11/07/2011 South Today

Hello, I'm Sally Taylor, welcome to South Today. In tonight's programme,

the Southampton stand-off continues. Workers accuse the council of

planning even more job cuts as the If we do not make a stand now, it

makes us look weak and all the other councils look weak and the

fat cats think they can rule things, it will not happen. In the studio

tonight, we'll hear from the leader of Southampton Council and a union

official. Rat problems in Reading, families

are forced to move out of their homes. One thing is having them in

the loft, that is bad enough but when you're in bed and you can see

them in the bedroom... Rejected, plans are thrown out to

develop this historic building and hundreds of houses.

And missing a loved one on the front line, the children using

poetry to help them cope. Guns blazing everywhere, mothers of

those fighting in despair, we now realise our hearts... If the

It was billed by the unions as Armageddon Day. Take a pay cut or

lose your job. It's the deadline for Southampton City Council

employees to sign new contracts. Within the hour we have heard 98%

of staff have now signed up to new pay terms and conditions. Today

workers were on the picket line again. It's the start of the eighth

week in a wave of rolling strikes involving refuse workers, toll

collectors and port health workers among others. The council wants

anyone on more than �17,500 a year to take a pay cut and have their

salaries frozen for two years. The unions rejected a new offer to stop

the strikes if the threshold was raised to �22,000 a year. One of

the more visible effects of the industrial action is around 2,000

tonnes of rubbish uncollected on the city's streets. Our political

editor Peter Henley reports now on the battle for public opinion at

From the pickets outside Southampton docks, to the radio and

TV airwaves. Unions refused to give us that exemption and so we went on

strike. The dispute has been building up to this day, and both

sides were pressing their case. At 5:30 any Southampton Council

employee who hadn't signed up to the new contract lost their job.

Though, with unions suggesting it was safer to sign, almost everyone

had done. Nearly 100% of staff have signed the contract, effectively

agreeing to do the same job bought for less money. And now other

councils are looking at trying to introduce the same idea. Among

those, Jedburgh in, a support health inspector who has never been

on strike before and we didn't have the last minute to sign the new

contract. I have three children and a mortgage and having a change in

terms and conditions unilaterally imposed upon us, it makes a big

difference to household income. arguments have ploughed up along

with the rubbish so after eight weeks, where does public opinion

stand? Businesses know all about wage costs. But they also know how

important it is to get services right. They have made their point,

you can see they have made it on the streets. I sympathise with them

but I think enough is enough. residents groups have agreed to

volunteer to take rubbish to the tip. I am not breaking strike, I am

trying to protect the interests of our city. We have a lovely city,

you only need to look at the Parks, it is a beautiful city. The

precinct is a mess. Southampton's image has been hit hard by the

strike with no clear winner. clearing up the high street sends

the message that without the bin men, look at what stage we would be

in so it gets the point across but cuts have to be made, it is hard

times and 95% of them now have accepted the pay cut. Why are they

still striking? With more staff than ever on strike this week and

on picket lines, union members have shown determination added event

turned their anger to a YouTube song. # All we want is the same

work and more pay and we ask for you to hear our safe. # councillors

meet on Wednesday to discuss next steps. Unions claim a secret plan

to cut a further 1,000 jobs, or the council leaders deny that but they

know that opposition to the pay cut Joining us now is Royston Smith,

the leader of Southampton City Council and Andy Straker from the

union Unison. Royston Smith, let me start with you. 98% have signed up,

and around 70 people have not. Other signing up to something now

where they could still lose their jobs? We never said this was the

panacea to the entire financial crisis, but we said it would

protect 400 more jobs from going from the organisation. We always

said that. But these rumours around that you are thinking of actually

cutting even more... There are not rumours, there was a PowerPoint

presentation. It was made by a chief executive to the offices

which said if you did nothing else and you only ever handled the

crisis by job cuts, that is what it would take. But it will not be that.

I want to establish, 90% has signed up thinking they have got new

contracts that all they have got jobs, they have got them, will they

be able to stay in them? I do not know he will be in what job in the

next year, I cannot predict what will happen. So you're not ruling

out job cuts? We never said that at the start. This is not new. If 90%

of workers are signed up, why are you striking? We have been telling

our members for eight weeks to sign the new contract. Our legal advice

is that even though they have signed those new contracts, or to

put the our members will have a claim for unfair dismissal. There

was not the choice of signing it or not, either way you go to work. The

council made it clear if you do not sign the contract, do not come to

work. We will not give advice to our work is to walk away. Strike

will continue this week and will take advice on the future. You are

thrown away concessions, you did not put them to your members. In a

sense, they are worse off with these contracts? That is not

entirely true. Our members at a meeting last week overwhelmingly

endorse the actions that Unite and Unison had suggested. They have

been forced to sign this. That is what the unions are saying.

unions are saying an awful lot of things. If they do not sign the

contract, they get dismissed effectively. If they do not sign

them, they no longer work for the organisation. Absolutely but if you

go to work, you sign a contract, you will have a job. We are saying

that the new terms and conditions come in on a set date, three

months' notice to sign up to them, and there is a job for everyone.

Nobody will be sacked. But even before the dismissal notices,

should you have someone St sitting down with the unions saying that

these are the issues and problems, can we work through this together?

Are you suggesting we did not do this? Five times we did that.

did you not sit down and work this through? Councillor Smith has just

said he met with us five times. From November through to April to

resolve this issue, it takes five meetings? You did not speak in any

meeting and he refused to engage and would not come up with any

options. You said, it is not for us to find solutions and you sat in

every one of the meetings and look at your shoes, Andy. That is why we

cannot negotiate with you. That is because councillors may does not

understand negotiation. The bit mean sitting silent... Coming into

a meeting saying they will withdraw for 15 minutes and when they come

back, can you tell us if you're up in a grim it? That is not a

negotiation. Can I put this to both of you. People have lost confidence

in the council and workers. Rubbish on the streets and so on. How much

more do they have to put up with? It is in your hands, both of you,

to sort this out. How much longer will it go on for? Andy, how long

will it go on for? I do not know. The problem is we need to have a

negotiated settlement to this. We will not put up with our members

being dismissed and put on worse terms and conditions. Royston Smith,

can you work together? I have offered again today in the

agreement we have suggested. We will not sack one third of

employees. But is what we started this process. Are you meeting

tonight? We are not that we have offered to have meetings. We will

leave it there. Families in the Southcote area of

Reading have been moved out of their homes while the council deals

with a major rat problem. One woman who was bed-ridden after a stroke

was even bitten by one of the rodents and moved to hospital.

Let's join Joe Campbell in the garden of one of the families

affected. The people so they have had problems with rat here for a

while but it was not until somebody was admitted to hospital that the

police became involved and the council may have to start clearing

the rats from the area. People who have been moved out today so there

should have happened a long time Today was moving day for the

Sullivans. And it couldn't come soon enough for the family driven

from their home by a rat invasion. We have had thats on the bed, in

the kitchen, everywhere. -- rats on the bed. You name it, everywhere.

The council has been working to clear possible nest sites from a

neighbouring garden. But the rats have already branched out from here,

as several families, including the Sullivans, know. I woke up in the

middle of the night and I heard the rat chewing, and a sore about

coming through here. He scuttled off into my airing cupboard.

Alison Sullivan watching today's work, it's all a bit late in the

day. I had a letter on Monday last week that there was no problem with

rats and in two days later, they are asking us to move out until

they find us something permanent. Three years, something has been

going on. One thing is having them in your loft, that is bad enough

but when you're actually in bed and can see them in your bedroom...

Contractors have spent the afternoon baiting local sewers and

reassuring people the matter is now in hand. We have checked the poison

and we will replace it. Some though remain to be convinced the

authorities are even now truly on top of the problem. The council

says it is working with local people with what it accept to be a

problem. You can see all this vegetation which has been cleared

to try to get rid of the potential area for rats' next. But they are

not gone yet. -- rats' nests. People said they saw Iraq and then

we saw one about that big. The Government is to ask companies

to bid to run the search and rescue helicopters at Lee-on-Solent in

Hampshire and Portland in Dorset. The helicopters are privately run

on behalf of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency. The new contract

will be for up to five years. A longer term private finance deal to

replace all search and rescue helicopters with new aircraft fell

through last winter. Meanwhile, a final decision on the future of

coastguard stations, including those at Lee-on-Solent and Portland,

is expected before Parliament's summer recess. It's been reported

that the Government's had second thoughts about closing all but

three of the UK's stations. Still to come, pedal power, the special

Passenger numbers at Gatwick Airport rose by over 150,000 last

month, that's an increase of 5.2% compared to last June. The airport

handled a total of 3.2 million passengers during the month. The

increase was driven by a rise in flights to and from European

destinations. Today Lufthansa announced they will start operating

two flights a day to Frankfurt from October.

A barrister has been telling a court of the moment he says he was

threatened by one of the brothers behind the failed Lapland New

Forest theme park. Henry Mears from Coombe Road, Brighton is alleged to

have leaned over barrister Gary Lucie inside the courtroom as

others were leaving and made comments which were taken as a

threat of violence. He was jailed in March for his role in running

the attraction. Let's join our reporter Allen Sinclair in our

Caversham studio. This is a contempt of court hearing,

so no jury, just a judge listening to evidence before making a ruling.

I think most of us remember the Lapland New Forest theme park. Set

up down at Ringwood just before Christmas 2008. It collapsed after

a few days following thousands of complaints that it wasn't at all

like what had been advertised. The two brothers behind the venture,

Henry and Victor Mears from Brighton, were prosecuted by Dorset

Trading Standards for false advertising, and they were

sentenced to 13 months in prison back in March. But today's court

hearing relates to two alleged incidents that happened in court

shortly before the trial got under way last November. The prosecution

barrister Gary Lucie, who was due to take the case, claims he was

threatened by the younger of the Mears brothers, Henry Mears, once

in the courtroom itself, and again outside moments later. The judge

believed the threats were serious enough that Mr Lucie was forced to

step down from the case and another barrister was hurriedly brought in

to run the trial. What have we learned today about the nature of

the alleged threat? The first inside court is supposed

to have happened during a break, when everyone was leaving the room.

Victor Mears had been taken ill. Mr Lucie described Henry Mears leaning

over him as he sat at the desk writing. Mr Mears than allegedly

said: "Mechanisms are in place to hold those responsible for this and

He was talking about Victor. Mr Lucie said Mr Mears' tone and body

language was threatening and that was backed up by the court logger

who was nearby. He said: "It was not 'I'm going to get you', it was

more subtle than that". Then moments later outside court, Mr

Lucie was in a group when Henry Mears apparently put his arm around

his shoulders and talked about punching him in the face. That was

apparently said in a jovial way, and there were other people present

but reflecting on it later, Mr Henry Mears himself has given

evidence as well and is denying this? He is. He's told the court

he's well known in West Sussex as a straight-talking but polite and

civil man. He suggested what he actually said to Mr Lucie was: "I

think trading standards, when you look at all this, should be made

responsible if anything happens to him. Again, talking about Victor.

He is very, very ill". The judge has heard all the

evidence and she's due to make a ruling tomorrow. The anchor of the

Kiwi to have been returned to the city in south London. It left south

London for the last time nearly three years ago. Since then, plans

to converted to a tourist attraction in Dubai have been put

on hold. It's stood empty and abandoned

since the doctors and nurses moved out in 2006 but plans to restore

the former King Edward VII Hospital in Midhurst in West Sussex have

been turned down. A development company had put forward a plan to

transform the Grade II listed building. The trade-off, an extra

250 homes to be built in the grounds. But for the new South

Downs National Park Authority that was too high a price to pay, as

Sean Killick now reports. For 100 years, this Grade II listed

building, the King Edwards VII Hospital, helped people get better.

But now it's in an unhealthy state itself. The cure could be to

renovate the building and turn it into assisted care living

apartments. The roof now leaks on this building

and in some places such as here in the library, there's quite a lot of

damage already. The developers say that shows the need for restoration

work to begin as soon as possible. But renovation comes at a price. To

help fund the project, an enabling development of 267 houses and

apartments would be built in the pressure on local infrastructure

Today the plan was rejected, and campaigners say temporary repairs

should now be carried out. It is not going to fall down, the

developer am sure will come back with a mock -- a much more

acceptable scheme. The building can be mothballed, it will not

deteriorate any further, the owner is obliged to maintain it while it

is mothballed. But the developer said it would not

be going back to the drawing board. The enabling development is the

only viable proposal to bring about restoration of what has been

recognised as important by everybody so we will be launching

an appeal as soon as possible. Because we genuinely believe these

are exceptionally sensitive proposals that will deliver the

long-term future of these heritage buildings.

Some remarkable poems have been published that give a powerful

insight into the emotions of children from military families

when their relatives are serving on the front line. It's been produced

at Bovington Middle School in Dorset, where around one in three

children have relatives in the forces. Steve Humphrey reports.

With so many youngsters from army families at Bovington Middle School,

no-one was surprised that some chose military themes when they

began a poetry project. The best of the poems have been included in a

new book, which will be launched at the Bovington Tank Museum this

evening. Suffering is neither great nor could but I will make sure

people are remembered for the more. Guns blazing ever more, the mothers

in despair. We now realise that our hearts may never repair if the

things continue to flower. I thought it was easy to let my

feelings come out. I really respect all the soldiers who have gone out

to Iraq and places like that but I wrote about how I felt and that is

what I did. Some people like to keep their feelings locked in

themselves but in a book, you can express them.

Much of the inspiration for the youngsters' creativity has come

from Sussex poet, Brian Moses, who has been holding special poetry

workshops. A poem can make you smile, laugh, Sade, shiver, think,

wonder. Some of the poems in the book really do touch these emotions.

Children often see poetry as dry and boring but Brian Moses is

incredible how he presents it and inspires children to think in a

different way. The children's poems do not just reflect military themes,

they have also written about guinea pigs, teachers, even the stars at

night. I remember the night sky, tiny lanterns, breathtaking. The

world changed that night, I remember. Beautiful poems by those

children at Bovington Middle School in Dorset. Poetry can be very

powerful, really help you. And in I went down a canoe the wrong way

on a river. All the talk about the Olympics

these days focuses on London 2012. But a very special Games has just

taken place. The Special Olympics gives competitors with learning

difficulties the chance for sporting glory, and last week's

Games in Athens brought success for a canoeist from Hampshire who beat

the odds to take gold. Neil Hartley needs to be determined and it has

prepared him for the Special Olympics with two sprint kayak

medals. it was easy to see he has got the aggression made false

printing. That is what you need, it is not easy to paddle the boat,

they are quite hard work. You have got to be determined. How does it

feel to have a couple of medals? Fantastic. Breathtaking. He trains

exceptionally hard, he is really committed to everything he does in

the canoeing, he has been training every single week for the past

three years. He was in hospital for two day before running to Greece

attached to a drip getting a stomach bug. The Bengals are the

latest successes in his sporting career which are helping in other

parts of his life -- the medals. has got out there and seen the new

concept of what to do with life and what he wants, he has got a greater

sense of determination, brilliant to see. He is the new staff is

canoe Club in Southampton and his inspiring others to follow in his

wake. Well done to Neil there, they are

very proud of him. Cricket, the defending Twenty20 champions

crushed rivals Sussex to secured top spot ahead of the quarter-

top spot ahead of the quarter- finals but then on the final day of

the -- first day of the championships, Hampshire were put

in a spin like Monty Panesar, -- by in a spin like Monty Panesar, -- by

Monty Panesar. They made a shaky start in their reply. 27 minus 24

their thing. In Surrey, the home side have they advantage, they are

Portsmouth have signed Greg Halford on a three-year deal from Wolves.

Meanwhile, the former Southampton manager Stuart Gray is said to join

Pompey as the new first-team coach. He has since worked for several

clubs in both the Premier League and the Football League. Staying

with football, power chair football is a growing sport for wheelchair

users and a new club was given a boost with a special tournament in

Reading, it is a collaboration and fills a gap in the market before

the previous clubs have been in Swindon and Watford, and provides a

level playing field because able bodied players are welcomed to take

If that is great. And now for a I thought it was hot this morning.

A lovely start to the day. A bit sticky yesterday. More of that

today. A lovely picture to start. View from Dungy Head towards Durdle

Door, taken this morning by Heather on the Kennet and Avon Canal just

east of Newbury, sent in by NJ A lot more cloud this evening so a

cloudy end to a fine day. It should stay dry for most of us but the car

but steadily increasing through this evening and overnight,

particularly from the South West. We may see a bit of dampness in

places, but the vast majority should stay dry. A bit more on Cup

doubles to sleep once again -- a bit more uncomfortable to sleep.

This double feature sitting over France, it is creeping into the

seven most areas and bring a bit of rain through tomorrow. I think it

is easing its way through tomorrow evening and it is gone by Wednesday.

Tuesday morning, we have the rain into Dorset and Hampshire, and

increasing in to Sussex. A few isolated showers but the further

north you are, he should escape dry. 22 Celsius the top temperatures for

tomorrow. The rain is slow to clear, perhaps in two late evening and

elsewhere should ease away fairly quickly. Some clear breaks so a

better night to come. Fresher conditions, around ten Celsius our

at minimum by the early hours. Staying similar to today so some

sunny spells and perhaps a bit of cloud bubbling up and temperatures

in the low to mid- twenties. Almost the same on Thursday. A lot of dry

weather to come. Temperatures not too bad either, we have to put up

with the rain tomorrow, not huge amounts and then it is dry and warm

for the rest of the week with some good, decent sunny spells with

temperatures not bad. We can live with them. Through the week, low

twenties to the mid- twenties and tomorrow because of the north-

easterly wind, it will feel a bit cooler and things should improve

into Thursday and by Friday, things are looking to go downhill because

Persistent but gentle rain, you make it sound almost bearable! Make

sure you were with us tomorrow because Tony Dunwoody doing what he