05/05/2014 South Today

There is more throughout the evening on the BBC News Channel. We are back

with on the BBC News Channel. We are back

Good evening. I'm Caroline Richardson with the latest news from

South Today. The South's biggest ever wind farm project is at the

centre of another controversy today. Backers of the Navitus Bay project

have confirmed fishing and diving firms are in line for compensation

if they have to stay away from the site during construction. Navitus

says it is standard practice for off`shore developments. But some

people in the tourism industry say they should be compensated too.

Steve Humphrey reports. It is a big wind power plan,

generating big arguments. The people behind Navitus Bay want to build 194

turbines off the south coast, each 200 metres tall. They would be 13.3

miles from Bournemouth. Today the debate has been stoked up by the

emergence of this letter indicating that Navitus Bay may pay

compensation to some fishing and recreational diving businesses that

might be affected by the offshore wind farm. People involved in

tourism say that they should also be eligible for compensation. They

point out that research done for Navitus indicated that the presence

of a wind farm could deter some people from visiting the area. ??

FORCEDYELLOW It will create what we think is an industrial landscape,

rather than the landscape I can see out of my window here. I think what

we would like to see is a full economic impact analysis for the

regional economy. This wind farm is very unusual because it is located

so close to a really valuable tourism economy. Navitus says that

they are proposing to help diving and fishing businesses that incur

increased costs, but not the wider tourism industry. We have done

detailed tourism studies and analysis. Similar to the twenty`two

other wind parks around the UK, the impact on tourism is really a

perception. There is no real evidence from around the UK that

wind farms have an impact. And that is looking at wind farms that are

much closer to shore and resorts than we will be. A planning

application for the wind farm was submitted last month. The final

decision will be taken by the Energy Minister. Steve Humphrey, BBC South

Today. Anti`fracking protestors are

considering a legal challenge against a decision to allow

exploration for oil and gas under a Sussex village to continue. The

energy company Cuadrilla can now carry out further tests at the site

in Balcombe. Last summer protestors gathered amid fears that test

drilling could lead to fracking. Cuadrilla has said it has no plans

to do so. The Forestry Commission says claims

by some wildlife groups that aerial spraying of woodland in Berkshire

will damage all moth and butterfly species is inaccurate. Later this

month, parts of Sulham Woods, near Pangbourne, will be sprayed with

bacteria to eliminate a toxic caterpillar that is deadly to oak

trees and harmful to humans. Despite previous treatments, five oak

processionary moths were discovered here last year. The authorities want

to completely eradicate it. A centre in West Sussex for children

with special needs and life`limiting illnesses says it may have to close.

The Camelia Botnar Children's Centre in Goring`by`Sea costs ?250,000 a

year to run. The twenty professional carers have been given a formal one

month redundancy consultation notice. If new backers are not

found, the centre will close in July. Sean Killick reports.

Two`year`old Gabby has a form of cerebral palsy. She is one of 70

children attending each week at the Camelia Botnar Children's Centre. It

has been fantastic, she has progressed so much since she has

been here in such a short time. The staff and everyone here are

fantastic. They are all trained and they have got the equipment that

they need here. If you go to another nursery, they will not have the

equipment for the children. So it will be fantastic if someone can

actually save this nursery. Until 2009, the centre was funded by the

West Sussex charity the Camelia Botnar Foundation. But since then,

it has been independent and running on its own reserves and fundraising.

But now it can no longer afford the ?250,000 annual running costs. It

has been very difficult. We have tried very hard to get somebody else

involved to help us in our plight, but unfortunately, with the present

economic climate, it is not really possible to get anyone to help to

the extent that we need it. In March, another children's charity,

the Rainbow Centre at Fareham, said it faced closure and launched an

appeal for ?150,000 ` which it has now almost reached. The Camelia

Botnar Children's Centre has begun a formal one month redundancy

consultation with its 20 professional carers ` most of whom

have worked here for more than a decade. The trustees have held a

meeting with staff to update them on the situation and they have been

told that, if no new backers are found, this centre will close in

July. Sean Killick, BBC South Today, Goring`by`Sea.

The New Forest naturalist Chris Packham's campaign to protect

migratory birds on the island of Malta has triggered a parliamentary

debate on the issue. The BBC wildlife presenter was questioned by

Maltese police while making a documentary. It followed a complaint

by a group of hunters that he and his crew had breached their privacy

by filming them. The prehistoric White Horse, on the

hill near Uffington in Oxfordshire, is getting a face`lift this bank

holiday. Volunteers have been invited to help re`chalk the giant

figure, which has started to turn grey over the winter. To get the

stones back into good condition they will use a method which has not

changed since it was created 3,000 years ago.

Now it is time for the weather with David Braine.

Hello, good evening. After the warmth and the sunshine of today, it

is fresher and also much more unsettled for this week ahead.

Generally, we are going to see a lot of cloud around, there will be

showers, if not longer spells of rain, and also quite breezy with the

winds from the west or south`west. There will be rain overnight and it

will be slow to clear first thing tomorrow morning. It will dwell for

a time, particularly across parts of Berkshire and Oxfordshire.

Temperatures overnight, 11`12 degrees. It will clear and then

tomorrow morning, for at least half of the day, it will be bright and

dry with sunny spells, quite a lot of cloud around. Then the showers

will develop and get going in the afternoon, particularly in the

north. Top temperature, 16 degrees. The outlook is unsettled. Breezy

again on Wednesday with the risk of a few showers and more persistent

rain turning up on Thursday. Have a good night.

That is all from us for now. More on the BBC News website. We are back at

10:20PM. The sunshine today for the bank

holiday produced the highest temperature of the long weekend in

eastern England today, at 20 Celsius. But to the west, the cloud

has been gathering. We have seen a bit of rain in Northern Ireland and

western Scotland, but the thicker cloud now pushing into the

south-west of England is delivering more rain. It will become more

extensive over the next few hours. A ragged area of rainfall will move

east as the night goes on. If