:00:08. > :00:10.Hello and welcome to South Today from Oxford. In tonight's
:00:10. > :00:14.programme: Tough rules for landlords, but are tenants paying
:00:14. > :00:23.the price? Claims a system set up to clamp down on rogue landlords in
:00:23. > :00:28.Oxford isn't working. And the robotics suit that helped Clare
:00:28. > :00:33.Lomas compete third marathon could help others -- complete the
:00:33. > :00:43.marathon. Alexis Green is 24 hours away from
:00:43. > :00:47.
:00:47. > :00:50.making her debut at glorious Letting agents in Oxford say
:00:50. > :00:53.stringent rules introduced by the council two years ago to flush out
:00:53. > :00:59.rogue landlords are penalising young tenants and failing to stop
:00:59. > :01:09.offenders. Owners of larger homes who want to let their property need
:01:09. > :01:13.
:01:13. > :01:19.a licence, which can only be When Environmental Health officers
:01:19. > :01:24.visited this house they found 14 people sleeping several to a room,
:01:24. > :01:30.mould on the walls, faulty appliances and cockroaches. There
:01:30. > :01:34.are four bedrooms and different sex people sharing bedrooms who are not
:01:34. > :01:40.related to each other. Minimum fire precautions in the kitchen.
:01:40. > :01:44.rules in Oxford are more stringent than elsewhere. In most places,
:01:44. > :01:50.five unrelated people counts as a shared house but the property has
:01:50. > :01:58.to be three stories. In Oxford, if any three people are in a property
:01:58. > :02:06.it counts as multiple occupation -- occupation and it leads a nice
:02:06. > :02:12.since. -- it needs a licence. Good landlords say they have to carry
:02:12. > :02:16.out thousands of pounds of work. As well as the expense, planning
:02:16. > :02:20.permission may be needed and it is enough to stop some landlords
:02:20. > :02:25.letting more together which means fewer houses on the rental market.
:02:25. > :02:30.Other landlords are ignoring the rules. The council estimates there
:02:30. > :02:35.are 5,000 shed houses in Oxford and around one third are without a loss
:02:35. > :02:40.-- a licence. We have seen an enormous drop in complaints about
:02:40. > :02:44.the management of properties, nuisance and rubbish in the gardens
:02:44. > :02:50.and a sort of thing. Improvements have been delivered to over 90% of
:02:50. > :02:56.properties and we have taken Paul landaus out of the market.
:02:57. > :03:00.house in Marsden back has to improve. But it is an extreme case
:03:00. > :03:10.and most landlords say they are not against providing good
:03:10. > :03:19.
:03:19. > :03:22.accommodation but that the Police have charged three men after
:03:22. > :03:25.a 24-year-old man was seriously injured in a fight outside a
:03:25. > :03:29.takeaway in Oxford on Monday night. It happened outside the Taste of
:03:29. > :03:31.Jamaica on Cowley Road in Littlemore. The men, who are all in
:03:31. > :03:34.their twenties, have been charged with violent disorder and
:03:34. > :03:37.possession of an offensive weapon. Extra police patrols are continuing
:03:37. > :03:39.in the area. More than �750,000 is to be spent
:03:39. > :03:43.installing more electric car charging points across our region.
:03:43. > :03:45.Most of the Government money - around �500,000 - will go to Milton
:03:45. > :03:48.Keynes with other councils and Oxford Brookes University all
:03:48. > :03:51.planning to install points. The government's funding the additional
:03:51. > :03:57.charging points, even though some of those that already exist are
:03:57. > :04:04.barely used. New models are coming through for all major manufacturers
:04:04. > :04:11.and the demand is there. One of the inhibitions it is, can I'd charge
:04:11. > :04:16.my car? So we have to make sure the points are there so they can.
:04:16. > :04:22.Businesses in Oxford could suffer if plans to introduce tougher
:04:22. > :04:26.restrictions on lorries are to be introduced. The Freight Transport
:04:26. > :04:30.Association means low emission Soames could cripple the city
:04:30. > :04:40.centre. It is one of a range of measures to cut pollution on which
:04:40. > :04:47.Oxford City Council is consulting. -- Consulting. From the sound of it,
:04:47. > :04:52.some new and expensive types of vehicles might be required. All
:04:52. > :04:57.delivering two out of town large retail developments, given the
:04:57. > :05:07.choice, most people would choose to go where the costs are lower.
:05:07. > :05:13.It is known as a famous suit worn by Clare Lomas and it can help
:05:13. > :05:18.people who are paralysed to walk. Researchers at Stoke Mandeville are
:05:18. > :05:21.carrying out the first study in the UK to see how much the seat can
:05:21. > :05:27.improve patients' fitness and independence.
:05:27. > :05:32.Just over a year ago, Jason couldn't field his legs. He had
:05:32. > :05:37.suffered a spinal injury and a paralysed him from the hips down.
:05:37. > :05:42.He is now able to stand and walk and for the first time in a year,
:05:42. > :05:48.he is able to properly cuddled his wife. Absolutely brilliant standing
:05:48. > :05:55.up. At first it was a bit wobbly, but after a couple of goes you just
:05:55. > :05:59.have to get a rhythm going and it is really good. Ian Benson is a
:05:59. > :06:04.senior physiotherapist and is conducting the study here. Because
:06:04. > :06:11.Jason is so new to the harness, Ian controls it with a device on his
:06:11. > :06:18.wrist. It can eventually help him go up and down the stairs. It is by
:06:18. > :06:24.no means a cure and it is not an alternative to a wheelchair. It is
:06:24. > :06:32.an alternative form of exercise and it can be used to benefit many
:06:33. > :06:39.aspects of spinal injuries. In 2012, player Lomas was the first person
:06:39. > :06:42.to use it expose skeleton t do the London Marathon. It took her
:06:43. > :06:48.several days but it change the way people thought about spinal
:06:48. > :06:54.injuries. This will look at the spinal -- psychological impact of
:06:54. > :07:01.helping people stand again. It is exciting to see the effect so. We
:07:01. > :07:08.try to measure how long the excitement lasts. We measure these
:07:08. > :07:14.feelings over a period of 10 weeks and see if the feelings last.
:07:14. > :07:17.kit costs over �85,000 at the moment. It is too expensive to let
:07:17. > :07:23.patients take it home but it is hoped that when the study is
:07:23. > :07:30.complete, more people like Jason can use it to walk in the future.
:07:30. > :07:35.Amazing. James Cracknell has moved a step closer to becoming an MEP.
:07:35. > :07:40.He has been selected to stand for the Conservatives at next May's
:07:40. > :07:48.European elections. Current Tory MEPs represent Swindon and the
:07:48. > :07:53.south-west. I used to be a lawyer and now I am a politician. We can
:07:53. > :07:59.all make a change. It is good that people come to politics having done
:07:59. > :08:03.something other than politics. They can be very valuable.
:08:04. > :08:07.Izzy Taylor has been called up to compete in the European three-day
:08:07. > :08:11.Event Championships. The mother of two will represent Great Britain in
:08:12. > :08:19.Sweden later this summer. She has been in the British top 10 but now
:08:19. > :08:24.is her chance for a big audience. Riding is in how Platt. The lease
:08:24. > :08:31.of dedication have paid off as she fulfilled her ambition to represent
:08:31. > :08:38.her country. Tell us about getting the call up. I was on my way to
:08:38. > :08:44.Chesil down when I was phoned. It was really exciting. I have had a
:08:44. > :08:50.good, but not exceptional season. It was a pleasant surprise. Over
:08:50. > :08:56.the past 18 months, with a strong string of horses to her name she
:08:56. > :09:00.has consistently been placed in the top 10. Here she was competing at
:09:00. > :09:04.Badminton Horse trials. She will take this course to the
:09:04. > :09:08.championships. What does she hope for with her senior debut? I would
:09:08. > :09:13.like to come home and be proud of what we have done and hopefully be
:09:13. > :09:18.good enough to be in the reckoning and do everyone proud. Talking
:09:18. > :09:24.about juggling your commitments as a professional athlete with a
:09:24. > :09:28.mum...? They come a lot to the events which they enjoy it and I
:09:28. > :09:34.have a huge amount of help from my family and everyone around me which
:09:34. > :09:38.makes it possible. Between now and September it is business as usual,
:09:38. > :09:44.competing and fine-tuning her European right. For Kostas