01/03/2017 Points West

Staying ahead of the game. for the news where you are.

A new report shows a big growth for businesses specialising

High-tech firms are saying they are booming.

More calls to rename Bristol's Colston Hall -

And eels tonight before in a brief taste of spring tomorrow. Your fool

weather forecast later in the programme.

It's claimed the West Country is experiencing a big boom

Last night we exclusively revealed that James Dyson was making a huge

Now other firms say the future is looking good.

Here's our political reporter Robin Markwell.

Sir James Dyson poured petrol in the tank of Wiltshire's economy

yesterday with investment on a vast scale.

He wants to turn the hangers of Hullavington Airfield

Those who work out of the same buildings over

I think for businesses it is definitely good news.

With potentially another 5000 people working on our doorstep, lunchtime

The expansion has been fuelled by a roaring trade in the Far East.

China accounts for a quarter of their trade in precision

And a booming business means they've doubled the number of staff

So with Dyson recruiting thousands close by, will there be enough

If we work together to ensure that our youngsters across the region

come through onto the entry-level schemes, they are studying

the right subjects, the Stem subjects in schools,

and we work together with schools to make sure that those

skills come through, then we will be OK.

If we don't reinvest now, we will have a problem

Balanced economy is a finely-tuned thing.

And keeping the West's high-tech sector soaring will need many

new minds to dream up the machines of tomorrow.

Bristol and Bath are also experiencing a sharp upturn in

high-tech business. The report says the sector has grown 65% in just two

years. It is booming arbours and outboards with new specialties like

quantum technology and gaming and they are all growing at their own

pace. Balanced economy is

a finely-tuned thing. And keeping the West's high-tech

sector soaring will need many new minds to dream up

the machines of tomorrow. Plans to extend Cribbs Causeway

are on hold because of concerns about the impact

on the surrounding economy. The proposals would increase

the size of the site by 50%. Planning permission was granted

in November but the scheme has now been called in for review

by the Secretary of State. Plans have been unveiled

for a new business park Around 4,000 people could work

on the site near junction 25 of the M5, with the proposals

including offices Measures are still being kept

in place to stop the spread of bird flu in some parts of the West,

despite restrictions The Wildfowl and Wetlands

trust at Slimbridge, which saw four cases of avian flu

in January, is still Birds like these flamingoes have had

to be kept inside since December. But experts say they are monitoring

the situation on a daily basis. The Arbroath at dawn every day

looking for any signs of unusual behaviour or dead birds. We haven't

found any since January and even then it was only a few cases amongst

tens of thousands, but it only takes one to start an outbreak.

DEFRA says it will review all restrictions at the end of April.

Every fire station across Somerset and Devon is going to be given

a new piece of kit which should save lives and improve

Firefighters have spent the past year trying it out -

with dramatic results, as Clinton Rogers reports.

It's not often the Fire Brigade start a fire.

To test a new piece of kit - a hand-held probe, seen

here through a thermal imaging camera, which they think

Now, before we see how that demonstration actually developed,

let me show you in close-up the kit they were trialling.

Put simply, what they do is they drive this through a wall,

and water is pushed through it here at high pressure.

It comes out this end as a mist, which can quickly and radically

reduce the temperature of a burning building.

The trial in this derelict building produced astonishing results.

The water sprayed inside reduced the temperature of the burning room

from 400 degrees to 80 degrees in 30 seconds, allowing the firemen

of survival for anybody in that building much, much greater.

And it also reduces the risk for our staff.

So it very much is at the core of what we're trying to do.

The probes were used in a real fire at a leisure centre

The Brigade say unquestionably it halted the fire more quickly.

So now every fire station across Devon and Cornwall

will get one of these - an investment of around ?150,000.

What it does is it gives them the option to fight the fire

Potentially, this could save firefighters' lives.

It absolutely will make our firefighting operation

So, on the face of it, a simple piece of kit -

but one which will change the way building fires are

More than 1,600 people have now signed a petition to get the name

They're unhappy about Edward Colston's role in the slave trade.

But others say that would be airbrushing history.

It was opened 150 years ago as a music venue

It has already had a new entrance, and another ?45 million is expected

There are lots of changes taking place at the Colston Hall,

but one thing that's not being painted over

That's despite a growing campaign to get Edward Colston's surname

removed because of his role in the slave trade.

And I think it's offensive to have a civil building

that is for music, for celebration, something that should

uplift your spirit and your soul, to be named after someone

I think the name should reflect the inspirational people that

I don't think it's really appropriate anymore that Colston

More than 1500 people have now signed the petition

History should be taught warts and all.

I don't think we should rename it, we shouldn't seek

We should teach every bit of our history, and not just

selected bits that make us feel comfortable.

The Colston Hall is on Colston Street, opposite Colston Tower

and around the corner from the Colston statue.

He has schools in the city named after him, too.

But, whether Edward Colston's name stays or goes from the music venue

is ultimately down to the trust which runs it.

We have a very well-planned programme of work over

And the name, what the new wonderful building will be

The Colston Hall name is going, then?

What the building will be called is part of that consideration over

We've always said that we will bear that in mind when we look

towards opening the triumphant new building in 2020.

So keeping the name is also an option, then?

Everything is on the table at the moment.

And, bearing in mind, only ?30 million of the ?45 million

needed for renovation work has been raised already.

So, naming the venue after a sponsor is also a possibility to earn

Thousands of people turned out across the West today

The Tornado is a brand new train built to an original design.

It was created 9 years ago at a cost of ?3 million.

Today it passed through out region as it ran along the mainline

I always prefer steam travel to a travel are being in a car. It is

relaxing. Exciting. My father is a trained fanatics all means a lot to

him and it is just a great family him and it is just a great family

experience and obviously with modern-day life it is nice to see

back and get the whole experience back and get the whole experience

and knowing it is a new train it is fun to come for the day out.

If you missed her today she'll back in the West again in May.

That's it from us tonight, we're back with breakfast tomorrow but for

now I will say good night and leave you with the late forecast. Did they

find a train ride! It battled its way through some rain, not quite a

tornado but an area of low pressure that is affecting us at the moment.

As it tracks its way off to the north and east, a real squeeze on

the isobars. That means the winds are packing up and starting to cast

quite nicely as we go through the night, up to 50 mph in some places,

especially up the channel. You can see we have had a few showers

through the night but by tomorrow morning it is largely dry and clear

and even with the wind the temperature will fall down but we

should just about a frost. A chilly start and still breezy first thing

but a lot of sunshine around. The wind will slowly eased through the

day, generally dry with a couple of showers passing through, but mostly

dry, good spells of sunshine if you can get in the shelter. It might

feel quite pleasant, almost like spring has sprung. Make the most of

that because spring will go back into winter when we head towards

Friday and another area of low pressure spreading yet more rain

towards us and that looks like it will stay with us on to the weekend

at times so unsettled again from Friday morning

outlook. A whole load of 11 is. What does that mean? Maybe John Hammond

will tell you. We're in for a bumpy ride. The

weather chopping and changing keeping us on our toes. Rain never

too far away from our crystal ball. There has been rain around today

across southern areas. This band of wet weather pushing through Wales

and the Midlands. A little bit of the white stuff mixed in over the

high ground Snowdonia, some snow for an trans-Pennine routes as well.

Snow at low levels through the night. Further south the main story

is the strength of the wind. Blustery. Gales on the western coast

and through the English Channel. Even in land, gusty winds through

the night. For the night. Further