0:00:06 > 0:00:08In the next half an hour, witness Durham's waste recycling
0:00:08 > 0:00:10cowboys who use real cows to dispose of the evidence.
0:00:10 > 0:00:13Cracking down on the rubbish rogues who cause a stink.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15The stench was awful.
0:00:15 > 0:00:16There was human rubbish.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18It was like a bomb site.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20Absolutely horrified.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22How could this go on so close to home?
0:00:22 > 0:00:25After Scotland's no vote, we discover a plan to help
0:00:25 > 0:00:28the North stand up to the powerhouse of London.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32We would really like to see national Government letting go.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35Making sure cities can decide far more of how they spend monex
0:00:35 > 0:00:39on transport, on houses and skills.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42And we reveal how a Cumbrian helped the careers of the likes of
0:00:42 > 0:00:44David Bowie and Sir John Gidlgud.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48If you presented this to solebody unexpectedly,
0:00:48 > 0:00:51they would never believe yot were getting these world`class n`mes
0:00:51 > 0:00:54coming to a theatre on the outskirts of this arda.
0:00:54 > 0:00:59I am Chris Jackson and this is Inside Out.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11When have you ever seen cows being used to recycle waste?
0:01:11 > 0:01:14Well, you will tonight, as we home in on the rubbish rogues
0:01:14 > 0:01:16of the North East.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20They dump waste illegally and pocket your money.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24It is dangerous and it stinks.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26On board with the Environment Agency, respondhng to
0:01:26 > 0:01:30a tip`off about an illegal waste dump at Thornley in East Durham
0:01:30 > 0:01:34We?re going to the site to find out exactly what is going on and
0:01:34 > 0:01:39whether any environmental offences have been committed.
0:01:39 > 0:01:45They've got police back`up in case things turn ugly.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49Can we just have a word with your dad, please, if you don?t mhnd?
0:01:49 > 0:01:50That's great.
0:01:50 > 0:01:56Dad ` these dirty stinking BLEEP are back.
0:01:56 > 0:01:57There?s millions of them.
0:01:57 > 0:01:58Don?t want that camera here.
0:01:58 > 0:01:59You?ve got no rights.
0:01:59 > 0:02:00You?re on private property.
0:02:00 > 0:02:01BLEEP with it.
0:02:01 > 0:02:07So, for the time being, we?ll take our leave, but we will be b`ck.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10The costs of setting up a dodgy skip business are low and the nulber
0:02:10 > 0:02:16of illegal tips are on the tp.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19Here's how it should work ? you hire a skip, fill it with rubbish,
0:02:19 > 0:02:20it gets taken away.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23And anything that can be recycled should be sorted ott.
0:02:23 > 0:02:23So, got your plastic.
0:02:23 > 0:02:29There's wood, cardboard, things like scrap metal.
0:02:29 > 0:02:36Anything hazardous, like asbestos, has to be dealt with properly.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39Anything else that's left over, well, that goes to landfill.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41But there is a penalty ` 80 quid a time.
0:02:41 > 0:02:43So, anything that can avoid payhng that
0:02:43 > 0:02:44charge kind earns you big btcks
0:02:44 > 0:02:47And that's where the rogues have spotted a nice little earner.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50And there are rich pickings.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52Criminals take your money and then dump illegally.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54Well, it?s profitable, that?s certainly the main thing
0:02:54 > 0:03:00and these people are greddy.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02There?s no point us beating around the bush about it.
0:03:02 > 0:03:03That?s why people commit crhme.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06And waste disposal is very, very lucrative.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11One gang made a mint through illegal tipping on an industrial sc`le.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14For years, a firm called Albert Hill Skips ran a dodgy
0:03:14 > 0:03:17operation in the North East.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19They drew in trade by undercutting their competeitors.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Instead of doing everything by the book, they simply tipped evdrything
0:03:22 > 0:03:28in their own illegal dump.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30Tens of thousands of tonnes of waste brought to various sites
0:03:30 > 0:03:33on the pretence of being recycled, but what we saw was that
0:03:33 > 0:03:39the waste was being stockpiled.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41It wasn?t processed at all, it was just left to rot
0:03:41 > 0:03:44And all on the doorstep of local residents, like Al`n
0:03:44 > 0:03:46and dozens more in Darlington.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49It was like a bomb site, it was just full of rubbish.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52The stench was awful and I got up here and it must have
0:03:52 > 0:03:53been at least 7ft high.
0:03:53 > 0:03:59There was tyres, there was rubbish, there was human rubbish and as I
0:03:59 > 0:04:02say, the stench ` so what else was here, we don?t know.
0:04:02 > 0:04:05But it looked like there was empty gas cylinders as well.
0:04:05 > 0:04:07It was just like a bomb sitd.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10Absolutely horrified, how could this happen so close to homds?
0:04:10 > 0:04:13You are talking homes just 100 yards away.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15And we were living next to a tip.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17And just when the locals thought thex?d seen
0:04:17 > 0:04:23it all, last year, this happened.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26We?re faced with thousands of tonnes of waste material well
0:04:26 > 0:04:28alight, thick black smoke bhllowing out, very difficult access.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30We couldn?t get to it.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33The smell was already bad but once the heat gets
0:04:33 > 0:04:34into it, it gets even worse.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37Flies, rats ` it?s probably one of the worst environments you could
0:04:37 > 0:04:41think of for crews to work hn.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43The fire burned for weeks and the site at Dodsworth Street
0:04:44 > 0:04:46in Darlington was closed.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50But these cowboys had other ways of dumping their rubbish.
0:04:50 > 0:04:56They owned a farm in Bishop Auckland, where they scattered
0:04:56 > 0:04:58hundreds of tonnes of waste.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01They even used their own cattle to tread in waste
0:05:01 > 0:05:03plasterboard brought in by the wagon load to this illegal site.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06We?ll find out what happened when the law finally caught up with
0:05:06 > 0:05:09Albert Hill Skips.
0:05:09 > 0:05:14But first, things are hotting up at the illegal tip at Thornley.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17There is clear evidence of general skip waste being brought
0:05:17 > 0:05:19onto the site.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22There is some smouldering hdaps where the waste has been set
0:05:22 > 0:05:25on fire.
0:05:25 > 0:05:30There's been heaps of ash.
0:05:30 > 0:05:32There's general building construction waste,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35there?s many tonnes here.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38There?s what we can see on the surface and what we don?t know
0:05:38 > 0:05:42yet is what?s buried underndath
0:05:42 > 0:05:44The more clean waste, we can see.
0:05:44 > 0:05:45Until that's removed, we won?t know.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49Remember, the owners have no permits for any of this acthvity.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51Dave's team are taking samples to establish where
0:05:51 > 0:05:52the waste comes from.
0:05:52 > 0:05:54Amongst the waste, there are documents which h`ve names
0:05:54 > 0:05:56and addresses on for people.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58We obviously need to go and speak to these people to
0:05:58 > 0:06:01understand how the waste whhch apparently they had at one point
0:06:01 > 0:06:05came to be here on`site tod`y.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07And they're making some disturbing discoveries.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10We have seen a small amount of waste which looks
0:06:10 > 0:06:20like it could potentially bd cement bound asbestos and we?re taking
0:06:20 > 0:06:24a sample of that. That will be sent off to the laboratory to confirm one
0:06:24 > 0:06:30way or another if it is asbdstos.
0:06:30 > 0:06:40Back to Albert Hill Skips.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43You remember, the ones who gots cows to recycle their rubbish.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45They had a huge illegal stockpile here at the Hackworth
0:06:45 > 0:06:46Industrial Estate at Shildon.
0:06:46 > 0:06:48There was thousands of tonnds of rotting, stinking waste.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50It was the height of the buhlding.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52It was as far out as the fence.
0:06:52 > 0:06:59The smell, the flies, the r`ts, it was awful.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02How did it affect your business, apart from the stink?
0:07:02 > 0:07:04Well, it was going to cut our insurance basically bec`use
0:07:04 > 0:07:06of the fire risk to the building.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08And they came and said they wouldn?t insure us.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10Because it kept catching fire next door?
0:07:10 > 0:07:12It kept catching fire, time after time.
0:07:12 > 0:07:14Fortunately for Alan and his colleagues, the law finally caught
0:07:14 > 0:07:17up with their nightmare neighbours.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21But Albert Hill Skips didn?t give up without a fight.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24We were dealing with people who used legal delays and challenges
0:07:24 > 0:07:29as a means to delay the enforcement action.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32One of the Shepherds had been caught seven
0:07:32 > 0:07:36times breaking bail conditions.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39And, actually, as a result of that, he was remanded into custodx
0:07:39 > 0:07:41and then spent time in prison.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43That man is Raymond Shepherd ? he was jailed for 18 months
0:07:43 > 0:07:47for breaching a raft of environmental regulations.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50Raymond's brother and sons were given suspended sentences
0:07:50 > 0:07:52for their part in the operation
0:07:52 > 0:07:55Peter Foster, the owner of two of their sites and former director of
0:07:55 > 0:07:59the skip hire firm, was madd to fork out hundreds of thousands of pounds
0:07:59 > 0:08:01to clear the mess left behind.
0:08:01 > 0:08:03The Shepherds are unlikely to ever legitimately work
0:08:04 > 0:08:06in waste disposal again.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09But residents who endured lhving next to
0:08:09 > 0:08:13their illegal tips say it took far too long to bring them to book.
0:08:13 > 0:08:21We had a major problem here, yet they still allowed it to go
0:08:21 > 0:08:24on, and that to me beggars belief, how they were allowed to continue.
0:08:24 > 0:08:25So, yeah, I?m bitter.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27I am still bitter.
0:08:27 > 0:08:31One of the big problems is if someone is adamant that they wish
0:08:31 > 0:08:34to commit a crime, without powers of arrest, they can't
0:08:34 > 0:08:35always be physically stopped.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38And we do work as quickly as we possibly can to sort
0:08:38 > 0:08:40of remediate these problems, but unfortunately, these things can t
0:08:40 > 0:08:42always be rectified overnight.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45Those who are unscrupulous will look to cut the corners.
0:08:45 > 0:08:51So, yes, we do see an incre`se in the number of these illegal sites.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54I would say we are actually putting a lot of resource and effort
0:08:54 > 0:08:57into this, so the more you look the more you find
0:08:57 > 0:09:03and we have to be aware of that
0:09:03 > 0:09:05So do you want this rubbish moving?
0:09:05 > 0:09:06Yes.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09Back at the unlicenced tip at Thornley, the owners havd been
0:09:09 > 0:09:11ordered to shift the rubbish they brought here.
0:09:11 > 0:09:16It?ll cost them many thousands of pounds to do the job properly.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19We have told the operator to stop, not to bring any more waste in.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22And the next stage is for us to speak to them forlally
0:09:22 > 0:09:24about what has happened to date
0:09:24 > 0:09:27And the owner?s son, who?s now calmed down a bit, even wants
0:09:27 > 0:09:29to tell his side of the story.
0:09:29 > 0:09:30It was a surprise visit this morning.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33Shocked when I saw all of the police vans, but it was just
0:09:33 > 0:09:36the environment people, really.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38I just didn?t have the permits to empty skips
0:09:38 > 0:09:43on the ground and sort them on the ground, so I?ve been caught out
0:09:43 > 0:09:45But what about the burning rubbish?
0:09:45 > 0:09:48It was a fire caused by criminals out of the village
0:09:48 > 0:09:51It was a group of kids who came and set the fire.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54Waste crime is a serious problem.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57It impacts on communities, it can damage the environment and
0:09:57 > 0:10:00of course it undercuts legitimate business as well.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04We?re determined to crack down on waste crime and that?s what
0:10:04 > 0:10:07we're doing here today.
0:10:07 > 0:10:11So, Scotland voted no, but the whole process ignited a debate here about
0:10:11 > 0:10:17our place within the United Kingdom.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20So, could a mega city from Newcastle to Liverpool rival the powerhouse
0:10:20 > 0:10:25of London and lead to greatdr prosperity here in the North?
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Some think we need to be radical in order to stave off further decline.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31Toby Foster investigates.
0:10:31 > 0:10:37London.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41It's not just the capital of UK plc, it's a global hub that sucks in
0:10:41 > 0:10:44the brightest and best from all over the world, as well as the n`tion.
0:10:44 > 0:10:47But has it just become too big and powerful, leaving the North no
0:10:47 > 0:10:49chance of ever catching up?
0:10:49 > 0:10:53Whitehall feels very far reloved from cities around the country.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55So is the North stuck on the slow train while
0:10:55 > 0:10:56the capital just accelerates away?
0:10:56 > 0:11:00Or are there signs of a fightback?
0:11:00 > 0:11:03Are we starting to generate the jobs needed to keep
0:11:03 > 0:11:09our brightest and best from heading to the already overheated c`pital?
0:11:09 > 0:11:10It?s morning rush hour, and I?m joining commuters
0:11:11 > 0:11:18in Newcastle upon Tyne.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21I'm about to board a train to make a journey which, for many pdople,
0:11:21 > 0:11:26is a symbol of the yawning gap between the North and London.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29I've joined Maurice Duffy, CEO of Blackswan, an international business
0:11:29 > 0:11:31consultancy based on the Tyne.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34Today he's off to Manchester to launch a new book.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36How long does it take?
0:11:36 > 0:11:41Anything between 235, 245 mhnutes.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43That?s if it?s on time of course and it doesn?t get delayed
0:11:43 > 0:11:49along the way.
0:11:49 > 0:11:51I'm guessing you could get to London in much the same time.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55I do Newcastle to London twhce a week, and I can do that
0:11:55 > 0:11:56in 245 to three hours.
0:11:56 > 0:11:57And that's an extra 120 miles longer.
0:11:57 > 0:12:02It's unbelieveable.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06So we're chugging along on our trans`Pennine journex,
0:12:06 > 0:12:09but many feel transport is just symbol of what's holding us back.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11People across the North were asked whether
0:12:11 > 0:12:13they agreed that the Governlent and Parliament were responsive to issues
0:12:13 > 0:12:15in their home towns and cithes.
0:12:15 > 0:12:19Manchester was most positivd, with 21% agreeing.
0:12:19 > 0:12:25In Sheffield, that figure dropped to just 7%.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27Liverpool and Leeds were only marginally more positive at 8%.
0:12:27 > 0:12:33And in Hull and Newcastle, the number was 14%.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37That?s how little the North reckons London cares
0:12:37 > 0:12:40about how we prosper up herd.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42The Centre for Cities is an influential think
0:12:42 > 0:12:46tank that lobbies Government.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48I've come to meet its chief executive to find out how
0:12:48 > 0:12:51you go about bridging the g`p between London and the North.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54If you talk to business, thdy say, well, if it's not London,
0:12:54 > 0:12:55it's New York.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57We want all the investment to come to the UK.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59Usually, if you have a big capital chty like
0:12:59 > 0:13:02London, the second`tier cithes are a certain size, about half thd size.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05Actually, our second`tier chties, Leeds, Manchester, they are a bit
0:13:05 > 0:13:08smaller than you would expect.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11So what we would like to see is not London shrinking,
0:13:11 > 0:13:15we would like to see the second`tier cities get that bit bigger so
0:13:15 > 0:13:19their economies are really booming.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21So is enough being done to rebalance England's economy?
0:13:21 > 0:13:24Around three quarters of people in Leeds and Newcastle belidve that
0:13:24 > 0:13:26the location of Parliament in Westminster means political
0:13:26 > 0:13:30decisions are too London`focused compared to the rest of the UK.
0:13:30 > 0:13:32We would really like to see national Governlent
0:13:32 > 0:13:38letting go so that cities c`n decide far more on how they spend loney
0:13:38 > 0:13:47on transport, how they spend money on how houses and skills.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49And if you're looking for evidence of bias in favour
0:13:49 > 0:13:51of the capital, just hop on a bus.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54Spending on public transport in London amounts to ?5,000 per head.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58In the regions, it?s just ?699.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00That's over seven times higher.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03Which leads many Northerners to question the sense of spendhng
0:14:03 > 0:14:10tens of billions on HS2 onlx to get people to London even qticker.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12Especially when you?re stuck on the slow train.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15At the minute, it takes the same amount of time to
0:14:15 > 0:14:17get from London to Newcastld as Manchester to Newcastle.
0:14:17 > 0:14:18That is crazy.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22People travel between those cities of time for work and business.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26It should be faster.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30If you look at Manchester and Leeds and add them together you gdt
0:14:30 > 0:14:33an area which really does compete with London in terms of poptlation.
0:14:33 > 0:14:34Getting Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool and Hull
0:14:34 > 0:14:37linked up better, better tr`nsport, that is very important.
0:14:37 > 0:14:38They have responded to a challenge set by
0:14:38 > 0:14:52the Chancellor to get them competing more effectively with London.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54The cities wanted a 15 year transport infrastructure
0:14:54 > 0:14:54plan
0:14:54 > 0:14:55with ?1 billion annual budgdt.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58It is great that the five cities have come together
0:14:58 > 0:15:01producing a single plan chiling with the vision that I set out
0:15:01 > 0:15:01of a northern powerhouse.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Cynics might say it is easy to have a plan
0:15:04 > 0:15:06so close to a general electhon.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08The Scottish independence voters highlighted a disparity which is
0:15:08 > 0:15:11not just between London and the rest.
0:15:11 > 0:15:15Yorkshire and the Humber has a population equivalent to Scotland.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19Greater Manchester has almost the same as the whole of Wales.
0:15:19 > 0:15:25Tyne Wear is almost as big as Northern Ireland.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27And yet none of these English regions have got the same ldvels
0:15:27 > 0:15:29of autonomy that the devolved nations have.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32Many people think it is time that changed.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35But back on the slow train, it could be decades before there is
0:15:35 > 0:15:40any real sign of change.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43We got on the train at six linutes past eight, almost two hours to
0:15:43 > 0:15:47get from Newcastle to Leeds and we have had to get on and off trains.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49Yes, at York the train was cancelled
0:15:49 > 0:15:51We hopped off and waited with other passengers
0:15:51 > 0:16:07for another Manchester servhce.
0:16:07 > 0:16:0920 minutes later, and we ard on this train, heading for Manchestdr.
0:16:09 > 0:16:10Eventually.
0:16:10 > 0:16:11Look, this is not some northern whinge.
0:16:11 > 0:16:14Nobody actually believes thd streets of London are paved with gold.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18Believe it or not, some people want to move up north.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21That is what has happened hdre at the advanced manufacturing park
0:16:21 > 0:16:22on the border between Sheffheld and Rotherham.
0:16:22 > 0:16:29It has attracted 200 businesses some small, and some not so small.
0:16:29 > 0:16:31The park is a real, innovative environmdnt.
0:16:31 > 0:16:32You are looking at this reghon,
0:16:32 > 0:16:34manufacturing is as at a 28 year high.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37Performance Engineering Solttions was started by Mike Maddock,
0:16:37 > 0:16:38an ex`Formula One racing team engineer
0:16:38 > 0:16:43and entrepreneur from the south
0:16:43 > 0:16:45He hopes to expand fivefold in the next few years.
0:16:45 > 0:16:51If he can get the staff.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54Today, his design team is working on a new high`tech golf putter
0:16:54 > 0:16:55and a factory cooling unit,
0:16:55 > 0:16:57as well as a gearbox for a wheelchair.
0:16:57 > 0:17:0270% of their design commisshons are for overseas clients.
0:17:02 > 0:17:04This ?90,000 racing bike and this ultralight pedal bhke
0:17:04 > 0:17:09were both designed here.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12We are seeing massive changds in the last 12 months in terms
0:17:12 > 0:17:15of demands on us as a busindss and how that is changing.
0:17:15 > 0:17:17And how companies are approaching innovation.
0:17:17 > 0:17:18There has been a drain to the south.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20And also out of the UK.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22We need to stop that.
0:17:22 > 0:17:24I came up north because there were more opportunitids.
0:17:24 > 0:17:25And the different type of lhfestyle.
0:17:25 > 0:17:29London is very busy and verx big.
0:17:29 > 0:17:34I am one mile down the road.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38It is great I can be close to home and be able to apply the sale skill
0:17:38 > 0:17:40set and not move further afheld
0:17:40 > 0:17:42I looked at America, India and China had one point.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46There is a shortage of engineers and the skills gap is one of thd things,
0:17:46 > 0:17:49not just a problem with us but the UK
0:17:49 > 0:17:50and unless we can reverse that trend...
0:17:50 > 0:17:54We have been travelling for two hours and 45 minutes
0:17:54 > 0:17:57and we sat outside Manchestdr and we do not know why.
0:17:57 > 0:18:00This train is travelling at an average of 60 mph.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02That is a third as quickly as the one getting us
0:18:02 > 0:18:07from London to the continent.
0:18:07 > 0:18:09Finally, journey's end and time to say farewell to Morris, back
0:18:09 > 0:18:14on the same slow train very soon.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17It gives me a chance to see an example of how moving out
0:18:17 > 0:18:20of London can create thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions
0:18:20 > 0:18:23of pounds in investment.
0:18:23 > 0:18:31It was such an opportunity they even moved the
0:18:31 > 0:18:34most famous street in the country three miles, just to be herd.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37The BBC and ITV have, we have got two big brands `nd the
0:18:37 > 0:18:40university as well and they have helped bring those small and medium
0:18:40 > 0:18:41enterprises and create that hub
0:18:41 > 0:18:44Media City is a 200 acre site, straddling the canal
0:18:44 > 0:18:47between Salford and Trafford.
0:18:47 > 0:18:50It is said to be the biggest facility of its type in Europe.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52It came about following the political dechsion to
0:18:52 > 0:18:56move jobs away from London.
0:18:56 > 0:19:00But this is just one small part of the jigsaw.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03It will take a lot more polhtical will to move power and monex
0:19:03 > 0:19:04from London to the north
0:19:04 > 0:19:07and enable the great cities to compete with the capital
0:19:07 > 0:19:10on anything like an equal footing.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12Scotland might have said no to independence,
0:19:12 > 0:19:13but will gain even greater powers.
0:19:13 > 0:19:19And south of the border, that has not gone unnoticed.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28Now, what links David Bowie, Peggy Ashcroft and John Gielgud
0:19:28 > 0:19:33with hundreds of factory workers in West Cumbria?
0:19:33 > 0:19:36To find the answer to this remarkable bit of history,
0:19:36 > 0:19:40we start with a trip to the cinema.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43Starting in 1957 with a disused school,
0:19:43 > 0:19:47the first girls, daughters of coal miners are trained as weavers.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50That is the silk mills.
0:19:50 > 0:19:52And that is a loom.
0:19:52 > 0:20:06Today there are 15,000 women and girls working here.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08I was a winder, winding the pern that went into the shuttle.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10And then running around the looms and collecting
0:20:10 > 0:20:12the empty ones, filling thel up
0:20:12 > 0:20:16Kept very busy.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18She was one of 500 workers, silk girls, employees at
0:20:18 > 0:20:21West Cumberland silk mills.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24What was it like working in the mill?
0:20:24 > 0:20:26Very noisy.
0:20:26 > 0:20:27It was enjoyable.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29It was not just a job.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31It was something that you took pride in,
0:20:31 > 0:20:36because the fabrics were fabulous.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38And it was like an honour, really to work there.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42You could see all the hairstyles.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44Looked like you definitely pulled out all the stops.
0:20:44 > 0:20:52I think I am coming up soon.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54The owner of the mill was a flamboyant Hungarian
0:20:54 > 0:20:56called Miki Sekers, later, Sir Miki.
0:20:56 > 0:21:02Once met and never forgotten.
0:21:02 > 0:21:04He fancied himself as the m`estro of the whole thing.
0:21:04 > 0:21:08Which he was, really.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10He walked around with a black cape on, which
0:21:10 > 0:21:14I thought was quite wonderftl.
0:21:14 > 0:21:19In Great Britain, and also the fact that he had this very thick accent.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23Miki and his partner, Tomi de Gara, were part of the group of E`stern
0:21:23 > 0:21:27Europeans setting up shop hdre.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31The mill initially made parachutes for the war effort.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33And later the silk was bought by top designers, like Christian
0:21:33 > 0:21:34Dior and Pierre Cardin.
0:21:34 > 0:21:39High fashion had arrived in West Cumbria.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43Sometimes we had a fashion show and the models would come and we
0:21:43 > 0:21:46would stop all of the looms and the models would show the clothes
0:21:46 > 0:21:54that the fabrics were made of.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56This is where the looms oncd clattered together to produce that
0:21:57 > 0:22:03beautiful, much sought after silk.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05Today there is little evidence of the factory that once employed
0:22:05 > 0:22:07around 500 people but Miki Sekers has left
0:22:07 > 0:22:12a lasting legacy just up thd road.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14Family pressure made Miki join the textile business.
0:22:14 > 0:22:19But his real passion was thd arts.
0:22:19 > 0:22:24And not content with just ptrchasing a ticket, he built a theatrd near
0:22:24 > 0:22:27Whitehaven and not surprisingly inside I find his silk on the walls.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29Some people refer to it as the jewel box.
0:22:29 > 0:22:30Why is that?
0:22:30 > 0:22:34Because of this beautiful ddsign.
0:22:34 > 0:22:40It is a very intimate design.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44It was by a chap called Oliver, who was a great and very distinguished
0:22:44 > 0:22:47stage designer in the early`mid 20th century.
0:22:47 > 0:22:49Miki knew him well and he invited him to come
0:22:49 > 0:22:50and design this jewel box.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54A beautiful jewel box.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58A massive product but can you ever envisage this bankrolldd today?
0:22:58 > 0:23:02To start something like this from scratch with
0:23:02 > 0:23:04the quality performers he attracted in the early 60s `nd after
0:23:04 > 0:23:10it opened and in fact throughout the 60s would be quite a ch`llenge.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13It was a concentration that he achieved in any one season, he would
0:23:13 > 0:23:16have some exceptional performance.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19One after the other.
0:23:19 > 0:23:24The opening night was a glamorous, star`studded affair.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26Dame Peggy Ashcroft opened proceedings before a concert
0:23:26 > 0:23:28by the London Mozart Players.
0:23:28 > 0:23:34Other big names would follow.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37How and why he latched on to me and jazz...
0:23:37 > 0:23:40It has always made me giggld.
0:23:41 > 0:23:42SHE LAUGHS
0:23:42 > 0:23:42Like that.
0:23:42 > 0:23:48Every time I think of him.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50The jazz legend, Cleo Laine and her late husband Johnny Dankworth
0:23:50 > 0:23:54were regulars at Rosehill concerts and pl`ys.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56She was a Cinderella from the southern states.
0:23:56 > 0:24:03It was a wonderful time, re`lly
0:24:03 > 0:24:06And the Cumbrian theatre provided the inspiration for her own venue,
0:24:06 > 0:24:06The Stables.
0:24:06 > 0:24:15Now a famous jazz venue.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17The theatre's fascinating hhstory is being catalogued
0:24:17 > 0:24:21at the records office in Whhtehaven.
0:24:21 > 0:24:27It is a treasure trove of the great and good that came to Rosehhll.
0:24:27 > 0:24:30There is also someone from the 0s and they went on to superst`rdom.
0:24:30 > 0:24:30Absolutely.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32Quite unexpected, appearing in Whitehaven.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35No less a person than David Bowie.
0:24:35 > 0:24:40This is in 1968.
0:24:40 > 0:24:47Where he is appearing as part of a mime and dance perform`nce
0:24:47 > 0:24:47With two others.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50And apparently he wrote the music for this, which is
0:24:50 > 0:24:54obviously well before Ziggy Stardust.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57We have got a lot of correspondence, programmes and photographs.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00This letter here, we saw the programme for Dame Myra Hess.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04She was very famous, especi`lly for her wartime concerts.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08And she wanted somebody to turn the pages of the music over for her
0:25:08 > 0:25:16Of course!
0:25:16 > 0:25:20And the agent said that she would like a turner over for the recitals.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22She asked for a good`looking young man with unshakeable nerve
0:25:22 > 0:25:24and very long arms.
0:25:24 > 0:25:25The names from the archive keep coming.
0:25:25 > 0:25:29Here we have Benjamin Brittdn himself.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33And he appeared at Rosehill in the 1961`1962 season.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35And no less a man than John Gielgud.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37Appearing in a one`man show.
0:25:37 > 0:25:43Doing Shakespeare's The Ages Of Man.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46It must be surreal to see the scale and the level of performance
0:25:46 > 0:25:49that actually came here.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52I think if you presented thhs collection to somebody unexpectedly,
0:25:52 > 0:25:59they would never believe th`t it was actually true.
0:25:59 > 0:26:01That you were getting these world`class names coming to
0:26:01 > 0:26:03a theatre on the outskirts of Whitehaven.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05It would just seem incongruous.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09And that is why the collection is important.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12And really to show in that magic period, 1950s, 19 0s,
0:26:12 > 0:26:16what happened in this area.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18Without a rich benefactor like Miki, today the theatrd is
0:26:18 > 0:26:20in desperate need of investlent
0:26:20 > 0:26:22It needs a bit of TLC.
0:26:22 > 0:26:28I think it needs quite considerable TLC.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31But there is a plan.
0:26:31 > 0:26:32There is a ?4 million plan
0:26:32 > 0:26:37to substantially redevelop `ll of Rosehill.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41And to restore and keep the jewel in the crown very much the same
0:26:41 > 0:26:42as it is.
0:26:42 > 0:26:47And to redevelop the theatrd and barn.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49There is still the small matter of half a million to raise
0:26:50 > 0:26:51and then the builders can move in.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53Hopefully at the end of the year.
0:26:53 > 0:26:58We have got a couple of othdr applications in process, and if
0:26:58 > 0:27:01they are successful they will raise 2.6 million necessary to do the
0:27:01 > 0:27:07first phase, which is the theatre.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09And that means a scene change for these rare pictures
0:27:09 > 0:27:10by the theatre designer, Olhver Messel.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14They are being packed up ahdad of the builders arriving.
0:27:14 > 0:27:16They are returning to the theatre and
0:27:16 > 0:27:18the performance department `rchive.
0:27:18 > 0:27:25And like actors they will rdst for a while.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27And when Rosehill reopens, we will be choosing another
0:27:27 > 0:27:30selection from the 10,000 objects that we have got in the collection.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34The second phase of development will invite Cumbrians
0:27:34 > 0:27:35to have a stake in Rosehill.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39I take it you are calling on local people for help.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43There is a real chance that local people will be able to invest their
0:27:43 > 0:27:46own money into the second phase
0:27:46 > 0:27:51I see it as akin to something like the Jon Lewis partnership.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53The community having a stakd in the theatre
0:27:53 > 0:27:58and its well`being and development.
0:27:58 > 0:28:03It is central to what we want Rosehill to be today.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06Its origins were for the colmunity, maybe not with the communitx owning
0:28:06 > 0:28:09the theatre but certainly the intention was that it would be
0:28:09 > 0:28:12available to the community.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14Miki was a one`off.
0:28:14 > 0:28:23He created this lovely theatre for local people.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26Now in the next chapter of this theatre, those people could
0:28:26 > 0:28:29become a part owners, helping to secure it for future generations.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31Well, I think he would have approved.
0:28:34 > 0:28:37What an amazing story.
0:28:37 > 0:28:40Well, that is it for this wdek but you can always get in touch go
0:28:40 > 0:28:43to the website for contact details.
0:28:47 > 0:28:50Next week, I get up close and personal with plutonium.
0:28:50 > 0:28:52As Sellafield looks to a new nuclear future.
0:28:52 > 0:28:53So I will see you next Mond`y.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55Until then, from Darlington, good night.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09Hello, I'm Sam Naz with your 90-second update.
0:29:09 > 0:29:1114-year-old Alice Gross went missing three weeks ago.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14Today, police carried out a finger-tip search of
0:29:14 > 0:29:16the canal where she was last seen.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19600 officers, from eight forces are working on the case.
0:29:19 > 0:29:20There is trouble at Tesco.
0:29:20 > 0:29:23It has overestimated its profits by a quarter of a billion pounds.
0:29:23 > 0:29:25Four bosses have been suspended
0:29:25 > 0:29:26Shares have plummeted.
0:29:26 > 0:29:29A new focus for Thai police looking into
0:29:29 > 0:29:32the murder of two British tourists.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35They plan to test the DNA of every man on the island where David Miller
0:29:35 > 0:29:36and Hannah Witheridge died.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39It is thought they were attacked by two Asian men.
0:29:39 > 0:29:41Arranging a sham gay wedding to get someone UK citizenship.
0:29:41 > 0:29:46A BBC investigation has found gangs will organise it for ?10,000.
0:29:46 > 0:29:50It is thought up to 30% of same-sex marriages are fake.
0:29:50 > 0:29:52Got any spare cash?
0:29:52 > 0:29:55The Royal Mint is encouraging people to invest in gold or silver
0:29:55 > 0:29:57by launching a website to trade them online.
0:29:57 > 0:30:04You can keep it in their vaults or opt for home delivery.
0:30:04 > 0:30:05Hello, I'm Amy Lea. or opt for home delivery.