:00:09. > :00:16.Confidence in Jersey's retail trade at its lowest since the recession
:00:16. > :00:19.began, but the entrepreneurial spirit is still alive.
:00:19. > :00:29.On the election campaign trail. With one week until polling day, we
:00:29. > :00:32.
:00:32. > :00:42.And we will continue to see April showers and did well turn colder
:00:42. > :00:44.
:00:44. > :00:47.into the weekend. I'll have all the Confidence in Jersey's retail
:00:47. > :00:52.industry is at its lowest since the recession began, according to a
:00:52. > :00:56.government survey of nearly 500 businesses. It found more shops and
:00:56. > :01:00.businesses in the island have seen a drop in trade over the past three
:01:00. > :01:04.months. More than half of the businesses that responded said
:01:04. > :01:07.profits were down on the end of last year. In particular, the mood
:01:07. > :01:17.in the retail and wholesale industry is low, and there's
:01:17. > :01:19.
:01:19. > :01:22.concern about job opportunities and the future. Rachel Royce reports.
:01:22. > :01:24.The survey is not based on hard facts but opinions. It asks
:01:24. > :01:26.managing directors for their opinions of their current situation
:01:26. > :01:29.compared with the previous three months and their expectation for
:01:29. > :01:33.the next three months. David Warr from the Jersey Chamber of Commerce
:01:33. > :01:39.admits it makes alarming reading, especially for the retail sector.
:01:39. > :01:46.think it is very tough. We are down 25 % done the previous quarter.
:01:46. > :01:52.That is as bad as it gets. However, there is a glimmer of hope and that
:01:52. > :01:56.the finance industry is more positive than they were last autumn.
:01:57. > :01:59.That has to be good news. But where one business faces difficulty,
:01:59. > :02:03.another finds opportunity. Rupert Langley Smith is an entrepreneur
:02:03. > :02:06.selling his high visibility cyclying wear on the internet. He
:02:06. > :02:12.set up the business with his brother four years ago and thanks
:02:12. > :02:17.to its unique inbuilt light emitting logo, it is flying. It is
:02:17. > :02:22.doing fantastically well. We are growing over 100 % year-on-year.
:02:22. > :02:32.There is a boom in the cycling and running markets. The online sales
:02:32. > :02:35.
:02:35. > :02:38.are going crazy at the moment. It is exciting times. Gloom amongst
:02:38. > :02:41.businesses in the current uncertain world climate comes as no surprise.
:02:41. > :02:44.The question is which businesses will rise to the occasion and
:02:44. > :02:47.flourish and how many will go by the wayside and whether the state
:02:47. > :02:49.could do more to help those struggling. Today, the state didn't
:02:49. > :02:52.want to comment on the business trends survey.
:02:52. > :02:55.Well, we've been asking for your thoughts on this story all day. Syd
:02:55. > :02:58.asks on Facebook, "What are our state members doing about it? They
:02:58. > :03:01.brought in GST and now will not give a cost of living increase".
:03:01. > :03:04.Gregor asks if landlords can be persuaded to lower the rents during
:03:05. > :03:08.a period of hardship as they will not ultimately benefit if a shop
:03:08. > :03:12.trading in a building they own goes out of business. Silvia says, "If I
:03:12. > :03:15.knew I could get parked, I would go to town to shop rather than doing
:03:15. > :03:20.it all on-line. Also, by shopping on-line I'm not faced with a shop
:03:20. > :03:23.assistant who has no sense of customer service". And Sonia says,
:03:23. > :03:28."No-one has any money. If you buy local, you get charged GST. If you
:03:28. > :03:32.buy online, you get it cheaper and tax free". Thank you for those and
:03:32. > :03:37.keep them coming. The details of how to get in touch with us are on
:03:37. > :03:42.your screen now. Islanders are being reassured that
:03:42. > :03:45.patient safety is a top priority at Jersey's General Hospital. It's
:03:45. > :03:47.after a 75-year-old man died there following a routine operation.
:03:47. > :03:51.Joseph Vasse had a hernia operation then developed an infection and
:03:51. > :04:01.died of multiple organ failure. His family blame the surgeon and the
:04:01. > :04:02.
:04:02. > :04:05.hospital. An inquest last week recorded a narrative verdict.
:04:05. > :04:09.general hospital, like every healthcare organisation, is
:04:09. > :04:12.committed to improving safety and quality of patient care. That is
:04:12. > :04:18.something that we have been doing well for the last few years in
:04:18. > :04:23.Jersey. Many changes have been made and the hospital is as safe as any
:04:23. > :04:25.hospital anyway in the UK. Meanwhile, hospital bosses in
:04:25. > :04:28.Jersey have confirmed an internal investigation has cleared a staff
:04:28. > :04:31.member who is currently being investigated by the General Medical
:04:31. > :04:35.Council. The employee, who has not been named, is still at work but
:04:35. > :04:38.with restrictions placed on them by the GMC.
:04:38. > :04:41.Guernsey Police have confirmed that the post mortem carried out on
:04:41. > :04:44.Robert Blakemore found that he died as result of being close to a small
:04:44. > :04:52.explosion. The 46-year-old died late on Friday night at a property
:04:52. > :04:55.in Fort George. Guernsey's town and airport fire
:04:55. > :04:57.services could be set to merge. Fire chiefs say despite a
:04:57. > :05:01.difference in skills, bringing the town and airport firefighters
:05:01. > :05:05.together is one of the moves being considered as part of an ongoing
:05:05. > :05:07.efficiency drive. Jersey politicians are being urged
:05:07. > :05:10.not to replace the sports facilities at Fort Regent with
:05:10. > :05:13.housing, tourism and entertainment projects. The group representing
:05:13. > :05:23.users of the leisure centre argue islanders don't want private sector
:05:23. > :05:26.
:05:26. > :05:32.businesses to run it. It has cut thousands of users every day of the
:05:32. > :05:34.year. We wish to see that continue. It is the only Napoleonic fort with
:05:34. > :05:39.a sports facility that should remain in public ownership. We
:05:39. > :05:42.would not wanted to go to private partnerships where eventually it
:05:43. > :05:49.will be the taxpayer will be subsidising any private
:05:49. > :05:57.partnerships. Later in spotlight, combating
:05:58. > :06:01.marine crime. New tactics to stop gangs of Eastern Europeans.
:06:01. > :06:06.A week today, Guernsey will be going to the polls to vote in a new
:06:06. > :06:09.government. Hustings are being held across the island to give people a
:06:09. > :06:12.chance to hear from the candidates. One of the most populated areas is
:06:12. > :06:15.St Peter Port. It's divided into two electoral districts, St Peter
:06:15. > :06:19.Port South and St Peter Port North. Mike Wilkins has been out and about
:06:19. > :06:29.in St Peter Port North to find out what matters to people in the
:06:29. > :06:35.
:06:35. > :06:39.geographically smallest electoral district.
:06:39. > :06:45.Many of you will recognise this as one of the busiest roads in
:06:45. > :06:48.Guernsey and it divides to electoral districts. On that side
:06:48. > :06:52.is St Peter Port South and his son Peter Port Gnoll. This is the
:06:52. > :07:00.smallest electoral district but one of the most heaviest -- heavily
:07:00. > :07:09.populated. One of the jewels in the crown of St Peter Port North is
:07:09. > :07:13.this garden which is an oasis of calm in the centre of town. We have
:07:13. > :07:17.got so many here who is involved in the town partnership. You been in
:07:17. > :07:24.power for almost a decade. What kind of issues have been the main
:07:24. > :07:30.points for residence? We have suffered like the economy in
:07:30. > :07:35.England with shops and retail. Generally, we have been successful
:07:35. > :07:39.because of the number of tourists. That has been positive. How would
:07:39. > :07:46.you describe the parish has a place to live? It is a great place to
:07:46. > :07:52.live because you are close to the capital of the island. The biggest
:07:52. > :07:58.issue his the car. The space to put that for will box is very limited.
:07:58. > :08:05.Certainly, a lot of residence have found it quite difficult and that
:08:05. > :08:09.is something the island has to face up to. St Peter Port North is not
:08:09. > :08:13.just about manicured lawns and shops and flats. This whole area
:08:13. > :08:20.contains farms and housing estates like this one. It's gone find out
:08:20. > :08:25.what people think. You do get a lot of speeding. We could do with speed
:08:25. > :08:33.humps in the estate. They do go fast. I would say tidiness. People
:08:33. > :08:39.don't look after their own little spaces. We need to help crime
:08:39. > :08:42.stoppers and get more police officers. We've heard from the
:08:42. > :08:46.residents and an outgoing politician but we have to remember
:08:46. > :08:54.that businesses are crucial. Let's go into this shop and find out what
:08:54. > :08:57.people have been saying. You help run this place. What kind of issues
:08:57. > :09:05.have people been discussing? A lot of people aren't happy. A lot of
:09:05. > :09:10.things could be done to change the area. We were promised a cinema but
:09:10. > :09:15.that was a few years ago. They are full of promises but when they get
:09:15. > :09:23.to where they are, nothing happens. They don't really interact with the
:09:23. > :09:27.public. Thank you very much. We've heard a whole range of issues in St
:09:27. > :09:37.Peter Port North but the overriding message is that people just want to
:09:37. > :09:42.
:09:42. > :09:49.be listened to. More showers to come over the next
:09:49. > :09:55.few days and slightly colder. Some sunshine over the next two days but
:09:55. > :09:59.one of two showers could be heavy. Tomorrow afternoon, the show has
:09:59. > :10:03.become isolated so a better chance of some sunshine. Later in the week,
:10:03. > :10:08.we draw in a northerly winds. The area of low pressure to the south-
:10:08. > :10:10.west of Norway does not move very far but all the while, the college
:10:10. > :10:19.is trickling through Britain, crossing the Channel and moving
:10:19. > :10:25.towards us. -- the cold air. Tonight, the showers will stay with
:10:25. > :10:28.us. Expect the showers until dawn tomorrow morning. Temperatures of
:10:28. > :10:32.Six degrees of seven degrees Celsius. Tomorrow, will have
:10:32. > :10:35.showers and the morning but by the afternoon, the showers will
:10:35. > :10:44.disappear so we should see some decent spells of sunshine in the
:10:44. > :10:54.second half of the day. For the coastal waters forecast, the
:10:54. > :10:59.
:10:59. > :11:02.Windsor knot westerly. Showers with a generally good visibility. For
:11:02. > :11:12.the surface, the surf will be cleaner than it has been but still
:11:12. > :11:12.
:11:12. > :11:18.on the chubby side. -- choppy. The outlook, we will see slightly
:11:18. > :11:28.colder air. By Saturday, we have 10 degrees and sanded down to a
:11:28. > :11:39.
:11:39. > :11:42.degrees. Friday should be bright Finally, they say they don't go to
:11:42. > :11:45.too many of these, but firefighters had to free two small children who
:11:45. > :11:47.accidentally locked themselves into a bedroom in Gorey this morning.
:11:47. > :11:51.Two-year-old twins Alfie and Dylan, became upset when they couldn't
:11:51. > :11:54.unlock the door. They got a bit of a shock when they were rescued by