15/08/2011 South Today

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

programme: Getting rid of one and hiring a

stand-in - criticism over the cost of who runs the New Forest National

Park. Moving monument - the battle lines

are drawn over clearing the way in Salisbury town centre.

Oh please won't you buy me a Mercedes hand? The teenager and DJ

royalty - how it all began as Blackburn takes to the Berkshire

The body which runs the New Forest National Park has been sharply

criticised for the secret payment it made to get rid of its former

chief executive and hire a temporary replacement. Lindsay

Cornish left in 2009 following concerns about her management style.

A quarter of a million pounds was then spent in agency fees

backfilling a job that had been around �85,000 a year. A report by

the district auditor says this was done without proper approval. Our

political editor is in the New Forest. Peter, how did this report

come about? They have report like this is only issued in unusual

circumstances, when they think money has not been spent wisely.

The cash they are talking about, those payments to chief officers,

this landscape has been around for thousands of years. But the

organisation was only six years ago, with a budget of �5.5 million. When

they decided the chief executive had to go, the replacement cost

�1,000 a day. It was supposed to be a temporary payment. It added up to

a quarter of a million pounds in the end, but the chairman of the

National Park's authority justifies the payment. I believe that the

amount we paid allow interim to comment at short notice, he was

available, it lived locally, he got the right attitude to interface

with the public, and I think having somebody earned our doorstep was

absolutely right. -- on our doorstep. It was a very

controversial start for that new National Park Authority. They upset

dog-walkers, there were protests. But it was Lindsay Cornish, the

chief executive, who upset that the staff who wrote a letter to the

newspapers. That was the stage when people thought the organisation had

to be abolished. One of those was the MP who thinks things have

improved. Sometimes, you have to do what is necessary to save the day,

rather than doing something by the book if that means you lose the

opportunity that is needed in order to rectify the situation that has

gone wrong. The people involved in this are long gone. The stable door

has been altered after the New Forest ponies have gone over the

horizon. In fact, the quango who organises the Audit Commission are

also being abolished. Furniture chain Lombok followed the

likes of Habitat and MFI into administration today. Stores in

Brighton and Guildford will be lost. At the weekend, TJ Hughes branches

in Boscombe and Crawley, which employed over 100 people, shut for

good. Independent traders have been also been suffering. Latest figures

suggest a 60 % fall in business. Danielle Glavin has been looking at

the pressures facing the small shops.

After 15 years, the cloth store in Crawley is packing up and moving to

here, a short walk they say it will save jobs and �30,000 a year.

of businesses are closing because of rent is so high. So it is better

for us. Others have not been so lucky. TJ

Hughes shut up for good over the weekend. Another fresh victim is

this chain in Brighton. It was confirmed today that shops in

Brighton and Guildford or not be open.

The Retail Association warned small shops will close. They say in the

south, there has been a 2.6% fall in turnover. But, they say there is

good news: The South is faring better than average.

Per back in Crawley, staff at the cloth Shop say independent stores

need a helping hand. The things that make a difference are small

independent shops offering a different product. That is really a

think that the council could encourage perhaps by giving

concessions to smaller independent businesses.

Retail experts told me shops need fuel prices and interest rates to

stay as they are. If both eyes, the High Street will pay the price. --

if both rise. Women in this studio is a retail

expert. Thank you for being with us. Can we establish first of all, we

are talking generally about the South of England, a commercial

rents - are they going up or down? The have levelled out, over the

last three years however they have fallen. Other areas which are

backed up by tourism, for example, rents have seen modest increases.

But on the whole, they have fallen. It seems to be the smaller traders

suffering the most. Who would you say are the winners and losers on

the High Street? Tricky. You mentioned Lombok. They took a lot

of very expensive units at the top of the market. There are winners

and losers, but it tends to come down to that organisation: Some

businesses are run very well, but other businesses do not trade as

well. I would say, or we are looking at the coffee retailers who

are doing well. Cashel dining as well. -- casual dining. A people

keeping rents empty, there are reasons for doing that. If you have

got a landlord with a number of other units, they may keep, or wish

to make sure rents stay the same. The vast majority of landlords in

today's market are looking forward and saying, we are in a hard time,

things will get better, we just need to plug the loss.

It will preserve the jewels in Salisbury's crown, but plans to

give priority to people rather than cars in the market square are

controversial. They have got the blueprint called Salisbury Vision

in their sights, as Rachel reports. Marking the anniversary of victory

over Japan, but as the veterans assembled, so did protesters. They

are against plans to rotate the war memorial from here to hear.

Salisbury Vision says it will create more space for events like

this. But it has angered some. went first to Somalia, then a

Madagascar, and we never lost a single battle. We will not lose

this one. So Salisbury Vision it says it will

bring a new lease of life to the city centre.

Most of these parking bays would be removed, making it traffic free.

But all 34 trees would be chopped down.

It no one was available for comment, but the people designing the square

have said some of the trees are diseased. 25 new smaller ones will

be planted in their place. Salisbury is up in arms about it.

We have been gathering signatures for four weeks. So far, we have

over 5,400 signatures. They is as part of Salisbury. I think it

should stay the same. I think the plans are great. This is a square

in the middle of a city, and all it is is a car park.

The council's planning committee are expected to consider the scheme

next month. It has been an eyesore on

Bournemouth's waterfront for many years, but plans to turn the IMAX

building into a new leisure attraction have hit a major

stumbling block. The council has turned down all of the bids it has

received to develop the site. David Allard is in the newsroom with more.

David, didn't the council ask the public what they wanted to see

happen to the IMAX? Yes they did. Last year, 3,000 people took part

in the public consultation. In of March this year, the council

invited bids from Les operators and operators. -- leisure operators. In

a statement, the council says Nunn achieves an acceptable balance

between leisure attractions and commercial uses. The council needs

a fresh approach. It is pinning its hopes on the born and Development

Company. It is a partnership between the Bournemouth council and

Morgan Sindall Investments. But no plans exist yet. The council says

the public will not back them if they pick the wrong scheme, so the

IMAX will carry on being an eyesore for the time to come.

If you don't ask you don't get. That's the motto of one Berkshire

teenager after he managed to secure a piece of ground-breaking

equipment to help him overcome his disability. Matthew James was born

without a left hand and after years using basic NHS prosthetics, he

decided he wanted something better, so approached a sport well-known

for its use of technology. Ben Moore has been to meet him.

A test drive for a new arm. Matthew James has only had this a bionic

limb for a few days. I am still getting to grips with it. It is

pretty amazing. I am getting used to all the patterns, and different

movements. It was the real world of motor racing that gave Matthew this

arm. Etude Formula One fan, he wrote a letter to Mercedes boss.

Matthew offered the Formula One team advertising space on his new

arm if they contributed �35,000 for it. The team that declined, but

that was not the end. They came to an agreement where they would share

some technology which is very cool in green -- indeed. They reduced

the price down to �10,000. -- cool indeed. The family are still

fundraising, but kept in close touch with them. Matthew even met

the team and toured the factory. Only 100 people have a hand like

this. It can hold a 14 stone, and can even be updated to a wireless

connection. There is a computer located here.

It controls Beria's things like the grip pattern. -- various things.

But as with all top technology, there is the odd downside.

parents can make me do more chores and pass it off as training!

We will be hearing from DJ or royalty. Find out why am I am back

It's a setback but not a disaster. That's the message from the team

behind an attempt to break the UK land speed record in an electric

car. The driver, Joe Wales from Surrey, is the great-grandson of

the past record holder Sir Malcolm Campbell. But an accident in South

Wales yesterday ended his attempt to break the 137 mile an hour

record in his vehicle Bluebird. I'm joined by Dr Tim Allen from Fareham

who's the team's technical director. And they're due for coming in. --

thank you for coming in. As I understand it a father of Joe Wales,

who is still obviously connected with the Campbell family, has got

the record. 137 miles an hour. did he hand the car to his son?

don't know. We were doing tests on Saturday and I think it was just a

quiet handover and off he went. He was doing well. He is a good lad.

Beach conditions meant he hit some soft sand and veered off towards

the sea. He is fine, isn't he? car came to a controlled stop, yes.

On the return run he missed the course again and ended up going

through some large pot holes, the kind of thing a Land Rover would

have trouble with. Fabric the fund -- the front suspension. -- that

brick front suspension. They this is a real family heritage, isn't

it? Definitely. His grandfather was on the beach in the Twenties. Part

of the reason for running this year was to raise the profile of the

project. We want to build a new car to go up to 500 miles an hour. We

have to go to the States for that. The history of the running on the

beach goes back to the 1920s. You is extraordinary. -- it is

extraordinary. That is him on the beach. Are you happy? Are you going

to have another attempt? I am happy with the power. We just need put

together, that we should be that they are running again. And Miss

Think you for coming in. We look forward to being with you perhaps

next time. A 20 mile traffic diversion in West Sussex has been

dismissed as "barking mad" by a council leader. On Wednesday night

the westbound carriageway of the A27 near Shoreham will be closed,

with the other side shut the following night. The Highways

Agency is diverting traffic for about 20 miles. It insists the

alternative route has been carefully chosen, but the leader of

Adur District Council thinks the Tighe I have described it as

barking mad. It is good they are doing it overnight but the problem

is the 20 mile diversion, I cannot believe that is the best they can

come up with. We will watch that carefully. The sprinkler system

will be set up in a building, known as the blade. It didn't originally

have sprinklers because there was no legal requirement to do so but

following lobbying developers have now changed their plans. Sport

Transfers. You know all about those. AFC Bournemouth tend to sell more

than they buy. They have lost another player. Last season, AFC

Bournemouth defied the odds and made it to the Play-Offs in League

One in spite of selling key players. And today another striker followed

in the wake of the likes of Brett Pitman and Josh McQuoid. Danny Ings

signed a four year contract just a couple of hours ago to play in The

Championship at Burnley. The deal's reported to be worth a million

pounds - much needed cash for the Cherries and sees Ings link up with

former Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe at Turf Moor. Bournemouth

didn't really miss him on Saturday. Their goals to come - but Kris

Temple starts his round-up of the weekend's football with a

Southampton sharabang. The manager compared last season's Jennie to

promotion with a bus ride, this year it could be a bandwagon which

rolled into Barnsley at the weekend. Training paid off for David

Connolly who got the only goal after 30 minutes. Richard Chaplow

was sent off late on a promotion campaigns are built on hard away

wins. Portsmouth surprised everyone by announcing they had signed

Benjani ahead of kick-off. Albion's affair man stole the show. He got

the only goal at Fratton Park. Liam Lawrence had a penalty miss. Graham

saw because we deserved minimum a draw. Everything we could do we did.

Reading fans endured a roller- coaster of emotions as they lost in

the play-off final last season. But they are on the up and Neil Hunt

We showed real good quality. Passing and organisation were good.

Bournemouth left Danny things out of their side to play Sheffield

Wednesday ahead of his transfer to Burnley today. They did not miss

him. Adam Barrett headed the cherries in front. A splendid

finish completed the sort -- the scoring seven minutes from the end.

Promotion favourites Crawley Town got their first win in leak two.

Tyrone Barnett put them in front with a header. Wesley Thomas

muscled his way in for a second. It was the kind of physicality

Aldershot left in the dressing room. Ashley Westwood flew in to head the

only goal of the game after just two minutes. More football tomorrow.

The first yacht in the Fastnet Race, which only left Cowes yesterday

morning, is expected to finish tonight. The fleet races down the

English Channel, round the Fastnet Rock at the tip of Southern Ireland

and back to Plymouth. The leading trimaran, which is due back first,

is skippered by Frenchman Loick Peyron. Isle of Wight offshore

sailor Brian Thompson is among the The 2012 Olympic Test Regatta

finished at the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy

over the weekend. There was success on the final day for Britain's

greatest Olympic sailor. Ben Ainslie signalled his intent to win

a fourth successive Olympic title and complete a hat-trick in the

Finn Class on home waters next summer. Ainslie from Lymington won

by a massive 31 points after winning more than half his races at

the regatta. It is what I what fall for six months. It was hard, a lot

of pressure from the top British guys. I think I am so electable. I

think the most important thing is learning about this venue. Still a

Tens of thousands of people lined the roads of Surrey to watch the

world's top cyclists take part in the test event for the London

Olympics. The event attracted controversy as part of the route

went through an environmentally sensitive area at Box Hill. The

race was won by Britain's top sprinter Mark Cavendish. 350 roads

in the county were closed for several hours and delays were

And one Olympic sport received a timely boost ahead of the Games

today. The women's hockey team, based at Bisham Abbey in Berkshire,

announced a sponsorship deal to fund their preparations. They've

done it ahead of their male counterparts. And the squad will be

heading to Germany this week to compete in the last major

international tournament before next summer's London Olympics.

Sussex's batsmen made history in their Pro40 match against

Worcestershire at Horsham yesterday. Joe Gatting and Ed Joyce both hit

centuries as Sussex made 399 for 4. That's a world record first class

score in 40 over cricket. Sussex went on to record their eighth

Well done. I heard you on the radio in the car yesterday. Were you in

the pub? I was. I am doing four Sundays in the pub for Radio

Berkshire. You would have liked it. Remember when you tried who are

whooping. They had a lady on that does it. I have got it and how. I

will show you later. -- I have learnt how to do it now. He's one

of radio's living legends and he's on BBC Radio Berkshire this week.

Tony Blackburn was of course the first DJ on Radio One. So many

people used to listen. What he didn't know is that Radio

Berkshire's Reading studio is right next door to the BBC's Written

Archives centre which houses documents dating back to the

earliest days of the corporation. As Allen Sinclair reports, it

includes something very personal to Tony Blackburn. Every legend has a

beginning and Tony Blackburn's original audition tape was sent to

the BBC in the mid- 1960s. Lucky for him a panel of bosses liked

what they heard but he has never seen the document which led to his

first job. Personable voice, witty with it. Five passes. Radio

Caroline. Radio barge of's newest team member is broadcasting will to,

making his name and pirate radio, Tony Blackburn's is true that the

BBC goes back long before he first opened the favours of Radio 1 in

1967. 25 Guineas. Terrific money in those days. The Written Archive

Centre is where the BBC stores all of its documents, records and

contracts. Through its history the corporation has had dealings with

the leading figures of the day and the archive is a Trevor -- a

treasure trove of fascinating facts. Anybody who is anybody has

contributed to the BBC over the years. People like TS Eliot, H G

Wells, George Bernard Shaw right down to the Beatles and people like

that. Tony Blackburn is standing in for an diamond on the mid-morning

programme until Thursday. -- Anne Diamond. Has your has been

shredded? I doubt my appraisals are still there! We are not important

enough. Listen to this tape, see what you think. I had to do it for

Sundays. Now the weather... It was actually really nice over the

A lovely start to the day. We have some lovely pictures... Dave Prowse

captured his dogs Brandy and Ben enjoying the early morning sunshine

in the New Forest. Steve Cameron captured Broad Oak bridge when

walking along the Basingstoke Canal at Odiham. And Sue Morley took this

photo of two riders enjoying the sunshine on Goring beach today.

lovely sunny start to the day but the rain arrived later this evening

and be wet rush-hour -- with a boy at rush-hour drive home. There will

be some sunshine towards the end of the week. Tonight will be cloudy

and damp. The weather front is over us at the moment, all from this

area of cloud pushing in from the Atlantic, moving eastwards. It

should clear most parts with drier conditions for the second half of

the night. It will be patchy outbreaks of rain in places.

Temperatures staying mild, though there will be cloud overhead. We

got down into single figures would countryside areas tonight. There

will be a lot of cloud around until the afternoon when we will

hopefully see some brightness and outbreaks of rain are possible with

Dry conditions. The showers we have tomorrow will clear by tomorrow

night with clearer skies are similar temperatures to tonight.

Expect lows of 13 to 16 Celsius. For when state daytime there is a

weather front in the English Channel and there is a bit of

uncertainty as to how far north that will track. In looks likely

the southernmost counties will see rain or showers through the day

despite pressure building in from the Atlantic. A similar day on

On Friday the high pressure builds in it even further. It will be a

dry, sunny unsettled day feeling warm with light winds. Expect

drizzly rain tomorrow, mist and Merck first thing, with showers