clearly by the end of the night, just the odd shower.

Windy in the short term with potentially some heavy spells of

rain too. Temperatures dropping back to three or four degrees. Through

the morning there could be the odd shower lingering. Then it'll develop

into dry and bright conditions for a good bulk of the day. Later in the

day we'll start to see showers heading in from the west. It might

be that some places stay dry for most of the day in daylight hours.

Windy tomorrow with temperatures reaching six or seven degrees. A few

showers through the morning on Sunday. That is all. We are back

tomorrow lunchtime. Enjoy the rest of your evening, good night.

Hello again. Nelson's flag ship HMS victory, was launched in 1765 and

you can still see it today in Portsmouth Harbour. But through the

whole of that history, you will struggle to find a wetter winter

than this one across southern England. Scotland has already been

in the record books. Their December was the wettest since standardised

records began about 100 years ago. There's plenty more where that came

from. Another storm is knocking on the door and will affect the whole

of Western Europe, steaming in from the Atlantic. Giving us a steady

stream of rain in most places. Severe gales ahead of that rain

gusts up to 60 mph. Battering the coasts once again. For the North,

across the Scottish mountains yet more snow. It's really piling up

here at the moment. A cold