:00:08. > :00:11.high-level talks to resume the Hello, welcome. The headlines.
:00:12. > :00:14.From this to this. A six`storey glass`fronted office block will be
:00:15. > :00:20.built on Jersey's Esplanade. Heritage campaigners say they are
:00:21. > :00:24.outraged. I did not seriously imagine that a
:00:25. > :00:27.building of this sort was going to be allowed to be built in this
:00:28. > :00:31.important gateway position. Voters in Jersey go to the polls in
:00:32. > :00:33.a by`election for two St Helier districts.
:00:34. > :00:34.And, the ancient landscape around 10,000 years old that's been
:00:35. > :00:51.uncovered in Guernsey. Listed buildings along Jersey's
:00:52. > :00:56.Esplanade will be demolished to make room for this, a multistorey office
:00:57. > :00:59.block. The island's planning minister has granted permission for
:01:00. > :01:03.thousands of square metres of office space by local developers Dandara.
:01:04. > :01:06.Their managing director says the project will create hundreds of
:01:07. > :01:11.construction jobs, as well as grade A offices. But campaigners are
:01:12. > :01:16.dismayed at the loss of the island's heritage.
:01:17. > :01:23.This is the area Dandara have their eyes on. Old, worn, empty buildings.
:01:24. > :01:28.Well, apart from some pigeons, along Jersey's Esplanade. They wanted to
:01:29. > :01:31.replace it with this. But it was refused by the Planning Minister.
:01:32. > :01:34.They've since made some modifications and have come up with
:01:35. > :01:43.this, a slightly smaller six`storey office block. And it's been given
:01:44. > :01:52.the thumbs up from the minister It has been modified successfully, and
:01:53. > :01:56.the objections that were put forward have been taken into account, and I
:01:57. > :01:59.have come out in favour of the development. But not everyone's
:02:00. > :02:06.happy about it. One campaigner says it doesn't meet the design guidance
:02:07. > :02:11.set by the department. One objective is to protect important heritage
:02:12. > :02:17.buildings on the Esplanade. This consent involves demolishing a
:02:18. > :02:21.listed building. They also emphasise the importance of maintaining the
:02:22. > :02:25.grain and texture of St Helier. And making sure that new buildings and
:02:26. > :02:30.developments integrate into the urban context and character of the
:02:31. > :02:34.area. In my view, it is impossible to argue that the building for which
:02:35. > :02:38.we now have consent satisfies those objectives. Let's be frank, it is a
:02:39. > :02:40.sore thumb. Well, the planning department says it is still
:02:41. > :02:44.following the general guidelines for the area, and some listed aspects of
:02:45. > :02:47.the buildings will be preserved But the overall transformation from old
:02:48. > :02:49.and shabby to chic and shiny is now inevitable, and work could start as
:02:50. > :02:59.early as next month. Voters in St Helier have been
:03:00. > :03:02.heading to the polls today for the St Helier districts one and two
:03:03. > :03:08.by`election. Voting is open until 8pm this evening.
:03:09. > :03:14.Remind us why a by election was needed.
:03:15. > :03:19.Voters here have been choosing candidates for two seats vacated by
:03:20. > :03:25.the former Deputies Trevor and Shona Pitman. Earlier this year, they were
:03:26. > :03:29.declared bankrupt in the States and so automatically lost their seats.
:03:30. > :03:34.Five candidates are standing for the seat made vacant by Trevor Pitman in
:03:35. > :03:37.St Helier number one. They are lawyer Nick Le Cornu, Fort Regent
:03:38. > :03:40.campaigner Roy Travert, former States Deputy Paul Le Claire,
:03:41. > :03:47.businessman Gordon Forrest and IT expert Maureen Morgan.
:03:48. > :03:54.Four people are up for Shona Pitman's seat in St Helier number
:03:55. > :03:56.two. Reform Jersey campaigner Sam Mezec, St Helier centenier Paul
:03:57. > :03:58.Huelin, Town Park campaigner Bernie Manning and former St Helier
:03:59. > :04:08.greffier Ian Philpott. Deputies are elected by district,
:04:09. > :04:11.but the outcome will affect the whole island, as the winners will
:04:12. > :04:16.have an equal vote in the States, as all the other members. And all
:04:17. > :04:20.States seats will be up for grabs again in October, as all of Jersey
:04:21. > :04:24.goes to the polls for a general election. I'll have the results from
:04:25. > :04:30.here in St Helier one and two in the late news at 10:25pm.
:04:31. > :04:33.Join Jen and me later, and you can hear the results announced live on
:04:34. > :04:39.BBC Radio Jersey with Christina Ghidoni from 8pm this evening.
:04:40. > :04:43.Meanwhile, in Guernsey, Deputy Lyndon Trott has ruled himself out
:04:44. > :04:48.of next week's Chief Minister elections. In a statement this
:04:49. > :04:51.morning, he says he wants to avoid conflict, and believes a sitting
:04:52. > :04:54.Minister would be the best way to achieve this. That leaves deputies
:04:55. > :05:00.Allister Langlois and Jonathan Le Tocq as the two runners, with
:05:01. > :05:03.nominations closing tomorrow at 5pm. Guernsey States' engineer says the
:05:04. > :05:07.collapse of one of Guernsey's sea walls is unlikely to be down to
:05:08. > :05:12.water which was being pumped out in the area.
:05:13. > :05:18.Alderney's top civil servant is resigning. He will be Alderney in
:05:19. > :05:21.June. In a statement, he said the decision to leave had been
:05:22. > :05:28.difficult, and he wished his successor well.
:05:29. > :05:32.Guernsey States' engineer says the collapse of one of Guernsey's sea
:05:33. > :05:35.walls is unlikely to be down to water which was being pumped out in
:05:36. > :05:39.the area. There was speculation it had affected the wall's foundations.
:05:40. > :05:42.Work to secure the area and assess the damage has been taking place.
:05:43. > :05:47.The Environment Department will now be looking at the cost of a
:05:48. > :05:50.long`term fix. You are watching the BBC, still
:05:51. > :05:54.ahead. Find out why they've been making as
:05:55. > :06:01.much noise as possible in this fishing village.
:06:02. > :06:06.I am intrigued about that one! In sport, Jersey and Guernsey's
:06:07. > :06:09.cricket teams are in Malaysia this week for the World Cricket League
:06:10. > :06:12.Division Five tournament. As these pictures show, Jersey hosted the
:06:13. > :06:15.Division Six competition last year and won it. They kick off their
:06:16. > :06:18.campaign against Nigeria tomorrow morning. Guernsey face Cayman
:06:19. > :06:22.Islands. The top two teams at the end of this week's tournament will
:06:23. > :06:25.be promoted to Division Four. In other sporting feats in warmer
:06:26. > :06:29.climes than our own, Jersey runner James Manners is training for the
:06:30. > :06:35.gruelling Marathon Des Sables. It's a six`day, 156`mile ultra marathon
:06:36. > :06:38.across the Sahara Desert. James is taking part to raise money for an
:06:39. > :06:44.African charity, and for what he calls the ultimate running
:06:45. > :06:48.challenge. I have done a couple of marathons
:06:49. > :06:59.and half marathons and an ultra marathon. I like my running. This is
:07:00. > :07:04.the pinnacle of a running race. You cannot get any better than this one.
:07:05. > :07:07.The best of luck to him, we will let you know how he gets on.
:07:08. > :07:10.An ancient landscape around 10, 00 years old has been uncovered in
:07:11. > :07:14.Guernsey. The recent stormy weather has shifted the sand to reveal what
:07:15. > :07:16.used to be a huge woodland on the island's west coast. Beautiful
:07:17. > :07:22.sunshine greeted a group of London students in Jersey today.
:07:23. > :07:26.A beautiful beach on a beautiful day, this is what many people
:07:27. > :07:35.associate with here. If you look this way, this area has emerged in
:07:36. > :07:40.the recent stormy weather. We have seen the remnants of an ancient
:07:41. > :07:45.forest. One person who can tell us more is this former geography
:07:46. > :07:50.teacher. About 10,000 years ago if you look that way, there would not
:07:51. > :07:56.have been much to see in the wake of C, it would have been a great
:07:57. > :08:03.plain, animals, trees, shrubs, bushes, possibly even mankind. Now,
:08:04. > :08:10.when you come here, it has gone it has disappeared. It is quite unusual
:08:11. > :08:14.to have wood within peat itself If you go to Scotland, Ireland, the
:08:15. > :08:23.Somerset Levels, it is not really trees, it is Moss, Heather, small
:08:24. > :08:31.stuff, which has been compressed. It takes about 1000 years to produce a
:08:32. > :08:35.decent bed. Here, we have got trees. That is relatively unusual. But a
:08:36. > :08:40.good storm will clear the sand away and it will reveal the bed, so
:08:41. > :08:47.people in Guernsey can get up close and have a look at it. It is rare.
:08:48. > :08:56.As she said, the sand has been swept away, but there is a high
:08:57. > :09:00.probability that it will return in the summer.
:09:01. > :09:04.Remarkable pictures. Beautiful sunshine greeted a group
:09:05. > :09:07.of London students in Jersey today. But they chose to spend the day
:09:08. > :09:10.underground, looking round the War Tunnels. 33 students from Greenwich
:09:11. > :09:13.University Business School are visiting the island as part of their
:09:14. > :09:16.coursework, to study aspects of the island's tourist sector. They'll
:09:17. > :09:24.present their finding to tourism bosses later this week.
:09:25. > :09:29.Based on what they have seen and people they have spoken to and the
:09:30. > :09:34.things they have learned, they will be able to identify what some of the
:09:35. > :09:38.issues are, maybe some of the gaps, and make recommendations, come up
:09:39. > :09:43.with some fantastic ideas, hopefully, for the future, and maybe
:09:44. > :09:45.some things that islanders have not brought about.
:09:46. > :09:49.And, of course, the nice weather is always a good advert for the Channel
:09:50. > :09:53.Islands. Is there more of it to come?
:09:54. > :10:03.I think so. More cloud for tomorrow, but into the weekend, it
:10:04. > :10:06.looks very promising, and warmer. The chance for things to try out and
:10:07. > :10:11.for the farmers to get back on the field. At the moment, a reasonable
:10:12. > :10:17.end to the gate. It will be higher than that in the coming days. More
:10:18. > :10:22.cloud coming our way through the afternoon, and across Alderney and
:10:23. > :10:27.Guernsey, it will produce a few spots of gristle or light rain. The
:10:28. > :10:31.string of weather systems travels up the western coast of Britain, it
:10:32. > :10:37.will carry on bringing outbreaks of rain here. Further south, the area
:10:38. > :10:44.of high pressure over France, and it stays there all the way through We
:10:45. > :10:48.expect a lot of dry weather and fine weather, especially at the weekend.
:10:49. > :10:54.For tonight, enough clear sky around to get the temperature is pretty
:10:55. > :10:59.low. What will help hobby temperatures above that will be more
:11:00. > :11:03.cloud, and slightly more of a breeze developing from the South or
:11:04. > :11:07.Southwest. Tomorrow, if anywhere keeps hold of sunny spells, it will
:11:08. > :11:13.be Jersey. Further north, more cloud around.
:11:14. > :11:44.For the surface, the Surf will not be very big, but usable. On Friday,
:11:45. > :11:48.a similar day, and a lot of cloud at first, giving a few spots of
:11:49. > :11:54.drizzle, brighter in the afternoon. The weather front moves away
:11:55. > :11:58.overnight, Friday into Saturday and Saturday and Sunday, we have not
:11:59. > :12:04.seen a weekend like it so far, and it will be good next week as well. I
:12:05. > :12:08.think it will get warmer than that, especially next week, because the
:12:09. > :12:13.high pressure is here to stay for a while. Good news all round.
:12:14. > :12:23.I might even get the shorts out We are back at 8pm and 10:25pm. Now,
:12:24. > :12:26.more from Spotlight. Goodbye for now.
:12:27. > :12:28.important new tool to tackle that problem. It is hoped more will be
:12:29. > :12:33.put forward to receive the treatment. Still to come in
:12:34. > :12:36.Spotlight tonight: What lies beneath the Cornish sand. Work to uncover
:12:37. > :12:40.what may be the oldest Christian building in the UK. And how to
:12:41. > :12:42.banish bad spirits into the sea ` the Lenten tradition in one fishing
:12:43. > :12:51.village. People in Topsham are warning their
:12:52. > :12:55.only road in could be entirely cut off unless work is carried out to
:12:56. > :12:58.repair coastal defences. The western bank of the River Clyst was breached
:12:59. > :13:07.during recent storms, and continues to leak at high tide. Emma Ruminski
:13:08. > :13:12.reports. This river bank is the only thing
:13:13. > :13:16.holding back the River Clyst but it is struggling. It was breached in
:13:17. > :13:21.several places during recent storms live in this area vulnerable during
:13:22. > :13:24.high tides. Saltwater is blowing `` flowing into the nature reserve but
:13:25. > :13:31.it is the nearby road that residents are worried about. It has flooded
:13:32. > :13:35.many times. If these are left to float, we will be removed ruined
:13:36. > :13:40.down here only able to access our properties on a low tide. The
:13:41. > :13:52.existing road will in fact become a public causeway. Exeter City Council
:13:53. > :14:01.owned the Marsh and they lease it as they nature reserve. They say it is
:14:02. > :14:10.uneconomical to repair this area. The embankment has been breached in
:14:11. > :14:14.that corner. Rob lives closest and he has already suffered problems. He
:14:15. > :14:19.says the Environment Agency have told them they will not be fixing
:14:20. > :14:23.the river bank. We feel there is no long`term plan for the site and we
:14:24. > :14:29.feel some work should have been done to shore up the wall and we will
:14:30. > :14:37.have some comfort at least. The RSPB say many make a visit to this area
:14:38. > :14:43.and it is an important habitat. We getting salt water into a freshwater
:14:44. > :14:50.system. The birds come over at high tide to feed on the system. We don't
:14:51. > :14:57.know what effect it is having and we're not yet finding out what will
:14:58. > :15:02.happen. People are also worried about their property. Will the
:15:03. > :15:08.Environment Agency fixed the holes? We have a very long list of repairs
:15:09. > :15:13.that need to be carried out. We have to prioritise those. We have to do
:15:14. > :15:19.the work where it is of most benefit to people and their houses first.
:15:20. > :15:26.Unfortunately, it looks as if the Marsh may not be high up that list.
:15:27. > :15:30.An engineer will report back this week to tell and how much the
:15:31. > :15:33.repairs will cost and if the scheme is viable. There is still a
:15:34. > :15:38.possibility that the involved parties will get together to
:15:39. > :15:42.contribute. In the last couple of hours, Exeter
:15:43. > :15:51.City Council has announced it will carry out the repairs.
:15:52. > :15:55.The city council owns the wall in question and we will go ahead and
:15:56. > :16:02.make the necessary repairs and get the money back from central
:16:03. > :16:06.government. There will be heavy machinery needed and we need to get
:16:07. > :16:10.a workforce in place. We have to get on with it as soon as we can to
:16:11. > :16:19.reassure the residence and the longer we leave it, the longer it
:16:20. > :16:22.will be to make the repairs. A month on from the violent storm
:16:23. > :16:26.which destroyed the line at Dawlish, Network Rail has released a time
:16:27. > :16:29.lapse video of the work that's been done to re`build the sea wall. These
:16:30. > :16:32.pictures show how shipping containers were put in as a
:16:33. > :16:35.temporary breakwater to protect the site but even they were swamped
:16:36. > :16:38.during further storms, delaying the repair works. Since then nearly
:16:39. > :16:41.5,000 tonnes of concrete and 150 tonnes of steel have been used. A
:16:42. > :16:45.team of more than 300 engineers have been working around the clock to get
:16:46. > :16:48.the line open again on the fourth of April before the Easter holidays.
:16:49. > :16:52.Meanwhile, as that work continues many families still don't know if or
:16:53. > :16:54.when they'll be allowed home. 12 households are still living in
:16:55. > :17:00.temporary accommodation. Sophie Pierce has been to meet some of
:17:01. > :17:06.them. All the work is progressing well, things don't look so good for
:17:07. > :17:11.Shane. He does know when he will be able to return home and can only get
:17:12. > :17:22.to his house fire this special walkway. I can't say anything up. It
:17:23. > :17:27.is not knowing what is going to happen, to know how long you will be
:17:28. > :17:33.out of the house, to no information coming in. You are left in limbo. At
:17:34. > :17:39.a local caravan park, Bev Green is in a similar position. It is an
:17:40. > :17:46.awkward predicament. Until they get the track and all the workings down
:17:47. > :17:52.the front at the way, they can't get the immunity is back on properly.
:17:53. > :17:57.Peter is one of the lucky ones. He is worried about the future and says
:17:58. > :18:01.the sea wall is weaker here because back when the line was built, Brunel
:18:02. > :18:06.had to make concession to a local landowner. The wall had to be made
:18:07. > :18:12.considerably lower as the owner of the house didn't want to be
:18:13. > :18:17.overlooked. Whatever else you do is not going to be sustainable unless
:18:18. > :18:26.you deal with what is crucially the weak point. If this engineering work
:18:27. > :18:32.is done to the right specification, I am not worried. I am happy to live
:18:33. > :18:36.the rest of my life here. Network Rail says it is aware of the
:18:37. > :18:40.weakness but its priority is to get the line open and look at its
:18:41. > :18:43.resilience as a whole. Meanwhile, for the people still living in
:18:44. > :18:47.temporary accommodation, life is in limbo.
:18:48. > :18:50.Work to uncover St Piran's Oratory is well underway in Cornwall. The
:18:51. > :18:54.ancient church, which may be the oldest Christian building in the UK,
:18:55. > :19:00.was buried in sand to protect it in 1980. Legend says it was built at
:19:01. > :19:04.the place where St Piran first came ashore in Cornwall. Spotlight's
:19:05. > :19:10.David George has made a St Piran's Day visit to see the work taking
:19:11. > :19:17.place. Many people still call this the lost
:19:18. > :19:21.church. In amongst the sand dunes, the four stone walls and arched
:19:22. > :19:27.doorway on more than 1000 years old and it is likely the remains of an
:19:28. > :19:30.evil old building a library. Volunteers have been helping the
:19:31. > :19:38.archaeologists clear hundreds of tonnes of sand by hand. We think
:19:39. > :19:43.there is a piece of stone work that is probably earlier than the retreat
:19:44. > :19:55.in origin that might hint at something that is even older than
:19:56. > :19:59.me Oratory. We need to find it and see what it says. This is the first
:20:00. > :20:06.time eater 1`macro has been excavated. It was covered in a
:20:07. > :20:14.massive concrete shell in 1910. This is the lost church. A Spotlight
:20:15. > :20:18.report and most of the concrete was removed in 1980 and the delicate
:20:19. > :20:22.site to be buried in sand for its own protection, they said at the
:20:23. > :20:27.time. The new excavation comes after a lengthy campaign to uncover the
:20:28. > :20:39.spot where St Piran is said to have come ashore. It is known that he
:20:40. > :20:45.came over from Ireland. He floated and landed on Perranporth beach.
:20:46. > :20:52.Here, he built a little place of worship because he wanted to calm
:20:53. > :20:58.the wild peasants of Cornwall. Did he succeed? No. When they finish,
:20:59. > :21:02.the building will be temporarily covered until experts decide on its
:21:03. > :21:12.long`term conservation. The hope is it will be open to visitors in the
:21:13. > :21:15.future, perhaps on St Piran's Day. We have been talking about pancakes.
:21:16. > :21:23.Now many families will have enjoyed a pancake or two last night.
:21:24. > :21:26.We had chicken, bacon and spinach. Lemon and sugar for May. We all know
:21:27. > :21:29.that particular tradition on Shrove Tuesday, but there's another, you
:21:30. > :21:32.might not know about. Yes, it's been going on for
:21:33. > :21:35.generations in Clovelly, it's called Lanshard and is said to rid the
:21:36. > :21:39.fishing village of all the bad things from the year before. Well
:21:40. > :21:42.this curious custom got underway at five o'clock last night and our
:21:43. > :21:50.North Devon reporter, Andrea Ormsby, was there to see it in action. It is
:21:51. > :21:56.noisy and it is meant to be. This is a riot of sound to banish the bad
:21:57. > :22:00.spirits into the sea for Lent today. Children tie tin cans to
:22:01. > :22:05.pieces of string or anything metal, anything that makes a suitable
:22:06. > :22:10.racket. They have to make as much noise as possible. It is said that
:22:11. > :22:17.noise scares away the evil spirits and the bad things from the previous
:22:18. > :22:22.year. For generations, the children of Clovelly have taken part in this
:22:23. > :22:28.curious custom. It was really loud and something that goes crazy in
:22:29. > :22:38.your ears. It was scary because if someone came in, the cans go over
:22:39. > :22:48.your head if you go too fast. It was very fun. Once the cans go into the
:22:49. > :22:53.harbour, they are thrown into the sea. Don't worry, they are all
:22:54. > :22:57.collected again and recycled. This tradition has been running in my
:22:58. > :23:04.family all the years I have lived here. My daughter came out from the
:23:05. > :23:08.age of two. Now I am out with my granddaughter. I have been doing
:23:09. > :23:13.this for a very long time. It is something we want to keep going.
:23:14. > :23:25.Made the blessing of God Almighty be with you all. Well done. When it is
:23:26. > :23:35.all over, that other little tradition, a pancake for all the
:23:36. > :23:42.children who took part. That is a way to have a pancake. A
:23:43. > :23:44.bit of pancake with your cream! David, pancakes in your house?
:23:45. > :23:56.We love pancakes. Today, I managed to get some washing
:23:57. > :24:00.on the line. It didn't end up in south Wales and it was dry by the
:24:01. > :24:12.end of the morning. The forecast for tomorrow is milder. There is some
:24:13. > :24:17.drizzle in the wind. This great stripe of cloud is where the wet
:24:18. > :24:24.weather is. The areas of low pressure which we have been getting
:24:25. > :24:28.so used to travelling across Greenland and weigh up to the north
:24:29. > :24:33.of Scotland. For us, we have a ridge of high pressure. It is stretching
:24:34. > :24:36.from Scandinavia down through friends and it is that area of high
:24:37. > :24:45.pressure that will be around for the next few days. As we move into the
:24:46. > :24:49.weekend, high pressure comes back. This was the satellite picture from
:24:50. > :24:54.earlier today. We have a fair amount of cloud coming in and we did have
:24:55. > :25:01.plenty of sunshine. This was Cornwall where we had blue sky. We
:25:02. > :25:07.have light winds to start the day. It is a different feel compared to
:25:08. > :25:12.what we have been used to. Here, we have seen a little bit of cloud
:25:13. > :25:25.moving in. There is more cloud the further inland we have been. In
:25:26. > :25:29.Dartmoor, it has been dry. That cloud is thickening and it will
:25:30. > :25:34.produce some outbreaks of rain. It will move through and by dawn we are
:25:35. > :25:38.expecting to see some patchy rain and drizzle. Overnight temperatures
:25:39. > :25:50.not too low. Initially down to four Celsius. They will climb back up to
:25:51. > :25:57.around nine Celsius. Tomorrow morning, there is a lot of hill fog.
:25:58. > :26:00.This rain is light and patchy and it is mostly drizzle coming out of the
:26:01. > :26:10.sky. It does remain with us through much of the day. Temperatures around
:26:11. > :26:41.11 Celsius. For the Isles of Scilly, it is misty and mild.
:26:42. > :26:46.Friday is another cloudy day but it brightens up in the afternoon.
:26:47. > :26:49.Saturday is the better of the two days of the week in the high
:26:50. > :26:53.pressure is coming back so there is no real rain in the forecast from
:26:54. > :27:00.Thursday onwards. We see some more cloud for Sunday. Next week, it
:27:01. > :27:12.might be even warmer than that. I have this image of you hanging the
:27:13. > :27:17.washing out now. That is at `` that is it for tonight. We leave you with
:27:18. > :27:18.some of the celebrations taking place across Cornwall today. Good
:27:19. > :27:22.night.