10/02/2014 Spotlight

Thank you. That's all from the BBC News at Six so it's goodbye from me,

and The Prime Minister is in the South

West to see the damage caused by the storms and promises a major review

of the rail network Good evening. David Cameron is visiting some of

the worst hit areas. He told Spotlight he'd consider all options

for the region's rail links Also tonight: there is a longer term

question about how we have faster and more resilient rail services

here in the South West and we will have a study that looks into the

options. Work continues to repair the train line at Dawlish but could

there be a viable alternative? Network Rail reveals its preferred

inland route is an old line across Dartmoor. And open for business ` a

campaign amidst fears that the storms have cost the region millions

of pounds. The Prime Minister has defended the Government's response

to the flooding and storm damage in the South West. On an extended visit

to the region to see the problems for himself, David Cameron said the

Government was doing all it could to help and reassured councils they

would be reimbursed for their extra spending. He started his visit in

Dorset, where he saw the efforts to hold back the massive waves which

have been pounding the coast there. Early this afternoon he held

meetings at a rail depot in Plymouth to discuss the plans to reconnect

the South West's vital transport links. His day has ended in

Cornwall. In the past hour he has arrived at Newquay Airport. Our

first report tonight comes from the South East Cornwall village of

Kingsand, one of many communities battered by huge waves last week.

Before, one of the most high`profile casualties was the severing of the

rail line at all. Planners are considering another rail line and

they have already identified their preferred route. Network Rail made

the revelation during filming for tonight's Inside Out programme. Neil

Gallacher has the story. Engineers carried on their mammoth effort to

read told the railway. Working six`hour shifts between high tide.

In the background, senior planners have gone one step further. They

have not only admitted discussing a possible inland railway line as a

future back`up for the track around Dawlish, they have identified their

preferred route. Until today, there had been debate about three possible

alternatives. Assume you travel towards London. One route might have

gone from just passed Eden Albert, inland, behind Dawlish, to rejoin

the line on Exmouth. A second alternative might have gone north

from Newton Abbot three Heathfield, to join at Exeter. But what is

clearly the front runner is the idea of reopening from the Allston, up to

Tavistock, as proposed, and then radically reopening the former

mainline up to West of Okehampton, to rejoin the line there and towards

Exeter. We have looked at that option and we have outlined a study

last year, hundreds of millions of pounds to do so on land that has

been built on in terms of the old railway alignment. It is also on

land we do not own so there are all sorts of long`term strategies that

would be required to make that happen. At the moment I am

concentrating on getting this line open. For initial reaction, I went

to the edge of dark world. The negative could be the line

re`established with the National Park but you could say, from the

council angle, that could ring sustainable tourism and much`needed

economic viability. West Devon Council said they were excited. The

reaction in South Devon was very different. The first views on social

networks expressed fear that an inland real way could one day he

clipped the line at Dawlish. Others felt it was expensive or

unnecessarily. What is the point in spending a fortune on getting sea

defences right? That should the wearer the money goes. Why spend

this money redirecting the rate once you have done the hard work? Any

responsible government has to look at making sure the south`west is as

accessible as possible but I don't believe it will be the case that

there will be an alternative. This is a line that makes a difference,

this is the one that fills the economy. This is the one without

which we will not be able to stay open for business. All of this was

discussed at the highest level when the Prime Minister visited Plymouth

today. One concern was that any future trains through Okehampton

would be slower than ever. And tonight there is a special report on

Inside Out looking at how Dawlish is coping following the storms. That's

here on BBC One at 7.30pm. Martyn Oates got up of the Prime Minister

as he visited that we'll let `` rail depot in Laira. Did he pledge

anything new? He seemed to sing from the same hymn sheet as Network

Rail. On Friday the transport secretary talked about looking at

alternatives. Today, the Prime Minister cited two of those, across

Dartmoor, the older railway, or another inland route inside Devon.

There is a longer term question about having faster and more

resilient rail services here in the south`west and we will have a study

that looks into the options, whether it is Okehampton, whether it is a

shorter and faster line. Let us look at the options and see what can be

done because here we are in Plymouth, Plymouth once a three hour

rail service and once trains to arrive before 9am so if there are

opportunities for that, that review will deliver and we shall get on

with that and look at the options. A lot of interesting stuff there. This

talk of earlier trains to London, faster trains, and he says that if

the review delivers these opportunities, there might be

options. It is coming close to a commitment and it makes clear that

the government is taking this seriously. Even if you did not ``

did a superb job on the track at Dawlish, that will not deliver in

itself more trains or faster trains. They are in mind that a lot of

people in this region are simply fed up with the state of the rail links

at the best of times. I think, in short, what he said tonight will

raise expectations. What has been the reaction to his visit? We spoke

to one Labour councillor in Dorset who was underwhelmed by his grand

tour of the flood sites. I thought it was just a photo opportunity.

These are real people and real lives here and the agency have done a

fantastic job with all of those volunteers and suddenly we are

inundated with politicians who want to help. I must point out that in

terms of the high hopes that the transport secretary raised in terms

of improvements to rail links, people across the spectrum will

welcome that but they want to make sure it is delivered upon. Thank you

very much indeed. Here's Natalie. The village of Kingsand in Cornwall

was just one of the communities uttered by the storms last week.

Huge waves and high winds left the tape conic clocktower badly damaged.

John Danks spent time in the village last week and was therefore the

Prime Minister. Lastly, Somerset. Today, ABC turn of Cornwall. David

Cameron had tea with residents in the local cafe, which still bears

the scars of the storm. `` it was the turn. Outside, he spoke to many

more. I think he understood the tremendous damage that has been done

to the Institute, which is a key building for us. He will try to get

English Heritage involved in getting this sorted. These images show the

intensity of the waves on Tuesday. They smashed windows and crashed

through doors, forcing some people to flee. This afternoon, the Prime

Minister saw some of the damage first`hand. But not everyone thought

his visit was worthwhile. It was a bit of a photo opportunity. Too

little, too late. I think this is the start of worse things to come.

We all feel very conscious of climate change and seeking what has

happened on the Somerset Levels and the Environment Secretary does not

even believe in climate change. The government promised additional

funding for the Environment Agency and how will that filter down to

villages like Kingsand? He has announced extra funding, which is

very welcome to a lot of communities. Is it too soon to say

how that will filter down? Yes because this is a difficult

location, right on the seafront and as we said, the boulders are running

onto the walls. It is a difficult place to find a solution with. The

Environment Agency says it is examining the sea defences and

meanwhile a meeting is being held this evening to offer help and

advice to those affected by the storm. There are concerns that the

state of the rail network and images of storm damage shown across the

world would be costing the region millions of pounds in lost business.

A campaign has been launched on social media to declare the South

West open for business. Simon Hall reports. Trains are now running

again on the region 's main rail line from Exeter St Davids to

Paddington, after three days of it being cut because of flooding. But

the line remains severed at Polish and will stay that way for at least

six weeks. That still cause a significant problems for business

people. Ashley is trying to open a shop in painting. When we saw

Dawlish, we knew it would be difficult and I have to get in one

hour earlier. They say six weeks but we have been told it is more like a

free months. It is the same with all of our infrastructure, it is

Victorian. Just like the drains, everything. There has never been any

real long`term investment in all of these services. Businesses are

concerned the notorious pictures of the rail line at Polish have sent

out a message that the south`west is closed for business. A campaign has

begun to counter that, using social media under the group open for

business. We're getting a couple of businesses who say, people call and

say, is a rare problem? We are on a hill, we are fine! There is a

misconception that everywhere has been shut down. That is not right.

You can visit south`west England and you should. It is absolutely open

for business. First Great Western say that although services are

running again, they will suffer delays due to speed restrictions as

trains pass through flooded areas. By the restoration of the mainline

through Somerset is good news for the south`west, the concern is that

it will only receive limited national publicity compared to those

dramatic pictures of the severing of the line up Dawlish. It means the

damage to the economy might already be done. Earlier I spoke to the

businessman Chris Dawson, who owns the Range chain of stores. I asked

him what impact the disruption to the rail links was having on

business in the region. I have had people cancelling meetings and

asking if they could have them in Bristol or halfway to London. The

impact is on hotels and restaurants and so on. Sometimes, my staff would

take people out to various functions. It is a lot. What message

do you think it sends out to the rest of the UK and the world at the

moment about doing business in the south`west? It is a wake`up time. It

is very pretty but it is not practical. It is time frame you

read. We are always repairing but we are doing nothing for the future. We

will patch that over, that will be fine. They need to invest long`term.

Is a perception that the south`west is not open for business? There is

this belief that it is cut off? It is not worth considering? Yes,

because people, even well educated as this people, they ask me those

questions, they really do not know, what business is there? I think they

are convinced that there was nothing after Bristol. I believe that the

big as this industry, I do not sit ignored, but they take it for

granted we are not here in the first place. How worried is the business

community? Going back to what I said previously, one of the best

industries is tourism and caravanning. It actually affects

ourselves because they flourish and go to the store is and do this and

that so I would say, it does not keep me awake at night but you

really need to keep on to the government. We have had enough of

all of these repair jobs. They have to take us seriously. The answer is,

come on, wake up. We need a motorway. And you can throw us an

airport in for good measure! Thank you. The rain has held off over the

Somerset levels for the past 24 hours, but work continues to get the

water off the moors. New pumps which can deal with high volumes of water

have been ferried across from Holland. Dams are also being built

but there are concerns about whether they will hold. Scott Ellis reports.

These are the giant Dutch pumps it is hoped will ease the flooding on

the Somerset Levels. They will work by taking water away from the

swollen river. It will be pumped north to the water drain and out to

sea. It means that opening the sluice gate on the River. They still

fail to appreciate the flow of the water. That worries some residents.

Micron Smith. His house has studied four times since Christmas and he is

worried that when the Environment Agency opens the sluice, the water

will spill on land, perilously `` perilously close to his house. We

are sacrificial lambs. We have to have a guarantee that of the outcome

goes wrong, they will underwrite the value of the property. They can do

what they like but they must give me that guarantee in writing. A dam is

being built to protect homes from the threat of floods but there are

no guarantees. It is an uncertain business but we will do our best to

protect these homes and properties. Is he right to be worried? Yes, I

would be the same myself. We would all be worried. The Environment

Agency says it will open the sluice gate slowly and the water will be

constantly monitored. But they say they need to ease the pressure on

the River to prevent flooding in Bridgwater. We spoke to one former

who cannot wait for the pumping to start. Unless the water goes

rapidly, this will not be grassland, it'll be a blog and you cannot

format. The film Braveheart is reckoned it would take 26 days to

pump the drive. But once again, it is another wet week ahead on the

Somerset Levels. South West Water has announced ?160 million will be

spent on improvements next year. This includes work to upgrade sewers

across the region to try to alleviate flooding. 13 areas across

the South West have been earmarked for improvements. ?1.4 million is

being spent at Colebrook, which has suffered from flooding for many

years. Our issue is that our servers are designed for carrying sewage and

when they get these intense rainstorms, water gets into the

sewers and it overwhelms them. We have to put in some engineering and

new ideas about how to stop that water getting into those sewers.

Spotlight has learned that a hospital Chief Executive has been

suspended today while fellow board members carry out an investigation

of her behaviour. Paula Vasco`Knight, who heads the trust

which runs Torbay Hospital, was criticised by an employment tribunal

last month over her treatment of two whistle`blowers who'd accused her of

nepotism. Sally Mountjoy is with me now. What has happened? The

nonexecutive directors held a meeting and decided to suspend the

Chief Executive Wiley examined the circumstances that prompted the

tribunal last month. Remind us of what happened. It was brought to

women who accused the Chief Executive, Paula Vasco`Knight, of

and favouritism when she recruited her daughter's why friend to a job

at the hospital trust and the tribunal found they had been

victimised as a result of whistle`blowing and they said the

trust behaved in an astonishing way and had been dishonest in

suppressing a report about what happened. There has been a

resignation already? Yes, the chairman of the trust has resigned.

But over the weekend the local NHS only, the clinical commissioning

group, said it felt that the Chief Executive should be suspended while

the investigation was going on and as a result of that, the trust feels

that they should actually do that and should suspend her. It said it

was fundamental to good patient care that whistle`blowers feel able to

raise concerns without fear of retribution and I think it was as a

result of that that the trust said today that they thought it was in

the best interests of everybody to actually suspend the Chief

Executive. Thank you very much indeed. Some sports news now and it

was a weekend to remember for the Exeter Chiefs' Jack Nowell as he

played his second game for his national side. The 20`year`old

Cornish winger really held his own and helped England to victory over

Scotland. Earlier, former Exeter player Chris Bentley, who now works

for the Chiefs, came to the studio to look back at Jack's solid

performance. Jack did really well, after his first test in France he

could do no wetter. He is capable of playing test match rugby. He had a

fantastic few minutes in the second half? Yes. The ball got kicked, he's

always looking the threat. Later on, in one moment, he gets his hand onto

the ball and you can see the threat he can provide. That injection of

pace. Very powerful. He just keeps the impetus for the England team.

And one moment later, he said at the second try? It was magnificent. I

was fortunate enough to play with them when he was younger. There was

nothing on there, quick step and then the awareness. He possibly

could have done it himself. Humble to the last minute. He could have

scored that himself? I reckon so. It might have been 50`50. But he is

just a great performer. How is this put him in great stead and we shall

see him making his debut at Twickenham in a few weeks? I think

so. The triple Crown is still very much on and he will be their star

performer. You must be really proud? Of course but it is not just

him, the Academy is producing a huge amount of players, Ford team`mates

won the World Cup for the under 20s. One of them has been turning out for

England under 20s. There is a conveyor belt coming through Exeter

Chiefs. How is it coming together? Being in the Premiership makes a

great difference. Players might have traditionally left to play elsewhere

but with Phil Vickery, Barnstable boy, the pinnacle is with the Exeter

Chiefs and they can aspire to be from boy to man. 2015, great year as

well? The World Cup is on its way, the stadium development is taking

place and we have the tarmac for the bottom edges. More seats for next

season and following the World Cup, the third biggest sporting event in

the world at Sandy Park. Say well done to him from us. Thank you. Back

now to our top story and the Prime Minister's visit to storm`damaged

parts of the South West. David Cameron ended today's visit in

Newquay. David George is there for us now. David? The Prime Minister

arrived here at 5:30pm this afternoon having flown here from

Kingsand on the tarmac meeting senior executives from Friday. They

announced they have doubled the number of flights from Newquay to

Gatwick. He met them in front of an aircraft, the bigger jet they have

brought in, borrowed from Belfast, in order to operate the service. It

means about 600 people every day can fly to Gatwick and vice versa with

this new service that starts on Wednesday. He went inside to meet

the senior people from the council, the Chief Executive and their

leader. They emphasise that Cornwall was very much open for business,

despite the terrible damage that has happened and ?21 million worth of

repairs is needed to places like 10 cents and Newland and Newquay

itself. The surf centre has been undermined. They say they are happy

the Prime Minister understood the problems here and they pointed out

to him that they did not want to have two compete with other areas

for money. They also announced that Cornwall will actually give up, will

suspend its much `` much disliked airport fee. They are getting a

grant to cover that. ?5 for every passenger for the next two weeks

only. Passengers leaving from here on these flights will not have to

pay that. Thank you very much indeed. Time for the weather

forecast. We have had some respite from the storms but there is more

bad weather on the way? More on the way. Here is some

sunshine. Our cameraman had a glimpse of fine weather. Similar

seven joined a reasonable day today. It has been rather cold but some

sunshine and calmer seas. But it is only for one day. And there is quite

a big change happening later tonight with more wet weather heading our

way. Still very unsettled with more rain in the forecast, three batches

this week. Tonight, Wednesday and possibly Friday. And gale force

winds reach earns. The warning we have for most of this week is for

heavy rain. Several of our areas have already put flood warnings in

place. This is a stripe of clear skies but already there is a lot of

cloud either. The wind will be strong but not the strength that we

saw over the weekend. It is a blustery night with outbreaks of

rain and will be just touching gale force for a short time but it is

moving steadily and through this afternoon `` tomorrow afternoon it

is brighter. Then this new area of low pressure races across the

Atlantic and that develops close to our shores. This is another very

windy spell for Wednesday. It will probably happen during daylight

hours. We have gusts potentially at 80 mph. Particularly on the south

coast. Tonight, not overly windy, showers dotted around but they will

move out of the way with some dry weather and temperatures close to

freezing. There is the possibility of a touch of frost. First thing

tomorrow, the rain comes back. Coastal locations start at six

degrees. The rain moves quite fast. By the afternoon, the sunshine

returns. Blown in with scattered showers and those showers will turn

increasingly wintry through the afternoon, even to quite low levels.

Temperatures at seven or eight degrees. Lauding through the

afternoon. And for the Scilly Isles, breezy with a few showers. Getting

away with a largely dry day. The high what times... `` watcher times.

`` high water times. It remains quite dangerous on the coastline.

The outlook for coastal waters is for the wind to pick up tomorrow

night into Wednesday but for tomorrow, south`westerly and veering

Westerly. Warnings for everyday this week. The strength of wind on

Wednesday and further I'd weeks of rain. Very windy start to Thursday

but the wind drops and more rain turning up on Friday. Stay tuned to

your local radio station for more updates. Thank you very much indeed.

There is a special report on the impact the storms have had on the

south`west on Inside Out in half an hour. We are back tomorrow evening.

Good night.