:00:11. > :00:16.Hello and welcome to Channel Island news. On the programme tonight.
:00:16. > :00:20.Plane sailing, are Guernsey's harbours and airports a step closer
:00:20. > :00:24.to being commercialised? Staying out for summer. Why more of us are
:00:24. > :00:30.ditching holidays abroad and staying at home instead. And tanked
:00:30. > :00:40.up. The rather unusual commuter that got caught up in this
:00:40. > :00:44.
:00:44. > :00:49.A significant step has been taken towards commercialising Guernsey's
:00:49. > :00:53.airport and harbours but will it end up costing passengers more? The
:00:53. > :01:00.States agreed to spend �100,000 to investigate the pros and cons of
:01:00. > :01:04.commercialisation. We would be lost without it. Whether it is to get
:01:04. > :01:08.people here, or to get away. But would we get more from the airport
:01:08. > :01:12.if it was commercialised? And run by someone other than the States?
:01:12. > :01:17.Could it make it more efficient? am not trying to sell it at the
:01:17. > :01:20.current time on behalf of PSD what we are saying to the community at
:01:20. > :01:26.the moment is let us investigate this, we will come back with a full
:01:26. > :01:29.report, warts and all, showing what we believe is the benefit for the
:01:29. > :01:32.community. The harbour area would be looked at to see if
:01:32. > :01:36.commercialisation would work here, but not even is convinced this is
:01:36. > :01:41.the right move for the island, or for the people that use the
:01:41. > :01:43.facilities. Because there is nothing in it for the people, last
:01:43. > :01:48.two previous examples of commercialisation have not worked.
:01:48. > :01:53.They have led to costs rising, for the people of Guernsey, and I have
:01:53. > :01:57.no confidence at all, that commercialising the haar bours the
:01:58. > :02:02.airport will lead to anything different. 90% of our goods come
:02:02. > :02:05.through the ports, and higher charges there will lead to higher
:02:05. > :02:09.consumer goods in the sho. Only one set of people are going to pay for
:02:09. > :02:14.that and that is the people of the community. It will be at least
:02:14. > :02:22.another year's wait before the work is complete, when we will know
:02:22. > :02:25.whether the major changes are just the start of it. Some travel agents
:02:25. > :02:29.in the Channel Island say they are concerned holiday bookings have
:02:29. > :02:36.been slow this year. The number of people visiting the island was up
:02:36. > :02:42.last year compared to 2010 but fewer people are booking summer
:02:43. > :02:47.holidays from Guernsey and Jersey. Are we following the trend of
:02:47. > :02:52.staying at home? They vinvested in attracting visitors to the island
:02:52. > :02:58.and now it seems to be paying off. Jersey Tourism has released figures
:02:58. > :03:03.today that visitor numbers were up, 0.6% last year. Guernsey has seen a
:03:03. > :03:08.growth in short stay tourist, day trippers and business visitors. But
:03:08. > :03:14.while this is good news for local travel agents some are concerned
:03:14. > :03:20.there haven't been many bookings this year. People aren't so anxious
:03:20. > :03:23.to book, the traditional January, February, booking period we used to
:03:23. > :03:27.experience doesn't happen as much as it used to. We are finding that
:03:27. > :03:33.people are leaving it a lot later, before making their final decision
:03:33. > :03:38.on where they are going, they are looking to see and seek out the
:03:38. > :03:43.best deals round, So are more people waiting for the late deals
:03:43. > :03:51.are or they opting for holidays at home including us in the Channel
:03:51. > :03:53.Island. This -- Channel Island. Very businessy it is always
:03:53. > :03:57.businessy our full membership is sold out before we open. This year
:03:57. > :04:02.we have had a huge amount more, as you can see we are struggling to
:04:02. > :04:05.process them all in time to get them out to people. We have a lot
:04:05. > :04:10.of people who renew year on year, we have seen a lot of new members
:04:10. > :04:14.this year as well. People who feel it is good value, they come, they
:04:14. > :04:18.have to come five times and the membership is paid for. So while
:04:18. > :04:24.our attractions are doing their job with the tourists, they are make us
:04:24. > :04:31.think twice about going abroad. Jersey's Housing Minister says
:04:31. > :04:35.people aren't getting the help they need. Deputy Andrew green says
:04:35. > :04:41.islanders living in appalling conditions. Social housing rents
:04:41. > :04:45.are to go up 20%. The Deputy Green says the extra money will be used
:04:45. > :04:49.for viest vital maintenance to improve socialle -- social housing.
:04:49. > :04:53.Plans for a new slaughterhouse in Guernsey have been approved. The
:04:54. > :05:00.States today supported a proposal to build a �2 million facility at
:05:00. > :05:04.Longue Hougue. The current building has been used for about 150 years.
:05:04. > :05:07.Environmentam health advised it should close by April. It could
:05:07. > :05:12.mean more opportunities for local farmers to export their meat. The
:05:12. > :05:15.new facility is due to be ready early next year. The Managing
:05:15. > :05:20.Director of Condor Ferries has resigned. Simon Edsall, who has
:05:20. > :05:23.been in the post for three year, is said to be pursuing other career
:05:23. > :05:30.opportunities. The board has started the search for a new group
:05:30. > :05:33.head. Next tonight is Guernsey's prison running out of space?
:05:33. > :05:38.Politicians in the island have been discussing the number of prisoners
:05:38. > :05:43.this week, some feel there maybe a need to expand the prison's
:05:43. > :05:47.capacity. Not everybody is convinced though. More than 100
:05:47. > :05:51.people are locked up in Guernsey's prison and some feel that the
:05:51. > :05:56.States should be considering expanding its ka pa -- capacityment
:05:56. > :06:01.From a political point of view our first priority has to keep the
:06:01. > :06:06.community safe, and see justice carried out. And if that means
:06:06. > :06:11.looking again at increasing the prison ka Kaspi -- capacity,
:06:11. > :06:15.building a separate women's prison or constructing open prison, which
:06:15. > :06:20.Channel Island might share, then we have to look at that. Behind the
:06:20. > :06:24.fence and the bashed -- barbed wire there are 118 prisoners here and
:06:24. > :06:27.some would say when a maximum capacity is 137 that could be a
:06:27. > :06:31.cause for concern. The minister responsible for prisons here in
:06:31. > :06:35.Guernsey has told me today that he doesn't think of it as too much of
:06:35. > :06:41.a problem. Numbers in the prison at the moment are fairly high, but we
:06:41. > :06:46.do have contingency plans and a large proportion of the present
:06:46. > :06:50.contingency in our prison are due to be released during 2012. You
:06:50. > :06:54.have to look at each personal sentence plan to see whether there
:06:54. > :06:58.is a crisis or not. There is definitely not a crisis regarding
:06:58. > :07:02.numbers in our prison. So while the figures may appear high, the
:07:02. > :07:05.authorities are hoping that once many prisoners have been released
:07:05. > :07:15.back into the community, there will be plenty of space for others to
:07:15. > :07:17.
:07:17. > :07:20.occupy. You are watching the BBC in the Channel Island. Later o in
:07:20. > :07:29.Spotlight, we will be live at the special screening of a Hollywood
:07:29. > :07:34.film about a family who bought a Devon zoo. Make sure you stay tuned.
:07:34. > :07:38.David is here with the forecast as well. Street parties are to be
:07:39. > :07:42.throne in Sark to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. It is one event to
:07:42. > :07:47.mark the occasion. The main celebrations will take place in
:07:47. > :07:53.June. Highlights will include a visit by Prince Charles and the
:07:53. > :07:56.Duchess of Cornwall. Next, tonight, did you see a tank driving along
:07:56. > :08:00.Jersey's roads this morn something if you did, it wasn't a new brand
:08:00. > :08:04.of car that is out, but a new traction, the replica German tank
:08:04. > :08:08.has been built especially for the war tunnel, it was built by a team
:08:08. > :08:14.in Sussex and took ten weeks to make. She made the voyage to Jersey
:08:14. > :08:18.by ferry last night to start her new life. Not quite the arrival we
:08:19. > :08:23.are used to seeing at Jersey harbour, and not quite the sight
:08:23. > :08:33.commuters expected to see on the roads during the morning rush hour
:08:33. > :08:37.today. But, you can't really ignore Hedwig. She is a replica World War
:08:37. > :08:41.II German tank and will be a permanent fixture to theier si war
:08:41. > :08:45.tunnels. We brought it here from a decision we made last summer after
:08:45. > :08:50.speaking with visitors about what they would like to experience in
:08:50. > :08:56.Jersey war tunnels. We were looking for a centrepiece, and it didn't
:08:56. > :09:00.take long to think of a centre piece which is Hedwig. The 16 tonne
:09:00. > :09:07.vehicle came over on the ferry last night. And travelled to her final
:09:07. > :09:11.destination this morning. But just what is Hedwig the road hog likely
:09:11. > :09:15.-- like to drive? They said the roads would be closed. All I can
:09:15. > :09:19.see is through a little box. Itst like looking through a letter box.
:09:20. > :09:24.All I could see were cars and lorries and cyclist, I can't see on
:09:24. > :09:31.the left hand side and I totally have to rely on my commander,
:09:31. > :09:37.Martin, and he is screaming at me through a headset, left. I have to
:09:37. > :09:40.trust him. Hedwig has a new home after an eventful journey. Those
:09:40. > :09:48.responsible for bring her over hope she will continue to generate
:09:48. > :09:51.interest just like when she arrived today. You wouldn't want to mess
:09:51. > :09:54.with that. Let us get a weather with that. Let us get a weather
:09:54. > :09:58.look now. Hello, good evening. A lot of fine weather to look forward
:09:58. > :10:02.to across the Channel Island for the next few days. It is dry, and
:10:02. > :10:06.even a bit of sunshine every now and then but on the whole there is
:10:06. > :10:10.a lot of cloud. Despite the fact we have a strong area of high pressure
:10:11. > :10:14.moving right over us, over the next 24-hours. It is with us for
:10:14. > :10:18.tomorrow, and as we move into the weekend. As a strong feature it
:10:18. > :10:22.will hold the weather fronts as bay. Trapped within the high with little
:10:22. > :10:26.movement, will be a fair cover of cloud. For the first half of the
:10:26. > :10:29.night a fair amount of clear sky so temperatures well into single
:10:29. > :10:35.figures. Lighter winds, the winds picking up through the day tomorrow,
:10:35. > :10:39.but not overly strong, and tomorrow is largely fine. It maybe we have
:10:39. > :10:43.patchy cloud spoiling the sunshine but sunny spells possible,
:10:43. > :10:48.temperatures up to 11, 52 Fahrenheit and light to moderate
:10:48. > :10:51.west or south-westerly winds. So for the coastal waters forecast the
:10:51. > :11:00.winds south-westerly mainly fair with generally good visibility. On
:11:00. > :11:04.to the times of high water at St Peter Port that is 7.08. And for
:11:04. > :11:08.our surfer, it will be on the choppy side with the onshore breeze
:11:08. > :11:12.but not very big the waves. If anything it becomes flat as we move
:11:12. > :11:16.into the weekend. So one to two feet at best tomorrow. The weekend
:11:17. > :11:20.is a dry one, very light winds, on Saturday for instance we will have
:11:20. > :11:24.the remnants of an old weather system which may keep it cloudy
:11:24. > :11:30.throughout the day, but that cloud will break and thin as the high
:11:30. > :11:34.pressure moves over us, for much of the day on Sunday and Monday fine
:11:34. > :11:39.dry and relatively warm. We are looking at temperatures of possibly
:11:39. > :11:43.12 or 13 degrees. Notice also we draw in easterly winds, which