11/04/2012 Spotlight


11/04/2012

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Fears that sewage discharges will leave this beach too contaminated

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for swimmers. Businesses here will close, because they're dependent on

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tourism. Good evening. We'll hear more from people in Combe Martin in

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just a moment. Also tonight: stepping up the fight - a summit is

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held in Cornwall amid growing anger over the pasty tax. The three

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musketeers, David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Osborne don't live on

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this planet and didn't realise how passionate we are about a basic

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food. "It's rubbish!" The verdict from some on changes to refuse and

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recycling collections in Cornwall. And a musical memorial to the

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Titanic in a dramatic coastal setting. Villagers in a North Devon

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tourist resort are fighting to save their beach before it becomes a no-

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go zone for swimmers. Figures show that South West Water pumped waste

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water - including partially treated sewage - into the sea at Combe

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Martin 42 times last year after periods of heavy rain. Spotlight's

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North Devon reporter, Andrea Ormsby, has the story. Combe Martin is one

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in North Devon's most beautiful valleys and is a popular tourist

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resort. But there is a problem. Last year South West wearer the

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pumped waste water, including partially treated sewage into the

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sea 42 times. If this continues for four years and we ends up with

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permanent signs on the beach, saying water not fit for bathing,

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businesses here will close. Because they're dependent on tourism.

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Trevor is now campaigning to stop the problem. He is taking these

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posters to shops and businesses to highlight the issue. He is

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convinced if they lose their water quality, they will lose their

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visitors. It would make us think about coming back, if we thought

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there was pollution. We have an organic lifestyle. So we wouldn't

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be happy. It is sad, we're on holiday and with my daughter and

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the grandchildren and we have come here and it is the freedom of the

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kids being able to play in the water and to be so natural, not to

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have to worry about anything unforeseen floating around.

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problem happens in heavy rain when household waste is flushed away and

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mixs with water from storm drains and this becomes too much for the

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treatment works to deal with and the excess overflows into the sea.

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The situation is a complicated situation, with regard to bathing

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water quality. The sewer overflows are doing what they're designed to

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do. The frequency of spills isn't what we would want. We're improving

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that, so that working with the Environment Agency, because we want

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the make sure that water quality is ready for the new bathing water

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regulation. The new standards mean the beach could end up being closed

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to swimmers. It is a situation Combe Martin is desperate to avoid.

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Joining me now is the Operations Director of Cornwall-based Surfers

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:03:41.:03:42.

against Sewage, Andy Cummins. First, 42 pollution incidents there alone.

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But this isn't an ice late case, it happens elsewhere, doesn't it?

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Throughout the South West there are over 1,500 of these combined sewer

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overflows. They needed, but they should not be discharging 42 times

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a year. We should be looking at a handful of isolated spills across

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the whole year, during extreme weather. Swers Water, like all of

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the other water companies, are abusing the combined sewer

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overflows to discharge untreated sewage after normal down pours, not

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heavy down pours. Looking at the scene there, it is beautiful,

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you're concerns, as well as the people of the area, if this keeping

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happening, warnings will go up and you will be prevented from going in

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the sea at all? Yes. The beaches are the South West's most, they're

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best asset. People want to come here and enjoy these sea and hope

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they will have a fraet and -- great and safe time. So people need

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information at the right time. Part of that, surfers against sewage

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have been working with South West Water so when these overflows do

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discharge, we're texting people immediately to tell them there will

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be a pollution incident and people can make an informed decision about

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if they want to go in the sea or not. Knowing that there is sewage

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in the water. You have worked on that warning system, South West

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Water are not doing anything ill legal, what else co-you -- do you

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think could they be doing? If swers Water are not breaking their

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licence, you're right, but they're not operating their asests like

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they should be. What we need to do the short-term solution is to make

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sure people have information and we sent out 80,000 text messages about

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the pollution incidence - o' incidents. We're lobbying the

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Environment Agency to make sure that water companies' licences are

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tightened up. 42 times a year, and that is not worst in the area, but

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42 time is far too many. And in the long-term we want assets to only

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operate on those rare occasions when there is a down pour. Thank

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you. I'm going to have to stop you there. Let us know your views on

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As doctors' groups in the South West prepare to take charge of NHS

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budgets, some are already developing services for their

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patients. The changes are part of the Government's controversial

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reforms, which many clinicians in the region warn will damage the

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health service. Others, however, think it's good news for patients.

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Our Health Correspondent, Sally Mountjoy, has this special report.

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The Government said more patients and higher treatment costs meant

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the NHS had to change. In the biggest shake-up since the health

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service began, it would cut bureaucracy, put GPs in charge and

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increase competition. But the health and social care bill

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provoked protests, and even after hundreds of amendments, most

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doctors, nurses and patients groups were still against it. However,

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last month the bill became law. Now doctors' groups led by GPs are

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poised to take over the vast majority of NHS budgets a year from

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now. Leaders say they are best placed to plan and buy treatment.

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They know what patients' hopes and fears, all those things are. They

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know the problems that patients have and they can therefore use

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that experience and that knowledge to develop things which are more

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relevant to patients and which are perhaps more patient-centred,

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rather than a decision being made by someone who has little contacts

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or experience with those patients. Some GP groups have set up services

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like the NHS weight loss programme in Torbay, run by a private company.

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Overweight patients are invited to join. The result has been I have

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lost two and a half stone. But that is combined with not a diet, but

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sensible eating. So the exercise and the eating, iefr lost weight.

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They're placed on the programme to help with weight loss, motivational

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talks and talks about diet and we're trying to change their

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lifestyle. The doctors who set up the scheme say it shows how

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patients benefit when their GPs commission their health care and it

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is a foretaste of the way private firms will be providing NHS

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services. But critics say the reforms are damaging and expensive.

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Just when we are trying to become more efficient, save money, we're

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wasting our attention on thinking about reorganisationing structures.

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The second thing is as soon as you bring in loads of private sector

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companies, who will land up taking small chunks of service that they

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think are profitable, you will get fragmentation and then things will

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go wrong. But primary care Trusts will be abol ired and doctors and

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nurses are ready to take over NHS budgets. -- abolished. Clinical

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groups are set up in Cornwall, South Devon and Torbay, Knorr east

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and west Devon. Dorset and Somerset. And in Somerset they have taken

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charge of contracts for some major services such as medicines,

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hospital care and meantal health. A baeb Politics Shows most GPs think

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the reform will lead too poorer care. Other believe putting

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decisions in their hands will create better services for their

:09:59.:10:09.
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patients.. Hundreds of householders in Cornwall say their bins haven't

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been emptied since a new waste collection system was brought in

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last month. Some say their rubbish has been lyin$$WHITE Swede, steak

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and spuds - the traditional ingredients for a hot Cornish pasty,

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but now the Government intends to add a new one - VAT. These people

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have been waiting for their rubbish to be correct collected for two

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weeks. It is nearly three weeks now and it's getting desperate. We have

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foxes around. I have been out twice, cleaned up. Covered it up again.

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Down the road is a donkey and pony sanctuary -- sapbgtri. We have

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crows, faxs and it will encourage rats, with the environmental we're

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in here. Two weeks ago Cornwall council introduced a new rubbish

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collection system and the entire service has been contracted out to

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Cory environmental and the days and times of many collections have

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changed. Cory Environmental admit there have been problems. There is

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a combination of factors, some genuine misses and the refuse has

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been put out at the correct time, some people have put it out at

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their usual time and some put it out what they think is the correct

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day. But we're some, because they're getting familiar with the

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new routes. The council have set up a hotline too deal with problems,

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but many say they can't get through. We have increased the capacity in

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the call centre. There is still frustrations with that. If you can,

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please use the web-site. And there will a response from the web-site.

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Yes well collections have been miss and we will endeavour to respond

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and get a cle, out there within 48 hours. Back in May some good news

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for Clive, one of the extra collection vans did arrive and

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although it was a squeeze, it took away his unwanted rubbish.

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Okehampton has moved a step closer to getting a new railway station.

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Devon County Council is backing the submission of a planning

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application for a �360,000 scheme to the east of the town. The long

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term aim is to provide weekday rail services to Exeter and boost

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employment and business growth locally. Police in Plymouth are

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appealing for witnesses after two masked men robbed a city

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convenience store. The robbers, both armed with knives, walked into

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the Premier Store in Melrose Avenue in Pennycross at around 7 o'clock

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last night. They escaped with cash - believed to be around �1,000.

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Devon County Councillors have voted in favour of a �1.7 million scheme

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to switch off streetlights in Exeter. The remote monitoring

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system would enable lights to be turned off as traffic and

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pedestrian levels fall. The long- term aim is to roll out the system

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across the whole county. We'll be reading out some of your thoughts

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on the sewage discharges in North Devon in a moment - keep your e-

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mails and tweets coming in. Also still to come tonight: The wave of

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crime affecting boatyards and moorings and what's being done to

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stop it. And we have almost perfect growing weather, but we haven't

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:13:37.:13:40.

seen the last of the frosts. later. Swede, steak and spuds - the

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traditional ingredients for a hot Cornish pasty, but now the

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Government intends to add a new one - VAT. The so-called pasty tax has

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caused uproar and today bakers, politicians and accountants have

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been meeting to decide what to do about it. Spotlight's David George

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reports on the pasty summit and the story behind it. The issue is

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complicated, but hot takeaway food like fish and chips has attracted

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VAT since the 80s. Hot baked food has not. The Chancellor, not

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regular pasty eat eer, but here seen eating one, has decided to end

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:14:22.:14:22.

this loop put 20% on hot -- loophole and puts 20% on hot baked

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food. We pay VAT, perhaps they should pay VAT. It is a traditional

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Cornish food, so you are going to be upsetting people by putting VAT

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on it. He said in the 80s, clip shop owners passed the charge on to

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customers. If bakers did the same, it would add up to 50 pence to the

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price of a pasty. This bakery makes more than 70 thousand pasties a day.

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Some estimates suggest the business as a whole is worth �150 million a

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year to the Cornish economy. We're employing local people from the

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community. We have local suppliers. Local retailers. And all of that

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could possibly be affected. These are the delegates at the pasty

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summit. Bakers, retailers, politicians, tax experts and others

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are discussing how to fight the coalition's plans. David Cameron,

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Nick Clegg and George Osborne don't live on this planet and didn't

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realise how passionate we're about an ordinary food No kafr Yar, no

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champagne, this is a sausage roll, its a corn is pasty. Snee could see

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a reDix in sales and we could like to see shop loss and bakery closure,

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that would have a bad impact on the local economy and wider economy. So

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we're anxious to make sure that point is understood. The summit has

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reached a consensus and issued a commune Kay in which they say they

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will ga her more evidence of the impact and plan to meet with

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officials and keep up the pressure on George Osborne. Almost �500,000

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worth of outboard motors were stolen from boats in Devon and

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Cornwall last year. The police think gangs of thieves from Eastern

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Europe have been targeting boatyards and moorings. Marine

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crime's a problem across the south west. Thefts from boats have been

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reported in the past year from Looe, Falmouth, Rock, Dartmouth and

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Stithians Lake. Boatwatch schemes with volunteer patrols, CCTV and

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security markings have helped reduce crime. On the River Fal for

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example there was a 40% drop in just one year. Now a new scheme's

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just got underway in north Cornwall, from where Spotlight's Emma

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:16:51.:17:00.

Ruminski reports. Regular patrols to deter thieves. The police say

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gangs are known to free boats from their moorings in one place and

:17:08.:17:15.

steal them elsewhere. Boat engines are worth a lot and these are worth

:17:15.:17:23.

between �15 and �20,000 and here a couple of years ago �100,000 worth

:17:23.:17:30.

of engines were stolen. The police believe organised gangs are

:17:30.:17:35.

committing the crimes and they want local boat owners to keep their

:17:35.:17:40.

engines secure. It is hoped the new inflatable will allow the police to

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patrol the sea more effectively. It is owned by the Padstow harbour

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commissioners. By pooling their resources, officers say they can

:17:51.:17:57.

cut down on crime and enforce local buy laws. Last year there was a

:17:57.:18:02.

significant drop in how much was taken. So we're here to try to

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encourage people to sign up to our boat watch scheme and that does,

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people become affiliated with us and we can work and pull in the

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same direction and hopefully minimise the problem further.

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Special events like this in Rock are designed to promote safety and

:18:19.:18:25.

security on the water. The police have entered into a partnership

:18:25.:18:31.

with the harbour master, and teach teams to support each other.

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have called in, but it is not a huge concern, the incidents we have

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dealt with, it has been reassuring, knowing they're there to back us up.

:18:47.:18:51.

The organisations aim to make the other more secure by sharing their

:18:51.:18:55.

knowledge. A Somerset village has been awarded almost �30,000 of

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Lottery money to keep its post office open. The successful bid by

:18:58.:19:01.

residents in Oake to the Village SOS scheme means their local branch

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is able to remain open for the time being. It is based on local people

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running the shop for their own benefit and ploughing the income

:19:11.:19:21.
:19:21.:19:25.

back into the shop and to make it financially sustainable. Now 100

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years ago this weekend the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank in the

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North Atlantic with the loss of 1,500 lives. This week a Cornish

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Theatre Company is performing Titanic the Musical and on Saturday

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all the key moments in the performance will happen on stage at

:19:37.:19:40.

exactly the same time as they did at sea a century ago. Spotlight's

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John Ayres has more. It has taken seven months to get the performance

:19:45.:19:51.

together and in a theatre location, looking out at the ocean where it

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happened. There is a 50-strong cast and an orchestra. You don't always,

:19:58.:20:04.

or hardly ever get a full cast to a rehearsal. We have only had one or

:20:04.:20:10.

two relersals when we have had everyone here. So when you get

:20:10.:20:20.
:20:20.:20:25.

everyone it's, it suddenly starts The company obtained the rights to

:20:25.:20:29.

put on the performance and it has been doing well. Selling more than

:20:29.:20:35.

5 thousand tickets and covering its costs. In term of people turning up,

:20:35.:20:41.

it is the second best show they have had. There is nothing better

:20:41.:20:45.

than hearing people here, due to the acoustics of the place and the

:20:45.:20:50.

echo you get and you realise the expanse in which you're performing.

:20:50.:21:00.
:21:00.:21:01.

It is a magical experience. It has been ambitious to do it here, but

:21:01.:21:05.

where better could you do it. It is the best theatre I have been able

:21:05.:21:11.

to do its and when the flares go off at night and everyone is trying

:21:11.:21:16.

to get in the lifeboat, it is amazing. We know how this ends, and

:21:16.:21:22.

it is a sensitive subject that you need the get rights. This Saturday,

:21:22.:21:30.

the anniversary, the show will be timed so the key momentss happen at

:21:30.:21:35.

the time they did. There will be a minute's silence to remember those

:21:35.:21:45.
:21:45.:21:52.

who died that night. And your e- mails. James said 42 sewage

:21:52.:21:57.

releases is too much. They should deal with all but the most extreme

:21:57.:22:02.

weather. And Alan says, "Considering the amount we pay,

:22:03.:22:11.

there should be no raw sewage." rosemary said, the ocean should not

:22:12.:22:20.

be used as a dumping ground. And we have had comments about rubbish

:22:21.:22:26.

collections. Jon said a shambles here. And another viewer said our

:22:26.:22:32.

recycling has not been collected. And on Twitter, Tim says, no

:22:32.:22:36.

recycling collected last Thursday, unable to get through on the phones

:22:36.:22:42.

and web-site would not recognise our post code. A lash up, he says.

:22:42.:22:48.

You can continue the debate on Twitter and on Facebook. It looked

:22:48.:22:53.

lovely down on the beach tonight lovely down on the beach tonight

:22:53.:22:56.

and some lovely sunshine around. Yes, not every where, there have

:22:56.:23:01.

been some showers and some have been heavy. Tonight the have now

:23:01.:23:07.

gone. There is a few out to sea, but inland a lot of clear sky and

:23:07.:23:12.

it will turn cold tonight. Even a touch of frost here and there. When

:23:12.:23:17.

you look at the satellite, you can see the cloud cover across the U

:23:17.:23:21.

kfpt. Most of the south-west Wales and the south-west of England clear

:23:22.:23:26.

of cloud. There is one line of showers to the north of us and that

:23:26.:23:31.

line of showers will come in tonight and by the morning move

:23:31.:23:36.

into the north Devon and north Cornwall coasts. And more showers

:23:36.:23:40.

tomorrow. By the time we get to Friday and into the weekend, a

:23:40.:23:44.

change in wind direction, but a change nonetheless, the winds

:23:44.:23:50.

become northerly and that brings colder air across us. With a bigger

:23:50.:23:55.

risk on Saturday night and Sunday night of some widespread frost.

:23:55.:24:00.

There is Saturday's forecast a keen north-east breeze developing. That

:24:00.:24:05.

was the picture from earlier, you can see thousand showers have faded

:24:06.:24:12.

away. -- how the showers have faded away. We have had some great views.

:24:12.:24:18.

Here there was a view of the patchy cloud, but out to sea, you can see

:24:19.:24:24.

the blue sky along the south Devon coast. We have had a lot of think

:24:24.:24:34.

fine weather. - of this fine weather. This is Dawlish where we

:24:34.:24:41.

have had some people braving some fairly low sea temperatures. The

:24:41.:24:45.

showers across east Dorset and Somerset will tend to fade away

:24:45.:24:50.

tonight. For most of us, we will have a lot of clear sky A good view

:24:50.:24:54.

of the stars, but some low temperatures. Towards dawn, a few

:24:54.:25:00.

more showers on the north coast of Devonor Cornwall. The blue shows

:25:00.:25:04.

where the temperature will get at or just about freezing. So the

:25:04.:25:10.

possibility of some ice on the car winds screen first thing. For most

:25:10.:25:15.

things around three or four degrees. Winds remain light from the north-

:25:15.:25:21.

west. For Cornwall fine weather for the rest of the day. The showerss

:25:21.:25:26.

largely in east Devon and Somerset and Dorset. So for many of us, a

:25:26.:25:32.

lot of sunshine. In the sunshine a top temperature of 13. For the

:25:32.:25:38.

Isles of Scilly a dry day, with good visibility and a north-west

:25:38.:25:48.
:25:48.:25:49.

breeze. Times of high water are on screen. The cleanest surf will be

:25:49.:25:56.

on the south coast. And winds north-westerly tomorrow, force four,

:25:56.:26:01.

occasionally five in the showers. But generally very good visibility.

:26:01.:26:06.

Not much change at the weekend. The temperatures drop A keen breeze

:26:06.:26:11.

developing and a risk of some frost. Have a good evening. Thank you. If

:26:11.:26:16.

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