13/01/2014 Inside Out South West

We don't want your houses here! These protesters are marching

against plans for a couple of hundred houses in eight normally

quiet corner of Devon. Think it doesn't matter to you? They say,

think again. If Feniton Falls, the rest of the county and the rest of

England is not safe. We are seeing aggressive development. Also denied,

the South West's wild weather. We assess the damage. `` also tonight.

Recent storms have had a genetic defect. All around the South West,

they have changed the very fabric of our coastline. And fighting for a

fair chance. The Devon paracyclist with a rare genetic condition. I had

the stuffing knocked out of me so me times in the past that I'm slightly

bored of it now. I am Sam Smith and this is Inside Out.

First, a story from East Devon that these campaigners say anyone who

cares about the countryside should take heed of.

Feniton. A lovely little village of 700 Wellings. It has all of the

amenities you would expect and some that you wouldn't. All set in one of

the most desirable parts of the South West to live. 444 years, Val

Jones has enjoyed all that Feniton has enjoyed all that Feniton house

to offer. Recently, her day has got a little bit more challenging. What

was once a field at the bottom of her garden is now a building site.

And it is a test of Misty's courage. 50 new homes are going up here,

despite the local council turning them down. It is just the noise,

machinery and everything. There would not be a horse in Feniton that

would have even done what she did. It is just an awful lot to go past.

But the fillies of Feniton may have to man up, because this could be

just the start. They were refused, they got it on

appeal and they immediately put in for another 83. I think it's pretty

bad. Do you think they smell opportunity in Feniton? The

developers? Yes. This is her home and this is where they are building

the 50 homes. The further 83 would go in the field next door. Two are

the developers have proposals in 432 homes in the north and 120 in the

West. For more than 100 years, that

Western field has been the site of Feniton's annual ploughing

competition. They might have ploughed their last row, because

developers also want to put housing estate here. Yet another developer

wants to put houses on this plot, and altogether 235 new homes are

planned for Feniton. If they all get the go`ahead, that would increase

the size of the village by 40%. Some local people fear it is not just

concrete that they are at risk of drowning under. Sue Collins and her

neighbour, Jill Ewings, are practising their emergency flood

response. I'll have to let my husband do that bit. They have five

reluctant pumps on stand`by. When it is pouring down with rain and you

are coming here because the water is rising, trying to get these things

started is no fun. It is a routine that they have had to do for real

half a dozen times in the past year. It is very stressful. Sometimes my

daughter asks if my grandchildren can stay, and I'm thinking, what is

the weather like, can I have them? We don't go out if it is raining, we

are scared to go out. At its worst, we have had to rely on professionals

to bail them out. They put the problem partly down to this, old

drains which run under Jill's property. They say they cannot cope

with the rain that runs off the land next door. A flood alleviation

scheme has been promised by 2016, but by then this land could have

scores of new homes on it. Sue says that Feniton cant cope as it is. The

roads are very narrow in places. If we are going to have another 200

houses, whatever it is, on narrow lanes were in certain places you can

only get one car passing at a time, to me it is pretty dangerous. Plus,

when it rains the road is almost always flooded. Quite often, at the

end of the road, the flyover, that road is impossible. When we have had

floods before, people have been trapped and cars have been ruined.

You can't get into the village. I don't think that the infrastructure

in Feniton, with the flooding and sewerage problems, the school

problems, I don't think we can take any more houses. Val Jones agreed.

The field next to her home were 83 houses could go frequently floods.

The builders have promised they will not make things worse, but she is

not convinced. You can say for yourself the flooding in the field.

That field, that is along there. We get flooded through here. Our big

argument is that they should sort out the flooding and sort out the

sewerage problems before they build any more houses. We see this over

and over again. But they are going to sort the flooding out? They have

schemes in the pipeline, nothing is definite. Why are developers so keen

on Feniton? Well, none of them would take part in this programme. But

they apparently believe that allege is right for growth `` the village

is right for growth. Objectors say that the service is patchy for

transport links, if you miss one you have a two hour wait for the next

train from Exeter. And then there is the awkward business of this man,

Graham Brown. He used to be the district councillor. He is currently

being investigated by the police over matters to do with the planning

consultancy he was running at the same time. He denies any wrongdoing

and there is no suggestion that any of the developers in this film are

involved in that probe. But this issue goes well beyond the parish

boundaries. It could, say villagers, affect great swathes of the

south`west. The council here doesn't yet have its key planning strategy,

its local plan in place. This is the draft. It says Feniton should have

nearly an extra 35 houses. But until it is signed off, the council is

vulnerable to having decisions overturned if developers appeal, as

they have in Feniton. We have established only a central strip of

Southwest planning authorities have so far adopted an up`to`date local

plan. Two thirds haven't. That prompted a warning from East Devon.

What happens here in Feniton could be happening everywhere across Devon

and the country as a whole. What we have at the moment is limbo, a

situation where the local plan is not in place. We have developers

desperate to make concrete while the sun shines and take advantage of the

planning gap. Nowadays decision time. The appeals are being herded

together at a super inquiry that got underway last week. The local

council has its fingers crossed. I hope the government inspector will

come to a decision and say enough is enough for Feniton. Feniton does not

necessarily have the right infrastructure to support more

housing than Feniton requires. That is all you have got at the moment,

hope? You have not got a local plan? No, for the reasons I have said,

because we want to make sure it is right. But this could all be too

late for Feniton, it could be a town before this is over? It is in a

vulnerable position and for that I apologise. Such apologies are little

comfort to Val Jones and others, who see green fields disappearing. The

pressure for new homes is not going away and, rightly or wrongly, sites

that would once be considered off`limits are now firmly in the

developers' sites. Hard to believe, but until just a

few days ago the South West was being battered by some of the

fiercest storms of recent years. It has been an extraordinary spell of

weather, with some tragic consequences. The BBC Southwest

environment correspondent Adrian Campbell has been assessing the

impact. It used to be a lovely little beach.

Not any more. I have never seen it like this. It's gone. Physically

sick. There is nothing I can do. It is totally out of my hands. The

storms over Christmas and New Year brought remarkable scenes to our

shores. Coastal communities under attack from the elements. Several

people lost their lives. On New Year's Eve, a woman died at Croyde,

in North Devon. The body of 27`year`old Harry Sorley from

Guildford was discovered on the beach. He disappeared after going

swimming with friends in the early hours of New Year's Day. Prayers

have been said for the missing 18`year`old photography student

Harry Martin, after a body was found on Saturday in the South hams. There

was widespread damage. In Cornwall, the Seaton beach cafe was

overwhelmed. Nikki has been building up a

business here and has been shocked by what has happened. It is only

just now sinking in. We have cleared it all out and we managed to open

for a couple of hours on Sunday. We realised the sea was coming in

pretty quickly. High tides have transformed the whole area around

the cafe. Walls have been destroyed and roads undermined by the force of

the water. Even the river has changed its course. Repairs are

underway. All of this upheaval has come at an awkward time for the

business. I have weddings booked in May, June and July in our barbecue

area. I don't want to let those people down. It is devastating to

clear the place three times. The long`term implications, I don't know

yet. I am waiting for insurance assessors to come. We were seeing

very cold air down across the United States. At the Met Office warned of

exceptionally cold conditions over North America colliding with warm

air of the Atlantic near New York. They were `` they were directed

towards us. It brought heavy rainfall and flooding. Here at the

Met Office in Exeter, they say December was an exceptional month.

It was the windiest since 1993. Imports of the region, there was

almost double the rainfall you would have expected. Damaging winds came

here on the stream. `` jet stream. This shows a jet stream of around

100 knots. We have seen over 200 knots. There is a lot of energy and

it tends to guide our storm is a lot of energy and it tends to guide our

storms one after the other. Another day on and back at the cafe, the

diggers are still clearing up the mess. She has invested her savings

in the cafe which is right on the beach. She is hoping the loss

adjuster from the insurance company will be sympathetic. Not that I am

much further forward with knowing what will happen with the claim all

the extra staff costs or the stock costs, there won't be any help for

six months. It is devastating. This is whipped Sand Bay in Cornwall, a

couple of miles away from the cafe. Sand has been washed out to sea and

around the south`west, the shape of the coastline has changed because of

the storms. On the north coast of Cornwall, the changes have attracted

sightseers. A porthole in the stone has been swept away. Now a huge

chunk of rock has vanished. I am amazed at the state of the sea. I

expected to see a pile of stones there. The sea has taken everything

away. It is amazing. From the seafront in Guernsey to the many

coastal communities around the south`west peninsula. People's

mobile phones have captured some dramatic moments. Some have risked

their lives. The old building here was swept away by the storms.

Captured on camera, this stack. After the storms, it is gone.

Dorset's most southerly point was last invaded by the sea in 1978. The

end of the beach at Portland can be a dangerous place to live. In the

tiny community at the height of the storm, people were worried about

their safety. Waves came crashing in 20 feet in height as some people

left their homes. The Simon went. `` the siren went. How long did it take

you to get out? A couple of minutes. Grab `` I grabbed the kids and the

dogs and left. On the night of the worst of the storms, the local pub

was right in the firing line of the waves. We had 40 or 50 people

outside and the waves were coming over the war. It was quite an

excited atmosphere. Then the sirens went and everybody disappeared.

Temperatures everywhere. Portland has always been battered by the

weather but locals say this time it is a different scale storm. I

haven't seen the power of the sea to move rocks like that. Has this

happened since the storm? Since the storm, yes. All along our coasts,

people wanting to know if this could be more than just a short term

weather event. We know the climate is changing and that there are

long`term trends. There is no natural fluctuations in the

climate. Any weather system that we see is a mixture of long`term trends

and the natural fluctuations that we have seen over many years.

Back at the cafe, customers are already returning. They want to know

what is going on. The council have been to skate `` have been today

with the digger and they have tried a lot of the sand from here. A week

after the last storm and they are still digging out at the cafe. She

expects uncertainty ahead and after recent events, she is more wary of

the sea's power. I have no other choice but to be positive.

Otherwise, I might as well shut the door now. It is just the beginning.

Fingers crossed that in a couple of weeks time, it doesn't all happen

again. Excelling in sport requires a

determination to overcome any obstacle. Paracyclist Thomson `` Tom

Staniford has a degenerative condition and his biggest battle at

the moment is with the rules of the track.

I had a very normal childhood and the symptoms started to present

themselves at the start of pre`beauty. When I started puberty

at 13, I lost a lot of fat around my whole body. When my hearing started

to deteriorate, I started to become diabetic and stop it was quite a

confusing time for me and my parents because things started to change

quite quickly. Tom Staniford has a rare condition called MDP Syndrome.

Remarkably, unlike his fellow sufferers, Tom is an elite sportsmen

and a one`time member of the British summer `` British Paracycling Team.

I used to love running. I like the freedom of it and I like the

insurance bows of pushing my own limits. It was around when puberty

hit and these symptoms started to develop that Redding became painful

for me because of the lack of fat on my feet. I still enjoyed endurance

sport and I enjoyed that bows of keeping fit. I wanted to replace it

with something. Around that time, ie stumbled into cycling. `` I

stumbled. There is a lot less pain on my feet. I spend a lot of time

sitting in the saddle so your weight is supported. Cycling is a big part

of my life and his. Everything is built around it. How driven is he?

Very driven. He will get the bus to work rather than riding. On a rest

day, he doesn't ride the bike. He is taking it very seriously. My

ultimate goal is to win gold at Rio in 2016. An essential stepping stone

on that journey is I have to get back into the British cycling squad.

To help him achieve his goal, he has come to see his old friend, Doctor

Richard around. He was part of the scientists that `` based at the

Peninsula medical steam `` Peninsular Medical School where his

diagnosis was given. They say their work could hold the success for his

shot at Rio. I am in a tricky position. I am a good competitor but

I am not the best. If I move to a different class, I am far more

competitive and is likely to be one of the best. It is very difficult to

get a handle on the disease. We know he has joint problems, we know his

muscles are affected and we know he suffers from extremely tight skin

which has an effect on his flexibility. These problems are

quite unique to Tom and it is difficult to compare him to other

athletes who have different problems such as a missing limb paralysis

down one side of the body. It makes it difficult for the graders to

decide her disabilities are equivalent. We asked the porting his

bid for reclassification. As we learn about the complexities of his

condition, we can help him better. The graders are going to have a

better chance of giving him the appropriate classification as a

Paralympic athlete. The reclassification process and we have

to take some physical testing and have a meeting with the world

governing body. There is a big international competition at the end

of this month in your `` in Newport where I will be racing and they will

be there. It is November and teams from all over the world have

gathered in Newport for the International Paris cycling cup, the

only power cycling event of the year. With no other races in a

colander `` calendar, Tom has pinned all his hopes on this one event. But

Tom arrives to worrying news. We have just been told that one of the

classifiers may not have turned up for some reason so we are unsure if

we were actually have a reclassification appointment. Tom's

worst fears are confirmed. One of the crucial medical classifiers,

from UCI, has failed to turn up to the event and is stuck at home in

Florida. I have had the stuffing knocked out of me so many times in

the past that I am bored of it now. Do you think your goals are still

achievable? I think they are that I am going to need someone to throw me

a break at some point. Tom has been waiting to see the classification

team for over two hours but with that Colombian doctor missing, his

case cannot be reviewed today. Are you able to tell me why the doctor

wasn't able to come? No. You can't give me any information about that?

There is nothing special to say. Tom leaves without a satisfactory

explanation. Later the organisers of the event discussed the matter

privately with him but it is still a bitter blow. It is disappointing for

Tom. He has come with lots of evidence to get reclassified. He

will have to wait another year for that to happen. There is not an

awful lot of races that he will miss in the meantime but there is a phew.

It changes your mindset when you have bad news like that. I know Rio

is three years out but it goes pretty quickly. The boat is leaving

and I want to be on it. It is race day and without a reclassification,

Tom will have to compete in his usual category.

It would have been easier for Tom to pack up and go home but he has

chosen to ride and he knows he faces some tough opposition. They are

Olympic medallists, they are the best in the world. They are

full`time athletes and I am not a full`time athlete. The chances of me

beating them realistically are quite unlikely but we will go out and I

will give my best and see how I get on.

After one false start, Tom finally gets away but the day's events are

playing on his mind. Pumped with adrenaline, he puts in a blistering

first lap but he puts in a blistering first lap 30 can't

sustain his pace. By the final lap, he is beaten. It is fairly clear

that I underperformed. It didn't come together for me today. It has

been a tough weekend but Tom is convinced that all is not lost. The

silver in line `` the silver lining of the fact that we couldn't get

classification means we have more time to send off the medical

documentation. The facts that we can send it on means that they are going

to have more time to read it and hopefully come to the conclusion is

that we want them to come to. For now, Tom has no option but to get

back on his bike and to keep on training.

That is all from this week's inside out. `` Inside Out. Join me next

week for more investigations. See you then.

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