14/02/2014 BBC Channel Islands News

to British coastlines, with winds of up to 80 mph. That's all from

I welcome do Friday's BBC Channel Islands news. The top stories:

Forecasters issue a severe weather warning as islanders are told to

prepare for more storm damage. Southerly winds are bashing the

islands. Over the next two tow three hours the gusts of winds could be

around 60 or 70 miles per hour. I'll have all the details, later in the

programme. Calls for a screening programme ` as Guernsey's medical

experts admit up to 90% of chlamydia cases are going undetected. From

this, to this. The radical plans for a hotel destroyed by fire 10 years

ago. And the extraordinary efforts sailors on this warship ` affiliated

to Guernsey ` went to, to say three magic words. But are we Channel

Islanders really a romantic bunch? I'm not really what you call a

romantic person. But this is it once a year. I'll take her out

tonight and we'll enjoy ourselves. People across the island should

prepare themselves for more galeforce winds this evening as

Jersey Met issues yet another severe weather warning. In Jersey, there

could be more flooding and storm damage as strong winds and heavy

rain combine with high tide, which is just about now. In the past few

moments, Jersey Police closed Victoria Avenue and Havre des Pas

and inter`island flights were cancelled. Guernsey's coast roads do

remain open. Jersey's Transport and Technical Service Department are

asking people to secure items like scaffolding, and warning that boat

owners need to take action. Christina Ghidoni has been to

Jersey's harbour for us this evening. Zblts already incredibly

windy down here at the harbour. Sailings to the UK have been

disrupted today and tomorrow. And with winds of up to 70 miles per

hour expected this evening, boat owners are being asked to make sure

their boats are secure. Down here at the harbour with me is the Transport

Technical Services Minister, Deputy Kevin Lewis. What are the main

concerns? . Well, as we speak we have boat owners down here making

sure everything is stowed away and they are batoning down the hatches,

literally. We are going to be quite blowy tonight, force 9, possibly

force 10 gale. There will be over`topping on the sea rolls around

6. 30 P there will be a few spots where the tide will come over. TTF

are on standbi. We have our coastal and forestry team on standby, we

think we'll lose a few trees. If somebody sees a fallen tree or scoff

following what should they do? Contact the police, who will notify

TTS or the land over. In terms of the cost, ?#2b 00,000 has already

been spent on clean`up S there more money in the pot if there's damage

tonight? We have a contingency fund. We are just over ?200,000 at the

moment. We are not out of the woods yet. There are more storms coming

this week. With the strong winds expected tonight. The advice is only

go out if you have to. And you can keep up`to`date on the latest storm

and any damage it causes by listening to BBC Radio Jersey or BBC

Radio Guernsey. And in Jersey the police have set up dedicated numbers

for weather`releated emergencies. Radio Guernsey. And in Jersey the

police have set up dedicated They are 612015 and 612045. New figures

have revealed that 90% of cases of the sexually transmitted infection,

Chlamydia, go undetected in Guernsey. The news has now prompted

calls for a dedicated screening programme in the island for the STI

that can cause infertility and miscarriages. Mike Wilkins reports.

They're the health conditions which few talk openly about, sexually

transmitted infections. The number of cases of chlamydia diagnosed here

is at its highest for more than a decade. Guernsey's annual health

report says it is highly likely 10% of people sexually active between

the age of 16 to 25 are infected with chlamydia. It could be the tip

of the iceberg as many more go undetected. For us, looking at our

local data, we know we're underestimating the number of cases

in Guernsey. If we look at the numbers we diagnose and estimates

our rates of infection, we think we are missing about 75 to 09% of cases

in the 16`25`year`old age group And this is one of the reasons why we do

need a chlamydia screening programme. A sexual health strategy

is currently being drafted. It's hoping to encourage more people to

get themselves checked and it may soon be possible to do a will the

more of it from home. Well I'm in one of the clinic rooms

which for many people is quite an intimidating place. However, as it

currently stands, you can actually take the swab yourself in a toilet

down the corridor and hand it in at the desk. There are plans to roll

this out if the sexual health strategy is approved, so people will

be able to do this at home and then pop it in the post. Poor sexual

health is costly. Treating chlamydia and its knock`on effects costs the

island around ?100,000 a year. The health and social services

department says it will consider funding a screening programme, but

only once the sexual health strategy has been finalised. So, for now

sexually tramsmitted infections remain a significant issue for

Guernsey. Investigations into safeguardk in Jersey's Anglican

Church have cost nearly ?200,00 . The figure was revealed at the

General Synod this he can would ed the Church of England and the

Diocese of Win chest will split the cost. It's been more than ten years

since fire destroyed the Idlerocks Hotel on Gurney's south coast. Today

plans were revealed to transform the site into a five`star hotel.

Designed to be eco`friend li, it's architects behind the scheme claim

it could be the competition to claim the accolade of the channel island's

Best hoe. He September 2003, the hotel was destroyed by a fire.

Two`thirds of the roof collapsed. The bad luck didn't end there,

though. In 2012, another major fire broke out, causing the building to

be deemed unsafe and it was cordoned off to the public.

Burnt, neglected and crumbling, the Idlerocks Hotel has become an

eyesore but if this man is agreed t could be transformed. Permission was

granted back in 2012, for the ownsers to demolish the remains of

the burntout building and an architectural firm has now submitted

plans to transform the site into a five`star hotel.

This is a fantastic opportunity I think for Guernsey, in building a

tourism destination, and hotel. Of really high quality.

The open`planning meeting, we will also do a presentation, and it will

be at that point that the planning board will make the decision. The

new hotel is designed to blend into the natural environ mentd and where

possible, be eco`friendly. Introducing the green rooms and

walls, improves the bio`diverse yited of our site which offsets the

build and hotel itself. The decision is now in the hands of the environ

Environment Department and if the design is approved, work will take

two years and the project in total will cost in the region of ?20

million. A Jersey`based physiotherapist heads to Sochi today

to work with the USA Men's Alpine Ski Team. Paul Frankham has spent

several years working with the team and he will decide who's fit enough

to race and who'll have to stay off the slopes during the Winter

Olympics. The team have remained in Europe for training until today

Excited just to go to Russia, you know. It is a new place for me. I

haven't been there. It is an interesting location down on the

coast of the Black Sea down there in the South. It is the Olympic Games.

The Olympic Games is the biggest and the best in sport. It's about as

good as it gets. I have grown up being so interested in sport, and to

be there in that intense environment is fantastic. I can't wait.

Good luck to Paul. David is with us. Evening. Here we go again, it seems.

Yes, but hopefully this will be quite the last one for a while, not

to say we won't see areas of deep pressure. At the moment, it is a

southerly galeforce wind. It'll veer round to become more south westerly.

Into the weekend, it is much brighter. The winds will drop, it

will be drier and yes, we will see sunshine. For the moment, we have

the threat of the gusts of winds up to around 60 to 70 miles per hour.

That will last until midnight. Gradually, ever so slowly, the gales

will drop. This is the culprit, this area of low pressure. It is slowly

moving away from us. Eventually it'll begin to ease the winds. The

winds will become more westerly through the day tomorrow. Then the

North westerly as we move into the evening. Sunday, we are diveen areas

of low pressure. With any luck, it is a chance it clear up some

sunshine, a chance of a few showersth dotted around. The shower

activity we have overnight will drop hefty bursts of rain every now and

then. The showers more isolated towards down to. Which gives us a

start it the day at least with some sunny spells. There may well be a

few showers around. They'll continue into the afternoon but all day,

through the day tomorrow, those winds will continue to drop, with a

top temperature of around nine or ten.

On it the forecast for the coastal waters. Lively overnight:

Then the times of high water, the important ones:

The winds are from a different direction tomorrow. For surfers

pretty big waves. Three to five feet and messy for most coastal

locations. The forecast, as we head into next week, is still quite

unsettled but you will note that the winds aren't anywhere as strong

Some sunny spells possible on Sunday and a small chance of a few showers

dotted around. There is some rain in the forecast as we move into Monday.

But it is light and patchy and swhid nt see too much. On Tuesday, apart

from a few showers, a mainly fine day with sunny spells. Actually it

improves next week. We just have to get through this really windy spell

of weather overnight and into tomorrow. Last night I promised you

the word for windy in Thai: HE SAYS THE WORD

You can't fail to have noticed that it's Valentine's Day, so what do you

do if you're far from your loved one? Well, the crew aboard

Guernsey's affiliated Royal Navy ship, HMS Daring, found a way to

send that special message. They ve been deployed for the last nine

months, so arranged themselves on the flight deck spelling out the

words, "I love you" for an aerial photograph. Guernseyman,

Sub`Lieutenant Max Barber, was part of it. He spoke to BBC Radio

Guernsey earlier IT WAS QUITE DIFFICULT. WE HAD THE HELICOPTER UP

FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES TRYING IT TAKE THE PHOTOGRAPH. BUT THE SHIP'S

COMPANY IS VERY EASY TO ORGANISE. WE drew it out on paper.

I was been in the Navy for two`and`a`half years. I managed to

spend three Valentine's day away. I have been dodging it a while. You

get used to it but miss your loveds ones more on days like this. Are we

a romantic bunch? We'll leave you now with some warm`hearted thoughts

from St Helier for thiscold winter's night. For now, goodbye. See you

soon. I'm not what you called a romantic person. This is it, once a

year, I do this, I take her out tonight and we'll enjoy so you

areselves. `` ourselves. It's nice, my husband bought me a

necklace. I don't enjoy it. But it is a an excuse to have a night in

and a Chinese. I is love Valentine's day. It is a shame the men aren t

organised. St Valentine's day is the peak of romanticism for me. Rowses.

It is a cliche. I'm single on Valentine's day. Not that I care. I

feel like it is Valentine's day every day to be honest with my

boyfriend. I don't think you should wait.

at College Road primary School, the Plymouth Raiders are spreading the

word that basketball is the sport to take up, but how difficult will that

be now? It does not queue in terms of what we are trying to build. We

have the Academy and University. There are lots dash`macro of

positives. Did you get lots of tips? I did. What makes it special

for you? You get to be with your friends and you get to be healthy

for life. Is it is a good sport? Yes!

The next generation of Raiders fans ending that report by Dave Gibbins.

And the big advantage for basketball in this weather is that's not

affected by it, so their match against Glasgow Rocks will go ahead

tomorrow night at the Pavilions. Now the weather may not be a

gardener's delight at the moment, but you may be surprised to hear

that hundreds of flowers are already in bloom. Every year gardeners at

National Trust properties count up the number of blooms and compare

them to the previous year. Both Saltram ,near Plymouth and

Trelissick near Truro have seen increases in the number in flower

this February, but there's been a decline at Cothele in Cornwall.

Although as Spotlight's Janine Jansen has been finding out, it's

still a beautiful early spring garden. It is a romantic time of

year and a time to think of flowers. Every year The National Trust sends

out its gardeners to record how many event types of flowers are blooming.

Here at Cothele, many are blooming, but the numbers are down. We have

noticed in the last few days, certainly since Monday, the crocuses

were coming through, showing a little bit of colour. When the sun

does come out, it is actually really warm. Talking to some of the other

head gardeners, they are saying the same thing. The flower count is down

on last year, but there is a lot on this showing around the gardens.

They have been just three frosts, but sunlight levels have been low

and the ground is saturated and certainly Cothele has not escaped

the storms. We have lost three or four relatively large trees that

have been fairly significant. This has been flowering well for several

weeks. The worry is that if we have the frost, they will be damaged.

That's why we are watching the oncoming weather, but there are

flowers to calm dash`macro to come. There is a survey being carried out

on social media to find out the most popular flower. First is the dream

rose, secondly the daffodil and is the snowdrop is third. The National

Trust opens its gardens to the public tomorrow.

Well it's Valentine's Day today and Janine mentioned flowers, romance

and the weather in her report there. So put it all together and you get

our next story. Yes, as the wind picked up and the rain came down on

this day dedicated to love, a bride braved the great outdoors and took

off for her wedding. Call sounds, no stranger to storms. Dash`macro Orson

's. The storms make it a little bit more romantic. We are happy and we

want to get married. The weather just adds a bit of adventure to the

day. The weather did not stop the bride`to`be waking the short walk to

the church. Whilst the couple tied the knot, the wind and waves were

loud enough to drown out any wedding bells. The bride and groom emerged

happily married. Memorable, adventurous. It was brilliant. It is

a day everyone will remember. A really good day. There will be no

wedding photographs on the beach today. As for the honeymoon, they

are going to wait until the summer. Our top story tonight is of course

the weather and an amber alert for wind is in place as well as severe

flood warnings. There are no trains in or out of Cornwall to night. That

is because of flood damage. And these pictures of Polish workers

sent by our cameraman. The seas are very, very high. Conditions are very

rough tonight. Let's get the forecast. Those pictures speak

volumes about how strong the winds are and how well this season. I have

been monitoring the boys that are out of seeing. The one off Brittany

had waves at nine o'clock this morning of around 20 feet. At the

moment they are above 45 feet. Perhaps not as large as that through

the English Channel, but with a southerly winds coming through, it

is possible. The highest gusts of wind we have seen so far as being

just under 80 mph. There will be further showers tonight. The wind

and shall activity will ease down. Let us go to the Isles of Scilly and

here in the old town beach, these ways that have been coming on shore

have been crashing over the houses. Expect more of the same. We still

have an ample warning, as we have just said, about the wind. Slowly

though, they will is later tonight. The culprit is an area of low

pressure that has been whipping up the wind. The arrows will change

direction during the night and will become a bit more westerly. There

are several severe flood warnings as well as multiple flood warnings

along the coastline and inland. There is the number you need to

call. That us look at the detail in the broader perspective because with

the area of low pressure across southern island, it will move

steadily during the night. It will move up towards the Northey and the

winds will drop. As we move through tomorrow night and into Sunday, we

have a ridge of high pressure coming other way. If anything, a quiet

night on Saturday and the winds could be light enough for a touch of

frost. This area of the low pressure is not the same animal. The winds

will not be as heavy and next week the low pressure will not be as

vicious. The showers to night are lively and the winds are gusty.

Bearing more westerly as the night progresses. Overnight temperatures

five or six degrees for most of us. Tomorrow morning clear spells in

between the showers and we should get some sunshine. There may be the

odd shower. By the time we get to the end of the day, look at that

dash no rain, largely clear skies, lighter winds and actually quite a

pleasant evening and a calm night,. Those are the temperatures we can

see generally. We might get to 10 degrees. As we move out to sea, the

forecast is quite lively. Across the answer silly we will have sales to

start with and the winds will drop. For those worried about the

coastline, these are the important times of high water. And some big

waves around as well. Dangerous conditions at sea. Quick look at the

coastal waters. To take care and have a good evening. It is a grim

picture out there tonight. Don't forget BBC Radio Devon and BBC Radio

Cornwall are on air tonight from seven o'clock with a special

programme. Have a great weekend.