:00:15. > :00:29.Good evening. The headlines on BBC Newsline: high tides cause flooding
:00:30. > :00:35.in some coastal areas. Relief in East Belfast as the tide
:00:36. > :00:39.peaks without causing major damage. Derelict for several years but now a
:00:40. > :00:43.former factory site in West Belfast is earmarked for a big housing
:00:44. > :00:48.development. Opposition to a huge wind farm like
:00:49. > :00:53.this after County Down coast. On a Derby night here in Ravenhill, can
:00:54. > :00:59.Oscar manage to topple leaders Munster? And it's a weekend of
:01:00. > :01:01.warnings, with a risk of snow in places tomorrow, and more wet and
:01:02. > :01:05.windy weather for Sunday. It's been a day when tides were
:01:06. > :01:10.higher in some places along the coast than anyone can remember.
:01:11. > :01:16.Roads were damaged, although there wasn't the widespread destruction of
:01:17. > :01:19.property that had been feared. At one stage, a call sparked a major
:01:20. > :01:25.sea rescue operation in awful conditions. The call was a hoax. BBC
:01:26. > :01:28.Newsline and our viewers have captured the effect of the tidal
:01:29. > :01:43.surge from Newry to Newcastle, Cushendall to Coleraine. The first
:01:44. > :01:50.reports comes from Helen Jones. It's not a day for a walk on the
:01:51. > :01:51.promenade. Anywhere on the seafront. If you think that's bad, look at
:01:52. > :02:02.this. In the thick of it, the RNLI search
:02:03. > :02:12.for a missing man, putting their own lives at risk and all for nothing.
:02:13. > :02:20.It was a hoax call. The canal basin in Newry has swollen, bringing the
:02:21. > :02:27.flood water to people 's doors. A very near miss, I think it was about
:02:28. > :02:31.18 inches of coming into the front door, so hopefully it will stay at
:02:32. > :02:36.this level and not come any higher tonight when the tide comes
:02:37. > :02:43.inching their way along the Ards Peninsula, vehicles take a soaking
:02:44. > :02:54.as huge waves come over the sea defences. It's the holiday
:02:55. > :03:00.destination but the sea has cut off this caravan park and the road has
:03:01. > :03:07.collapsed. There will be a huge repair bill.
:03:08. > :03:16.There was no playtime for children in this park. It's impossible to
:03:17. > :03:26.stop nature's course. We were warned and we were ready.
:03:27. > :03:33.Some were keen to get up close to get that shot. They are not the only
:03:34. > :03:34.ones. You've been sending us pictures from right across the
:03:35. > :03:48.country. Images like these have been cropping
:03:49. > :03:51.up frequently this winter. We have been battered by storms since the
:03:52. > :03:54.beginning of December and we're not out of woods yet, with more bad
:03:55. > :04:07.weather forecast for Sunday. Council workers try to get to grips
:04:08. > :04:14.with sealing off this bridge. Against the odds. And it's not the
:04:15. > :04:19.only bit of repair work that will need done. These heavy bins and
:04:20. > :04:27.concrete seats were uprooted by the elements.
:04:28. > :04:32.Carrying on regardless, even though it is difficult to make it where the
:04:33. > :04:43.road begins and the River ends. The Rivers agency says this was the
:04:44. > :04:47.first time since 1903 that the elements have combined to create
:04:48. > :04:50.this surge of water in Belfast. People living in the Sydenham area
:04:51. > :04:53.of Belfast were warned yesterday there was a strong possibility of
:04:54. > :04:55.flooding and some homes may be evacuated. Overnight and this
:04:56. > :05:06.morning, sandbags were distributed to residents as the water levels
:05:07. > :05:10.began to rise. It began this morning with householders grabbing emergency
:05:11. > :05:15.sandbags to build stop waters on their doorsteps. Thousands of people
:05:16. > :05:20.living in the Sydney area felt under threat after warnings of widespread
:05:21. > :05:25.flooding today. Those homes near icons water river built their
:05:26. > :05:33.defences higher than most. I've never seen sandbags in 30 years.
:05:34. > :05:39.I've seen it once. But that was from rain. The police along with other
:05:40. > :05:44.emergency agencies were out in strength. There had been a warning
:05:45. > :05:49.that some homes may need to be evacuated. The floods bridged the
:05:50. > :05:53.defences. The First Minister was among politicians at the scene, but
:05:54. > :06:01.not everyone was happy they turned up. Where were you when people
:06:02. > :06:07.needed you? The police are on the ball, services are standing ready
:06:08. > :06:13.should it occur, but hopefully it will pass by today. On Monday we
:06:14. > :06:18.will have the possibility of the same kind of situation arising, so
:06:19. > :06:22.it is a case of over the weekend and on Monday being alert. There were
:06:23. > :06:28.worried expressions as the waters rose towards midday. At one point
:06:29. > :06:34.the nearby railway line looked in danger, at the floods receded. As
:06:35. > :06:40.you can see from the watermark on this bridge, the water has gone
:06:41. > :06:45.down. The high water mark when the flood was expected to be at its
:06:46. > :06:48.worst was come and gone and the flood defences have not been
:06:49. > :06:54.breached, much to the relief of people who live in this area.
:06:55. > :06:59.Relieved, when you think of all the damage it could cause, a lot of
:07:00. > :07:07.mess. It's a fact of nature. All you can do is make the best of it. You
:07:08. > :07:11.have to deal with that. Across the harbour, flood defences were in
:07:12. > :07:17.place, but again they were not needed on this occasion. People in
:07:18. > :07:21.these parts of the city will remain alert throughout the weekend with
:07:22. > :07:25.concerns of another flood tide driven by high winds on Sunday or
:07:26. > :07:28.Monday. We'll have the weekend weather
:07:29. > :07:32.forecast later in the programme, and there's a warning of more high
:07:33. > :07:36.tides. Also coming up: Could there be billions of pounds' worth of gold
:07:37. > :07:43.in these rocks in one of the border counties?
:07:44. > :07:46.A housing association has submitted plans for a major redevelopment of a
:07:47. > :07:54.disused factory site in West Belfast. Fold Housing is proposing
:07:55. > :07:57.to build almost 250 homes. But as our economics and business editor
:07:58. > :08:09.John Campbell reports, some nearby residents are not in favour.
:08:10. > :08:16.This car parts factory was shot down in 2009. 200 workers lost their
:08:17. > :08:23.jobs. This aerial photo shows the scale of the site, which has been
:08:24. > :08:27.unused for five years. This housing association has big plans. It wanted
:08:28. > :08:32.to transform the area, building homes, a committee centre and
:08:33. > :08:36.business units. Fold said the development is a key part of
:08:37. > :08:40.tackling housing shortages in West Belfast, that some people who live
:08:41. > :08:47.here say the site is not right for housing. This has always been a
:08:48. > :08:52.commercial development and it should remain a commercial development. We
:08:53. > :08:56.want long-term employment, sustainable jobs here for younger
:08:57. > :09:01.people and for the wider community. We feel that building houses on it
:09:02. > :09:07.will take that away. Local politicians say it is a balancing
:09:08. > :09:10.act. I hope this sack -- this site is developed with the business
:09:11. > :09:16.community can help reduce the housing waiting list but can also
:09:17. > :09:21.create employment opportunities. There is a need for jobs in the
:09:22. > :09:25.area, too many sites have been lost, and if we lose this site there
:09:26. > :09:31.will be no jobs in the future and we need to make sure the balance is
:09:32. > :09:36.right between jobs and housing. The housing association says it is
:09:37. > :09:42.listening to residence' concerns. We have taken a lot of their ideas on
:09:43. > :09:45.board and we have revised our design proposals prior to our planning
:09:46. > :09:51.submission but we are very much committed to this site, we will be
:09:52. > :09:56.here for the long term, we have an excellent record in terms of adding
:09:57. > :09:59.support to communities, and our intention is to build a sustainable
:10:00. > :10:05.living committee with work opportunities. The future of this
:10:06. > :10:09.site now rests with the planners. It will take several months to make a
:10:10. > :10:13.decision and if they get a green light, construction these will take
:10:14. > :10:17.three or four years. Fishermen are fighting to stop a
:10:18. > :10:20.major wind farm being erected off the County Down coast. The project
:10:21. > :10:25.could produce one-fifth of Northern Ireland's power. But the fishing
:10:26. > :10:28.industry says it's wrong to put so many turbines in one of the most
:10:29. > :10:41.intensely fished parts of the British Isles. The fishing fleet in
:10:42. > :10:46.Kilkeel faces a future where out to see the horizon may change. Plans
:10:47. > :10:50.are advancing for a first big wind farm off our coast, which could
:10:51. > :10:55.comprise up to 100 turbines like these, already operational nearer
:10:56. > :11:02.Britain, but the project faces opposition. Fisher men are not
:11:03. > :11:05.saying no to wind farms per se, but we are saying no to wind farms being
:11:06. > :11:12.built in some of the most intensely fished grounds around the UK. The
:11:13. > :11:16.area was elected by the Crown estate which owns the sea bed. The wind
:11:17. > :11:22.farm would be sited somewhere still to be chosen within this area.
:11:23. > :11:27.Turbines would be at least five miles from the shore. We are only at
:11:28. > :11:33.the start of a process which will draw out over several years, but if
:11:34. > :11:38.all goes to plan, I2020 we could have a forest of wind turbines off
:11:39. > :11:46.the County Down coast, providing up to 20% of Northern Ireland's's power
:11:47. > :11:52.needs -- by 2020. Fishermen claim evidence gathered at other offshore
:11:53. > :11:57.wind farms give rise to concerns. Fishing patterns do change but the
:11:58. > :12:00.question is why, it had the fear of having to navigate a forest of wind
:12:01. > :12:05.farms or is there something more sinister, do shellfish stocks not
:12:06. > :12:10.recover after wind farm activity? That question is outstanding and the
:12:11. > :12:15.evidence we have that sphere in the minds of fishermen. Consultations
:12:16. > :12:21.are underway involving the energy consortium behind the scheme. We
:12:22. > :12:25.recognise in certain circumstances like adverse weather conditions, it
:12:26. > :12:30.is more dangerous to fish within a wind farm, and that is why it is
:12:31. > :12:34.important for us to sit down with fishermen touring this design phase
:12:35. > :12:39.of the project so we can work out how best to design a project that
:12:40. > :12:44.meets their needs, and locate it to avoid the areas of most significant
:12:45. > :12:49.fishing activity. But the fishermen want a more radical solution, a new
:12:50. > :12:54.zone for the wind farm. This project is seen as vital not only to
:12:55. > :12:54.achieving storm and target on cleaner energy but in reducing our
:12:55. > :13:04.dependence on imported fuel. The IRA's attempted assassination of
:13:05. > :13:07.the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1984 almost led to the collapse
:13:08. > :13:10.of secret peace negotiations. The details were revealed in Cabinet
:13:11. > :13:20.papers released today under the thirty year rule. Dan Stanton
:13:21. > :13:25.reports. Five people were killed and 31 others injured by the IRA bomb at
:13:26. > :13:30.the Grand Hotel in Brighton. Mrs Thatcher's response came within
:13:31. > :13:36.hours as the party conference went ahead later. This government will
:13:37. > :13:44.not weaken. This nation will meet that challenge, democracy will
:13:45. > :13:47.prevail. No one knew at the time that months earlier the Prime
:13:48. > :13:52.Minister had sanctioned secret moves to find a resolution to the conflict
:13:53. > :13:58.in Northern Ireland. Days after the explosion, her officials told her
:13:59. > :14:01.that the Taoiseach wanted to move forward on an Anglo-Irish
:14:02. > :14:06.Agreement. What has become clear today is just how close the bombing
:14:07. > :14:10.came to scuppering further progress. Private correspondence
:14:11. > :14:14.between Mrs Thatcher and her closest advisers revealed she deliberately
:14:15. > :14:20.tried to cool the negotiations after the bomb. She wrote, we must go slow
:14:21. > :14:26.on these talks, if not stop them. It will look as if we were bombed into
:14:27. > :14:33.making concessions to the Republic. The man who saves the day is the
:14:34. > :14:38.Foreign Secretary who says we can not let the bombers out of seeking a
:14:39. > :14:47.settlement. He says that the answer was continued negotiations. Margaret
:14:48. > :14:52.Thatcher finally left Downing Street when she lost the leadership contest
:14:53. > :14:57.in 1990. Political moves to find a peaceful solution in Northern
:14:58. > :15:00.Ireland continued. Still to come on the programme before seven... The
:15:01. > :15:03.long awaited Ashes debut of Tyrone man Boyd Rankin ends in
:15:04. > :15:14.disappointment in Sydney. But can he recover in time for Day two? With a
:15:15. > :15:17.debt bill of 60 billion euros still to pay off, the Republic's
:15:18. > :15:20.government has been looking at the potential of natural resources like
:15:21. > :15:23.oil and gas to generate money. But they didn't expect a cross border
:15:24. > :15:26.geological survey would discover such 'golden' results, possibly
:15:27. > :15:41.worth billions. Andy Martin reports from County Monaghan. The Irish have
:15:42. > :15:45.never been short on imagination, but even the wildest rumours could not
:15:46. > :15:53.have foreseen what lay beneath their feet. There is gold here, in
:15:54. > :16:01.staggering quantities. As you can see, it has been bricked up. It was
:16:02. > :16:08.mined in the late 1700s. They did not realise there was gold here? Not
:16:09. > :16:14.at all. They drove through the gold and threw it away as waste. They
:16:15. > :16:21.came back in the 1950s and then they realised. A cross-border survey
:16:22. > :16:26.conducted mainly from the air has identified gold deposits right
:16:27. > :16:31.across Ireland. It confirms what one optimistic explorer has believed for
:16:32. > :16:37.years, 16 years, of drilling and dreaming and filling up a vast sheds
:16:38. > :16:42.with cylinders of rock. We expected to find gold, but not anywhere near
:16:43. > :16:49.as much as we have. We are very excited. It is a major discovery. We
:16:50. > :16:58.had no idea it would be as big as this. Mining has been carried out in
:16:59. > :17:01.this area for centuries, but only recently has it been firmly
:17:02. > :17:07.established how much gold exists under the ground here. It is not
:17:08. > :17:11.millions, but potentially billions of pounds worth and the Irish
:17:12. > :17:17.government is extremely sympathetic to any mining companies that want to
:17:18. > :17:22.come here and exploit the resource. I am excited. It is great to look at
:17:23. > :17:28.the map and see the gold there. It will bring more jobs, it brings
:17:29. > :17:32.greater knowledge of where our mineral deposits may be and where
:17:33. > :17:39.you can exploit to see if there is more opportunities there. In this
:17:40. > :17:44.area, this company intends to extract over ?500 million worth of
:17:45. > :17:51.gold. Geologists believe the deposits could be worth as much as
:17:52. > :17:55.?6 billion. It has taken many years and it is great to be at the stage
:17:56. > :18:02.where we can begin to think of bringing in a mine. What was once
:18:03. > :18:07.just a twinkle in the eye of this Explorer has now been matched by a
:18:08. > :18:10.glint in the rock. The Ulster rugby team taken on the Pro12 leaders
:18:11. > :18:19.Munster this evening. Thomas Niblock is here with the sport. Thanks
:18:20. > :18:22.Donna, it's a pretty ugly night weather-wise at Ravenhill, but it's
:18:23. > :18:25.also one of the most attractive fixtures in Irish rugby. Ulster lost
:18:26. > :18:28.away to Leinster last week and coach Mark Anscombe has demanded a
:18:29. > :18:30.response from his players for tonight's inter-provincial clash
:18:31. > :18:38.against Munster. Mark Sidebottom is live tonight at Ravenhill. Mark, a
:18:39. > :18:44.crucial game for both sides? Indeed. Munster topped the table by
:18:45. > :18:49.seven points and Ulster need to win. You mentioned the weather, I know we
:18:50. > :19:02.were expecting an ugly night, but it is a pricing, despite those biblical
:19:03. > :19:09.waves, it is a positively benign evening -- surprising. Johann Muller
:19:10. > :19:15.joins me now. The temperature is about to rise. Munster is the old
:19:16. > :19:26.enemy, but you must win. It is a must win. Munster have had a great
:19:27. > :19:33.season. It is a must win for us. Last week was disappointing. You
:19:34. > :19:39.mentioned the disappointment, underperformed and there has been
:19:40. > :19:49.criticism of the Ulster squad, not least from this other media. -- this
:19:50. > :19:56.other in media. We did not play well. Leinster lost two in a row.
:19:57. > :20:02.They were desperate to win the game and it showed on the field. Derby
:20:03. > :20:07.games like this come down to who wants it the most and they wanted it
:20:08. > :20:15.more than us. Let us look at the performance tonight and then we can
:20:16. > :20:21.make a comment. There were children looking for autographs will stop
:20:22. > :20:30.they want to know if you are staying. We are not looking for an
:20:31. > :20:35.exclusive, but it -- but is it reasonable to say that you would
:20:36. > :20:41.miss this Ravenhill crowd? It is a brilliant place to play rugby. There
:20:42. > :20:48.has been a lot of speculation this week. I can honestly say, no
:20:49. > :20:54.decision has been made yet. David Humphreys knows where he stands with
:20:55. > :20:59.me. Nothing has changed from what I said to you guys seven months ago. I
:21:00. > :21:05.will make my decision at the end of January. Maybe you will get an
:21:06. > :21:11.exclusive them. I think your father wants you back on the farm. I am
:21:12. > :21:21.lucky that I have the farm back home, but I have loved my time here
:21:22. > :21:27.and my family is happy. There is no reason why I cannot play for another
:21:28. > :21:35.five years. I have to listen to my body. The next four weeks will be
:21:36. > :21:43.critical. We wish you well in your recovery. We are predicting an
:21:44. > :21:47.Ulster win. And that game is live on BBC Two television, coverage starts
:21:48. > :21:50.at seven o'clock. Now, it's a long way from the quiet village of Bready
:21:51. > :21:54.in County Tyrone to the bright lights of Sydney, but, Boyd Rankin,
:21:55. > :21:57.who quit Ireland in 2012 in the hope of playing test cricket for England,
:21:58. > :21:59.achieved that dream in the early hours of this morning.
:22:00. > :22:03.Unfortunately, his Ashes debut proved to be disappointing. This is
:22:04. > :22:08.the moment when the dream turned into a nightmare for Boyd Rankin, a
:22:09. > :22:13.hamstring injury ending his Ashes debut. When he arrived at the
:22:14. > :22:22.cricket ground earlier that day, and presented with his first test cap,
:22:23. > :22:26.he was receiving physio -- Test. He was not showing any ill affects
:22:27. > :22:32.later. He was causing concern for the Australians. A first wicket
:22:33. > :22:38.looked to have come before lunch, a wicked bounce just avoiding the
:22:39. > :22:45.Aussie stumps. Then, disaster. This does not look good. I reckon he is
:22:46. > :22:49.going off. Just before lunch, he pulled up with a hamstring injury,
:22:50. > :22:53.he did come out after the break to bowl again, the English selectors
:22:54. > :22:59.insisting it was just cramp, but he did not last and the day that
:23:00. > :23:04.started as a dream, ended in disappointment for England and Boyd
:23:05. > :23:06.Rankin. Athletics history will be made at tomorrow's Antrim
:23:07. > :23:09.International Cross Country event, for the first time in its 36-year
:23:10. > :23:11.history. Greenmount has attracted the reigning world champion,
:23:12. > :23:15.20-year-old Kenyan, Japhet Korir, seen here winning last year's World
:23:16. > :23:18.Cross Country title in Poland. He's the hot favourite for the men's
:23:19. > :23:21.event scheduled to get underway at ten to three tomorrow. The women's
:23:22. > :23:32.race at 2.25pm sees Ireland's Fionnuala Britton against Gemma
:23:33. > :23:37.Steel of England. The Football Association has charged Brendan
:23:38. > :23:41.Rodgers for allegedly questioning the integrity of a referee. The
:23:42. > :23:45.Liverpool manager's comments were made following his defeat at
:23:46. > :23:48.Manchester city on Boxing Day. Finally in sport, All of this
:23:49. > :23:51.weekend's sporting fixtures will be subject to the weather and probable
:23:52. > :23:54.pitch inspections. At the minute, tomorrow's Irish League fixtures and
:23:55. > :23:57.Sunday's Gaelic football McKenna Cup matches go aheaad. Should that
:23:58. > :24:05.change, we'll keep you posted on the BBC Sport NI website. That's
:24:06. > :24:08.bbc.co.uk/sportni. Earlier, we had flooding pictures sent to us by
:24:09. > :24:11.viewers. Our thanks for them and for all of the pictures that you've
:24:12. > :24:14.shared over the past year. We've selected a dozen that we think
:24:15. > :25:03.represent our weather during 2013. Take a look. And this year, keep
:25:04. > :25:09.those photos coming into us. The email address is: nipics@bbc.co.uk.
:25:10. > :25:15.Now, for the latest forecast, here's Angie.
:25:16. > :25:22.It looks as though it will be a weekend of warnings. We had a deep
:25:23. > :25:27.area of low pressure, combined with the high spring tides and that led
:25:28. > :25:35.to all the coastal flooding. To some extent, particularly in the north,
:25:36. > :25:40.the winds had a hand in it. We had a gust of 67 mph, those winds have
:25:41. > :25:44.been slowly easing, but we still have warnings in place this
:25:45. > :25:49.evening. Still quite gusty, those winds will continue to bring
:25:50. > :25:56.showers. For anyone at Ravenhill, wrap up warmly and have the
:25:57. > :26:01.waterproofs. Not too many showers and through the night, as the breeze
:26:02. > :26:06.continues to ease down, we will find the showers easing back towards the
:26:07. > :26:11.north and west. Many places will turn dry, quite cold. We are looking
:26:12. > :26:17.at frost and given that we had showers earlier, there will be some
:26:18. > :26:22.icy patches. For tomorrow, it looks as though the West will be best. The
:26:23. > :26:28.driest weather is here, but in the east, we will see rain moving in and
:26:29. > :26:33.it could turn to sleet and Hillsdale and a warning has been issued. Most
:26:34. > :26:38.places should get off to a dry start, some sunshine in parts of the
:26:39. > :26:43.West, but it will be quite frosty. The cloud will gather in the
:26:44. > :26:54.south-east as that area of rain, sleet and snow moves in. Staying dry
:26:55. > :26:58.out towards the West, but cold. Tomorrow night, any rain, sleet and
:26:59. > :27:05.snow showers will die away, but it will be a cold night, frosty, low
:27:06. > :27:09.temperatures, mist and fog forming, which could linger into Sunday. As
:27:10. > :27:14.the wind picks up, that will clear, it will be wet and windy again and
:27:15. > :27:18.there is an early warning for more heavy rain and localised flooding.
:27:19. > :27:21.We'll be keeping a close eye on the weather all weekend. Finally, we
:27:22. > :27:25.thought we'd show you the lengths BBC Newsline goes to bring you the
:27:26. > :27:28.news of the day. One of our reporters, Gordon Adair, got a
:27:29. > :27:32.little too close in Newcastle. He's just to the left of the screen.
:27:33. > :27:35.Soaked, he was. Our late summary is at 10.25pm. You can also keep in
:27:36. > :27:36.contact with us via Facebook and Twitter. From BBC Newsline,
:27:37. > :27:43.goodnight.