:00:48. > :00:53.Here, at the battle for the green belt - the Labour council leader
:00:53. > :00:57.who says we need to build on it verses the Tory MP who says it must
:00:57. > :01:07.be protected. And the local authority seeking new ways to save
:01:07. > :01:07.
:01:07. > :31:05.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1797 seconds
:31:05. > :31:07.Hello, I'm Marie Ashby, with the stories especially for everyone
:31:07. > :31:16.here in the East Midlands. Coming up: England's green and pleasant
:31:16. > :31:21.land. But are we doing enough to protect it? First, the controversy
:31:21. > :31:24.over the Green Belt. Should it be sacrosanct? Or should houses
:31:24. > :31:27.sometimes come first? Our political editor, John Hess, has been at the
:31:27. > :31:37.heart of the action this week. Under the Autumn berries, there's
:31:37. > :31:37.
:31:37. > :31:44.pressure to find development land Residents on the war path. They're
:31:44. > :31:49.angry at plans to build new homes on green belt land. If we put all
:31:49. > :31:53.these houses on here, it is going to be terrible. They are worried
:31:53. > :31:57.their area will become urban sprawl. This land was designated green belt
:31:57. > :32:03.50 years ago, as a buffer zone between the cities of Nottingham
:32:03. > :32:08.and Derby. There and p this week took their case to Parliament.
:32:08. > :32:12.Borough Council, having accepted a target of almost 6000 homes, means
:32:12. > :32:17.that the only place they can be built is on Green Belt. I am
:32:17. > :32:27.opposed to it. Would you be happy to approve a housing development on
:32:27. > :32:27.
:32:27. > :32:36.green belt? I would. This country needs to build houses. It is the
:32:36. > :32:39.construction industry that will lead this country out of recession.
:32:39. > :32:46.The massive MacMillan housing boom of the 1950s followed the
:32:46. > :32:50.introduction of green belt to the big conurbations of the Midlands.
:32:50. > :32:53.Leicestershire has its green wedges and Derbyshire its national park.
:32:53. > :33:00.This farmland at Toton is part of the green belt around Nottingham,
:33:00. > :33:05.but it's being chipped away. According to an Ursu Britain with
:33:05. > :33:09.this new development on the outskirts of Nottingham, built on
:33:09. > :33:15.former Green Belt land, is simply unacceptable. The whole development
:33:16. > :33:21.is constructed with appalling building regulations, which often
:33:21. > :33:25.led to learn over dense regulation. This estate looks smart enough, by
:33:25. > :33:30.ask the residents here if they think their homes are rather
:33:30. > :33:35.crammed in. Yes. They are not taking account of the size of the
:33:35. > :33:45.driveway, families have two cars, the roads are not white enough.
:33:45. > :33:45.
:33:45. > :33:49.Planners have been amazed, that it was given permission. In the East
:33:49. > :33:54.Midlands, 22,000 new homes a year was the aim of. It is now barely
:33:54. > :33:59.half that. In future, local councils will decide how many homes
:34:00. > :34:04.they need. But will that address the much bigger picture? In the
:34:04. > :34:11.East Midlands particularly, we have the most rapidly increasing grip of
:34:11. > :34:16.over 65, and housing needs to meet that. It is over 3000 people
:34:16. > :34:20.currently working for social homes. Affordability is an issue. You need
:34:21. > :34:25.plenty of cash to buy into the exclusive Saxon Dale estate in rush
:34:25. > :34:31.cliff. Many of the homes have been built on green parkland, and
:34:31. > :34:35.approved by a Conservative council. -- Green Belt land. The
:34:35. > :34:39.government's localism Bill becomes law next April, promising to give
:34:39. > :34:45.local communities and councils a much bigger say on future housing.
:34:45. > :34:49.So when it to protect and enhance our green belt? Not necessarily.
:34:49. > :34:53.The green belt comes around in an arc. The leader of Rushcliffe
:34:53. > :34:57.Council, Neil Clarke, points out the green belt in his borough.
:34:57. > :35:01.There will be immense pressure on the green belt, and we will be
:35:01. > :35:05.going to those communities to ask what sort of level of development
:35:06. > :35:12.they believe they can cope with, and it may well be that some of
:35:12. > :35:16.that does encroach in an old field in the green belt. Better committee
:35:16. > :35:21.consultation is what the localism Bill Office, and an opportunity for
:35:21. > :35:27.some it to celebrate and protect the green belt. It has, by and
:35:27. > :35:30.large, worked. Not perfectly, but it has had strong protection,
:35:30. > :35:36.building on the green belt has always needed special justification.
:35:36. > :35:40.So by and large it has worked. outcome of this debate will shape
:35:40. > :35:44.the future of our green and pleasant land. So protect the Green
:35:44. > :35:47.Belt at all costs, or lose some of it if the trade off is much needed
:35:47. > :35:49.new homes? With me now, the two protagonists we heard from in
:35:49. > :35:55.John's film, the Conservative MP for Broxtowe, Anna Soubry and the
:35:55. > :36:00.Labour leader of Broxtowe District Council, Milan Radulovic. Milan
:36:00. > :36:04.says there is no where else to build these homes. The problem is
:36:04. > :36:09.that brought Stoke, along with a number of other councils, are
:36:09. > :36:14.together on a board, looking at how and where to build homes for
:36:14. > :36:20.Greater Nottingham. The difficulty, and by a dispute with Milan is that
:36:20. > :36:24.we have accepted a target of 6000. We have got enough brownfield sites
:36:24. > :36:28.for 2000. So that means the remaining 4000 can only be built on
:36:29. > :36:33.green belt. And we are the most densely populated Borough in the
:36:34. > :36:40.whole of Nottinghamshire. The so you need more houses? Note, we
:36:40. > :36:43.don't have the land. Anybody who knows our patch of Nottingham knows
:36:43. > :36:48.that there is very little green belt, because we are so densely
:36:48. > :36:52.populated. So our green belt is absolutely essential. Or you will
:36:52. > :36:58.have us brawl, like you have got from the city centre out to Long
:36:58. > :37:05.Eaton. -- have sprawl. This is a real concern, this idea of the
:37:05. > :37:13.urban sprawl, and no agreement between. I think both an and I see
:37:13. > :37:17.the problem the same. They risk a potential for urban sprawl, right
:37:17. > :37:21.the way through to South Derby. What we are proposing is something
:37:21. > :37:25.slightly different to what is being portrayed here. By working together,
:37:25. > :37:29.which we are required to do as a government, we are trying to put
:37:29. > :37:36.forward an evidence-based case for protection of the maximum amount of
:37:36. > :37:41.green belt between Bridestowe and Nottingham, Nottingham and Derby,
:37:41. > :37:46.by allocating those sites that we see are essential for regeneration
:37:46. > :37:51.and growth, particularly in the north, which has been hit hardest
:37:52. > :37:55.by cuts and job losses. So we both share the same objective, I think
:37:55. > :38:00.the process is different. But she doesn't agree you're trying to
:38:00. > :38:06.protect the green belt. I don't. Being a fair to Milan, he makes the
:38:06. > :38:10.point that half the Borough Council, which includes part of the area not
:38:10. > :38:13.in my constituency, so when you talk about Eastwood, that is not my
:38:13. > :38:17.argument, and there is probably a very good argument that he would
:38:17. > :38:22.advance about growth in Eastwood. Because let's face it, it has been
:38:22. > :38:28.neglected. But if they are not enough brownfield sites, where all
:38:28. > :38:32.these how it is going to go? That is the question. There are places
:38:32. > :38:37.around, but it is not my job to say where they are going to go, where I
:38:37. > :38:45.represent a constituency where we have had enough housing built out
:38:45. > :38:48.at a cost. There is a difference between green belt and green field.
:38:49. > :38:53.She saying you don't have to build on the green belt. It is what the
:38:53. > :39:00.minister has told me. Let still with the numbers. The numbers we
:39:00. > :39:04.are looking at at the moment is an evident based, statistical response
:39:04. > :39:10.to the communities and local government figure. They say in
:39:10. > :39:16.South Nottinghamshire, wooded 7000 properties. We are going into
:39:16. > :39:19.public inquiry to defend the figure that the MoD -- a figure should be
:39:19. > :39:25.much lower, because it would mean the loss of essential green belt.
:39:25. > :39:29.We would continue to examine, through the inquiry, and indeed
:39:29. > :39:36.challenge, where necessary, those figures. Those projection figures
:39:36. > :39:41.at this stage. We are consulted on projected figures. We will continue
:39:41. > :39:45.to examine that in the light of our ability to bring forwards sides
:39:46. > :39:50.with the construction industry. you still have to build houses. The
:39:50. > :39:57.Tory leader in rush Cliffe says to meet the demand for new homes, they
:39:57. > :40:03.have had to build on green belt land at Saxon Dale. Well, that was
:40:03. > :40:06.a brownfield site originally, the heart of it. Some of it is. The
:40:06. > :40:11.really important thing is this, that local communities, and that is
:40:11. > :40:18.what the local Bill empowers them is that they make the decision. If
:40:18. > :40:22.that is what they want in a rush Cliffe, that is fine. My argument
:40:22. > :40:26.is that they are imposing it on people, and all the public meetings
:40:26. > :40:29.I have been to, people have come away saying it is a done deal, and
:40:29. > :40:34.they are angry because they feel they are not having a real voice.
:40:34. > :40:40.The localism Bint -- Bill means councils will no longer have to
:40:40. > :40:44.abide by this target. That target was 22,000 homes. That is across
:40:44. > :40:51.the East Midlands. There was a meeting with the inspector last
:40:51. > :40:55.Friday, and the decision was that the strategy is the most robust way
:40:55. > :41:00.of approaching an evidence-based projection of the need for
:41:00. > :41:05.Nottingham City. Nothing is a done deal, and to say that places like
:41:05. > :41:09.totem is a done deal is a complete fabrication. What residents should
:41:09. > :41:14.do is look out for announcement in the next few weeks as a result of
:41:14. > :41:18.the consultations. A consultation is exactly that. We are consulted
:41:18. > :41:23.on the strategy across South Nottinghamshire, and the likely
:41:23. > :41:28.locations of where those properties should be. It is a statistical and
:41:28. > :41:32.evidence-based lead, based upon need, and there is a perceived need
:41:32. > :41:40.to provide homes for young people, but homes that I energy efficient
:41:40. > :41:45.and affordable. It is, as I said in your film, the construction
:41:45. > :41:51.industry that is crying out for land and the opportunity to build.
:41:51. > :41:55.There are something like 400,000 people employed directly and
:41:55. > :42:01.indirectly in the construction industry. This is a chance, then?
:42:01. > :42:06.Yes, that is why... My complaint is that not withstanding what Milan
:42:07. > :42:10.says, I have been to the public meetings, I have heard what the
:42:10. > :42:14.officers have said, and they have told the people that effectively it
:42:14. > :42:18.is a done deal. I am delighted if it Milan says that as a result of
:42:18. > :42:24.the consultation, that they are going to row back from that. We
:42:24. > :42:28.have got enough brownfield land for 2000 homes, which can provide
:42:29. > :42:32.social, affordable homes. All I'm complaining about is the acceptance
:42:32. > :42:39.of the target before you have consulted with people, and this
:42:39. > :42:47.lack of consultation. There are huge swathes that have not had any
:42:47. > :42:51.consultation. You don't agree? is simply not true. It is. In 2009,
:42:51. > :42:59.every householder was written to it. This is the third round of
:42:59. > :43:02.consultation that we have carried out. Trying to interest people in
:43:02. > :43:09.evidence-based projections is not the most exciting of subject was
:43:09. > :43:14.that we accept that. We do accept there has a huge need for housing?
:43:14. > :43:22.Every single resident in 2009 was written to. They have been two a
:43:22. > :43:28.further bout of consultation. change in government. Through
:43:28. > :43:35.community... We obviously need to watch this space. In the next few
:43:35. > :43:38.weeks, they could be development. I want to bring up this concern, they
:43:38. > :43:44.could be growing tension on Monday's vote. Eight Conservative
:43:44. > :43:51.MPs in our region have already signed it, Heron Patrick Meyer Sir,
:43:51. > :43:56.Nigel Mills, Mark Spencer, even Labour's Keith Vaz. I wouldn't be
:43:56. > :43:59.signing it, and I won't be voting for it. Absolutely not. I was
:43:59. > :44:02.elected on a manifesto that promised no more transfer of powers
:44:02. > :44:06.from Westminster to Brussels without a referendum. We have
:44:06. > :44:11.delivered on that. But the Conservative Party manifesto made
:44:11. > :44:15.it clear we believed we should be in Europe but not run by Europe.
:44:15. > :44:23.Your decision is not going to go down well with some of your Tory
:44:24. > :44:27.supporters, is it? All I know, and there is a complete a brick of
:44:27. > :44:33.agreements with the Milan, is what real people are concerned about now
:44:33. > :44:38.is the jobs, NHS, education and crime. Europe, I'm afraid, is very
:44:38. > :44:42.low down people's priorities. This is the wrong time to have a
:44:42. > :44:46.referendum to stop thank you are joining me.
:44:47. > :44:49.Now our local heritage is not just about the Green Belt. It's about
:44:49. > :44:52.our historic buildings too. And this week English Heritage warned
:44:53. > :44:55.that a growing number of them are at risk in the East Midlands. More
:44:55. > :45:00.than 100, in fact. Robin Powell reports on how local authorities
:45:00. > :45:03.and architects are actively seeking new ideas to save them.
:45:03. > :45:06.It's a Gothic Revival masterpiece set in 200 acres of gardens, woods
:45:06. > :45:11.and parkland. But Elvaston Castle near Derby has fallen heavily into
:45:11. > :45:18.disrepair. The County Council says it can't afford the �700 000
:45:18. > :45:21.required every year to run it. Now a report has warned that the castle
:45:21. > :45:26.and grounds need more than �6 million of essential repairs, and
:45:26. > :45:30.its future lies in the balance. The Friends of Elvaston Castle argue
:45:30. > :45:33.that, with 650,000 visitors a year, the necessary funds can be found,
:45:33. > :45:43.and says volunteers and community groups should be given the chance
:45:43. > :45:43.
:45:43. > :45:50.to prove it. It does happen in other areas of the country, where
:45:50. > :45:53.different councils, over the years, had used the same story, that the
:45:53. > :45:59.properties deteriorated to such an extent that they just can't find
:45:59. > :46:05.the funds to restore it. So the communities have restored the
:46:05. > :46:08.properties, brought them back into public use, and now, they are
:46:08. > :46:12.raising money for the local communities. Architect Richard
:46:12. > :46:14.Blunt specialises in restoring historic buildings. Although he
:46:14. > :46:17.says a "big society"-style solution might keep the castle grounds open,
:46:17. > :46:25.he believes that only the private sector can provide the money
:46:25. > :46:27.required to restore the castle itself to its former glory.
:46:27. > :46:32.Derbyshire County Council did appoint a preferred development
:46:32. > :46:40.partner several years ago. But restoration work has not yet begun.
:46:40. > :46:44.Richard Blunt says the public ought to be told why not. We all should,
:46:44. > :46:47.and in this country, we believe in open government. People should know
:46:47. > :46:51.what our politicians are dealing with buildings they laugh. Elvaston
:46:52. > :46:54.Castle is regionally important, they cannot ignore the concerns of
:46:54. > :46:57.the residents, who feel something should be done. The County Council
:46:57. > :46:59.says it's waiting on a report outlining different options for
:46:59. > :47:06.securing Elvaston's future. Richard Blunt would relish the challenge of
:47:06. > :47:09.restoring the castle himself. For now, he's focusing on renovating St
:47:09. > :47:11.Helen's House in Derby. The City Council says the private sector has
:47:11. > :47:18.a crucial role to play in protecting the city's historic
:47:18. > :47:23.buildings. We are a historic city, we need to celebrate that. We need
:47:23. > :47:26.to build these buildings into our regeneration plans, but were
:47:26. > :47:29.quickly correct partners to do that. Richard Blunt knows the financial
:47:29. > :47:32.pressures local authorities are under. He's the leader of North
:47:32. > :47:34.West Leicestershire District and a Cabinet Member on Leicestershire
:47:34. > :47:42.County Council. But he says it's vital that authorities don't
:47:42. > :47:47.neglect their historic buildings. Anybody who watched down to an
:47:47. > :47:51.Abbey will see these buildings as fantastic, but 100 years ago, they
:47:51. > :47:56.passed into public ownership, they found 100 different uses. But as
:47:56. > :48:00.the world goes on, these uses art suddenly no longer compliant with
:48:00. > :48:03.health and safety, or wheelchair access, and buildings come back out
:48:03. > :48:06.of public ownership and that is when they are most vulnerable.
:48:06. > :48:09.Roberts is a council leader too, in Newark and Sherwood. The council
:48:09. > :48:11.spends so much money maintaining and heating its headquarters -
:48:11. > :48:13.Kelham Hall, designed by the celebrated Victorian architect
:48:13. > :48:22.George Gilbert Scott - that councillor Roberts recently
:48:22. > :48:27.proposed moving out. You're constantly being appalled, what we
:48:27. > :48:32.need to spend to maintain these buildings, and so many other
:48:32. > :48:36.initiatives. Child poverty, social housing, infrastructure, and so on.
:48:36. > :48:39.One of the big problems with being a councillor nowadays is to decide
:48:39. > :48:42.on priorities. He accepts there's no chance of additional funding for
:48:42. > :48:45.some time, but Tony Roberts believes that in the long term the
:48:45. > :48:49.authority will need more help from central government to maintain
:48:49. > :48:52.buildings like Kelham Hall and Newark Castle. For now, his
:48:52. > :49:00.colleague Nora Armstrong, Cabinet Member for Parks, is having to
:49:00. > :49:06.think creatively. We have concerts here, we have Shakespearean plays,
:49:06. > :49:09.we have just passed the Cabinet for weddings to take place here. We
:49:09. > :49:12.need to generate income. Meanwhile, World Monuments Watch has warned
:49:12. > :49:15.that Newstead Abbey - ancestral home of Lord Byron - is also under
:49:15. > :49:19.threat. It's urging Nottingham City Council to come up with a plan for
:49:19. > :49:26.its future. With budgets increasingly squeezed, we're likely
:49:26. > :49:29.to hear plenty of similar warnings in the years ahead.
:49:29. > :49:32.Time for a quick update on our story last week about a new EU
:49:32. > :49:35.directive which will mean diabetic drivers, who have more than one
:49:35. > :49:38.serious hyperglycaemic attack in a year, will lose their licences.
:49:38. > :49:40.Roger Fell, whose wife was killed by a motorist who lost
:49:40. > :49:47.consciousness at the wheel, attacked the Prime Minister for
:49:47. > :49:54.criticising the directive. This week, David Cameron addressed the
:49:54. > :49:59.issue again at PMQs. I can reassure my honourable friend that a
:49:59. > :50:02.relatively few diabetics will lose their licence as a result of this
:50:02. > :50:05.directive, and the DVLA is actually going back to the European
:50:05. > :50:09.Commission to check its understanding of the interpretation
:50:09. > :50:13.of the minimum standards of this directed, as we all know, of all
:50:13. > :50:18.sides of the house, on to many occasions, departments gold plate
:50:18. > :50:22.directives. Just time for a reminder that tomorrow's Inside Out
:50:22. > :50:25.has a university special. We've the results of our survey asking sixth