:00:07. > :00:12.We don't want your houses here! These protesters are marching
:00:13. > :00:16.against plans for a couple of hundred houses in eight normally
:00:17. > :00:22.quiet corner of Devon. Think it doesn't matter to you? They say,
:00:23. > :00:27.think again. If Feniton Falls, the rest of the county and the rest of
:00:28. > :00:31.England is not safe. We are seeing aggressive development. Also denied,
:00:32. > :00:38.the South West's wild weather. We assess the damage. `` also tonight.
:00:39. > :00:42.Recent storms have had a genetic defect. All around the South West,
:00:43. > :00:49.they have changed the very fabric of our coastline. And fighting for a
:00:50. > :00:56.fair chance. The Devon paracyclist with a rare genetic condition. I had
:00:57. > :01:01.the stuffing knocked out of me so me times in the past that I'm slightly
:01:02. > :01:19.bored of it now. I am Sam Smith and this is Inside Out.
:01:20. > :01:25.First, a story from East Devon that these campaigners say anyone who
:01:26. > :01:31.cares about the countryside should take heed of.
:01:32. > :01:39.Feniton. A lovely little village of 700 Wellings. It has all of the
:01:40. > :01:44.amenities you would expect and some that you wouldn't. All set in one of
:01:45. > :01:51.the most desirable parts of the South West to live. 444 years, Val
:01:52. > :01:56.Jones has enjoyed all that Feniton has enjoyed all that Feniton house
:01:57. > :02:00.to offer. Recently, her day has got a little bit more challenging. What
:02:01. > :02:02.was once a field at the bottom of her garden is now a building site.
:02:03. > :02:26.And it is a test of Misty's courage. 50 new homes are going up here,
:02:27. > :02:35.despite the local council turning them down. It is just the noise,
:02:36. > :02:40.machinery and everything. There would not be a horse in Feniton that
:02:41. > :02:47.would have even done what she did. It is just an awful lot to go past.
:02:48. > :02:48.But the fillies of Feniton may have to man up, because this could be
:02:49. > :03:00.just the start. They were refused, they got it on
:03:01. > :03:10.appeal and they immediately put in for another 83. I think it's pretty
:03:11. > :03:15.bad. Do you think they smell opportunity in Feniton? The
:03:16. > :03:19.developers? Yes. This is her home and this is where they are building
:03:20. > :03:24.the 50 homes. The further 83 would go in the field next door. Two are
:03:25. > :03:25.the developers have proposals in 432 homes in the north and 120 in the
:03:26. > :03:35.West. For more than 100 years, that
:03:36. > :03:40.Western field has been the site of Feniton's annual ploughing
:03:41. > :03:43.competition. They might have ploughed their last row, because
:03:44. > :03:53.developers also want to put housing estate here. Yet another developer
:03:54. > :03:57.wants to put houses on this plot, and altogether 235 new homes are
:03:58. > :04:05.planned for Feniton. If they all get the go`ahead, that would increase
:04:06. > :04:08.the size of the village by 40%. Some local people fear it is not just
:04:09. > :04:15.concrete that they are at risk of drowning under. Sue Collins and her
:04:16. > :04:24.neighbour, Jill Ewings, are practising their emergency flood
:04:25. > :04:30.response. I'll have to let my husband do that bit. They have five
:04:31. > :04:34.reluctant pumps on stand`by. When it is pouring down with rain and you
:04:35. > :04:40.are coming here because the water is rising, trying to get these things
:04:41. > :04:45.started is no fun. It is a routine that they have had to do for real
:04:46. > :04:51.half a dozen times in the past year. It is very stressful. Sometimes my
:04:52. > :04:55.daughter asks if my grandchildren can stay, and I'm thinking, what is
:04:56. > :05:01.the weather like, can I have them? We don't go out if it is raining, we
:05:02. > :05:08.are scared to go out. At its worst, we have had to rely on professionals
:05:09. > :05:12.to bail them out. They put the problem partly down to this, old
:05:13. > :05:16.drains which run under Jill's property. They say they cannot cope
:05:17. > :05:22.with the rain that runs off the land next door. A flood alleviation
:05:23. > :05:26.scheme has been promised by 2016, but by then this land could have
:05:27. > :05:34.scores of new homes on it. Sue says that Feniton cant cope as it is. The
:05:35. > :05:40.roads are very narrow in places. If we are going to have another 200
:05:41. > :05:44.houses, whatever it is, on narrow lanes were in certain places you can
:05:45. > :05:49.only get one car passing at a time, to me it is pretty dangerous. Plus,
:05:50. > :05:53.when it rains the road is almost always flooded. Quite often, at the
:05:54. > :05:58.end of the road, the flyover, that road is impossible. When we have had
:05:59. > :06:03.floods before, people have been trapped and cars have been ruined.
:06:04. > :06:08.You can't get into the village. I don't think that the infrastructure
:06:09. > :06:11.in Feniton, with the flooding and sewerage problems, the school
:06:12. > :06:18.problems, I don't think we can take any more houses. Val Jones agreed.
:06:19. > :06:21.The field next to her home were 83 houses could go frequently floods.
:06:22. > :06:27.The builders have promised they will not make things worse, but she is
:06:28. > :06:31.not convinced. You can say for yourself the flooding in the field.
:06:32. > :06:39.That field, that is along there. We get flooded through here. Our big
:06:40. > :06:43.argument is that they should sort out the flooding and sort out the
:06:44. > :06:47.sewerage problems before they build any more houses. We see this over
:06:48. > :06:51.and over again. But they are going to sort the flooding out? They have
:06:52. > :07:00.schemes in the pipeline, nothing is definite. Why are developers so keen
:07:01. > :07:02.on Feniton? Well, none of them would take part in this programme. But
:07:03. > :07:10.they apparently believe that allege is right for growth `` the village
:07:11. > :07:16.is right for growth. Objectors say that the service is patchy for
:07:17. > :07:20.transport links, if you miss one you have a two hour wait for the next
:07:21. > :07:25.train from Exeter. And then there is the awkward business of this man,
:07:26. > :07:28.Graham Brown. He used to be the district councillor. He is currently
:07:29. > :07:32.being investigated by the police over matters to do with the planning
:07:33. > :07:35.consultancy he was running at the same time. He denies any wrongdoing
:07:36. > :07:40.and there is no suggestion that any of the developers in this film are
:07:41. > :07:45.involved in that probe. But this issue goes well beyond the parish
:07:46. > :07:51.boundaries. It could, say villagers, affect great swathes of the
:07:52. > :07:57.south`west. The council here doesn't yet have its key planning strategy,
:07:58. > :08:02.its local plan in place. This is the draft. It says Feniton should have
:08:03. > :08:09.nearly an extra 35 houses. But until it is signed off, the council is
:08:10. > :08:13.vulnerable to having decisions overturned if developers appeal, as
:08:14. > :08:17.they have in Feniton. We have established only a central strip of
:08:18. > :08:22.Southwest planning authorities have so far adopted an up`to`date local
:08:23. > :08:27.plan. Two thirds haven't. That prompted a warning from East Devon.
:08:28. > :08:31.What happens here in Feniton could be happening everywhere across Devon
:08:32. > :08:34.and the country as a whole. What we have at the moment is limbo, a
:08:35. > :08:39.situation where the local plan is not in place. We have developers
:08:40. > :08:43.desperate to make concrete while the sun shines and take advantage of the
:08:44. > :08:48.planning gap. Nowadays decision time. The appeals are being herded
:08:49. > :09:01.together at a super inquiry that got underway last week. The local
:09:02. > :09:05.council has its fingers crossed. I hope the government inspector will
:09:06. > :09:10.come to a decision and say enough is enough for Feniton. Feniton does not
:09:11. > :09:13.necessarily have the right infrastructure to support more
:09:14. > :09:19.housing than Feniton requires. That is all you have got at the moment,
:09:20. > :09:23.hope? You have not got a local plan? No, for the reasons I have said,
:09:24. > :09:27.because we want to make sure it is right. But this could all be too
:09:28. > :09:33.late for Feniton, it could be a town before this is over? It is in a
:09:34. > :09:39.vulnerable position and for that I apologise. Such apologies are little
:09:40. > :09:42.comfort to Val Jones and others, who see green fields disappearing. The
:09:43. > :09:46.pressure for new homes is not going away and, rightly or wrongly, sites
:09:47. > :09:48.that would once be considered off`limits are now firmly in the
:09:49. > :09:59.developers' sites. Hard to believe, but until just a
:10:00. > :10:03.few days ago the South West was being battered by some of the
:10:04. > :10:06.fiercest storms of recent years. It has been an extraordinary spell of
:10:07. > :10:12.weather, with some tragic consequences. The BBC Southwest
:10:13. > :10:13.environment correspondent Adrian Campbell has been assessing the
:10:14. > :10:29.impact. It used to be a lovely little beach.
:10:30. > :10:39.Not any more. I have never seen it like this. It's gone. Physically
:10:40. > :10:45.sick. There is nothing I can do. It is totally out of my hands. The
:10:46. > :10:52.storms over Christmas and New Year brought remarkable scenes to our
:10:53. > :10:58.shores. Coastal communities under attack from the elements. Several
:10:59. > :11:02.people lost their lives. On New Year's Eve, a woman died at Croyde,
:11:03. > :11:06.in North Devon. The body of 27`year`old Harry Sorley from
:11:07. > :11:10.Guildford was discovered on the beach. He disappeared after going
:11:11. > :11:13.swimming with friends in the early hours of New Year's Day. Prayers
:11:14. > :11:17.have been said for the missing 18`year`old photography student
:11:18. > :11:25.Harry Martin, after a body was found on Saturday in the South hams. There
:11:26. > :11:26.was widespread damage. In Cornwall, the Seaton beach cafe was
:11:27. > :11:37.overwhelmed. Nikki has been building up a
:11:38. > :11:44.business here and has been shocked by what has happened. It is only
:11:45. > :11:50.just now sinking in. We have cleared it all out and we managed to open
:11:51. > :11:57.for a couple of hours on Sunday. We realised the sea was coming in
:11:58. > :12:02.pretty quickly. High tides have transformed the whole area around
:12:03. > :12:06.the cafe. Walls have been destroyed and roads undermined by the force of
:12:07. > :12:12.the water. Even the river has changed its course. Repairs are
:12:13. > :12:17.underway. All of this upheaval has come at an awkward time for the
:12:18. > :12:23.business. I have weddings booked in May, June and July in our barbecue
:12:24. > :12:32.area. I don't want to let those people down. It is devastating to
:12:33. > :12:40.clear the place three times. The long`term implications, I don't know
:12:41. > :12:49.yet. I am waiting for insurance assessors to come. We were seeing
:12:50. > :12:54.very cold air down across the United States. At the Met Office warned of
:12:55. > :13:01.exceptionally cold conditions over North America colliding with warm
:13:02. > :13:06.air of the Atlantic near New York. They were `` they were directed
:13:07. > :13:12.towards us. It brought heavy rainfall and flooding. Here at the
:13:13. > :13:18.Met Office in Exeter, they say December was an exceptional month.
:13:19. > :13:23.It was the windiest since 1993. Imports of the region, there was
:13:24. > :13:33.almost double the rainfall you would have expected. Damaging winds came
:13:34. > :13:41.here on the stream. `` jet stream. This shows a jet stream of around
:13:42. > :13:45.100 knots. We have seen over 200 knots. There is a lot of energy and
:13:46. > :13:48.it tends to guide our storm is a lot of energy and it tends to guide our
:13:49. > :13:53.storms one after the other. Another day on and back at the cafe, the
:13:54. > :13:56.diggers are still clearing up the mess. She has invested her savings
:13:57. > :14:03.in the cafe which is right on the beach. She is hoping the loss
:14:04. > :14:09.adjuster from the insurance company will be sympathetic. Not that I am
:14:10. > :14:14.much further forward with knowing what will happen with the claim all
:14:15. > :14:22.the extra staff costs or the stock costs, there won't be any help for
:14:23. > :14:29.six months. It is devastating. This is whipped Sand Bay in Cornwall, a
:14:30. > :14:35.couple of miles away from the cafe. Sand has been washed out to sea and
:14:36. > :14:41.around the south`west, the shape of the coastline has changed because of
:14:42. > :14:47.the storms. On the north coast of Cornwall, the changes have attracted
:14:48. > :14:54.sightseers. A porthole in the stone has been swept away. Now a huge
:14:55. > :15:00.chunk of rock has vanished. I am amazed at the state of the sea. I
:15:01. > :15:08.expected to see a pile of stones there. The sea has taken everything
:15:09. > :15:12.away. It is amazing. From the seafront in Guernsey to the many
:15:13. > :15:15.coastal communities around the south`west peninsula. People's
:15:16. > :15:26.mobile phones have captured some dramatic moments. Some have risked
:15:27. > :15:33.their lives. The old building here was swept away by the storms.
:15:34. > :15:40.Captured on camera, this stack. After the storms, it is gone.
:15:41. > :15:47.Dorset's most southerly point was last invaded by the sea in 1978. The
:15:48. > :15:53.end of the beach at Portland can be a dangerous place to live. In the
:15:54. > :15:57.tiny community at the height of the storm, people were worried about
:15:58. > :16:07.their safety. Waves came crashing in 20 feet in height as some people
:16:08. > :16:15.left their homes. The Simon went. `` the siren went. How long did it take
:16:16. > :16:20.you to get out? A couple of minutes. Grab `` I grabbed the kids and the
:16:21. > :16:24.dogs and left. On the night of the worst of the storms, the local pub
:16:25. > :16:30.was right in the firing line of the waves. We had 40 or 50 people
:16:31. > :16:38.outside and the waves were coming over the war. It was quite an
:16:39. > :16:44.excited atmosphere. Then the sirens went and everybody disappeared.
:16:45. > :16:47.Temperatures everywhere. Portland has always been battered by the
:16:48. > :16:55.weather but locals say this time it is a different scale storm. I
:16:56. > :17:02.haven't seen the power of the sea to move rocks like that. Has this
:17:03. > :17:09.happened since the storm? Since the storm, yes. All along our coasts,
:17:10. > :17:13.people wanting to know if this could be more than just a short term
:17:14. > :17:22.weather event. We know the climate is changing and that there are
:17:23. > :17:27.long`term trends. There is no natural fluctuations in the
:17:28. > :17:33.climate. Any weather system that we see is a mixture of long`term trends
:17:34. > :17:41.and the natural fluctuations that we have seen over many years.
:17:42. > :17:46.Back at the cafe, customers are already returning. They want to know
:17:47. > :17:49.what is going on. The council have been to skate `` have been today
:17:50. > :17:56.with the digger and they have tried a lot of the sand from here. A week
:17:57. > :18:01.after the last storm and they are still digging out at the cafe. She
:18:02. > :18:07.expects uncertainty ahead and after recent events, she is more wary of
:18:08. > :18:12.the sea's power. I have no other choice but to be positive.
:18:13. > :18:21.Otherwise, I might as well shut the door now. It is just the beginning.
:18:22. > :18:22.Fingers crossed that in a couple of weeks time, it doesn't all happen
:18:23. > :18:33.again. Excelling in sport requires a
:18:34. > :18:40.determination to overcome any obstacle. Paracyclist Thomson `` Tom
:18:41. > :18:43.Staniford has a degenerative condition and his biggest battle at
:18:44. > :18:52.the moment is with the rules of the track.
:18:53. > :18:55.I had a very normal childhood and the symptoms started to present
:18:56. > :19:02.themselves at the start of pre`beauty. When I started puberty
:19:03. > :19:10.at 13, I lost a lot of fat around my whole body. When my hearing started
:19:11. > :19:17.to deteriorate, I started to become diabetic and stop it was quite a
:19:18. > :19:25.confusing time for me and my parents because things started to change
:19:26. > :19:31.quite quickly. Tom Staniford has a rare condition called MDP Syndrome.
:19:32. > :19:37.Remarkably, unlike his fellow sufferers, Tom is an elite sportsmen
:19:38. > :19:42.and a one`time member of the British summer `` British Paracycling Team.
:19:43. > :19:45.I used to love running. I like the freedom of it and I like the
:19:46. > :19:51.insurance bows of pushing my own limits. It was around when puberty
:19:52. > :19:58.hit and these symptoms started to develop that Redding became painful
:19:59. > :20:03.for me because of the lack of fat on my feet. I still enjoyed endurance
:20:04. > :20:11.sport and I enjoyed that bows of keeping fit. I wanted to replace it
:20:12. > :20:22.with something. Around that time, ie stumbled into cycling. `` I
:20:23. > :20:29.stumbled. There is a lot less pain on my feet. I spend a lot of time
:20:30. > :20:34.sitting in the saddle so your weight is supported. Cycling is a big part
:20:35. > :20:45.of my life and his. Everything is built around it. How driven is he?
:20:46. > :20:55.Very driven. He will get the bus to work rather than riding. On a rest
:20:56. > :21:05.day, he doesn't ride the bike. He is taking it very seriously. My
:21:06. > :21:08.ultimate goal is to win gold at Rio in 2016. An essential stepping stone
:21:09. > :21:14.on that journey is I have to get back into the British cycling squad.
:21:15. > :21:23.To help him achieve his goal, he has come to see his old friend, Doctor
:21:24. > :21:27.Richard around. He was part of the scientists that `` based at the
:21:28. > :21:36.Peninsula medical steam `` Peninsular Medical School where his
:21:37. > :21:43.diagnosis was given. They say their work could hold the success for his
:21:44. > :21:52.shot at Rio. I am in a tricky position. I am a good competitor but
:21:53. > :21:55.I am not the best. If I move to a different class, I am far more
:21:56. > :22:04.competitive and is likely to be one of the best. It is very difficult to
:22:05. > :22:10.get a handle on the disease. We know he has joint problems, we know his
:22:11. > :22:16.muscles are affected and we know he suffers from extremely tight skin
:22:17. > :22:20.which has an effect on his flexibility. These problems are
:22:21. > :22:24.quite unique to Tom and it is difficult to compare him to other
:22:25. > :22:29.athletes who have different problems such as a missing limb paralysis
:22:30. > :22:32.down one side of the body. It makes it difficult for the graders to
:22:33. > :22:39.decide her disabilities are equivalent. We asked the porting his
:22:40. > :22:44.bid for reclassification. As we learn about the complexities of his
:22:45. > :22:49.condition, we can help him better. The graders are going to have a
:22:50. > :22:53.better chance of giving him the appropriate classification as a
:22:54. > :22:59.Paralympic athlete. The reclassification process and we have
:23:00. > :23:03.to take some physical testing and have a meeting with the world
:23:04. > :23:07.governing body. There is a big international competition at the end
:23:08. > :23:15.of this month in your `` in Newport where I will be racing and they will
:23:16. > :23:18.be there. It is November and teams from all over the world have
:23:19. > :23:22.gathered in Newport for the International Paris cycling cup, the
:23:23. > :23:28.only power cycling event of the year. With no other races in a
:23:29. > :23:40.colander `` calendar, Tom has pinned all his hopes on this one event. But
:23:41. > :23:45.Tom arrives to worrying news. We have just been told that one of the
:23:46. > :23:49.classifiers may not have turned up for some reason so we are unsure if
:23:50. > :23:56.we were actually have a reclassification appointment. Tom's
:23:57. > :24:05.worst fears are confirmed. One of the crucial medical classifiers,
:24:06. > :24:11.from UCI, has failed to turn up to the event and is stuck at home in
:24:12. > :24:19.Florida. I have had the stuffing knocked out of me so many times in
:24:20. > :24:25.the past that I am bored of it now. Do you think your goals are still
:24:26. > :24:45.achievable? I think they are that I am going to need someone to throw me
:24:46. > :24:48.a break at some point. Tom has been waiting to see the classification
:24:49. > :24:54.team for over two hours but with that Colombian doctor missing, his
:24:55. > :25:02.case cannot be reviewed today. Are you able to tell me why the doctor
:25:03. > :25:10.wasn't able to come? No. You can't give me any information about that?
:25:11. > :25:15.There is nothing special to say. Tom leaves without a satisfactory
:25:16. > :25:19.explanation. Later the organisers of the event discussed the matter
:25:20. > :25:27.privately with him but it is still a bitter blow. It is disappointing for
:25:28. > :25:32.Tom. He has come with lots of evidence to get reclassified. He
:25:33. > :25:36.will have to wait another year for that to happen. There is not an
:25:37. > :25:41.awful lot of races that he will miss in the meantime but there is a phew.
:25:42. > :25:48.It changes your mindset when you have bad news like that. I know Rio
:25:49. > :25:58.is three years out but it goes pretty quickly. The boat is leaving
:25:59. > :26:01.and I want to be on it. It is race day and without a reclassification,
:26:02. > :26:11.Tom will have to compete in his usual category.
:26:12. > :26:17.It would have been easier for Tom to pack up and go home but he has
:26:18. > :26:24.chosen to ride and he knows he faces some tough opposition. They are
:26:25. > :26:29.Olympic medallists, they are the best in the world. They are
:26:30. > :26:33.full`time athletes and I am not a full`time athlete. The chances of me
:26:34. > :26:39.beating them realistically are quite unlikely but we will go out and I
:26:40. > :27:23.will give my best and see how I get on.
:27:24. > :27:30.After one false start, Tom finally gets away but the day's events are
:27:31. > :27:35.playing on his mind. Pumped with adrenaline, he puts in a blistering
:27:36. > :27:38.first lap but he puts in a blistering first lap 30 can't
:27:39. > :27:47.sustain his pace. By the final lap, he is beaten. It is fairly clear
:27:48. > :27:52.that I underperformed. It didn't come together for me today. It has
:27:53. > :27:57.been a tough weekend but Tom is convinced that all is not lost. The
:27:58. > :28:01.silver in line `` the silver lining of the fact that we couldn't get
:28:02. > :28:06.classification means we have more time to send off the medical
:28:07. > :28:10.documentation. The facts that we can send it on means that they are going
:28:11. > :28:15.to have more time to read it and hopefully come to the conclusion is
:28:16. > :28:19.that we want them to come to. For now, Tom has no option but to get
:28:20. > :28:28.back on his bike and to keep on training.
:28:29. > :28:38.That is all from this week's inside out. `` Inside Out. Join me next
:28:39. > :29:05.week for more investigations. See you then.
:29:06. > :29:09.Hello, I'm Ellie Crisell with your 90-second update.
:29:10. > :29:13.The PM has backed fracking. He's promised councils incentives if they
:29:14. > :29:16.let companies drill for shale gas. Critics have called the offer a
:29:17. > :29:19.bribe, but the Government claims the process will give us cheaper energy.
:29:20. > :29:22.More at 10pm. The biggest public inquiry into
:29:23. > :29:28.child abuse in the UK has begun in Northern Ireland. It's looking at
:29:29. > :29:29.care in church and state-run homes over 70 years. More than