19/02/2014 South East Today

you. That is all from

Also in tonight's programme: Plans to raise council tax in Brighton by

almost 5% are set to be blocked ramping up the pressure on the

city's Green Party leader. Wildlife through a lens. How visitors to a

Lingfield animal park have got up close and personal with nattre.

And will Tom Odell win again at the BRIT Awards? The singing st`r from

Sussex on his two nominations. Good evening. Plans to expand the

world's largest offshore wind farm off the north Kent coast have been

scrapped. The proposals for the London Array project have bden

abandoned amid concerns abott the time it would take to assess the

impact on birdlife. But tonight, the energy giant EDF

says it expects to be able to extend the life of the Dungeness B nuclear

power station until 2028, tdn years longer than expected. In a loment,

we'll cross live to our Envhronment Correspondent Yvette Austin in

Dungeness. But first, Simon Jones reports from Ramsgate on thd

collapse of the London Arrax plans, which could cost jobs in Kent. The

only one of its kind will not be getting bigger because of bhrds

It's disappointing, but it hs down to technical and wildlife issues.

The Prime Minister, opening phase one, said the project was great news

for Kent and Britain. It has meant jobs for local people and clean

green energy for half the homes in the country. This is what the

completed project would havd looked like. Phase one currently elploys

around 100 people, and they are said to be secure. It has 175 turbines,

enough for two thirds of thd home in Kent. Two thirds would have seen 80

more, but there would have been associated jobs. London Arr`y is

based at Ramsgate, and the turbines are 12 miles out to sea. Those

behind it say that in order to proceed they would have do carry out

an assessment on the impact on 000 birds known as red throated divers,

and that could take up to three years. The developers have looked at

ways to come to the right ddcision, which is the on the environlent In

Ramsgate, there is debate on the merits of jobs against birds. The

only thing that can bring in plenty of jobs has got to be considered a

good thing, but the balance has to be found. I love the birds, and

there aren't so many birds `s they used to be. Experts say that the

consumer could win with less subsidy needed for wind farms. Investors are

starting to realise that thd consumers pockets are not offer must

and they will have two size their developments to fit what thd

consumer can afford. That the government insists the night it

remains committed to wind power The announcement has come as a blow to

supporters of renewable energy. But there's been a boost for thd nuclear

industry today. Yvette Austhn's live in Dungeness. And Yvette, Dtngeness

B power station is set to stay open for ten years longer than planned.

Yes, you can see the major giant behind me, the cube shaped

structures on the left, that is the first Dungeness power station which

is being decommissioned, and the round structure on the right is

Dungeness B, built in the 1880s and that is the one EDF energy wants to

extend the life of the rele`sed another ten years, pushing tp its

years in service to 45. Domhnating the Dungeness skyline, nucldar power

has been generated here since the 1960s with Dungeness being

commissioned, it is Dungeness B that is feeding the grid. Its closure

date of 2018 is fast approaching, but the plan now is to keep it going

longer. This is really good news. It safeguards the thousands of jobs

linked to Dungeness B power station, which is very important for the

economy. It also gives us more time to secure a longer`term nuclear

future for Dungeness by bringing new generator plants to the sidd for the

future. Keeping Dungeness B open will help build the energy gap

through the next decade which the National Grid in particular has been

so concerned about. EDF's l`nd new nuclear plant at Hinkley pohnt is

expected to take a decade to build, so retiring this one when the new

one is online might be such a blow. The Southeast has seen a huge

reduction in its generating potential. The closure of the

Kingsnorth plant last year helped that. And Dungeness began bding

decommissioned in 2006. But while plugging the gap with nucle`r might

be good for now, many argue it is not the way forward in the long

term. The real thing is the competition between renewables,

nuclear, and carbon in the 20 2 s. We think renewables will have a

strong case for that market in 020. But there is much support to keep

Dungeness B open amongst residents nearby. It's a brilliant idda,

because renewables don't nedd much at all, so nuclear power is the way

forward. Good news. Not a lot of employment in the area. The life

extension is not guaranteed yet A final announcement will comd before

the end of the year. So what has to happen now before the life span of

Dungeness B is extended? Various approvals will be necessary,

particularly when it comes to safety, but EDF is certain ht will

be able to make an announcelent by the end of the year and it `ll goes

hand`in`hand with the government stance on nuclear. That is that it

is a clean, green, low carbon form of energy. And Michael Fallon has

said it is much better having this and having many thousands of wind

turbines blighting our landscape. When he was saying that, he was

talking about onshore turbines, not the ones at sea, and he may have

been thinking about the Romney Marsh wind farm. What about the ilpact on

bills? Will they have any effect there? Inevitably various rdasons

will mean that our bills will rise in the future. There are various

uncertainties, like gas prices in the future, like how fast the cost

of building wind turbines comes down, but analysts have said that

building the new Hinkley pohnt nuclear power station alone could

push our annual bills up by ?8. That is a lot, but the government says

it's not as much as if we wdre building wind farms like thd ones in

London Array, out at sea, which are high in cost and difficult to build.

In a moment ` Whose cliff is it anyway? The Sussex man in a row with

the council over the rock f`ll that's forced him out of his home.

There's increasing pressure on the leader of Britain's only Grden`run

local authority tonight, ahdad of a crucial vote on whether to raise

council tax. Brighton and Hove City Council

leader Jason Kitcat wants a 4.7 %, which would trigger a referdndum.

But BBC South East has learnt the plan will be blocked by Conservative

and Labour members. And in ` further blow to Councillor Kitcat's

authority, his own party is now looking at changing the way their

leader is chosen, which could prevent his re`election. Our

Political Editor Louise Stewart has this exclusive report.

Council tax pays for everything from housing to schools and bin

collections but has been frozen for the last two years. So far

brighter's Green party led council is the only want to suggest

increasing this above 2% whhch would trigger a referendum, but there is

research suggesting it's de`d in the water. All 21 wing party melbers are

expected to back the increase, and the next biggest group is the

Conservative Party, with all 18 preferring a freeze. On thehr own

they cannot defeat the Green party, but the Labour group made up of 14

councillors said they would join forces with the Conservativds vote

against the rise. That means could not be passed. No one from the Green

party would speak on camera but they say an average tax rise of ?4 5 per

month per band C property would be preferable to cutting. The

opposition thinks it's more about policy than protecting servhces It

was done to unite the Green party group, which is why Jason Khtcat

came up to the `` with the hdea because he knew of the Green party

supported the 2% rise, half of his group might not vote the budget

They want to hold a referendum which would cost the taxpayer ?900,00

just to get some national hdadlines and look good standing up to the

government when, in fact, it went to the city or its residents any good.

But there is public support for a referendum. I think we should be

given a vote as to what will happen with our city and the money we are

spending on council tax. All the residents in Brighton should be

allowed to have a say in thdir city as to how the council spend our

money. Getting the budget p`ssed might be the least of Jason

Kitcat's problems. Last year a group of rebels tried to unseat hhm. This

is mid`term and there have been moments of ill discipline which I

have been unfortunate to have and it's not put us in the best possible

light. Ahead of the crucial budget vote he could be facing another

challenge to his leadership. Louise is here in the studio. Is

this a crisis? Just how serhous is this for Jason Kitcat? It's not good

for him, clearly, because if you heard, the figures don't st`ck up on

the Green party side, so if he was trying to make a political point by

saying he would take the totgh stance. On another level, there

seems to be a faction within the Green party who would like to unseat

the leader or at least not re`elect him. Critics say if he can't control

his own party members, have any control the council is a hahl `` as

a whole? A former soldier h`s been jailed for life in the Democratic

Republic of Congo for the mtrder of his best friend and cell`mate, even

though expert reports concltded the death was a suicide. Joshua French,

who grew up in Margate, has been convicted of killing Tjostolv

Moland, whose body was found in a military prison in Kinshasa in

August. The pair were sentenced to death in 2009 for killing a driver

they'd hired, but always mahntained their innocence.

Flooding's causing more disruption for rail commuters in Kent this

evening. Water on the track at Chartham is affecting services

between Ashford Internation`l and Ramsgate, via Canterbury West.

Replacement bus services ard in place.

Sussex Police say a suspect package sent to the office of the Crawley MP

Henry Smith was a false alarm. The bomb disposal squad cordoned off the

area in Three Bridges this lunchtime, after the MP's staff

raised concerns about an envelope he'd been sent, but it was found to

be safe. A jury's heard that a man found dead

on the Isle of Sheppey was lurdered because his attackers believed he'd

sexually abused a teenage ghrl. 34`year`old Gary Pocock's body was

found on the seafront in Lexsdown last August. Our Home Affairs

Reporter Rebecca Williams joins us from Maidstone Crown Court. And the

four men and a teenage boy deny murder, Rebecca.

Yes, that's right, Polly, and amongst those were father and son

and some of their family frhends. We heard how Gary Pocock had bden out

drinking in Sheppey on the night of the incident and the jury s`id this

might have been a preplanned attack as some sort of punishment. A court

today heard how he was savagely beaten to death with baseball bats

on a beach in Sheppey. Gary Pocock's body was discovered in

August, half naked, battered and bruised. It took police nearly two

days to identify him. Today the jury were told by Gary Pocock might have

been killed after he was accused of molesting a teenage girl. The court

heard how one of the defend`nts Mark Terry, who was friends with

Gary Pocock, had planned an attack and later overreacted. 24 hours

before the killing, it is alleged he sent a text message saying:

at the meeting suggested a punishment was planned. The

prosecuting barrister went on to say:

vigils were held on the Isld of Sheppey following the killing. For

men and a teenager denies mtrder. The case continues. `` for len. As

you heard in the report, in court, Gary Pocock had been killed using to

baseball bats. The jury tod`y were told he was hit so hard that one of

the bats actually broke into. The five male defenders `` defendants

deny the charges and tomorrow we will hear from the prosecuthon

witnesses. A Sussex man who's been forced to

abandon his home due to rock falls from cliffs behind the propdrty says

he's determined to fight a local council ruling that he's responsible

for repairing and maintaining them. 61`year`old antiques dealer Chris

Paraskeva, who's currently recovering from cancer, says

Hastings Borough Council should take responsibility for the cliffs, which

have become unstable after weeks of heavy rainfall. Ian Palmer has more.

Chris showed me what is left of his kitchen. It was not in the house

during the rock fall, but rdceived a letter from the borough council

saying it was not responsible for repairs to the property. I would

assume that the council would take the responsibility for the top, and

that would mean that they owned the land beneath. 19 days ago rock fall

left and 97`year`old man tr`pped in a cavity. Properties were evacuated,

and now they have returned, householders are being urged by the

council to contact their insurers. We are sympathetic, but we have a

duty to the taxpayer. We cannot pay out on claims on properties that

don't belong to us. The land is owned by somebody, maybe evdn the

Crown, and it wouldn't be something that is his responsibility tnless it

was in the deeds. The rock fall has been caused by extreme wintdr

weather. This dramatic landslide in Hastings has been watched bx people

all over the world online. This homeowner says he has banned his

children from parts of the house. And when no comeback in, thdre are

parts of my premises that I am afraid to use and I have two

children I won't allow behind the property. This is part of the master

plan and it shows that our demarcation line is along the top of

the cliff. The borough council says it is willing to negotiate, but in

the meantime, residents are left wondering how safe their holes are.

Our top story tonight: Two lajor energy announcements. Plans to

expand the world's largest offshore wind farm off the north Kent coast

have been scrapped amid concerns about the length of time nedded for

environmental impacts. Meanwhile EDF say they expect to

extend the life of Dungeness B nuclear power station by a decade

until 2028 Also in tonight's programme: Getting closer to nature;

we look at the best of the dntries in the British Wildlife Centre's

latest photographic competition I am on the red carpet at the BRITS

and I'll be talking to him hn a moment. It's Tom Odell.

Commercial fishermen along the Sussex coast say that this winters

series of ferocious storms have left them in a desperate state.

The appalling weather has d`maged boats and equipment, and prdvented

them from going to sea at all for weeks on end ` adding up to

estimated losses of a million pounds since Christmas. `` ?1 millhon. The

fishermen are meeting ministers next week to call for help. Ellid Price

has tonight's Special Report.. He tells me he's the finest fishermen

on the south coast. In fact, his livelihood depends on it. Btt

Stephen is a bit out of practice. Today was the first time in months

he's managed to even get out to sea. When was the last time you had a day

like this? A long time ago. It would have probably been September time,

maybe. Never has the fishing been so bad before. This is just thd icing

on the cake for a lot of people Hopefully, fingers crossed, from now

on it will be improving, because summer is on its way. But even if

boats can now get out, the weather has cost fishermen in anothdr way.

As it is, it's useless. Jim Partridge says more than 150 of his

lobster pots lay damage at the bottom of the sea. It is totch and

go as to whether a third of the fishermen will make it financially.

It is that bad. I believe it has cost the Sussex fishermen ?0 million

this year. That's why the industry is calling for a hardship ftnd. And

they sure MP has set up a mdeting with the fisheries minister `` the

local MP. Fishermen on the south coast included in any recovdry

package, and we have to makd sure that is part of it. These are the

hidden victims, losing their livelihoods. The fishing fldet is

small enough as it is and wd need to help them. The government s`ys

fishermen will be able to apply for a share of the ?10 million support

scheme it set up for businesses affected by the floods and said it

will consider offering other support, but with more gales

expected over the next few days help cannot come too soon.

It takes a good eye, a faschnation with animals and lots and lots of

patience. And the winners of the latest photographic competition run

by the British Wildlife Centre in Lingfield have shown all three

qualities in abundance. There were more than 500 entries depicting

animals at the centre, all of which are breeds which can be found living

wild in Britain. Sara Smith reports. They may be in enclosures, but it

doesn't mean there always sht still to have their pictures taken, and

for those dedicated to wildlife photography, that's part of the

charm. This shot of a pine Lartin at home in their habitat category, and

Wendy Salisbury took a long time waiting for the perfect momdnt. They

are not easy to photograph because they are fast, quite shy as well, so

it's a challenge. It is a challenge, but that's the same with a lot of

wildlife photography and th`t's what keeps you coming back.

All the animals at the centre can be found living in the wild in the

British Isles. Some much more commonly than others. There were six

categories for photographers with judges choosing winners and

runners`up for each. When wd look at the photographs we look at that

little something different, that's something that is a bit mord

special, difficult to take hn the wild and shows off the real

character of the animal in the picture.

And character is certainly something that these animals are not short of.

Onto football, and Gillingh`m take on League One strugglers Shdffield

United at the Priestfield tonight. Gills boss Peter Taylor may be able

to select Chris Whelpdale following injury, but striker Danny Kddwell is

still out, after a hernia operation. Singer Tom Odell, who honed his

craft at the Brighton Institute of Modern Music, will find out tonight

if he can add to his previots BRIT Awards success. The 23`year`old from

West Sussex was a winner last year and tonight he's up for two more

awards, for Best British Male solo artist and Best British Bre`kthrough

Act. A few minutes ago our reporter Jane Witherspoon caught up with Tom

Odell on the red carpet outside the O2 in London.

A few moments ago our reporter caught up with Tom Odell hilself on

the red carpet outside the O2 in London. The excitement is btilding

here, look at all the journ`lists and stars behind me, but we have one

of our own next to me, Tom Odell. Thanks for joining us. A little bit

greedy Visscher, for two aw`rds I'm very nominated `` honoured to be

nominated `` a little bit greedy Visscher. It's nice to be hdre for a

celebration of British music. `` this year. Last year you won the

critics choice award, so how has your life changed in 12 months? I've

been busy, doing a lot of touring in the last year. I travel a lot. I

have gone through a lot of suitcases. I found that suitcases

only last about three months and then they explode and you go to

collect it, and all of your stuff is spread over the carousel. It's

happened to me several times. That is what happens when you Jetset

around. You studied in Brighton as well. How did brighten infltence

you, and do you ever go back? I have not been back for awhile, btt it's a

wonderful city. Was it good studying there? It's got a great mushc scene,

wonderful music scene. London is a huge place and is more terrhfying,

but in Brighton everyone knows each other, so that's nice. You `re

currently in New York working on a second album. I've been there the

past month, which has been nice to get away from everything. Ndw York

is such a city of artists, `nd it's nice to be working there. Wd hope we

haven't lost due to New York, and we hope you come back a bit more often.

I am back. I am here. Nice to see you. Cheers. Good luck to Tom Odle

from Sussex tonight. He looks very young, doesn't he? Good luck to him.

Moving on. Now have a look `t this. It's only the white chips of Dover.

That's right, one of our best loved landmarks, created by artist

Prudence Staite for National Chip Week. It took her four hours to

build and if you look careftlly you'll see that the grass on the top

of the cliffs is made from lushy peas. Do you think it took four

hours because the chips kept being eaten as she went along? Let's get a

check on the weather with R`chel. Lots of blue skies, but not in real

life. Today, quiet and answdr `` settled day as we go into the night,

though, we will see Bray `` rain and cloud around but it should stay

mild. Rain first thing tomorrow but it will clear out the way, `nd

behind it we see sunshine, `nd on Friday it is breezy but mostly dry.

Into the weekend, Saturday probably the better day. Earlier, drx and

settled picture, plenty of cloud in the morning but by the afternoon we

started to see sunshine and temperatures pretty mild to the time

of year, highs of around nine or 10 degrees. The winds are stayhng like,

not much above ten or 15 mph. As we go into tonight, the cloud cover

will thicken. We see outbre`ks of rain, not heavy, but plenty of it.

Temperatures only dropping ` couple of degrees from the value, lows of

eight or nine degrees. Only dropping to about six or seven inland.

Overcast and mild starting tomorrow. Rain in the morning, but by the

morning `` afternoon, sunshhne and showers. You can tell from the

isobars it will be a breezy picture, and the winds pick up as we go

through the night. Rain in the morning, not very heavy, cldaring

out the way by about 2pm. Bdhind it, decent spells of sunshine, perky

showers but temperatures ten or 11 degrees, really quite mild for the

time of year. The south`westerly winds pick up to about 20 mph but

he's off in the afternoon. Through tomorrow night, one or two showers,

but clearer skies, so temperatures dropping lower than recentlx, two or

three degrees, potentially some frost in rural spots as we start the

day on Friday. But mostly, dry pitch of the many, outbreaks of r`in along

the coast, and it does stay breezy. Temperatures of around ten or 1

degrees. As we had to the wdekend, Saturday looks the better d`y. In

Sunday we expect to see rain, potentially heavy, but amatdurs over

the weekend staying mild, wdt tomorrow morning, but sunshhne

tomorrow morning `` temperatures over the weekend.

That is it for now. Ian Paller will be back at 10:25pm. We will be back

tomorrow. See you then. Havd a lovely evening. Goodbye.