18/06/2014 Spotlight

Developers will have to hand over some of their land for self`build

projects, but will it help solve the lack of affordable homes?

We wouldn't have been able to afford a home like this if we borddred on

the open market and although it is a lot hard work and tears and blood

and sweat, it is well worth it. `` bought it on the open market.

The exotic creatures being rescued from animal neglect.

The RSPCA is forced to re`home hundreds of alpacas that proved

A pioneering treatment for curvature of the spine ` how the sky's now

And on location in Cornwall ` we go behind the scenes

The dream of owning their own home is becoming increasingly

unaffordable for many peopld, with the latest figures showing that

the average house now costs ten times the average UK salary.

Part of the problem is a major shortfall in the nulber

Now one Devon council has bdcome the first

in the country to force devdlopers to help more people to self`build.

Teignbridge Council says anx developer who gets permission to

build 20 houses or more must now make 5% of the land available

Tooling up, Christopher Laing loves to get stuck in. This is his second

self build project in Exeter. The biggest obstacle? Finding the plot.

It took two years. I think ht is particularly hard in cities but just

across the country, so many people want to do this but the avahlability

of plot and the amount of pdople looking to do it just doesn't match

up. While Christopher cranks it up, so is a Devon so. Teignbridge

Council is forcing any firm with permission but Wendy houses or more

to make 5% of the land available to self builders, people with `

connection to the South West. `` permission for 20 houses or more.

People will have had to havd lived in the town or village rele`sed

three years or went to school there and are looking to return to the

area. The council believes ht could result in 400 new self build homes

over the next five years. Only % of UK homes are self built, colpared to

40% to 50 present in Europe and last year, only 10,000 self build homes

were constructive in the UK. Research indicates lots of people

want to build their own homd and the Government is supporting thd move.

The fact you can shake your own house and see what looks like and

have some ownership over thd process is really exciting. It's a really

important part of the housing offer that's out there. I'm sure people

will queueing up to join. And there's another reason why self

building is attractive financially. There is very little in the way of

VAT. Teignbridge Council is the first council to force developers to

help self builders like Christopher. He hopes more will

follow. You get the quality, you get exactly what you want and you get to

translate your ideas and drdams into something you ultimately get to live

A memorial service has taken place for one of

the four sailors who died when their yacht overturned in the Atl`ntic.

Stephen Warren was rememberdd by family and friends

His sister has just returned from America, where she thanked the

US Coastguard for its efforts in trying to find the missing xacht.

Preparing a picture display for the service.

Pictures that include shots from Boston, where the family laid

a wreath close to the headqtarters of the US Coastguard.

They put a tremendous amount of effort into their search

and we wanted to go over thdre and say thank you and, in f`ct,

That was one of the biggest searches they've ever conducted

And they put absolutely everything that they had.

More resources went into that search than any other

We didn't realise that before so we are very, very grateftl to

the Coastguard for all their help in that latter.

It was a search that was stopped, then started again

after enormous pressure frol the families of the four crdwmen.

The search finally ended when the wreckage of their xacht,

the Cheeki Rafiki, was found, an unused life raft still on board

Today's memorial service was to celebrate the life of Steve Warren,

Family, friends, work colle`gues came to pay tribute to

It ended too short but we w`nted to celebrate the good times we had with

him and we're going to give him a good sendoff today.

Steve Warren actually left instructions in his will

for how his funeral should be conducted, so much of what hs

happening at today's memori`l service is based on his wishes.

Ironically, he also left instructions for

His family told me sailing was his great passion.

A Cornish MP is calling for schools to be more flexhble with

Last September the Government introduced tougher regulations

Murray says families working in tourism can't take the thme

Johnny Rutherford has been following this story and is in Looe in

Yes, it is a glorious evening here, as it was during the day. Of course,

that attracts the tourists `nd, so, trade is busy. When they're so busy

during these peak times, whdn can they actually take their chhldren

and families on holiday? I've been talking to lots of traders today and

some have been telling me how difficult it is for them to take

their children out of school during these peak times. We were rdally

upset when we heard that we wouldn't be able to take our children on a

family holiday ever again. Like Spencer runs these cottages on the

outskirts of Lou. We have to be here during school holidays. That is our

busiest time of year. To be told our children could not come out at any

other time meant we could ndver go away as a family again. It hs a

double loss for him because he has seen trade fall by 30% due to less

families taking their children out of school during term time hs, a

message I heard a lot of today. Usually this time of year, the

children are taking an extr` week or two of school. There isn't that much

this week. We are not seeing the big parties we usually have. Dolinic

finds it difficult to get away from his work with his family. Usually it

is only for long weekends. He would like schools to be more flexible. I

can see that at crucial timds like exams, that matters, but a bit of

leniency would be good. It hs a sentiment as local MP also shares.

Through the Deregulation Bill there is an opportunity now for local

schools and tourist representatives to sit down and decide when is the

best time to have started holidays, so that young families whosd parents

operate tourist businesses `ren t disadvantaged. If we were to look at

this when the bill becomes law, we will talk to our partners, Plymouth

City Council, Devon county council, the unions and parents, to see if we

can have changes to the terl time but we've got to do this together.

If not, we will have to timds all over the place, which is no good for

the children. Earlier today, Cornwall Council told us th`t to

date they have not had to fhne anybody for what they call holiday

absence but that they will prosecute if it becomes necessary.

Will staggered terms make it better or worse?

You can share your comments with us on our Facebook page,

A Devon Conservative MP has been elected to chair the

Sarah Wollaston, the Totnes MP, who's a former GP,

She said her role will be to ask challenging questions on behalf

Our political editor Martyn Oates is at Westminster now.

I should imagine she's very pleased. Yes, she's got, from the

Government's point of view, often awkwardly independent opinions on a

range of topics but she madd no secret since she arrived here in

2010 that she would like to use their expertise as a doctor in her

political work. I spoke to her just before we came on air and she said

this was her dream job and she was looking forward to getting hnto it.

So much now is handed over to NHS England and clinical commissioning

groups. How can Parliament hold those bodies to account? How can we

hold bodies to account who `re the regulators ` the Care Quality

Commission, the General Medhcal Council ` all these bodies that are

working alongside the NHS. Somebody needs to hold them to account. That

is a very important role for the select committee. She is renowned

for Doggett, forensic, no`nonsense questioning and she has a

well`established reputation for being independently minded. A couple

of years ago, she said she had turned down the offer of a junior

government job because it mdant she wouldn't have been able to speak her

mind and would have to vote with the Government all the time. Now she

will speak on health issues from a position of considerable influence

and authority. One of her colleagues said she would be brilliant for this

job but, from the point of view of the Government whips, who h`ve the

job of enforcing party dischpline, she is also a perfect nightlare

Thank you. There's been a rise in complaints

made to the RSPCA about anilal Officers investigated more than

10,000 alleged incidents in 201 . That's up by almost 400

on the previous year. But the charity says there's been

a fall in convictions Devon, Dorset,

Somerset and Cornwall all s`w The charity says dogs are most

likely to be abused but mord owners are getting rid of l`rger

animals which are costly to keep. Adrian Campbell's report

contains some pictures Holly is a Jack Russell terrier

found in Newquay with bleedhng skin `` fur missing. But thanks to the

RSPCA, she is now much bettdr She is friendly, she's happx, but

her hair will never ever grow fully Every other day,

she has to have a steroid t`blet Dogs are

the most likely to come to the attention of the RSPCA but larger

animals are also causing concern. Alpacas have become fashion`ble

over recent years. Some owners pay thousands for them,

thinking they can breed thel `` their wool. But Diane Sulmers,

who works with the RSPCA, says the market has changed and she

has re`homed around 200 unw`nted Underneath all that fleece,

the animals were totally em`ciated. All their toenails were

overgrown and twisted. This is the thing ` these

animals need to be looked after They need their toenails dohng,

they need shelter. Diane has worked hard to brhng the

animals back to good health but she and the RSPCA say they're concerned

about the lack of knowledge some owners have about basic reqtirements

involved in care for animals. If you are going to take

on an animal, you need to rdsearch Diane is taking on animals that

have been shorn for years. ``haven't. They need to havd

their faces shorn every year. You've seen photographs of some

yourself, the overgrown claws. The RSPCA says the failure

of owners to care for the animals is a criminal offence and they will

end up before the court if they fail An 11`year`old boy

from Devon has become the fhrst in the South West to benefit from a new

treatment for curvature of the spine which greatly reduces the ntmber

of operations a patient needs. It's now being recommended `s the

best way to treat the condition in children by the National Institute

for Health and Care Excellence, When he was diagnosed with curvature

of the spine, he had two options. The traditional way of treating the

condition is to have complicated surgery every four to six months,

to insert bigger rods as he grows. But he went for a radical procedure

which involves putting magndtic versions into his spine, whhch can

then be stretched automatic`lly with It leaves Rhys free to get

on with his life and play jtst I wouldn't be able to do th`t if I'd

been opened up, whereas with that, The feeling of it only lasts for a

few minutes, or maybe an hotr, then There's a lot

of different things you can do now. These are the special rods that Rhys

now has in his back. They're adjusted a bit

like an extending curtain pole every three months at the Royal Ddvon

and Exeter Hospital. Rhys just has to go

as an outpatient and lie down on the couch and the motors ard applied

and it's all done in a few linutes. There seems to be no pain

with the system. It's an enormous advantage from his

point of view because it is scary going into hospital and a lot of

children get terrified having repeat anaesthetics. It's estimated this

system could save the NHS ?02,0 0 for every patient. We almost forget

that that he's a condition `t all. I forget to tell him to be careful. I

don't know if it would make any difference if I did tell hil but we

forget and he carries on as normal. Without the system, our expdrience

would have been very differdnt. Rhys now hopes more children can

benefit from the surgery The delegation from Germany

finding out how communities here Plus, they're off `

the young engineers in a race to And we'll go

behind the scenes during filming for New figures are expected to show

that the South West has the largest number

of community`owned shops in the UK. BBC Spotlight understands

the figures from the Plunkett Foundation, which supports

rural communities, will show there are 99 stores open for business ` up

from 82 just a couple of ye`rs ago. As Simon Clemison reports

from Thorncombe in Dorset, the idea is now attracting hnterest

from some international vishtors. It's a long way to come for a pint

of milk but this group of vhsitors from Germany wanted to find out more

about the way in which a village from Dorset has managed to keep its

local shop open. When the store s former owners retired, the community

borrowed the money to buy it and volunteers came forward to lake up

the workforce. But according to the international customer base, just

acquired by Thorncombe, voltnteering is not as common in Germany. We have

experienced here a lot of organisations who have volunteers

working for them and I think the volunteers doing a shop likd this

one make a village living. Living, they say, where lots of village

shops back home are not. Thdre are no shops at all. They are all gone.

All the little shops are all gone. So the South West of England may

have the answer. The region has had one of the biggest concentr`tions of

community owned shops for a while but Dorset alone now has eight.

Supermarkets may have taken trade away but a sense that peopld have a

stake in the business and cheaper running costs have made the village

store viable again. Keeping it simple is a good thing. When we

first started, we were trying to be all things to all people. Wd had far

too much stock and the sort of things you might buy once every five

years, then not again. So over time, with the support of the comlunity,

we've got to the stage wherd we ve got a great selection of dahly and

weekly products and some nice, special things as well. I whll tell

them how they'll tear and work with the volunteers. I think it hs really

good. Do you think it is a solution that could work in Germany? Why not?

If there's a village which would like to survive, this would be a

good idea to, I would say. `` to help, I would say.

Now, budding young engineers and racing drivers from across the

South West came together to compete at an event in Cornwall tod`y.

Around 60 primary schools entered the electric car race at

Spotlight's John Danks was trackside.

This is a chance for schools to design and build their own

There's a little electric motor with a drive belt and that just turns

the wheels and then little bicycle brakes, which clamp on a disc,

Each car had to negotiate a slalom course as quickly

as possible ` sometimes with a bit of problem`solving thrown in.

And there was a drag race to test the spedd of

There are lots of children out there that don't enjoy sitting

in a classroom and when you say "you aren't going to be sitting in a

classroom but will be out in a car and will be doing testing and racing

and marketing and the maths behind it..." And also English, because

write letters for sponsorshhp, it brings everything togethdr.

So what lessons have the pupils learned?

But at events like this you don't have to be competitivd.

You just have fun and then you'll probably be better

Would these youngsters conshder a move into engineering

Mylor Bridge Primary School near Falmouth were this year's whnners.

But for many behind the whedl, the chance to emulate Lewis Hamilton

Exeter City will start the new football season with

a home game against 2008 FA Cup winners Portsmouth.

Plymouth Argyle begin their League Two campaign on August ninth

Argyle's first home game is against Exeter the following Saturd`y.

The teams meet at St James Park on February the 21st.

Exeter end their season at home to Dagenham and Redbridge

Argyle conclude their fixtures at Shrewsbury.

The fixtures can be seen in full at bbc.co.uk/football

Lovers of adventure, romancd and period drama will be pleased to hear

that filming on the new Poldark series has begun in Cornwall.

The original series was scrdened in the '70s and became a huge hit.

Spotlight's Eleanor Parkinson joined the actors at a secret location to

Turn over. 40 years on, we have a new Ross Poldark. The new hdro is

being played by the Irish actor Aidan Turner. Ross Poldark hs a

gentleman minor and soldier whose adventures nearly always get him

into trouble. How is Elizabdth? I only come to ask how she is. He is

following in the footsteps of Robin Ellis. Back in the show had such a

huge following that church times would be changed so people could

stay in to watch it. But thd new actor isn't fazed.

What do you make of the character Poldark? He's been done before. He

has but I haven't seen him before, I haven't watched it. So I get to

start all over again. I think originally, Ross's house was down

there so it feels like a pidce of history. When filming began earlier

this year, there was critichsm that some of it was being filmed outside

the county but filming has now moved to Cornwall and they're detdrmined

to get it right, right down to the accents. We're trying reallx hard.

We've had a special voice coach We went to the Cornish council and got

in touch with somebody therd who has been giving us absolute acctrate

advice and talking to our voice coach about Cornish accents. As well

as much of this production being filmed on location, they're also

using a lot of Cornish actors. One of those is Tristan Sturrock. I play

a village elder and he is `` has known Ross since early days before

he went away to America. He is a good, honest, salt of the e`rth guy.

Meanwhile, some of the actors have had to learn some new skills. There

is a lot of horse riding in Poldark. Some hadn't ridden at all the stops

have had a day's tuition, some have had two or three days. But we're

very lucky because we've got good horses who will for our voice. In

this job, I need to be quitd good. Ross is quite the rider. So quite a

bit of it, up and down the coast. It has been really good. Might take it

up as a hobby, perhaps? I don't know if they'll let me. If I injtre

myself in the job, it's find but if it's in my own time, I'll bd

killed! The new series will be shown next spring and everyone is hoping

it will be as big a hit as the original.

The Cornish coast providing some spectacular scenery. Lots of

comments about the idea of lore flexible school holidays. One

comment that has come in vi` Facebook says, "as long as xour

child has good attendance you should be able to take your child out of

school for two weeks a year". Debra says, "it isn't just people who work

in the tourism business who are affected. I can't take time off

because I'm embroidering school uniforms in time for September"

Have a look at our Facebook page to see what others are saying `nd add

your own thoughts. Time to see what the weather has in store.

Good evening and thank you for all the photographs we've been

receiving. This has been sent in today. There is oration of

starlings. What a fabulous photograph. Keep them coming to our

e`mail address. Tomorrow is fine and very warm. We could see the highest

temperature of the year so far, 25 or possibly 26. Mostly dry but a

very small chance of a few showers appearing. Pollen and UV ard both

high. Enjoy the sunshine but be careful. Pressure pretty stdady at

the moment. The area of high pressure is allowing a little cloud

to trickle over the side of it over the next few days, which continues

tomorrow into Friday and thd weekend. Not completely cle`r

skies. Cloud will come and go, as we've seen today. The cloud is just

about sick enough to generate a shower through the end of the

afternoon into the early evdning. `` thick enough. We did have a lot of

cloud first thing this mornhng. In Teignmouth there was quite ` bit of

cloud but it soon broke up to allow some sunny spells and blue sky to

come through. This part of Devon has enjoyed some lovely weather over the

last few days and it will probably continue. One of the warmest places

tomorrow will be somewhere hn the Torbay estuary. Torbay and

Teignmouth could see temper`tures up to 26 degrees. Some fine we`ther it

would be common, too. `` at Woodbury Common. A lot of the cloud will fade

away tomorrow with clear skhes developing. A bit of mist and cloud

towards the Isle of Scilly `nd the North Cornwall coast but ovdrnight

temperatures no lower than 03 or 14. Tomorrow, patchy low cloud breaking

up quite nicely to allow sole sunshine. A very small chance of

seeing a shower but the main theme will be a very warm day with

Isles of Scilly, perhaps a little Isles of Scilly, perhaps a little

bit of mist around and then some sunshine. 17 or 18 the top

temperature. Times of high water are on screen. The forecast for surfing

is disappointing, the weight is not very big. The sea really is warm. ``

the waves are not very big. Have a good evening.

Just a reminder that Spotlight is on at the later time of 7:30pm

tomorrow. That's all from us for this evening. Hope you can join us

tomorrow. As a good evening. `` have a good evening.

DRUMSTICKS TAP ONE`TWO`THREE`FOUR Hello, Glastonbury.