22/03/2012 BBC Channel Islands News

Good evening and welcome. Tonight's top stories. Out of reach for the

past decade - the report which proves average families can't

afford a home of their own. Learning how to make a fresh start

- the new quarter of a million pound skills centre at Guernsey

Prison. And big plans for Jersey Rugby

Club's expansion - but could all Jersey houses have been

unaffordable for the average family for at least a decade. The figures

come from a new report from the States' statistics office. High

prices have kept many families in cramped or rented accommodation

which simply isn't suitable, as Rachel Royce reports.

David Robin retired 18 months early to look after his wife, Diane, who

suffers from MS. He had worked for St Helier parish for 22 years as a

dustman, and they rented a house that went with the job. Buying a

house was always way beyond their means, but now they've been told

they must leave their home. Quite worried at the moment. Very worried.

We just do not know what is going to happen. Yd you never buy an

house? Were have never been able to afford to. -- we have. The prices

were too extreme. With two adults working and a 10% deposit saved,

the average family cannot afford the average house. That has been

the situation for 10 years. The figures have been worked out for

the first time by the Office of Statistics, which has created an

index of affordability based on house prices, income and interest

rates. The mean average is over for under �1,000. The average household

has less than 80% of the earnings required to service a mortgage on

such a property. The Robins had hoped to stay where they are for

the rest of their lives. Now, like many others obliged to rent, they

find they have no long term security. Their bags are packed but

with nowhere else to go. Deputy Andrew Green is Jersey's

Housing Minister. He joined me earlier in the studio. I asked him

if Jersey was getting its housing policy completely wrong. I think we

need to get that into context. We are number 19 in the UK when you

look at different authorities. Devon and Cornwall Aaron a similar

position, as his London. We need to do something more about

affordability. In the old days, people used to buy a small flat,

move and buy a bigger one. That mobility is not in the market today.

That is the challenge. What do you say to people like the Robbins?

First all, I have to make sure the department is in contact with them.

I need to make sure they have got a secure home. For people in their

position or younger, I want to make sure they can afford to buy

something. That might be about shared equity. Will this report be

filed away? No. This report is incredibly useful. It helps with

information that we all knew what we have the real information and we

can target activities. The Council is determined to house our

community. The BBC has learned that Condor

Ferries - which recently pulled out of Weymouth when the port became

unsafe - hasn't had a written contract with the council for 20

years. Weymouth and Portland Council says a contract with the

ferry firm was put on hold when redevelopment plans stalled. The

lack of a contract means no compensation is payable, and also

means Condor has no legal obligation to return if the port is

rebuilt. Inmates in Guernsey Prison are now

benefiting from a new Learning and Skills Facility. It's cost around a

quarter of a million pounds to build, and it's hoped the centre

will enable prisoners to gain qualifications while inside. Mike

Wilkins reports. Aiming to be a cut above the rest -

these prisoners are learning new skills that they hope will help

them make a fresh start upon release. Some field inmates should

be doing time and very little else. But Guernsey prison feels

differently. Behind me is a new education block which it hopes will

rehabilitate prisoners. When they leave, many of them lead

independent lives. We are teaching them some of the basic skills

required. I have just started an art class. It is OK. If I can get a

few more lessons every week, I think I will be good. It is good

for a rehabilitation. I want to try to gain some qualifications. It is

quite good. It has cost quite a lot of money. But rehabilitating people

can be worth it in the long run. This is quite good. It's cost a

quarter of a million pounds to build this education centre, and

some feel it's money well spent. You cannot lock somebody up for

their entire sentence and expect them not to reoffend. This is a

chance for people to learn new skills. Prisoners have a lot of

time inside to reflect on what they've done. It's now hoped that

they'll be able to do a lot more than just learn from their mistakes.

Bigger viewing areas, better facilities and more parking - all

part of plans submitted by Jersey Rugby Club this week for its St

Peter ground. The islanders are favourites for promotion to the

second tier of English rugby, the Championship, next season, and fans

are flocking to watch. But does it make financial sense for an island

the size of Jersey to invest in one facility - when more sports could

Big players, big crowds, big plans. When Jersey Rugby Club secured

promotion to National League One last year, bosses started thinking

big. Coach Ben Harvey was even calling for a big multi-sport,

state-of-the-art grounds and facilities to help all sports grow.

If you get good facilities in, you will attract good coaches. There

are good coaches and they need to be helped out. Now, plans have been

submitted to add a terrace, extend viewing areas and build a bigger

clubhouse. With crowds of over 2,000 paying �10 each, the club can

afford to think big. I have been in Jersey 30 years, and this has

always been Jersey rugby club. I think now this is Jersey rugby

Island Club. We are looking at a five-year plan. Time will tell.

does Jersey need another big stadium, when it's already got

Springfield? This stadium holds a thousand people seated - up to

seven thousand altogether. So could this be Jersey's super stadium of

the future? If it were limited to top teams, like football's Muratti

final, perhaps - but that's not what football here is all about.

are a community sport. Everybody wants to play at Springfield. It is

the pinnacle in Jersey. It has, though, worked in the UK - Reading

Football Club and London Irish Rugby Club both use the Madejski

Stadium. So if the facility was right, and the money was there.

Well, as Bill says. You can never say never. Somebody may turn the up

with a better idea and the will to do that. Could you spare a few

hours to help one of the hundreds of charities across the Channel

Islands? A new website in Guernsey has been launched to try and pair

up would be volunteers, with organisations that could use a few

more helping hands. Penny Elderfield reports.

Julie-Ann's been volunteering at the women's refuge for two years,

starting after a close friend experienced domestic abuse.

she's part of a charity there to help. I was made aware of the

refuge when my friend was going through this. I thought I can help,

I will volunteer. We listen to women, offer them support. Even a

cup of tea and a biscuit makes all the difference. Seeing a woman walk

out the door, straight with pride, you cannot put a price on that. To

see that, that makes the job worthwhile. But for many charities,

people like Julie-Ann are far and few between. That's why she's

lending her support to a new website, launched here yesterday.

It aims to find would be volunteers their perfect charity. If they are

looking in one particular area, they can search and they can find

and visit to charities and find what is on offer. It is like a

great big dating agency with lots of faces to look at. So the hope is

it'll pair up people like Julie-Ann with the charities in Guernsey that

need more manpower. Without that support, many wouldn't be able

offer support to those that really There's been a significant drop in

the amount of litter on Guernsey's beaches, according to the

Beachwatch Survey carried out last year. The volume found has halved

since 2010, and is now less than a third of the UK average. However,

50% of it still comes from beach users, a figure the States are keen

to reduce. Now the weather with Good evening. After some of rain

today, tonight it will turn misty. From tomorrow, we are looking at

dry weather which will continue through the weekend and much of

next week. A little area of low pressure will trickle away tonight,

moving across central parts of Britain. South-east winds drying in

dry air. A little list. As we move into the weekend, high pressure

returns. We are expecting some high temperatures. Showery rain tonight

will move away. The mist and fog will form by the morning. Overnight,

temperatures down to six degrees. Tomorrow, Mr in the morning. Hayes

in the afternoon. -- missed in the morning, Hayes in the afternoon.

Probably one of the warmest days this year. The times of high water:

and for surfing, the waves will be big but usable. The forecast as we

move into the weekend and next week does not change. We will have

south-east winds for the weekend. Saturday and Sunday dry. The winds

becoming easterly as we move into his Sunday. When we see and north-

east breeze settle in, it will bring more cloud. Jersey seen the