22/09/2011 BBC Channel Islands News

Hello, good evening. This is BBC Channel Islands and these are our

headlines: Opulent or over-priced? Proof that hotels here are among

the costliest in Britain... Plus - bankrupt but determined - Jersey's

rocket man vows to fight for justice. And find out how music,

modern art and meteorology have Hotel prices in St Helier and St

Peter Port are among the most expensive in the British Isles.

Statistics for the first half of 2011 show room rates here in the

Channel Islands near the top of a list of 43 towns and cities across

the UK. St Helier is ranked fifth, but St Peter Port is second, where

the price of an average hotel room is not much cheaper than a five

star elsewhere. Amy Harris reports. Beyond the doors of the Old

Government House hotel is a world of luxury. There's no shortage of

sumptuous detail, from the chandeliers inside... To the

swimming pool outside. It's Guernsey's only five star hotel and

you get what you pay for. Opulence is one of the key words. Comfort is

as important to us as everything else. We want the guests to fill

looked after and pampered. As you'd expect staying here isn't cheap -

prices start at �133 a night. But the average room rate in St Peter

Port isn't far behind at �115, making it the second most expensive

destination in the British Isles. Meanwhile St Helier is the fifth

costliest place to stay out of 43 destinations, with an average room

here priced at ?110 pounds a night. The statistics come from a report

by the online travel firm hotels.com. It believes the high

rankings are a result of higher budget visitors. It is genuinely --

generally the upmarket customers, and that is the thing putting the

price. Up higher. Tourism bosses here though point out the hotel

statistics may be skewed as they don't reflect all hotels. They

maintain the Channel Islands offers accommodation for all budgets.

is want tour operator's view, and it is a narrow view. They have

demonstrated that the amount of bed space they have bought up has been

successfully sold. So while not everyone might be able to afford a

room here, the message is that despite the latest figures, there

is a place to stay for everyone in the Channel Islands, regardless of

their budget. It should have been a world record breaking charity event,

but four years ago Terry MacDonald decided to call off his firework

display after Jersey's Environment department expressed concern. He's

since spent four years battling the States and has been left with

massive debts after being unable to get rid of the rockets. Now he's

been told Jersey Government will not be offering compensation.

Edward Sault reports. Making a cup of coffee in the home he may have

to sell. Terry Mcdonald says he's now in so much debt the roof over

his head may have to go. To live with massive debts, let's not kid

ourselves. How much in debt by you? Pushing on for �100,000. Terry

wanted to break the world record for the amount of rockets fired at

one time back in 2007. It was to be the finale of the Moonlight Battle

of Flowers parade but he decided to call off the event after

environmental concerns. Now this report has been published it lists

all the talks, meetings and letters sent surrounding the incident, what

the environmental concerns were and it says the States aren't giving Mr

McDonald compensation. Mr McDonald. Mr widow is a very nice man,...

Whites carry on? By an a Jersey man. I am a fighter. There is a need

within my soul to carry on. Terry leaves for more meetings over

what to do next he says he's not giving up or closing the door on

this controversy. The Jersey-based online retailer Play.com is being

sold for �25 million. Play is one of the biggest online companies in

Britain and has 14 million registered users. It was originally

set up in Jersey in 1998 and started by selling DVDs and then

CDs. The buyer is Japanese e- commerce firm Rakuten. Neither

party will comment on whether the business will remain based in

Jersey. A group of UK retailers operating trying to close a

loophole are... The UK chancellor has already reduced the VAT

threshold. The Chancellor has promised to take another look at

the issue. A government minister has said that the Channel Islands

is not the problem. It is a competitive market. Companies have

said that it is harming them, but competitive this from supermarkets

is causing more damage than the Channel Islands have a will.

Jersey's independent auditor is to look into the failed attempt to buy

Lime Grove House as a new Police headquarters. The Home Affairs

department announced they were buying the building in Green Street,

but the deal fell through after the Treasury department attempted to

get the price reduced. Politicians investigating why the deal failed

said they had serious concerns about the way it was handled. The

Comptroller and Auditor General will review the matter - but has

warned it could take some time. You're watching the BBC in the

Channel Islands. Later in Spotlight with Justin and Victoria... The

fire-breathing Dragon that's landed some local artists in a spot of

bother. You'd be forgiven for thinking that Jersey's Branchage

Film Festival was just about the visual medium of film. And usually,

movies are the main event. But this year's festival which starts today,

features an audio installation at one of Jersey's best known

landmarks. And it's fully reliant on the weather. Chris Harrison has

This installation atop of Elizabeth Castle translates weather

conditions into musical patterns! Yes, music! It marks the start of

the 2011 Branchage festival. started through conversations we

were having about the kind of structure the you do not think

about so much, and turning that into something creative. We turned

it into music. It seems very fitting for the work we are doing

to show it here alongside a showcase of young film-makers, and

interesting documentary films. musical manipulation of meterology!

The outside weather is interpreted into music via computers. It is

truly an experience to hear it for yourself. It is perfect for us,

because it needs whether to work, and it is a great way to use the

Jersey Heritage location, but also, it is something really exciting and

experimental and new, and taking place in a beautiful, historic

location. In true Branchage fashion, the creativity is high, and is a

great start from this fantastic, You can listen to the music on

Radio Jersey's 1026 Medium Wave frequency from 1:15pm tomorrow

afternoon. How have you been getting around today? By bike, bus

or even walking? If so, you must have known it was Green Travel Day.

It's Jersey States' attempt to get islanders to leave their cars at

home - and be more eco-friendly. But just how successful has it

been? Beckie Williams has been finding out. Cars coming in and

cars going out. This is supposed to be Green Travel Day - an initiative

that's cost the States 5 thousand pounds. But has it actually worked?

It is a slight disappointment. A lot of effort has gone into it, a

lot of people were providing prices. I do cycle anyway. If I had Newt --

known about it, I would have done something. The day's been organised

by Transport and Technical Services. Here they're making a big effort.

Strictly no vehicles in the car park - which has been turned into a

petanque terrain. And even the minister in charge has got in the

green spirit by cycling to work. Not so people would say it hasn't

were. My feeling is that it has. I have seen lots of people cycling

and walking, and we have reduced car park usage. Connex say they put

on some extra buses in case there's more demand, and tonight some

islanders will make tracks for one final push home. If you want to

final push home. If you want to ride a bike to work tomorrow, you

will want to know what the weather is like. Good evening. Some warm

weather heading our wait for the Channel Islands. 22 Celsius, 68

Perhaps into Saturday Night and Sunday, we will see some more

showers. This is the reason, high pressure pushing through during the

latter part of the evening and overnight. It is going to give us a

lot of settled weather. There is a chance of a few showers in the far

west of the region. The low- pressure is coming in from the

Atlantic, but by the time he gets to us, it is going to be a fairly

weak affair. We meet -- we may see temperatures down to 12 degrees

tonight. After the mist has cleared, it is going to be fine and dry

sunshine developing. Temperatures will get up to 18 or 19 degrees. A

few showers passing to the west of us. Quite a warm feel to the day. A

south-easterly breeze. This is the coastal waters forecast. Mainly

fair, with good visibility. These The forecast for Friday is very

much the same story. Cloud in the morning. The sunshine will come out

and give temperatures of 19 or possibly 20 degrees. A risk of a

few showers late on Saturday, and Shell was macro more widespread on