17/04/2012 Spotlight

The multi-million pound scheme to transform parts of Plymouth and

create hundreds of jobs. Good evening. The owner of Plymouth

Argyle has ambitious plans for the Pavilions and Home Park, we'll have

all the details. Also tonight: the care of people

with learning disabilities. A union's anger over council plans

for a private company to run services. It seems they all bring

their service users and staff on the scrapheap.

And after a 50-year campaign for a bypass why there's now concern it

will simply create a bottleneck elsewhere.

An �83 million plan to transform a Plymouth leisure site could also

create 1,3000 jobs. -- 1,300 jobs. If the scheme gets the go ahead, it

will clear the way for Plymouth Argyle owner James Brent to revamp

the Pavilions Arena and create a new ice rink for the city.

Spotlight's business reporter Scott Bingham is live there now.

Yes, all quiet here tonight, no major events, a few people using

the ice rink, but this place has provided a lot of entertainment

over the years. Recently, there has been talk of demolition. Pavilions

Arena has been seen as many as standing in the way of progress,

but that could be about to change. Plymouth pavilions was opened in

1991 and was beginning to show its age. But it is about to get a major

phage -- a major facelift. Plans have been put forward to upgrade

the arena and improved lighting and acoustics. There would be a new

entrance foyer and an additional backstage space. The scheme will

also include housing and shops on the site and should create 800 jobs

during construction and 550 once built. It absolutely hit the spot

in terms of what we are trying to do. This is just one of the number

of projects we are looking to develop over the next few years. It

has to be good for Plymouth and the south-west. Beat Paul has already

been replaced by B -- this centre and the City will get a �2 million

a ice rink. It is fantastic news, for the skaters and for Plymouth

generally. Fantastic, we all thought it was going to close down.

But far from that, the hope is that the scheme will open up new

opportunities and will form part of a league people about linking the

city centre with the docks area. Work is underway once more after

stalling during the downturn. These new apartments should be completed

by summer next year. There is still a long way to go

before that becomes a reality, but as you heard from the Chamber of

Commerce this would be a step in the right direction. The

redevelopment of the Pavilions Arena and people are far are key

elements of the scheme. All that is needed now is for the council to

approve the plans went its cabinet meets next week.

Well, the man behind the scheme is the owner of Plymouth Argyle James

Brent. He told us what it could mean for the city and the wider

South West. What we are trying to do, and what

I think we will achieve, is to create a real sporting, leisure,

cultural destination in Plymouth. It will be to the benefit of locals

and visitors, increasing for four. It will benefit Plymouth as a city.

We have already got the life centre opened on 26th March. We have a

great theatre, a football club which we hope and pray will go back

to its former glory, and this is complementary. It refurbished Arena

will bring the cultural and sporting offering together.

Two more members of staff have been arrested following allegations of

abuse at a day care centre for people with learning disabilities

in Cornwall. It follow the arrest of three members of staff there

yesterday. The investigation into the allegations at the council run

John Daniel Centre in Penzance began last year, when more than ten

people were suspended. Eleanor Parkinson reports.

The John Daniel Centre caters for more than 80 people with learning

difficulties and disabilities. They depend on a daily basis and can

take part in a range of activities, from paltry and gardening to

swimming. Last November more than 10 staff were suspended amid

allegations of abuse. The investigation was handed over to

the police. Two people were arrested today. The man and woman

both come from Hayle. Three people were arrested yesterday, a man from

Penzance, a man from St Ives and a woman from cent Helston. All five

have been released on police bail. It is a sharp. It will be a shock

to the people who attend the John Daniel Centre and their carers, and

to beat staff within the centre. But what it does do is reflect the

fact that in Cornwall, we do take these Safeguarding are vulnerable

adults seriously. It was important that we did look at concerns that

were raised and dealt with them in the appropriate way.

Cornwall council have now begun their investigation and today, they

have been talking to staff at the John Daniel Centre, does that have

not been suspended and not been subject to any police investigation.

The centre has been opened since the investigation began last

November. The council say extra staff were drafted in to help the

existing ones keep the service going.

In Somerset there's concern from parents and care staff over

proposals that would allow a private company to run services for

people with learning disabilities. The council says they're committed

to giving people the best care but many families don't want services

taken out of local authority control. Our Health Correspondent

Sally Mountjoy is with us now. What is this row about? It is about

who provides services for people with learning disabilities in

Somerset. That includes residential care, supported live in houses and

supporting the people getting their own homes. The local authority

provide that now, but the county council wants to reduce the number

of services it provides. It is looking at this review. The

compelling reason for the change is the desperate need to save money.

There are three options: Keep services in house, set up a not-

for-profit organisation to run things, or invite tenders from

outside. I gather some staff are quite upset? Unison, the you read -

- the union that represents the staff, is horrified the council is

considering this. They say people with learning disabilities need

continuity of care. It is too risky to invite bids from outside.

We are appalled. These are vulnerable people. Unison has

worked closely with the council to keep services in house and they are

throwing their service users and their staff on the scrapheap.

What do the users and their families and carers think of the

idea? Most of them want the council to continue running services, but

one parent we spoke to says whatever happens they should not be

bound by a private profit-making company.

You cannot make a profit out of this type of service and these type

of people. A bit -- it a profit is made, it should be put back into

the services provided for these people. It should be a Nantes

enterprise, non- profit-making enterprise.

The council have told us that they are committed to providing the best

possible service. They will keep talking to staff unions, care is

The father of an 11-year-old schoolboy who died in a quad bike

crash in Cornwall may face prosecution over his son's death.

An inquest jury today returned a verdict of accidental death on

Kieran Horn. He wasn't wearing a helmet when he fell off the quad

bike last March. A pathologist said Kieran 'most likely 'died as a

result of the accident but said he couldn't 'completely rule out a

cardiac cause'. Plans to build one of the largest

housing developments Cornwall has ever seen near St Austell have been

thrown out by a top judge. Wainhomes wanted to build 1,300

homes on a 52-acre site at Treverbyn Road. Two years ago, a

public inquiry found there was "no pressing need" for so many homes in

the area. There are fears tonight that a

bypass which is finally going to be built after decades of wrangling

might not solve the traffic problems it sets out to cure. The

South Devon Link Road will see Newton Abbot and Torquay connected

by a dual carriageway, but to get onto the road, motorists will drive

over a single-lane flyover which it's feared, will create a

bottleneck of its own. Our South Devon reporter John Ayres has more.

At certain times of day, such as the rush hour ought Saturday

changeover in the summer, this round -- Road grounds to way halt.

It has taken 60 years for the bypass to be removed and now it is

going to happen at the cost of �110,000.

At the moment we have a dual- carriageway. On the other side of

the roundabout, two lanes going to one and that quarters the

congestion. The problem is that the flyover linking it will only be a

single lane. The fear is that will cause a bottle necks still.

Local councillor Gordon hope feels a huge amount of money is being

spent and the problem will not be solved. His proposal will give you

one lane going from Exeter to Torbay. That is illogical, there is

no progress in that proposal at all. We are not building a road for

today, not for tomorrow either, this road will be in place for 20,

40, 60 years, who knows? We have battled against this road for over

10 years, but we do accept it will be built. What we are saying it's

OK, if we are going to have a road, let's make sure it is fit for

purpose. After years of negotiation, the

council has finally got the government's approval for the

scheme. They are confident it will work, saying the single lane flyer

there has been part of the plans for the last 15 years. Given the

scheme is the same that has been promoted through the planning

process and the public inquiry for a long time, we have been working

on the basis of a single carriageway. That is right to me

the trouble demands both now and into the future.

Construction should start later this year, but they will not know

if it really works until it is completed in a few years' time.

We'll be assessing the rubbish situation in Cornwall in a moment

where some residents still haven't had a bin collection.

Also still to come: We make another of our regular visits to Bampton in

Devon where the spring lambs are bringing a seasonal boost to the

high street traders. And the Devon teenager who's flying

Some residents in Cornwall say they're still waiting for their

bins and recycling to be collected three weeks after a new waste

collection system was introduced. Since Spotlight reported on the

story last week, we've received many emails from residents

complaining about the lack of collections. Spotlight's Andy

Breare has an update. This man lives outside St or store.

Three weeks ago he put his was cycling out for collection and

today, three weeks later, they are still there. We had a last

collection on 28th March. Since then collectors mist on 5th April

and 12th April. We are due for another one this Thursday. We are

not sure whether or not it will be collect it.

Tony's neighbours have the same problem: Some of them have lost

patience and taking their rubbish to the tip by cot while others are

waiting for a collection. One of my friends works close by and says

they have been thousands of complaints. It is ridiculous. No

one has got any replies or anything done. It is still being an eyesore

and plugging things up. Last week, we reported on

Cornwall's new rubbish collection system which started at the end of

last month. The service has been contracted out. The company did

admit they had been teething problems and Cornwall council told

us they had improved the hotline for people to call and report

missed collections. The problem is if you cannot speak to anyone who

can tell you when they are going to do something about it. They just

say, we will pass it on and we will be there this weekend. It never

happens. No one from the company was

available for interview, but the company did issue an apology to

Tony and his neighbours, assuring them of their rubbish will be

Businesses across the South West will find out next week if the UK

is officially in a double dip recession. It's by no means certain,

with many experts predicting the latest GDP figures will show growth

for the first quarter of 2012. Well, all this year we're following

the fortunes of one high street in the region as the economy zig zags

between growth and decline. Our reporter Andrea Ormsby's been back

to Bampton in mid Devon to see what goes on behind the scenes to keep

Brook Street going in tough Lambing is late on John's farm. The

higher up, the later lambing and John's sheep graze at nearly 1,000

feet. The 260 acre farm is a family affair. John follows in the foot

steps of his grandfather and father. Now he expands the business each

year. Two years ago, he brarched into butchery. - branched. This

goes back to the disastrous year in 2007 when the prices hit the floor

with foot-and-mouth. Since we bought the shop, the lamb and

cattle prices have been improving. So it has not improved the income,

but it is a regular income. It is only a big advantage if there was

any disease or export ban. And that could be an issue with the arrival

of a new virus. It has not been found near the farm and he is

confident it won't show up in the lambs being born now, because

they're so late. But it is a worry. The concern is if something like

that hits it could be a disaster. It would be a disastrous thing and

it would have a big effect, not knowing what will happen next year

if that disice - disease is still in the population. Back on Brook

Street and it may be closed for night, but these are the traders

doing everything they can to keep business coming in. The business

group was formed so traders could work together. Tonight they're talk

ago everything from internet speeds to farmers markets. Notes are taken

and ideas given and then wine is drunk and dishes eaten. People get

to air any ideas and any improvements to increase trade and

people get to meet other people when they're not working. It is a

social side to meet and have a chat about a few things. The good and

the bad things. It is important that we support each other and

especially in this climate and it is a small town and it is important

that we know what is going on. Businesses for the most part say

they're bucking the trend, unlike other high streets. The bampton

business group wants to keep it that way and say what is goes on

behind the scenes can be as important as on the shop floor. The

tenants of 12 homes on the outskirts of Newton Abbot are being

told they'll have to move to make way for a new livestock market.

Newton Abbot's cattle market will move out of this site to a new

industrial estate close to the A38. It's part of a �10 million

redevelopment of Ilford Park, which will also include a pub, a

restaurant, 35 new homes and a church. The project is expected to

create 300 new jobs. Portland Port has built two new berths that can

accommodate larger ships. A �5 million scheme to revamp the

Queen's Pier has increased the number of large deepwater berths

available at Portland to 12. It means most Royal Navy vessels,

cruise ships and super yachts will be able to dock there. The new

berths are already earmarked for use during the Olympic Sailing

events. When it first launched its plans for the justice system, the

Government said unless youth crime was tackled, the young offenders of

today will become the prolific career criminals of tomorrow. With

that in mind, a jail in Dorset has been trying a series of measures to

reduce the number of people stuck in the so-called revolving door of

prisons. The majority of inmates in Portland Young Offenders

Institution are from the South West area. Our Dorset reporter, Simon

Clemison, has been given special access to the jail. Here's the

second of his reports. Over looking the Olympic sailing waters, there

are hundreds of young offenders. A former borstal, teenage prisoners

have been held here here since the 1800s. Life here has evolved

dramatically down the years. Prison life is almost unrecognisable today

to the service I joined 20 odd years ago. The focus was not on

rehabilitation. We have to instil a sense of work ethic and combine

that with the opportunity to get into a meaningful employment on

release. From laying bricks to railway lines, there is the

opportunity to gain skills. Staff believe everyone has a talent.

Their job - simply to get them interested in learning. In some

cases there are more fundamental problems to overcome. Watch the

horse relax and drop its head. The tension in the air which the animal

has sense has just disappeared. This young offender is learning to

keep his calm. It i -- the aim is not just to punish, but to prevents

the need the punish again. With a million people their age unemployed,

how much hope do they have of saying goodbye to Portland for good.

I was out last time eight month and I was getting turned down. I will

move to a different area. You won't go back to the old life? No. I will

start a new life. It has given me a stepping stone of getting

qualifications, I have got English and business and now it will be

easier. Are you convinced the schemes work to reduce reoffending,

or is you walk the walk and them talk the talk and then they come

back? I'm convinced the schemes are effective and do work. I'm sure

that we will be able to see in the near future the results from some

of the work we're doing here. Government is trying to reform

prisons, but essentially that means reforming prisoners. And in so many

ways, here they think they have turned a corner. The Chief

Inspector will give his verdict in a few months time. How many times

have you shouted at the television during a rugby match at the

referee's decision. Now, the job of a referee in sport is an

unforgiving one, putting up with criticism and endless scrutiny. But

that doesn't bother 18 year old Beth Martell from Ivybridge. She's

set to become one of the youngest referees in rugby, following up her

role as a touch judge. Spotlight's Dave Gibbins has been to watch her.

Beth Martell is making a name for herself in an unusual way. Having

played the sport, she is contributing in a different way.

The teenager has planned her move to become a referee by volunteering

to run the line for the town's rugby club. Today just three

primary things. Beth only turned 18 in February, but is easing into a

responsible role as an official. They like to think they can sort of

change, make me change my mind. But it doesn't happen. Do they treat

you with respect? Most of the time, the only comments they make are

have a laugh and try to make me move up and give them advantage.

She hopes to give a sports diploma at college, then on to university

to study sports therapy. I think it would go, doing what I do now,

running the line and when I do my refereeing, it will help me at

university and put me in a good place. Is what is the verdict on

Beth? When we have been playing away, there has been one or two

spectators shall I say, opposition clubs that have sometimes shouted a

bit of abuse at her. And to be fair, our supporters and players have

backed her up. And they have said, she is right every time. There was

a last minute call in the corner, whether it was a try. From this end

I could have called it a knock on. But I can't complain, she was right

up with play and there was no hesitation and she made the

decision. You have got to go with that. It August euros well as berth

takes the step up to becoming a fully qualified referee. Good for

her!. She is very brave. The lefree -- referee never pleases everyone.

Neither does the weather man! We have had some beefy showers.

have had some beefy showers. and the wind is back tonight. The

rest of the week is windy. We continue to see April showers and

the showers, some turning out to be heavy like we have seen today. The

strength of wind returns tonight. Last night we saw gusts up to 58mph.

That was in Devon. The winds could be equally as strong tonight. What

is happening is another area of low pressure is developing to the south

of Ireland. That is moving towards us. You can see the cloud around

the area of low pressure. Some tightly packed isobars and if I

show you the progress, it drifts down to the south-west of England

and it is on the southern edge we will see the strongest winds. From

Wednesday morning into the evening, the low pressure will have moved

away and the isobars open out again. So the main strength of wind will

be probably before it gets light tomorrow morning. Between 3 and 6

we could have winds up to 60mph. There is some rain mixed in. That

is across Ireland now. You can see the winds developing. It is a South

West wind and that will bring cloud and rain tonight. So very windy,

very wet. And by the end of the night the night the winds dropping.

But it will be a slow process and not much of an improvement until

later in the morning when the winds become north-westerly. Temperatures

not too low, some place down to three or four degrees. Most of us

wake up to lots of showers blown in on brisk north-westerly winds and

the focus for the heavier showers will be across parts of east Dorset

and into Somerset. And we have a warning that the showers could give

some torrential down pours. Further west still some showers, but the

breeze holds up. A strong north- west breeze will help push the

showers through. In between we should see some sunshine. To. E

temperatures from ten to 12, but brisk wibdz will -- winds will make

it feel colder. And the Isles of Scilly a windy end to the night

here. But the winds dropping through the afternoon and becoming

north-westerly. Still strong to gale force at time and still some

showers. The times of high water are on screen. For the surfing

conditions, it will be challenging with some stormy conditions in the

morning. The south coast becomes cleaner as the day wares on. As for

the coastal waters, the winds very lively tonight. Severe gale force

nine for a time, but becoming north-westerly tomorrow, force six

or seven, gusting eight at times. Decreasing by the early evening.

The outlook is similar. Each day pretty much the same, but the winds

drop. By Friday and Saturday it is less windy. But still some showers

and because of that we will get perhaps prolonged sunny spell and

some showers coming along on Friday and Saturday. But I have to stress

it is the strength of wind tonight that could cause a few problems.

Stay tuned to your local radio first thing tomorrow to find out if