11/02/2013 Inside Out East

�77 million to build new houses. That's how much money the councils

have been given by government but are we putting the right houses in

the right places? We feel like a village under siege. We have one

application after another after another. We are constantly fighting

development. The kindness of strangers, why a self-made

millionaire has spent his money helping a little girl from Norfolk.

There are few opportunities in life to do something that makes a big

difference. I am in a lucky situation on all sorts of levels

and to be able to do that is amazing. And I am on the trail of a

rare natural phenomena or, the Fenlands tidal wave. It will hit

that side and come back. Start paddling! Es! The stories the

Tonight, we are in Norfolk. A nightmare every parent dreads, to

discover your child has a life- threatening illness. The story of

Grace has touched the hearts of many in Norfolk where she lives.

And it caught the attention of a millionaire who decided he wanted

to help her and the family because of personal reasons. Weetabix with

sugar. Just a normal morning for the Matthews family from Norwich,

mum Vicky gets breakfast ready for her two children but two years ago

something happened which would change their lives for ever. We got

a phone call from the school to say grace was running a temperature and

could we pick her up. We did that. At 2 o'clock in the morning we

noticed a rash, rashes on her chest and back. She had four or five

spots. We called the doctor and when we told him the symptoms and

everything, he put us straight through to the ambulance. At

hospital there was a team of medics rushing around filling her with

fluids and running through the corridors to get her into intensive

care. A few hours later and the worst was confirmed, Grace had

developed meningitis. By this time, you know it is meningitis. What was

going through your mind? Pure shock. It was like it wasn't happening.

Everything went so quickly. A your life falls apart, you could not see

anything but our little girl. were going with everything.

almost two weeks Grace's life hung in the balance. We lived on a

knife-edge, no one expected her to pull through. Every day we did not

know what to expect. Grace spent nine weeks in hospital, she did

pull through but sadly developed blood poisoning. It was fairly

obvious from the first week that she would lose her hands and legs.

She had to have an operation. said from the start if she makes it,

there is every chance she will lose limbs and explained the effects of

meningitis. Have you ever felt angry about what happened? I am not

angry because it is one of those things. Vicky struggles day-to-day,

she is angry with herself. She hasn't forgiven herself or accepted.

What are you angry about? Just that... Surrey. We did not get her

to hospital sooner and do anything about it sooner. But you did

everything you could but there is this feeling perhaps you could have

done more. It is a feeling you can't get out of the back of your

mind, if we had got her to hospital a few hours beforehand, there is a

possibility we might have saved her limbs. Every year two and a half

thousand people develop bacterial meningitis. Grace, who's just

turned six, doesn't like talking about what's happened to her but

she's coping well and has got used to her artificial legs. Her story

has touched the hearts of many and when a local millionaire property

developer heard about Grace he decided he wanted to help. On a

personal level, it is amazing to do something that can make a big

difference. There are few opportunities in life to do

something that actually you know makes a big difference and to be

honest with you, I am a lucky situation on all sorts of levels

and to be able to do that is amazing. Matthew's construction

company is helping to adapt and As far as I understand things, this

is going to be open plan. We will put a wooden floor in and level

access to the living room so she can wheel along and through.

Downstairs bathroom is going to be in the corner here with a window.

Matthew's supplying all the labour for free, the other half of the

estimated �60,000 build cost is 30-year-old Matthew grew up here in

Attleborough in Norfolk. He can personally relate to the trauma

Grace and her parents have gone through. When he was 15 Matthew was

involved in a serious road accident. I was travelling back from London

on a friend's motorbike. We stopped at a garage and when we pulled out

we were hit by a Land Rover initially which left me lying in

the road to be hit by an HGV and I lost my leg. It is an odd thing to

describe, I came out of it feeling very lucky and I had a sense of

euphoria because I live to something I should not have lived

through. Matthew spent months in hospital recovering from his

injuries. He was awarded three million pounds in compensation. He

used the money to build up a successful property development

company. But he's come to realise there's more to life than just

making money. I spend my time in my office concentrating on how much

money I can make and how quickly. And that's not necessarily the

answer to everything but I think I now feel I can't credibly make lots

of money without trying to do something good as well. I know it

is a small thing but it's something I can do.

Back at Grace's home, work is going well while the family are living

nearby with relatives. Builders are putting in a lift, a special wet

room as well as generally creating more space for Grace to move around

in her wheelchair. What is life like for Grace now?

Getting back to normal. She is in the mainstream school getting on

very well. She has lots of friends. She has adapted really well.

has she adapted, it must be quite difficult in many ways. Yes, she

has a motorised wheelchair which helps they get around. Most of the

time she is on a prosthetic leg but when she gets tired she has the

chair to back her up. She has a bright future ahead of her. There

is no stopping her. She is determined, fun-loving and I do not

know the future but it will be good. Three months after construction

started Matthew has come back to show Grace and her family the new

improvements to their home. computer area in the corner,

downstairs bathroom. Look at this! Non-slip floor. And you can go

straight through, it goes straight through. Brilliant. A white room!

It is nice. Lovely. This is going to be so much better, you can zoom

around in your wheelchair. Go up and down in the lift. It will be

brilliant. Great. She will get her independence back. We cannot thank

you enough. He has saved us. I know you don't like to hear it but we

have said before what it means to us. It genuinely is brilliant.

If there is something you think we should be looking into, sent me

eight e-mail. -- sent me an e-mail. What is in a name? The history of

thaw macro villages and I find out if the wave is worth the wait. By

Kevin's calculation, he reckons we should see a tidal wave coming

Some fear that housebuilding will destroy the countryside.

Kate Perceval and Joe Britton I getting ready to move into their

first home. They are part of a scheme that where they part born

and part rent the property. Do you want to see the kitchen?

That is the kitchen. This is one of the few affordable houses on a

development on the outskirts of a village. It is now at two councils

rather than the government to decide how many houses I needed and

where to build them. Councils in Northamptonshire at say if we want

enough affordable houses some will have to be built in the countryside.

Northamptonshire is about to see a housing expansion. Over 20,000 new

homes will be built. It will increase the size of Daventry by

one-third. It will be the most significant development since the

1970s. Can this be done without destroying the countryside?

On this green field site planning has gone through for 1000 homes.

Three miles away residents are getting ready for new houses in

their village. This is one of 190 villages in the

region. People living here are worried about the impact the

housing will have on their community.

Jo Wilson has lived in Moulton for 13 years. She is in favour of

affordable housing that is not happy about the scale of the

development. It is the amount of housing. They are trying to

shoehorn at large developments into small communities. We do feel like

a village under siege. We are constantly fighting development.

This has been approved for 38 houses. The campaign to protect

rural England believes that the development should be elsewhere.

Something short of 200 houses in the last few months. This is where

the houses are going to be built. 38 houses. The boundary is those

trees. It is easier to build on greenfield site and brownfield site.

We accept that is the case to a degree but that is important to

protect the countryside. What impact will it have on people

living locally? It will be easy for development to constantly take

place. The it is a big change. is a big change. Or on this

development only a few houses will be classed as affordable, but the

council says their aim is for as many as half of all the new houses

built across this part of the region to be affordable.

People are concerned that their need to listen to those concerns.

It is about getting the balance right between affordable housing

and the Investment we hope to bring. When you look at the number of

affordable houses, there were 641 last year. There will be 939 this

year. We can improve on that. focus has already helped couples

like this take advantage of shared ownership. But they will only or

one-quarter of their house. How do you feel about this scheme?

works for us. Without it we would not own a room house. The rent was

so much more. It has worked out well for us. But they had to find a

deposit for their home. They were living with their parents which

made it easier for them to save. Seeing everything again it reminds

you why you are saving. It is a good feeling. It is also worthwhile

for councils. Across the East �77 million is being paid out by the

government to encourage councils to build more houses. The get �4,000

for each house built at even more for each affordable home.

Building houses is at money-earner. You are making nearly �2 million on

building houses. �4,000 per home. What we do with the money is

invested back into Northampton and future economic prosperity. Despite

promises of making buying more affordable it is still out of reach

for some. Carly Pitman teaches at a primary

school. She lives with her boyfriend and rents a flat. She

would like to stuck at family in it their own home. Although she has a

good job she is not able to put aside enough money as a down-

payment for any of the affordable schemes. That is because she has

little left over at the end of the month after paying her rent.

More so people would expect you could buy your own house. People

are surprised when they find out that I have been teaching for four

years. My boyfriend has a good job as well, but yet we cannot afford

our own home. A lot of my peer group have gone on to further

education and have what would be considered professional careers and

are in a similar situation. Mostly because of student debts and the

cost of renting. It is very difficult to get the deposit.

Without parental help or without having savings could decide it is

very difficult for my age group to be able to get their foot on the

property ladder. It is lovely that there are affordable homes for

other people but I cannot take advantage because I cannot pay the

deposit to access does affordable homes. We spoke to a teacher who is

a key worker. She said that her main concern is that she could not

raise the deposit. It is a difficult financial climate that we

are in. We need to be aware of that. But we need to make sure there is a

supply of affordable housing. It is a big issue. We have to tackle it

head-on. By doing this and looking to improve the number of affordable

houses that will hopefully open up the market. We need to encourage

banks to lend to people such as teachers and nurses. Until things

do change, this person will not get on the housing ladder anytime soon.

My worry is that once children come along, financially that will be a

drain, perhaps I cannot save for the mortgage that I what now.

couple are days from being able to move in. I love being in a home

with my mum and dad, but it is nice to get away and have our own space,

wash up with me what, have the TV on when we what. We do not want to

jinx ourselves, but this is looking good.

Wherever you are the name of your town or city or village will have a

story behind it. I had to find out Have you ever been to a place and

thought it had an interesting name? This is Wiggenhall St Mary Magdalen.

They mean it is made up of two Saxon words. The words mean are

raised field and raging water. The rushing waters frog which the

village takes part of its name comes at this river - the River

Great Ouse. This water is hardly a raging swell.

It is low tide at the moment. But within six hours it will be

different. The water level is dependent on high tides at King's

Lynn which is five miles away. What everything is just right for water

rushes at the river. This is one of only 50 places in the world that

boast at tidal bore wave. A tidal bore wave is a phenomenon with a

leading part of the incoming tide forms a wave that travels up the

river. This oceanographer has studied ways

all over the world. The tide washes at the river.

Because it has got away flight if the speed of the wave is getting

slower as the river shallows. The air of the river is so shallow that

the waves deepens and breaks like a waif on a beach.

A howl rare are up tidal bore wait? They are quite rare that there are

a lot in the UK. There is a long distance between the open ocean and

the coastline. I have never seen a tidal bore in reality. I am looking

forward to it. He may not have to wait too long.

This was written 200 years ago. This seems to signify that this

place had impressive water both from the sea and the river.

This is a very old record. Settlers would have witnessed the phenomenon

over 1000 years ago. There used to be a small fishing

industry. The tidal bore was an unlikely a compass for the

fishermen. This man's father and brother used

to fish here. My father left the Royal Navy and bought a fishing

boat. He fished for eels. He allowed the tide to washed through

the net. When the tidal bore wave came at the fish were delivered to

the next. The net would get full much quicker. This man has lived

here for most of his life. He has fond memories of the week. We used

to swim. I had a mate down at the bridge. If it was an incoming tide

he would float along the tide and join me. If the tide was on its ebb

I would foot down and join him. There are those who are always that

you with the phenomenon of the wave on their doorsteps. Been there are

those who moved here and a captivated by it. When you see it

for the first time it takes you away. It is an awesome force.

People think the The Fens is a flat landscape. All of a sudden you have

got what is the washed flooding inland through a natural channel.

It has been here for thousands of years. This person is so fascinated

that he studies the moon and the tides to predict when they will

arrive. A forceful rush of water is needed.

That is caused by the moon. Where it is in relation to the earth. On

a high spring tides where that is being pulled by the moon into a

narrow channel you have got a tidal wave. Kevin is into renewable

energy. It is more than something to watch. He wants to tap into its

power. If I have got injured mooring

rights. I can harvest the natural resources to the width of the

property. I am looking at harvesting the moon power, the

actual force of the water, hydro energy, to generate electricity for

my house. By Kevin's calculations any minute now we should see a

tidal wave. There it is. That is the way. That is an ankle biter.

What did you think? It was small but it is still a tidal wave.

was so small? -- why was it so small? It is because it was spread

out over 1.5 miles. The water is being pushed in a little bit faster.

It has come 15 minutes earlier than predicted.

The way it should be bigger today as its size build over several days.

It could be a chance for another rarity - surfing on a river. That

is moving. Yesterday we saw the tidal bore wave come in. It is not

like the Severn bore where people surfeit every year. We are trying

to see whether this or will propel It is coming. It will come across.

Start paddling. Yes. Call on. No. What an incredible experience.

Riding one of only 50 tidal bores in the world. For a villages around

here have the same name. The Saxons were right. This is a captivating

rush of water. What is incredible about this wave is that it has been

washed -- it has been watched by What an experience. They tell me

the wave does get bigger from time to time. That is all for a night.

If you have any stories please contact me. I will see you next